OSX 10.3 on Powerbook

TheFallGuy · Mar 22, 2004, 06:30 PM

I bought a Powerbook G4 a while back (September 2003) it came with OSX 10.2. Can I upgrade this to the OSX 10.3? Would it be worth it to upgrade?

I'm a mac newbie and not too sure on a few things, so please don't flame me for my ignorance.

Westside guy · Mar 22, 2004, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFallGuy

I bought a Powerbook G4 a while back (September 2003) it came with OSX 10.2. Can I upgrade this to the OSX 10.3? Would it be worth it to upgrade?

I'm a mac newbie and not too sure on a few things, so please don't flame me for my ignorance.

You certainly can upgrade it; but it's your call as to whether it's worthwhile or not. A lot of people love Expose, which is only in 10.3. They seem to have made a number of tweaks in the "Unix" underbelly of the OS between 10.2 and 10.3. But 10.2 was still pretty good.

Now if you were running 10.1 I'd say it's a slam dunk.

drjekyl · Mar 22, 2004, 08:45 PM

DEFINITELY DO THE UPGRADE
10.3 has a lot more additional features than just Exposé. The way it handles network drives, wireless security features, Finder improvements and way too many others to list. If you use your PB in a traveling life, the new wireless features are a must. Especially if you are a college student.

TheFallGuy · Mar 23, 2004, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drjekyl

DEFINITELY DO THE UPGRADE
10.3 has a lot more additional features than just Exposé. The way it handles network drives, wireless security features, Finder improvements and way too many others to list. If you use your PB in a traveling life, the new wireless features are a must. Especially if you are a college student.

Thanks for the info and the ideas!!! I'll be doing that. Just hope I don't screw up my Powerbook in the process!

patrick0brien · Mar 23, 2004, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFallGuy

Thanks for the info and the ideas!!! I'll be doing that. Just hope I don't screw up my Powerbook in the process!

-TheFallGuy

Two pieces of advice:

1. Repair permissions before you upgrade.
2. Perform an archive and install, preserving network settings, instead of a simple 'upgrade'.

adamjay · Mar 23, 2004, 03:48 AM

not to mention the GUI of Panther absolutely SMOKES Jaguar.
There are things you can do in Jaguar to improve your overall experience, but the easiest of those things is upgrade to 10.3 Panther.

Jo-Kun · Mar 23, 2004, 06:22 AM

I don't know wich PB G4 you have,

but a little while ago I bought my15" TiPB G4 400Mhz 2nd hand.

First I upgraded the ram from 256 to 1024, because I need it...
than installed OSX.2 Jag (since that was the latest then)
the day Panther came out, I went to the store to get it.

I did a full reinstall, because I wanted it to start from 0 (and could back-up all that I want on my external drive...)
My brother did do the upgrade on his 12"PB G4revA without any problems...

And I've heared from an ex-collegue that he upgraded his B&W G3 300Mhz allso to panther (ok he allso has 1024Mb ram in there)

so just do the upgrade (and see that there is enough ram because OSX is a ram-eater!)

nargot · Mar 27, 2004, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrick0brien

-TheFallGuy

Two pieces of advice:

1. Repair permissions before you upgrade.
2. Perform an archive and install, preserving network settings, instead of a simple 'upgrade'.

Myself and others (on other threads) have had issues with archive and upgrade. Ie losing settings, functionality and just generally screws things up. I would recommend a second HD or partition if you want a backup. I run 10.2 on an imac at work and 10.3 on both my home computers. 10.3 is prettier but expose and the much better windows functionality don't really do much for the average joe.

James Craner · Mar 28, 2004, 02:09 PM

The Panther upgrade is definitely worth it.

On installation my Advice is;

1. Back up all your files, Photo's, Documents, purchased music etc, just in case.

2. Repair permissions

3. Do a straight upgrade.

This worked fine on my PowerMac.

crazzyeddie · Mar 28, 2004, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Craner

The Panther upgrade is definitely worth it.

On installation my Advice is;

1. Back up all your files, Photo's, Documents, purchased music etc, just in case.

2. Repair permissions

3. Do a straight upgrade.

This worked fine on my PowerMac.

I disagree with the straight upgrade. Upgrade installs are alot more risky than "Archive and Install", which is what i recommend 100%. Its like getting a clean install without having to wipe your drive (a very good thing indeed).

AppleMatt · Mar 28, 2004, 03:09 PM

I would say upgrade, Panther has many benefits over Jaguar. You don't really notice a lot of them until you do go back to Jaguar and wonder how you used it for so long

On the other hand, there's a strong chance 10.4 will be released this year, probably between October and December (no-one can really say), but there's a good chance Jobs will preview it in June, so would you rather wait and do a double-jump from 10.2 to 10.4?
If you upgrade to 10.3 now, you may find some of the features of 10.4 too good and end up paying for two Operating Systems in a year.

