A Few Questions

[BiggeeC]

Hey everybody. I have a 700 Mhz G3 ibook w/256 Ram and a 30 GB harddrive. I'm aware that my ibook is very out of date. However, I can't afford to drop $1,500 on a new Mac. So, I have some questions about some ways to clear some space, speed things up, and some other questions as well. Thanks for your help everybody.

1) Can I reinstall panther without installing OS9 and some other apps that I have never used?

2) I am going to put some more RAM in. Is there a limit of how much I can put in? Also, is it easy to install myself?

3) Not knowing much about computers in general--I have alot of MP3's and video's on my hard drive. Does this slow the computer down?

4) When I intall the OSX updates, I notice that each one is a pretty large file. Are the old updates and the space they take up cleared from my hard drive when I update, or is everything piled on to eachother?

5) is there anyway to upgrade my processer speed?

6) If/When I do reinstall, will I have the recent versions of Safari, itunes, etc. already there, or do I have to update everything again?

7) Finally, should I just toss this one and get a new G5?

Thanks, appreciate it.
--Chris

 

[varmit]

Hey everybody. I have a 700 Mhz G3 ibook w/256 Ram and a 30 GB harddrive. I'm aware that my ibook is very out of date. However, I can't afford to drop $1,500 on a new Mac. So, I have some questions about some ways to clear some space, speed things up, and some other questions as well. Thanks for your help everybody.

1) Can I reinstall panther without installing OS9 and some other apps that I have never used?

2) I am going to put some more RAM in. Is there a limit of how much I can put in? Also, is it easy to install myself?

3) Not knowing much about computers in general--I have alot of MP3's and video's on my hard drive. Does this slow the computer down?

4) When I intall the OSX updates, I notice that each one is a pretty large file. Are the old updates and the space they take up cleared from my hard drive when I update, or is everything piled on to eachother?

5) is there anyway to upgrade my processer speed?

6) If/When I do reinstall, will I have the recent versions of Safari, itunes, etc. already there, or do I have to update everything again?

7) Finally, should I just toss this one and get a new G5?

Thanks, appreciate it.
--Chris

1) Spring cleaning, I do it every year with all my Macs and PCs. It insures me that there are no bad dll files and I get rid of all the programs I don't use anymore without causing errors.

2) I believe that 512 was the most when it was reliesed, but I believe that you can put a 1 gig chip in there if you want to drop the money for it.

3) I would say no. But when accessing them, it can slow the computer down more than it would to a new top of the line iBook. An external drive might help, but I don't think it would be worth it unless you go over your 30gig drive limit.

4) If you are wondering if the older files that got updated by the updates stick around, no, I don't believe they do.

5) I believe you processor is soddered onto the logic board, so no.

6) You will have to update everything agian, because you are only installing what come on the CDs when it shipped. They are not magical CDs that get updates sent to them. Apple hasn't perfected that yet.

7) Do you mean a G5 desktop, I would go for and iMac. But if you still want to be mobile, pick up one of the iBooks.

 

[wdlove]

6) When you reinstall Panther it would be at the version when purchased. Then you would have to run software update. You may have to do ti multiple times to get all the updates.

7) Whether to purchase a new G5 depends on the amount of money you have to spend. If the money is available, then it a no brainer, I would purchase in a heart beat. It will certainly rectify your problems mentioned above.

 

[jsw]

When installing Panther, be certain to check the options before starting the install and opt out of installing any languages you don't need (probably all of them) as well as any printer drivers you won't use - that'll save tons of space and installation time. I'd install X11, but that's just me.

Before doing anything: BACK UP ANYTHING IMPORTANT! Including email, purchased music, etc. Deauthorize your Mac from iTMS, then reauthorize it after all goes well... just in case.

 

[Bear]

That iBook is very liekly limited to a 512MB add on for memory for a total of 640MB of RAM. Check Crucial's web site as they are very good about listing what type and capacity memory works with each Apple system.And they sell decent memory as well.