> Hey, folks. Just got an incredible deal on a revision B iMac, which'll be the first Mac I've personally owned (though I've worked in professional situations w/ 'em for a while).
I got one of those - had it since it was new in '98. > I'm planning to do a bit of upgrading, though, and running into some slight problems. I put it through all the versiontracker upgrades (firmware, CD firmware, OS 8.6, etc), > added 128MB RAM (cheap PNY ram, which worked fine- for a total of 192, guess someone had been there first), installed the software I need for work (BBEdit, Photoshop, > Illustrator), and a new mouse (Logitech Optical. Fantastic). Sounds good so far. The Microsoft "Wheel Mose Optical" USB/PS-2 is also a good one, and only $20 at CompUSA. Anyone still saddled with "The Puck" should probably get one. > So, here are the problems & questions. Hopefully this'll be a one-shot email and I can get out of your way for a while. > > - I don't currently have 'net access at home, so whenever I want to install anything, I have to download it at work (on a PC) and then burn it to CD (in ISO format). .bin's on > these CDs open OK. .sit's only work when I drag them to DropStuff & then use Stuffit on the resulting file, and .hqx files get opened in BBEdit. How can I repair this? I > need .hqx capability to install drivers for my digital camera & Zip drive. Just drag the ".hqx" files to stuffit expander - they should open. It's a type/creator code screwup, there's not much I've been able to figure out how to do to fix it, myself. Do you really have no 'net access at home? Wow. You could alwas take the iMac to work for a lunch break... > - Am I gonna have these same problems if I use PCMACLAN on my PC fileserver? Do I need an updated "file exchange" profile? Maybe/Maybe not. Never used it. > - Love the computer, but can't work without a REAL delete key (as opposed to a mislabeled backspace). Is there some method or program I can use to let me use the f12 > key (for example) to delete? If not, can anyone recommend a CHEAP fully-functional keyboard? I thought I remembered a "Hotkey" control panel, but it's definitely not an > option, & not listed in disabled extensions. Was this an OS9 thing? MacAlly iKey - works for me. MIne was $60 at COmpUSA a couple years ago - probably less now. > - Speaking of OS9, is there anywhere I can get it *without* OSX? I asked the guy at the local shop, and he said I should just buy OSX & not install it. I want OS9, but not > $179 worth. Check smalldog.com and powermax.com, they often carry old software. OS 9.1 is well worth the upgrade. > - I heard that you can't install a hard drive over 5400rpm (too hot). Is this true? I know the first partition has to be under 8 gigs, but can the others be as large as I want? Phooey - I've got a 25 GB 7200 Maxtor in my iMac Revision B. I've also got a Sonnet 500 MHz G3 Upgrade an a MicroConversions VooDoo2 GameWizard card. Machine runs fine. Since you're a PC person, this might mean something to you. The iMac uses an aluminim heat sink to pull heat offof the CPU, which runs fairly cool. A 12cm fan sucks air away from the heat sink, motherboard/drive assembly, etc, and shoots it up past the monitor out the vents on the top of the machine. If you're worried about heat, just replace the fan with a bigger/faster/more cfm one. You should be able to stick a 10,000 rpm drive in there with no problem. One goofy thing about theiMac IDE bus isthat itseems to be limited to about 16 MB/sec, so you'll want to focus more on seek time than sustained transfer rate when you buy the new drive. > - I'm considering the Sonnet upgrade. Are there still companies around buying old processor cards? It'd help subsidise the new one, making it a lot more attractive... I don't know. Got the Sonnet two weeks ago, old CPU card is sitting in a box. Some people on eBay collect that kind of stuff, but it might be a good idea to keep it around in case you ever have to replace the motherboard (due to a dead Ethernet NIC, for instance.) The replacement obviously won't have had its Firmware rewritten to use the Harmoni, so you'll have to do everything all over again. > - Has any concensus been reached on using laptop drives as replacements? My CD drive emits an ominous high-pitched whine. You might, but it won't fit. It's supposed to makean ominous high pitched whine - most laptop drives I've dealt with do, in fact. It's funny, 'cuz for a measly 24x CD-ROM, that mechanism is really noisy - I have a 52x Sony in my Wintel machine which is whisper-quiet by comparison. I'm sorry to say that you'll have to live with it. One note on the CD-ROM... my brother, who is generally a gentle gianttype of guy, managed to break thebezel of the CD-ROM the first time he ever played with the iMac. The door wouldn't close because the clip in the bezel holds the door shut. Just be careful with it. > Thanks! You're welcome > > -BEN -ave -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? 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