As one example of how good Panther is however, with the settings on low I could just play the big open maps in Ghost Recon (if I moved the mouse to the sky it jumped) in 10.2.8. With 10.3.3 I have the settings on medium & high, the mouse is smooth as ever

AppleMatt

TheFallGuy · Mar 30, 2004, 01:52 PM

OK, I've waited a bit and I'm certain that I do want to get the upgrade. But as a newb I'm not sure what the "archive and install" is.

I've done a back-up of my address book, mail box, pics, music, etc. It seems that some people here are saying just do the install, and others the archive and install. What really is the best (easiest, less risky) way to go about this?

TheFallGuy · Mar 30, 2004, 01:56 PM

Another question. What is the process on the "archive and install"? Do I have to partition my HD? I really don't want to do that and then have to undo the partitioning just to install an upgrade to my OS. Does it require burning more CDs?

telecomm · Mar 30, 2004, 02:26 PM

Archive and Install will keep your old operating system in a folder (I forget exactly what it's called) and will preserve all of your network settings (as mentioned) without requiring a partition. If you've got recorded this info and backed up your important data, a clean install might be your best bet. I'd probably opt for a clean install, which effectively wipes your hard drive clean and then lets you start fresh with a new operating system. You'll have to reenter all of your network settings, etc., but the likelihood of any issues is decreased. As mentioned, lots of people seem to have problems with archive and install.

(A good way to save your settings is to open the relevant network preference panes and use Grab to save pictures of your settings, this works well for email settings too).

There's one downside to this approach, though. All of the software that shipped with your computer that isn't part of the OS itself, (things like OmniGraffle, etc.) will not be available if you choose this option. (You still get itunes, mail, all the standard stuff). If that doesn't bother you (I know that I rarely use that stuff) then this is your best bet.

Panther is much snappier than Jaguar, so you'll probably be glad you made the switch.

AppleMatt · Mar 30, 2004, 03:57 PM

You can install the software afterwards, if you put in the restore DVD it wil install a small application which will then allow you to choose which of the original programs to put back.

If you've already backed up everything (including mail and bookmarks, two I always forget!), you might as well clean-install, it'll serve you better in the long run.

The of course run Software Update a few times.

AppleMatt

blackfox · Apr 1, 2004, 08:17 PM

As someone who has been on the fence in regards to upgrading from 10.2 to .3, I would have to say wait, for the time being...The new features in Panther are an improvement over 10.2, but taking a look around this forum (and others), there are still a large amount of quirks in Panther, which range from annoying to problematic...I had hoped 10.3.3 would fix most everything, but there are still issues with it...for the price of the upgrade, this seems unacceptable to me...expose is sweet though, as is the new file-structure...tough call...I would see if any of the issues that plague 10.3 would affect you and if so, wait for 10.3.4 or even 10.4 (sometime in 2005, probably)...10.2 is not fancy, but it works well...good luck

Mar 22, 2004, 06:30 PM	#1
TheFallGuy macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2003	OSX 10.3 on Powerbook I bought a Powerbook G4 a while back (September 2003) it came with OSX 10.2. Can I upgrade this to the OSX 10.3? Would it be worth it to upgrade? I'm a mac newbie and not too sure on a few things, so please don't flame me for my ignorance.

Mar 22, 2004, 08:45 PM	#3
drjekyl macrumors newbie Join Date: Jul 2003	Panther Worth every penny! DEFINITELY DO THE UPGRADE 10.3 has a lot more additional features than just Exposé. The way it handles network drives, wireless security features, Finder improvements and way too many others to list. If you use your PB in a traveling life, the new wireless features are a must. Especially if you are a college student.

Mar 23, 2004, 03:48 AM	#6
adamjay macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Indianapolis	not to mention the GUI of Panther absolutely SMOKES Jaguar. There are things you can do in Jaguar to improve your overall experience, but the easiest of those things is upgrade to 10.3 Panther. __________________ MacBook Black 2ghz (Rev A) 20" Aluminum iMac 2.4ghz iPhone 8GB

