old iMac G3 (blue) questions

Yes you can definitely install 10.whatever on that machine although, I'd recommend putting as much ram in there as possible. I have a Blue and White 350Mghz G3 powermac with 640MB ram and it really does run beautiful. Slow sometimes with a few applications, but overall, I'm still always surprised how fast it runs compared to windows machines with much higher specs.

Honestly, I wouldn't waste any time with any OS prior to X. It really is worth it and I'd bet money She would not be dissapointed. As for the mail question, I have no clue as I use Gmail. I find web based email to be much easier to deal with. Hope this helps!

EDIT: Also, I would go to http://www.pricewatch.com/ or http://www.tigerdirect.com and look for ram and definitely a bigger hard drive.

1) Yes, provided:
a) the DSL modem has an OS 9 driver, or
b) it's an ethernet modem


2) no idea

3) Probably. I've run OS X on a 333MHz G3 iMac and it run fine. Buy as much RAM as possible and make sure it's "compatible" (meats Apple specs); this will ensure stability of the system. 10 gigs is a bit small harddrive-wise, but it should fit. Don't expect to have a massive iTunes/iPhoto library though.

4) I think so. (there's an option in Mail to import Eudora mail boxes)

5) Yes.

gallagb said:

so i'm helping this friend of mine out...

the machine:

iMac
g3 400 mHz
192 RAM
9.53 GB HD

running 9.1

a few questions

1) can she upgrade to DSL w/ a machine on 9.1?

Click to expand...

Yes this is possible. MacOS 9 does support everything needed to get online with.

gallagb said:

2) i ran TechTool Pro on her machine-
and it said "minor error: Apple Menu Options Pref"
is this something i need to fix?
or can it be left alone...etc
the machine occasionally freezes - but not a ton

Click to expand...

This crash maybe software but also could be memory related.

gallagb said:

3) does she want to upgrade to 10?
what RAM upgrade will she need to do this?
Tiger calls for 256 physical ram
does TIGER run on a machine like this well?
or should she go w/ 10.1? or some other 10?

Click to expand...

No this machine MAY (I say) not run tiger, but you can upgrade to Mac OS 10.2.8 I have a iMac 350 with 192MB mem and it runs fine. It not fast but it is useable. I use mine for a fax server and the frontend to my microscope.

Tiger and Panther(Mac OS X 10.3.x) both require a firewire port. But if you want to run tiger then you may want to max out the memory, http://www.memoryx.com is a good place for RAM.

gallagb said:

4) if she does switch
she uses Eudora as her primary e-mail system- does this program (in 9) export nicely into 'mail' or something in 10?

Click to expand...

eudora is running compatable. upgrading should not be a problem

gallagb said:

5) on the Far off idea that she might get a new machine....
will that Eudora mail export onto a new machine running 10?
will the 'firewire connect' plan work to transfer her files?

thanks in advanced

Click to expand...

does your imac 400 have firewire ? if so then it will be able to copy.

getting online

Mac OS 9 supports PPPoE so needing a drive is not needed, seeing it connect via the ethernet port.

munkees said:

No this machine MAY (I say) not run tiger, but you can upgrade to Mac OS 10.2.8 I have a iMac 350 with 192MB mem and it runs fine. It not fast but it is useable. I use mine for a fax server and the frontend to my microscope.

Click to expand...

Yes, it can run Tiger. IIRC a 400MHz iMac is slot-loading and is supported by 10.4
But I can't guarantee how well it will run.

whocares said:

Yes, it can run Tiger. IIRC a 400MHz iMac is slot-loading and is supported by 10.4
But I can't guarantee how well it will run.

Click to expand...

RAM is the deal sealer if it can run Tiger. I run Panther on 512 and Tiger on 1 GB with my two B&W G3's and it's fine just running Safari and iTunes at the same time.

gallagb said:

...3) does she want to upgrade to 10?....

Click to expand...

just a question here.....is she happy with the software she's using now? She's going to want OS X native software if she upgrades and that's going to cost money so if whatever software she's currently using meets her needs then maybe she should stay with OS 9 on this machine.

if she upgrades, she's going to have to put money into OS X, more money into RAM upgrades and MORE money into software that will run under OS X. Does she really need to spend all of that money on such an old machine?

