On 08/09/10 03:01PDT, Walter Sheluk wrote: > Excuse me for dropping into this discussion. > > I have a iMac G3 that has OS 9.2.2 installed by the guy that sold this > blue bean. > > It is my understanding that i can install OS X on top, right ?
You need to check that the firmware has been updated in OS9 BEFORE you try and install any flavour of OSX. I don't have any of my G3s accessible to check which firmware version is the correct one to allow OSX to boot but you can get the upgrader from the Apple site: a very small download - if you try to install OSX on a G3 iMac that has not been upgraded you can end up with a machine that won't boot at all ! > > However, the said iMac G3's optical drive can only read CD's not DVD's. > It rudely spits out the DVD with no explanation. How rude is that? > Yes my eMac that only has a CD drive is similarly non-communicative about the reason why when it spits out a DVD - it seems that there is no helpful message in OS9 and OSX to say that it cannot read DVD's - it just rejects them without a word! > What now ? > If you have an external Firewire DVD drive you can install from there, otherwise there are posts in the iMaclist archive about installing using Target Disc mode. > And also the iMac G3 hard drive is only 10 GB. > > What now ? > 10 GB is enough space to install OSX on, although you are better doing a customised install that does not put about 1GB of printer drivers that you almost certainly don't need onto the hard drive. From memory, OSX Panther (10.3) takes up about 1.3 GB of hard drive if you miss out the drivers (just install the drivers for any printers you actually own) - OSX Tiger (10.4) takes a bit more. Then again, since this is a 10 year old hard drive, it might be worth putting something bigger in there (although less than 128 GB, since there is a limit on hard drive size in these machines). The G3 iMac isn't too hard to take apart, there are instructions on the Apple site for this, and plenty of walkthroughs with pictures and tips on the Web (Google is your friend here!) If you are going inside it also makes sense to replace the PRAM battery if it is the original - when this voltage drops the iMac will forget the date and time and they will have to be reset every time you turn it on. The 1/2 AA size battery is fairly easy to find online at various prices: I used to use a CR2 battery (which is slightly bigger diameter but cheaper and easier to find since it is used in cameras - this can be persuaded to fit with a little pressure which deforms the plastic battery holder ( - I have since bought 10 proper batteries from an ebay supplier at a good price since I have a lot of Macs) HTH Dan -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml 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/imaclist
