I wasn't aware that you could boot a Power PC with a USB optical drive, but apparently, this is possible. The combination of this and using XPostFacto would seem to be the most painless way to go about it, especially if the original hard drives have already been replaced with newer, faster ones. Taking apart a Clamshell is no picnic, but I think it has gotten a reputation for being a lot harder than it actually is. There is an excellent guide for doing this on ifixit.com. I printed this up and taped the screws to the pertinent sections of the pages to keep them straight. Kris pointed out the other reason for doing it this way: if you are using the original hard drives, they are too small and VERY slow (4200 rpm). By installing in new, 7200 rpm 40 - 80 gig hard drives and maxing out the ram with a 512 meg memory stick, you will have a surprising fast laptop, even with the unsupported OS. After you have taken a couple of Clamshells about, the learning curve kicks in and it really doesn't seem nearly so tedious. FWIW I loaded the OS via my G4 iBook onto an OWC Firewire/ USB external 2.5" enclosure. It was quick and relatively painless. I then removed the new hard drive from the enclosure and dropped it into the Clamshell. It's a couple hours of work, but well worth it. Hope this helps.
Scott Birdwell DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies Houston TX www.defalcos.com -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Books, a group for those using G3 iBooks and PowerBooks (we run a separate list for G4 'Books). The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To leave this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g-books Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