Getting her onto DSL will be worth it for her but maybe she should save the rest of the money for some future new computer purchase.

and if she does go to OS X, make sure you verify whether this imac needs the firmware updated before you do the OS X update

I have an identical Imac, though I pushed the RAM up to 384. So:

1) can she upgrade to DSL w/ a machine on 9.1?

As has already been answered, yes if it's an ethernet modem. The 400mHz blue imacs SHOULD have a 10/100 ethernet port (mine does).

2) i ran TechTool Pro on her machine-
and it said "minor error: Apple Menu Options Pref"
is this something i need to fix?
or can it be left alone...etc
the machine occasionally freezes - but not a ton

All G3 imacs freeze occasionally, the hardware wasn't perfect. Expect that. As for fixing that, probably not necessary if it runs, but she might want to just back up any docs and reinstall the OS.

3) does she want to upgrade to 10?
what RAM upgrade will she need to do this?
Tiger calls for 256 physical ram
does TIGER run on a machine like this well?
or should she go w/ 10.1? or some other 10?

I don't suggest Tiger for an Imac G3. I suggest 10.2, especially for her RAM. if you bump up the RAM, I still suggest 10.2, as other factors (HD size and speed, bus speed, etc.) will make Tiger run pretty slow IME.

4) if she does switch
she uses Eudora as her primary e-mail system- does this program (in 9) export nicely into 'mail' or something in 10?

Apple Mail can import mailboxes from most programs, including (as far as I know) Eudora.

5) on the Far off idea that she might get a new machine....
will that Eudora mail export onto a new machine running 10?
will the 'firewire connect' plan work to transfer her files?

See above. She should be fine, though she might have to do a little tweaking on her own.

just to confuse you further...
definately upgrade to X, i've run Panther with no probs on this same machine (in fact i found it faster than Jaguar),
but definitely get more ram - those models will take up to 2x 512MB PC100 or PC133 Dimm which you can pick up pretty cheap second-hand (i think they were the same as used on the G3 and early G4 towers as well as on a lot of PCs). I ran it with 128MB to start with but it was awful, 512 (2x128) was fine, and 1GB would be great.

and i'd consider (if you're a bit brave, altho it's not that difficult), replacing the Hard Drive, not just for the space (altho that's important if you go to X) but also because the IBM drives they put in those things are really noisy compared to the new ones.

OS9 always was a bit crash happy. You can delete that Pref file though and it'll just create a new one for you.

They're a great little machine - i used mine as an iTunes server till the logic board died, and picked up another last year for my little boy to learn on.

frankblundt said:

and i'd consider (if you're a bit brave, altho it's not that difficult), replacing the Hard Drive, not just for the space (altho that's important if you go to X) but also because the IBM drives they put in those things are really noisy compared to the new ones.

Click to expand...

One added note to that--if you replace the hard drive, keep in mind that the drives that shipped with the imacs were slower than current drives (i believe the originals were 5400 RPM, most current drives are 7200 RPM). This is important only because they run hotter, so you run a biger risk of the imac overheating and may want to think about setting up a cooling system of some sort for it (I rigged a couple fans in mine, no problem at all). Might not be necessary, I've heard reports of positive and negative experiences from that, just fair warning.

yeah. worth being cautious about,
although most of what i've read suggests that the heat difference is minimal (6%) and even that is probably negated by the fact that it's a new, and likely better designed drive than the old one. I stuck a 160GB in one (it only sees 137GB but it was the only spare i had lying around ) without issue (so far).

Personally i think it's worth it in order to get the speed increase and to help with ensuring you have the 5-8GB free space that OSX likes and to eliminate that awful crunching noise the old drives make whenever they're working.

yes i have the same specs except 80 gig hd, but tiger will run

If you go to OS X, you should go with Tiger. All the other OS X releases are really not going to help you out much (perhaps 10.3 would be ok).

The Apple Menu Options Pref should be Trashed. I remember in classic how that control panel caused more conflicts and was such a pain in the ass. I would actually recommend getting rid of the Control Panel, as it is probably the source of freezes too.

I ran Tiger on my B/W 400 G3, and it ran fine. Chugged a little, but hey the machines aren't new anymore.

The iMac won't overheat with a 7200rpm drive.
I put a 120gig 7200rpm Deskstar into a iMac G3 500mhz that runs Tiger on a gig of ram GREAT

I mean GREAT.

(Tho I had to put Tiger on an external firewire drive to get it on the iMac that does not have a DVD drive. )

Don't worry about overheating. The new hard drives run cooler than you'd think.