PowerMac G5 as Daily Driver

[Mac03ForLife]

My main mac has finally failed me
It was an MBP 8,1 : The HDD was corrupted somehow, and now I cant use it. It's destined for the closet, at least until my parents decide whether or not I'm allowed to Mod the inside.

That leaves me with my PMacG5. It is now going to become my daily driver from now till about summer 2018. It runs OSX 10.3.9, which I get is a bit outdated, even for PPC, but I haven't got anything else.

So: My questions to you are:
1. Can i SSD and RAM Upgrade? Its a dual 1.8, so how much RAM is max? And do I need an IDE to SATA cable as well?
2. The Optical drive is failing. It makes some *clunk* noises and spits the disk out. I'd prefer to fix this manually, anyone have experience with this?
3. Youtube / Google docs on this machine anyone? Has anyone tried? I rely on the GSuite for most of my work for school, as well as my position as a writer and data analyzer.

Any answers are appreciated.
Thanks

 

[pl1984]

1. You can install both an SSD and upgrade the RAM. Personally I see little benefit to installing an SSD in such a system. I have done it and I do not feel it is money well spent. If you have one available at no cost then by all means. Otherwise it doesn't really offer much benefit. Depending on which DP 1.8 system you have RAM can be upgraded to 4 or 8 GB. For the hard disks the system is already SATA so no need for an adapter if you decide to install an SSD.
2. I've never been able to fix a failed optical drive. I just end up replacing them. Maybe someone else has some suggestions here.
3. I can't speak to this as I do not use my Power Macs for this type of work.

 

[pochopsp]

I don't know for the first 2 questions but I know about the third one.

Some months ago a user asked for google docs too. I made a video on how it works on my PowerMac G4 with single 1.25 Ghz processor.

You need Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 and the Leopard Webkit Browser.

As you can see it is smooth on my sistem so on yours it should be fine as it is way faster than mine. This was some months ago though, so I don't really know how it works now.

As regards Youtube 360p plays perfectly with Leopard Webkit, but you could watch up to 1080p videos with SMtube+Coreplayer. Search for Smtube in this section, there is a thread with all instructions to use it

 

[eyoungren]

The HDD was corrupted somehow, and now I cant use it. It's destined for the closet, at least until my parents decide whether or not I'm allowed to Mod the inside.

All I am curious about is this statement.

If the hard drive failed, why does that mean the Mac gets pushed aside?

If a hard drive on one of my Macs failed, I would replace the hard drive and clone my backup to the new drive. Then move on with my life.

Unless you mean they aren't allowing you to open the case and replace the drive when you said "at least until my parents decide whether or not I'm allowed to Mod the inside"?

 

[Mac03ForLife]

Hey @eyoungren Yes, sadly, I have a no mod policy
Parents are deliberating over this, and its not looking good for me lol
On most PCs or Macs that I get, yes, I would just do the repair myself
[doublepost=1512940691][/doublepost]Update: day 1: Here's my 2 monitor setup. The little laptop off to the side (left) is my school chromebook, I was using it for some voice audition stuff (recorded on audacity for PPC of course)

Just having an issue. Can i export a google sheet as .XLS? instead of .XSLX? I cannot open exported sheets with Office X

 

[ctmpkmlec4]

There is a difference between “mod” and “repair.”

 

[Mac03ForLife]

There is a difference between “mod” and “repair.”

Yes. but for simplicity for the parents, theyre one and the same

 

[smirking]

Yes. but for simplicity for the parents, theyre one and the same

You really should try to convince them otherwise. Replacing a hard drive in an 8,1 MBP is fairly easy. What do they expect to do with a broken MBP 8,1 anyway? If it's broken already, what's the harm in letting you open it? Are they afraid you'll get zapped and die from electrical injuries?

If your model is a late 2011 here's the guide:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+Hard+Drive+Replacement/816

The early 2011 is a bit harder, but still manageable:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/5119

The only tool you need to get the replacement done is a T6 Torx screwdriver. You don't really need a spudger that the repair guides tell you to use for something as basic as this.

