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need some help with my power pc g4?

S

sotyrockz04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
21
0
lol yeah its an old computer but i want to ya know get some power into it it was a computer at my old school i took it home andit sat i a corner i found it an hooked it up and it was pretty slow so i decided ok one by one ill upgrade it...got my hands on a version of panther started to install it and thats where i hit the problem...it says to restart the computer to continue the instalation...ii reboot and nothing..i have help down c...and f8....and opt aand all of these keys do nothing...literally notihng happens when i boot it up it just oges straight to the log in screen...am i doing something wrong?


also how would i put some power into this machine..what kind of ram and stuff...im new to the mac thing...i was a pc man until i got my iphone and started looking into mac and now i swear by them

plz help
 
Tallest Skil

Tallest Skil

macrumors P6
Aug 13, 2006
16,044
4
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
Immediately after the start-up sound plays is the time to hold the key you want to hold. I'd personally go with Option, as it'll let you make sure you're doing what you want.

Oh, and to add info without making a new post, just click Edit in the lower right.
 
TEG

TEG

macrumors 604
Jan 21, 2002
6,621
169
Langley, Washington
Leopard requires a 867 MHz processor, and it sounds like you were using a Leopard disc from an Intel Mac, not a retail version.

It would help if we knew what kind of PowerMac it is.

You definately need more memory, and you can always upgrade the processor if you wish.

TEG
 
S

sotyrockz04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
21
0
ok here is all the specs

mac os X 10.2.8
Machine speed 400 mhz
bus speed 100 mhz
1 processor
power mac g4 version = 2.8
512 mb of ram

anything else?
 
S

sotyrockz04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
21
0
no i mean panther...i have panther in order to get it to leopard it told me i have to have atleast i think 10.3.5...i have 10.2.8
 
Tallest Skil

Tallest Skil

macrumors P6
Aug 13, 2006
16,044
4
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
Well, Panther itself is a fine upgrade from Jaguar, but you won't be able to get it to Leopard without hacking, anyway. Even then, unless you have über RAM, it'll run too slowly to be usable.

400Mhz does not a Leopard make.
 
S

sotyrockz04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
21
0
ok i think i know the problem...theres something wrong with my cd rom i switched it out for another one and nothing....i was wondering if theres a way to boot from a flash drive?
 
F

Firefly2002

macrumors 65816
Jan 9, 2008
1,220
0
No, you aren't going to be able to boot from a flash drive. Dude, put the old drive back in if it's a problem.

Is it an AGP or PCI-based G4? That affects the options you can upgrade it with (even OS... if it's a PCI-based G4, you can't install Leopard.. assuming you even care to).

I'd recommend putting in another 512 MB of RAM in that... 512 MB often isn't enough when you get to Panther, and especially Tiger, though to be honest, 768 MB works all right (though why bother.. 512s are cheap).
 
TEG

TEG

macrumors 604
Jan 21, 2002
6,621
169
Langley, Washington
You cannot boot from USB. If you were to have an external DVD drive, that might help, but it must be Firewire. Try a different keyboard (maybe that is the problem). Also, just to make sure, is it a greyish/purpleish machine or a blue machine?

TEG
 
S

sotyrockz04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
21
0
ok i figured out the problem....its something to do with the drive...when i turn on the computer it works fine... but...when it finally gets booted up if i try to open the drive or do anything with it its not responsive...the green light doesnt light up nothing...anyideas?
 
TEG

TEG

macrumors 604
Jan 21, 2002
6,621
169
Langley, Washington
Apple actively mounts discs, so you have to either use the eject key on the keyboard or drag the image on the desktop to the trash to eject a disc. If you are already in Jaguar, use the Startup Disk Preference pane and see if that will allow you to select the Panther Disc as your startup disc. If it does, do it, then restart. You should then be able to install. Also, you may need a DVD drive to use the Panther Disc (not sure about that).

TEG
 
S

sotyrockz04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
21
0
see thats the thing....i went looking around the mac...went to cd drives it doesnt even recognize that i have one.....theres no image on the desktop...no trace of it...i no its plugged in...both in the motherboard and the drive...i dont get whats going on
 
TEG

TEG

macrumors 604
Jan 21, 2002
6,621
169
Langley, Washington
sotyrockz04 said:
see thats the thing....i went looking around the mac...went to cd drives it doesnt even recognize that i have one.....theres no image on the desktop...no trace of it...i no its plugged in...both in the motherboard and the drive...i dont get whats going on
Click to expand...

You'll only see it if there is a disc in it. Go to the Apple Menu and select "About this Mac" then more info. You'll get a screen similar to Device Manager in Windows. See if the drive appears there. If not, you should try another drive if you can. You may also need to check the jumpers on the drive. It would be best to try it in a master or cable select position without any other drives on the ribbon, and make sure the ribbon is securely attached to the logic board.

TEG
 
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