Order System Disks?

Hi, All! As you know, I bought a PowerBook G4, Unfortunately, it doesn't come with the box, or any of the video adapters, or OS X disks that were bundled with the PowerBook when it was new. If I were to go to my local Genius Bar (95 miles away in another state, Michigan), or phone AppleCare, will they send me the original disks, or no? I'm assuming I'd have to pay for them, if they do.

PowerPCMacMan said:

Hello,

What Powerbook, generation and model does the OP have? I might be able to assist him if I can get this information. The only discs I have are for the LAST generation 15 and 17 inch PowerBook G4 models. Those would be the ones with dual layer drives and 1.67 G4s.

Click to expand...

Aw, shoot. I have the generation BEFORE the last generation. It's a 15", with the optional 1.5GHz G4.

According to the serial number, and powerbookmedic.com, it's a PowerBook5,4 with model number A1095.

But, nothing changed software wise between those PowerBooks, except mine shipped with Panther, and the last generation shipped with Tiger, right?

Nyy8 said:

Someone confirm this, but I thought apple still shipped discs on request to all "Vintage" Machines? If I am not mistaken, the powerbook G4 you have, is still vintage?

Click to expand...

Apple now considers the machine obsolete.




Also, I don't want Leopard disks. I have a copy of Leopard in my media drawer. I just want the orignal restore disks, which I believe are Panther.

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mike457 said:

This is that OCD thing again, isn't it?

Ebay would indeed be the best bet, but be careful that you buy the correct disks for your machine. The grey disks are what you're looking for, but Apple keys them to particular models.

In any event, surely on that machine you want to run Leopard? You won't be able to get restore disks for your computer with Leopard on them, so you'll just be wasting your money.

Click to expand...

The grey disks are indeed what I'm looking for. As of now, I haven't found them. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. Somebody, please feel free to post an eBay link if you find them.

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PowerPCMacMan said:

Hello,

What Powerbook, generation and model does the OP have? I might be able to assist him if I can get this information. The only discs I have are for the LAST generation 15 and 17 inch PowerBook G4 models. Those would be the ones with dual layer drives and 1.67 G4s.

Click to expand...

Last generation disks, you say? They have Tiger, but I guess I'm fine with that. How much do you want for them? I'll take them off your hands if you don't want them.

PowerPCMacMan said:

Hi,

The discs I have are only for use with the last models of the G4 Powerbook line, namely Powerbook versions 5,8 and 5,9 - the discs are gray, naturally but will not run on any version other than what I specified above. If you want them I can make them for you, but again... I seriously doubt they will work with your version of PowerBook.

If you need Apple Service Diagnostic or Apple Hardware Test, I can find those for you and provide a link, but as for the original discs that came with the type of powerbook you have, you will need to search ebay or look up dealers who specialize in such vintage discs.

The version I have is 10.4.2 and Apple Hardware Test 2.6.5 or is it 2.6.8? I am not at home right now to verify them fully, but I do know the last generation Powerbook G4's can not boot OS 10.4, as they shipped with 10.4.2 specifically for those models. Panther doesn't even boot on the last models.

Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

I'll try them. If they work, then great. If not, then oh well. I'll have to go back to searching for disks on eBay.

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Found some disks! $30 seems kinda steep, though...

[URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-Powerbook-G4-15-17-Software-install-and-restore-discs-DVD-CD-OS-X-/150859417684?pt=US_Operating_Systems_Software&hash=item231fec0854#ht_500wt_1379"]Apple Powerbook G4 15" 17" Software install and restore discs DVD CD OS X | eBay[/URL]

PowerPCMacMan said:

Ok, is your PowerBook G4 a mid-2005 or Late 2004 model? Goto http://www.everymac.com and look up the specs for your powerbook G4. Paste it here and I can then get for you what you need. As I said, you really don't need Panther as Leopard should run fine on a 1.5 Ghz PBG4.

Click to expand...

Leopard is really sluggish right now, even with the max 2GB of RAM. I disabled Dashboard and that made it much better. But it's still a little slow. Maybe because it's indexing, I dunno. I still don't get why I had a Kernel Panic right after installing Leopard, either. See my other thread for that. Anyways, It's a 2004 model. Here are the specs from Everymac.