You can easily find some 2.5 inch hard drives for cheap second hand, but go with an SSD if you can. I popped an SSD into my wife's old 2010 MBP and it performed most basic tasks close to as good as a modern day MBP afterwards.

BTW, for a failing optical drive, you just replace the drive. Few people would know where to start to manually repair a defective optical drive and even the ones who do probably wouldn't bother because it's not worth the effort. I'm sure you can find a second hand optical drive for pretty cheap.

 

[Mac03ForLife]

yes, i know, ive done a few on my friends mbps. sadly, im allowed to mess around with other peoples, just not mine

 

[z970]

First of all, that's a nice setup.

Second of all, why in God's name are your parents dictating what you do and do not do with your own damn hardware, especially if it's utilized for productive purposes?!

 

[Mac03ForLife]

@z970mp Okay. A few issues with that: There is also a strict NO MOD policy on my pmac either. I have more optical drives to replace the broken one, but no apparently that's not allowed. In addition, Im not allowed to up the OS at ALL. im stuck on osx 10.3.9

 

[smirking]

Okay. A few issues with that: There is also a strict NO MOD policy on my pmac either.

How old are you and is there a reason why your parents have such peculiar rules as to what you're allowed to touch? Do they know you work on your friends' systems? Are they ok with that?

 

[z970]

Yeah, I just deleted my original post because I 100% second what @smirking said.

He put it a lot better. Less violent.

 

[Mac03ForLife]

@smirking im not disclosing my age, but its not my decision And yes, they do know that i work on my friends systems

 

[z970]

How old are you and is there a reason why your parents have such peculiar rules as to what you're allowed to touch? Do they know you work on your friends' systems? Are they ok with that?

He said he was 'allowed' to work on their machines, but not "his".

 

[smirking]

Yeah, I just deleted my original post because I 100% second what @smirking said.

He put it a lot better. Less violent.

LOL, but yours was 1000% more entertaining.

 

[Hater]

The power consumption difference between the pMac and the MBP alone would outweigh the cost of a new HDD for the MBP

You're considering a new SSD for the MBP but you're "unable to mod the MBP"

This doesn't add up at all.

 

[AphoticD]

Sounds like a rock and a hard place. You can't do anything to fix your computers, but you need them for school?

Perhaps you could advise your parents that they need to pay someone else to repair it if they don't trust you are capable of doing it yourself and then, as @eyoungren says, "Move on with life".

Personally, if my kids showed interest in repairing things instead of demanding a new one or insisting I fix it, I'd be there to take it as an opportunity to teach multiple, worthwhile life-lessons.

 

[z970]

LOL, but yours was 1000% more entertaining.

Thanks man.
[doublepost=1512967006][/doublepost]

Sounds like a rock and a hard place. You can't do anything to fix your computers, but you need them for school?

Perhaps you could advise your parents that they need to pay someone else to repair it if they don't trust you are capable of doing it yourself and then, as @eyoungren says, "Move on with life".

Personally, if my kids showed interest in repairing things instead of demanding a new one or insisting I fix it, I'd be there to take it as an opportunity to teach multiple, worthwhile life-lessons.

And that just goes to show that (assuming there is no bigger picture that Mac03 is failing to disclose and his parents really are just that stupid), you are the more wholesome parent.

Should always take every opportunity to teach life lessons to young. They are the future.

 

[0248294]

If your parents are lending you the Mac, I kind of understand why they don't want you to dig into it, but if that's the computer you use on the daily, they should at least go out to get it fixed for you. However, if they specifically given you that computer, I see no reason why they should disallow you from repairing it. I am guessing your age, and when I was as old as I think you are, I had my own computer and my parents allowed me to do with that as I pleased. It used to be the home computer before, but my dad upgraded that to a newer Compaq and gave the old Compaq me, along with a nice Windows XP installation over the original ME installation (back then few people my age, or even slightly older, had XP on their own computers, I remember my sister had a sleep over party for her birthday, and a few of the guys who were a few years older than me were amazed and a little jealous I had XP when I showed that off to them).

