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Can i upgrade an iBook G4 from OS X to Leopard
- Thread starter MulgaBill
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tiger would be the better option, if you could get leopard running on those specs it'd be very slow,
apple lists the minimum specs as a 867Mhz cpu and a bit more ram then you've got,
apple lists the minimum specs as a 867Mhz cpu and a bit more ram then you've got,
The people who suggested that are full of crap. Tiger very much supports PowerPC based Macs, so you wouldn't have a problem on a G4. Tiger WAS the first version of OS X that supported Intel at a certain point, but there's no issue installing it on a supported PowerPC based Mac. Your G4 will work fine.
Unless you manage to get one of the grey restore discs from an Intel machine, it will install just fine.
not for leopard, leopard will work on a PPC processor, the last version was 10.5.8 it's only 10.6 that requires intel architecture 
you could get a program called leopard assist
but it's not always guaranteed to work, and if it does, you will need to top the ram up by at least another 512Mb stick for it do work comfortably
you could get a program called leopard assist
but it's not always guaranteed to work, and if it does, you will need to top the ram up by at least another 512Mb stick for it do work comfortably
All, many thanks for the help. I have been trying to find get a copy of OS X 10.4.0 to download. It doesn't seem to appear on the Apple website. They have 10.4.1 and every subsequent version but not 10.4.0.
Does anyone know where I can get a copy of 10.4.0?
Does anyone know where I can get a copy of 10.4.0?
It would run, but not very well on a iBook G4. The iBook is the base model at the time, so today it isn't that great. Tiger would be better on it
I have a Tiger install DVD. Let me know if you want it.
Also buy a 1 gig chip of ram for your computer and put it in. I think it takes PC 2700 ram. Also, you should think about putting either a 160, 250 or 320 gig ATA IDE PATA hard drive in there. (NOT an SATA drive.) Your old thirty gig has got to be slowing things down.
Also buy a 1 gig chip of ram for your computer and put it in. I think it takes PC 2700 ram. Also, you should think about putting either a 160, 250 or 320 gig ATA IDE PATA hard drive in there. (NOT an SATA drive.) Your old thirty gig has got to be slowing things down.
I believe your iBook G4 uses PC2100 DDR ram - all the pre-'05 G4 iBooks came w/ PC2100 ram. I have an unused PC2100 module if you're interested. Bvipers@aol.com
Those are updates and not actual working OS downloads for users to install as a new OS.
Mac OS X Tiger went from 10.4.0 to 10.4.11, so whatever you can get your hands on, will work. There is no need to get 10.4.0 specifically.
Good luck. A lot of the older OS discs were designed for specific models. I don't think they universally work on any old Mac model. I had an old G4 ibook and just got tired of fighting the lack of support for all kinds of software. Was also getting mighty slow.
Its time to switch to an Intel MB. Some of the older ones aren't that expensive.
Its time to switch to an Intel MB. Some of the older ones aren't that expensive.
eBay (make sure you get a full retail version) or you can try one of the sources listed here:
http://lowendmac.com/deals/best-mac-os-x-tiger-prices.html
Once you install any version of 10.4 you can run Software Update to bring it up to 10.4.11.
Don't even bother with Leopard, your machine is much too slow. I recently "downgraded" my 1.0GHz iBook G4 from Leopard back to Tiger because Leopard was basically unusable on it. And if you're going to even try Tiger, you'll need more RAM -- minimum 512KB, better 640KB or 768KB. But why don't you just run Software Update and hop up to 10.3.9 (from 10.3.2)? The final update of OS X 10.3 is very stable and will still allow you do run a lot of new software for no extra cost.
I have several G3/G4 Mac's and although I hate to say it, it is hard to justify spending more $$$ on them when you can buy used Intel Mac's for very reasonable prices.
I have several G3/G4 Mac's and although I hate to say it, it is hard to justify spending more $$$ on them when you can buy used Intel Mac's for very reasonable prices.
eRondeau & Eric S.,
Many thanks. I have just purchased 1 Gb of RAM and am watching a copy of OS X 10.4 on eBay. It appears to be the full retail version.
Just wondering if someone could have a quick look and let me know what they think.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270487516389&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Many thanks. I have just purchased 1 Gb of RAM and am watching a copy of OS X 10.4 on eBay. It appears to be the full retail version.
Just wondering if someone could have a quick look and let me know what they think.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270487516389&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
It does seem a little high for eBay (although I don't know about Australia), but not really out of line with what you would pay commercially.
I run Leopard on a G4 iBook with a 1.2GHz processor without any noticeable slow down. I'm surprised the .2 GHz would make that much of a difference. Now for the OP, I'm not sure I would advise it at 800MHz.
MulgaBill, I'm going to assume that your wife is just doing basic stuff on the laptop and for that type of use the upgrade to 1gig of ram and the addition of Tiger will be great.
PM me I can surely beat that astronomical price for Tiger on ebay.
Also, just for everyone's information, I know that the older iBooks and even older Powerbooks of that generation originally took PC2100 ram. However ram is backwards compatible. PC2700 ram will work just fine. In fact, PC3200 laptop ram worked perfect on my iBook 1.42ghz when I had it. It's backwards compatible, meaning 2100 ram will not work on the later revisions of the iBooks...
Anyway, that said, I do have a retail disc of Tiger. PM me before you throw money away on that ebay deal.
Also, if you really want to get fancy, throw a 320gb 5400 rpm hard drive (biggest they make for the iBooks) in there. I have one on my G4 12" Powerbook. It truly increases the speed with the upgraded ram. Bigger faster hard drives speed up your computer, as does the ram. Later, if you want to sell your iBook, put the old drive back in and keep the new hard drive.
And if you want to REALLY get fancy, as I have on many an iBook, drop a dvd burning superdrive in it. I have a used one I'll throw in for a few bucks if you buy the tiger disc.
Also, just for everyone's information, I know that the older iBooks and even older Powerbooks of that generation originally took PC2100 ram. However ram is backwards compatible. PC2700 ram will work just fine. In fact, PC3200 laptop ram worked perfect on my iBook 1.42ghz when I had it. It's backwards compatible, meaning 2100 ram will not work on the later revisions of the iBooks...
Anyway, that said, I do have a retail disc of Tiger. PM me before you throw money away on that ebay deal.
Also, if you really want to get fancy, throw a 320gb 5400 rpm hard drive (biggest they make for the iBooks) in there. I have one on my G4 12" Powerbook. It truly increases the speed with the upgraded ram. Bigger faster hard drives speed up your computer, as does the ram. Later, if you want to sell your iBook, put the old drive back in and keep the new hard drive.
And if you want to REALLY get fancy, as I have on many an iBook, drop a dvd burning superdrive in it. I have a used one I'll throw in for a few bucks if you buy the tiger disc.