Mar 23, 2004, 06:22 AM	#7
Jo-Kun macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Antwerp-Belgium	I don't know wich PB G4 you have, but a little while ago I bought my15" TiPB G4 400Mhz 2nd hand. First I upgraded the ram from 256 to 1024, because I need it... than installed OSX.2 Jag (since that was the latest then) the day Panther came out, I went to the store to get it. I did a full reinstall, because I wanted it to start from 0 (and could back-up all that I want on my external drive...) My brother did do the upgrade on his 12"PB G4revA without any problems... And I've heared from an ex-collegue that he upgraded his B&W G3 300Mhz allso to panther (ok he allso has 1024Mb ram in there) so just do the upgrade (and see that there is enough ram because OSX is a ram-eater!) __________________ G5 2x1.8Ghz,CrapBook CoreDuo,Macmini 1.5G4;iPod 3g 30GB,Shuffle 1GB,Nano 8GB;AirPort Express+Extreme-Nhttp://www.jovdm.be

Mar 28, 2004, 03:09 PM	#11
AppleMatt macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK	I would say upgrade, Panther has many benefits over Jaguar. You don't really notice a lot of them until you do go back to Jaguar and wonder how you used it for so long On the other hand, there's a strong chance 10.4 will be released this year, probably between October and December (no-one can really say), but there's a good chance Jobs will preview it in June, so would you rather wait and do a double-jump from 10.2 to 10.4? If you upgrade to 10.3 now, you may find some of the features of 10.4 too good and end up paying for two Operating Systems in a year. As one example of how good Panther is however, with the settings on low I could just play the big open maps in Ghost Recon (if I moved the mouse to the sky it jumped) in 10.2.8. With 10.3.3 I have the settings on medium & high, the mouse is smooth as ever AppleMatt __________________ Avatar by edesignuk. Fold for team MacRumors.

Mar 28, 2004, 02:09 PM	#9
James Craner macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Bristol, UK	The Panther upgrade is definitely worth it. On installation my Advice is; 1. Back up all your files, Photo's, Documents, purchased music etc, just in case. 2. Repair permissions 3. Do a straight upgrade. This worked fine on my PowerMac.

Mar 30, 2004, 01:52 PM	#12
TheFallGuy Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2003	OK, I've waited a bit and I'm certain that I do want to get the upgrade. But as a newb I'm not sure what the "archive and install" is. I've done a back-up of my address book, mail box, pics, music, etc. It seems that some people here are saying just do the install, and others the archive and install. What really is the best (easiest, less risky) way to go about this?

Mar 30, 2004, 01:56 PM	#13
TheFallGuy Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2003	Another question. What is the process on the "archive and install"? Do I have to partition my HD? I really don't want to do that and then have to undo the partitioning just to install an upgrade to my OS. Does it require burning more CDs?

Mar 30, 2004, 02:26 PM	#14
telecomm macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Rome	Archive and Install will keep your old operating system in a folder (I forget exactly what it's called) and will preserve all of your network settings (as mentioned) without requiring a partition. If you've got recorded this info and backed up your important data, a clean install might be your best bet. I'd probably opt for a clean install, which effectively wipes your hard drive clean and then lets you start fresh with a new operating system. You'll have to reenter all of your network settings, etc., but the likelihood of any issues is decreased. As mentioned, lots of people seem to have problems with archive and install. (A good way to save your settings is to open the relevant network preference panes and use Grab to save pictures of your settings, this works well for email settings too). There's one downside to this approach, though. All of the software that shipped with your computer that isn't part of the OS itself, (things like OmniGraffle, etc.) will not be available if you choose this option. (You still get itunes, mail, all the standard stuff). If that doesn't bother you (I know that I rarely use that stuff) then this is your best bet. Panther is much snappier than Jaguar, so you'll probably be glad you made the switch.

Mar 30, 2004, 03:57 PM	#15
AppleMatt macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK	You can install the software afterwards, if you put in the restore DVD it wil install a small application which will then allow you to choose which of the original programs to put back. If you've already backed up everything (including mail and bookmarks, two I always forget!), you might as well clean-install, it'll serve you better in the long run. The of course run Software Update a few times. AppleMatt __________________ Avatar by edesignuk. Fold for team MacRumors.

Apr 1, 2004, 08:17 PM	#16
blackfox macrumors 65816 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: PDX	As someone who has been on the fence in regards to upgrading from 10.2 to .3, I would have to say wait, for the time being...The new features in Panther are an improvement over 10.2, but taking a look around this forum (and others), there are still a large amount of quirks in Panther, which range from annoying to problematic...I had hoped 10.3.3 would fix most everything, but there are still issues with it...for the price of the upgrade, this seems unacceptable to me...expose is sweet though, as is the new file-structure...tough call...I would see if any of the issues that plague 10.3 would affect you and if so, wait for 10.3.4 or even 10.4 (sometime in 2005, probably)...10.2 is not fancy, but it works well...good luck

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