It simply doesn't make much sense to run a lower-end PowerMac G5 as a daily driver in 2017 (well, almost 2018 now), when you have a fairly newer MacBook Pro that can easily be fixed. Plus, running OS X 10.3.9 would make it even worse, since it doesn't support TenFourFox or any other other browser that is still receiving updates or has received updates until a while ago. Well, you have Classilla, but that's just unnecessarily painful to use. So I completely agree that your parents shouldn't leave you hanging like this!

 

[Mac03ForLife]

Okay: Lets set the record straight
My PowerMac is MY POWERMAC. Yes, it is technically on loan to me by my parents, but all things that happen to it are with me only.
My MACBOOK PRO was bought for me. I am the only one who uses it. I do my own thing with it, everything short of hardware modifications and repair.

I believe in the LowEndMac mentality, that if it's broken, fix it first, and then see if you need a new one. However, my parents do not. They believe that if something is broken, i should try to fix it first using software stuff, then take it to a technician, then if those dont work, retire it, getting a new gen one instead

You can see where the disagreements start

 

[0248294]

If it was bought for you, then I honestly don't think your parents should be able to decide what you can and cannot do with it. If they wanted that control, they should have loaned it to you just like they did with the PowerMac. But if they're insistent on getting it fixed by someone else, and are willing to pay for it, go that route. I would understand it that you wouldn't want to do that in the case of them wanting you to pay for it, as it's way cheaper to install a hard drive yourself rather than getting it done for you.

And now, I don't want to encourage bad behavior, but what would happen if you, say, bought a hard drive or solid state drive, sneak the package to your room or just fib about what the package is for, then replaced it with the one in the MBP when your parents aren't home, and then just claim you did some software stuff on it to fix it? Again, I don't want to encourage lying, but this is a bad situation to begin with, because you are not allowed to fix your own stuff, which I find quite bizarre and wasteful.

If you are still wanting to not go through all that and just use the PowerMac G5 as a daily driver, do try and install Tiger or even Leopard on it. Like I said, it's going to be more useless with anything older than that for daily use. I'm sure if you Google around you can find said operating system images, I won't and can't provide these here because that would be illegal.

 

[AphoticD]

I believe in the LowEndMac mentality, that if it's broken, fix it first, and then see if you need a new one. However, my parents do not. They believe that if something is broken, i should try to fix it first using software stuff, then take it to a technician, then if those dont work, retire it, getting a new gen one instead

You can see where the disagreements start

A HDD or SSD install in the MacBook Pro 13" is a 5 minute job, a technician will likely want to charge a minimum of an hour's labor for the job.

Here's a thought; Ask them to get an obligation-free quote from a professional for the repair, then do a direct comparison of that with the cost of buying the standalone drive and installing it at home. Show them how easy it is with the guides on iFixit and videos on youtube and then ask them to get involved in the repair. It could be a family event!

It sounds like you've got to give them an education on computer repair as installing a HDD in a MBP is quicker and easier than changing the oil in the car, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes or whatever other simple jobs around the home which they might be familiar with. Honestly, the actual hardware component of the job is only slightly more involved than changing a light bulb in that you need to use a screwdriver to gain access to it.

 

[Evelyn Harthbrooke]

yes, i know, ive done a few on my friends mbps. sadly, im allowed to mess around with other peoples, just not mine

Convince your parents to bring it to Apple. They'll probably still replace the HDD, just not for free. Or fix it yourself anyways, disregarding any input your parents have on the subject. They shouldn't be able to control whether or not you fix your own devices.

 

[Hrududu]

So I just read this whole thread, and none of this makes sense. You want to upgrade the PowerMac because you cannot replace a bad drive in the MBP. Got it, but then you tell us it’s an issue of hardware modification so software repairs are first according to your parents. Got it, but THEN you disclose that you can’t update the software on the G5 after all, so you can’t even update the OS much less the HDD or RAM. So in actuality, you can’t do anything at all to either machine. That leads me to one last question. If you knew all this, then why start the thread at all since nothing you asked about can even be done??? Are you just trolling?