Introduction Date: April 19, 2004 Discontinued Date: January 31, 2005
Processor Speed: 1.5 GHz Processor Type: PowerPC 7447a (G4)
Details: The PowerPC G4 includes the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processor.
Processors: 1 Geekbench: 733
Processor Upgrade: Soldered FPU: Integrated
System Bus Speed: 167 MHz Cache Bus Speed: 1.5 GHz (Built-in)
ROM/Firmware Type: Open Firmware ROM/Firmware Size: 1 MB
L1 Cache: 64k L2/L3 Cache: 512k (on chip)
RAM Type: PC2700 DDR SDRAM Min. RAM Speed: 333 MHz
Details: Supports two 200-pin PC2700 DDR SDRAM SO-DIMM memory modules.

Also see: How do you upgrade the RAM in the PowerBook G4 models? How much RAM of what type do these systems support?
Standard RAM: 512 MB Maximum RAM: 2 GB
Details: Site sponsor Other World Computing sells memory -- as well as other upgrades -- for this PowerBook G4.

Also see: Actual Max RAM of All G3 & Later Macs.
Motherboard RAM: None RAM Slots: 2
Video Card: Mobility Radeon 9700 VRAM Type: DDR SDRAM
Details: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (4X AGP) with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM.

Also see: What kind of video processor is provided by the PowerBook G4 models? What is the maximum resolution each can support on an external display?
Standard VRAM: 64 MB Maximum VRAM: 128 MB*
Built-in Display: 15.0" Widescreen Native Resolution: 1280x854
Details: 15.0" TFT widescreen active-matrix display with a 1280 by 854 native resolution. Apple reports that it also supports 1152 by 640, 896 by 600, 720 by 480, 640 by 480 at 3:2 aspect ratio; and 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 at 4:3 aspect ratio.

Site sponsor Mission Repair offers free diagnosis of PowerBook G4 hardware problems and a 24-hour repair service for this PowerBook G4. Display repacement, keyboard replacement, a hard drive upgrade service, and more are provided.
2nd Display Support: Dual/Mirroring 2nd Max. Resolution: 2048x1536
Details: The maximum resolution supported on an external display is 2048x1536 at millions of colors.
Standard Hard Drive: 80 GB (4200 RPM) Int. HD Interface: Ultra ATA/100
Standard Optical: 4X "SuperDrive" Standard Disk: None
Details: Apple reports that the slot-loading DVD-R/CD-RW "SuperDrive" is capable of writing DVD-R at 4X, reading DVD at 8X, writing CD-R at 24X, writing CD-RW at 16X, and reading CD-ROM at 24X.

Also see: What are the capabilities of the optical drive provided by the PowerBook G4 models? Can one upgrade the optical drive?
Standard Modem: 56k v.92 Standard Ethernet: 10/100/1000Base-T
Standard AirPort: 802.11b/g (Standard) Standard Bluetooth: 1.1
USB Ports: 2 (2.0) Firewire Ports: 1 (400), 1 (800)
Details: Two USB 2.0 ports. One Firewire "400" port and one Firewire "800" port.
Expansion Slots: Type I/II PC Card Expansion Bays: None
Details: Single PC Card slot supporting a Type I or Type II PC Card (CardBus compliant).

Also see: Is it possible to add external SATA to the PowerBook G4?
Incl. Keyboard: Full-size Incl. Input: Trackpad
Case Type: Notebook Form Factor: PowerBook G4 15"
Apple Order No: M9422LL/A Apple Subfamily: 15-Inch 1.5/1.33
Apple Model No: A1095 (EMC N/A) Model ID: PowerBook5,4
Details: Please note that these identifiers refer to more than one model.

Also see: All Macs with the A1095 Model Number, the N/A EMC Number, and the PowerBook5,4 Model Identifier.

