I need to update my mac PowerPC G4 running Cheetah 10.0.3 to 10.0.4 in order to install a network card driver. How do I do that? I have no wi-fi or network connection available on the mac. It has a DVD drive, so I can use a DMG or ISO disc if needed.
Earlier Mac models
There is a combo updater for 10_0_4 at macintoshrepository dot org. The risks of downloading and installation are open ended… Caveat emptor.
The oldest thing I see on Apple's download site is an updater for Mac OS X 10.1 which requires you to already have the base version of Mac OS X 10.1 installed.
I don't see any downloads for updating one version of Cheetah to another in the macOS section. If there was one, you could use a newer computer and a USB flash drive to download the file as a data file, and transfer it as a data file to the old PowerPC-based Mac.
The other option might be to use an ORIGINAL set of optical discs, for an early version of Mac OS X that is compatible with your PowerPC-based Mac, to upgrade it to something later than Cheetah. But finding such discs might be hard.
There is a set of OS X 10.0.4 install discs on a popular auction site as of this writing. They are grey in color meaning they are very system-specific. You will need to perform your own due diligence to confirm they will be compatible with your exact model Mac.
There are about a dozen different variants of the PowerPC G4 so your description of it is too vague. Better to identify your exact model Mac. Since that auction does not identify the Mac they accompanied, that information probably won't help anyway. Why? The listing states, "Be sure the software is compatible with your iMac before purchasing." Given the information provided, it is not possible to do that. The seller probably doesn't even know.
The auction number is 326273033087.
It's probably a violation of that site's terms to sell system-specific software without its accompanying hardware, but that's for you to determine.
Update mac OS X Cheetah from 10.0.3 to 10.0.4?
