steve wrote: > I've just purchased a PowerTowerPro 250 running OS 7.6.1. I'm not >sure if its got the original processor in healthy condition because >the OS system diagnostic reports it running at about 120 mhz, and I >thought it should be higher. I have tried upgrading the OS to 8.5 >using a standard Mac CD, but ran into harddrive driver error messages >and backed of. I'm worried about the availability of specialised >software if this machine needs any and I delete whats already there.
Very nice machine...you should be a happy camper. The message you saw was probably that the CD couldn't update the HD drivers, which is normal as the original PowerTowerPro HD driver is HD toolkit. You can choose to ignore the warning and the installation process will continue as normal. If you choose a 'clean' install, you may have trouble mounting your HD and CDROM without preparing a Disk Tools disk to enable those functions. If you have access to a second HD, try installing a fresh system on that (the PTP has plenty of connections for another drive), and bring over preferenses, control panels or extensions as they are revealed as being necessary for the second HD to work. Frankly, the best policy is oftern simply to erase the contents of the HD and start fresh so that at least whatever screwups may occur are your own. >Does anyone have any advice on such an OS upgrade? OS 8.5 is fine for now, although it should be updated to 8.6 when you have the time. (it's a free update available online from apple) >And, regarding the clock speed, are there any recommendations for >cost effective processor upgrades? I understand a daughterboard >system is standard on these machines? Your next step will be G3 or G4. Quite unnecessary for other than video work or games, as the 250 mHz 604e is a screamer. There will be a speed boost simply by going to OS 8.5/6 Cheers...Michael -- Power Computing is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Power Computing list info: <http://lowendmac.com/power/list.html> 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]> List archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powercomputing%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