For more about these identifiers and how to locate them on each Mac, please refer to EveryMac.com's Mac Identification section.
Battery Type: 50 W h LiIon Battery Life: 4.5 Hours
Pre-Installed MacOS: X 10.3.3 Maximum MacOS: X 10.5.8
MacOS 9 Support: Classic Mode Only* Windows Support: Emulation Only
Details: *This model is capable of using Mac OS 9 applications within the Mac OS X "Classic" environment provided with Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" and lower ("Classic" is not supported starting with Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"). It cannot boot into Mac OS 9.

Site sponsor OHS specializes in heavily upgraded Macs capable of running both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 applications.
Dimensions: 1.1 x 13.7 x 9.5 Avg. Weight: 5.7 lbs (2.6 kg)
Original Price: US$2499 Est. Current Retail: US$425-US$500

Seth Mac Fan said:

No I am pretty sure they will not apple does not support power pc macs at all any more and they do not even sell leopard or tiger over the phone anymore or from apple.com , the best solution for you is to buy Mac OS X tiger or leopard from online . The cost for tiger will be around $50-$200 and for leopard from $150-$300 . You do not need the system disks to install drivers Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and 10.5 Leopard will have all of your drivers built in . If you can not afford to buy a copy of one of those you could always install linux on it and it is FREE here are a some options but there are many more choices to choose from these are just some of the most popular ones but there are many more linux choices to choose from for power pc computers , you could put mint ppc or lubuntu on it . Also another good linux distro for power pc is yellowdog linux or ubuntu

You can dual boot Mac and with those linux distros I have listed . Keep in mind that the Powerbook g4 is a old computer and it will not run everything like a modern computer and software is getting harder to find for power pc macs , but with that said they are still very usable in 2012 . Also if you go with linux it will be a lot harder to install and use than mac and you might have to get some help online from people to get linux to work on it . If you have never used linux before I would not recommend using linux because it is not easy for the average user on a power pc mac .

Keep in mind that if you dont have a dvd drive in your powerbook you will have to install tiger from a external hard drive that is firewire or a cd version if you can find it for sale somewhere but it is pretty rare and it will cost you alot more I think . Also if you do have a dvd drive it will most likely not read the leopard disk because it is a dual layer drive and older macs have a hard time reading them so you will have to either install it from target disk mode or a firewire external hard drive . Also yellowdoglinux I think needs to be installed from a dvd and it will work on older dvd drives because it is not a dual layer disk , but those other linux distros I listed should work fine with a cd . I think the best option for you if you can afford it is to buy leopard and install it with a external hard drive but if your dvd drive reads it install that . Leopard should run pretty decent with the specs listed on your signature .

Click to expand...

I already have a retail DVD of Leopard. I also know that OS X doesn't require driver disks. I wanted the original OS X discs that came with my PowerBook. Also, I still don't get why I have to pay $150-$300 for a copy of Tiger, it's 6 years old now. I love Linux, but I don't want to take a chance on it with my PowerBook. I know they're very old, and software that is PPC-compatibile is near impossible to find today. All I really need is OS X, Spotify, Mail.app, and iWork. My PowerBook has a DVD drive, and it read the Leopard DVD just fine today. I installed Leopard via the DVD. Leopard was dog slow after install. Hell, as soon as the install completed, the PowerBook had a Kernel Panic! I disabled Dashboard, and that made a world of difference. I also disabled some CRT-monitor technologies (BeamSync), that I don't need, went to a 2D dock, used Monolingual and removed stuff, etc. It's running a lot smoother now. Watching a 480p MP4 of Transporter 3 was stuttery and laggy in the first few minutes, but it worked out the kinks. I think slapping 2GB of RAM inside the PowerBook as soon as I took it out of the box was a smart idea. Also, I used Carbon Copy Cloner, and cloned the Tiger install. So, I can revert to Tiger if need be.

Question.

This machine seems to have had a sticker affixed to the bottom, as there is gunky sticker residue. I used a cotton ball with 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and that got most of it off. There is still a little bit I can't get off. What other solvents can I try to get the gunk off?



Also, there are a few "marks" on the machine, in the four corners of the display. Do these look like I can scrub them away?







Lastly, and frankly what angers me, is the display is slanted when closed. It doesn't close entirely on the right side. What the hell is causing this, and how can I fix it? The seller on eBay NEVER mentioned ANYTHING about this.