Can I update the firmware on my imac G3 which is running Puma (10.1)?

[htg]

I would like to know whether I can update the firmware on my imac g3 which is running puma, or do i have to revert back to mac os 9 to install the firmware. This firmware update would be to install later versions of mac os x such as panther or jaguar. Before I changed to mac os x puma, i was running mac os 9 and when i tried to install the firmware then, which i had downloaded from the apple website, it said that it there was an error. Another worry I have is that before any of this I tried to install Jaguar directly without updating the firmware so now the screen of my iMac g3 goes weird colors when restarting and only rarely comes back to its normal color(I am now using an external monitor which is connected to my mac and it works fine). Will this affect me being able to install the firmware now?

Here are its specs:
iMac G3 Slot Loading
400mhz
192mb of ram
Mac OS X Puma(10.1)

Thanks

 

[laeeqhumam]

Firmware

Unfortunately Mac has a problem that it does not allow you to download firmware on your machine running old versions of OS.
By the way can I know if there is any problem in upgrading to Leopard?
http://winandmac.blogspot.com/

 

[madog]

You would have to have the original system (or similar to it) to run the firmware update for your G3. For my G4 released in '99, you can only update the firmware with OS 9, and it can't be done in OS X or through Classic so I would presume that the G3 is similar.

With the G3 you might be limited only to a certain OS. I would download MacTracker which lists every Mac ever made and their hardware/software limitations/maximums. It's a free app and with it you can find your machine and be able to tell if it natively supports a higher OS. If it can't, then if anything you might be able to bypass the OS's hardware check to install it on an unsupported machine. I have seen those apps on versiontracker.com before, but that was years ago.

Lastly, you could try resetting your PRAM to see if it is causing the funky colors on your screen if nothing else is at fault.

 

[htg]

The thing I don't understand though is that when I tried updating the firmware when I had Mac OS 9 installed it said there was an error, so I don't really know what to do. I did check on Mactracker and it said I can update to 10.4.11 maximum but I need the firmware to do so and it doesn't install on OS 9 as I have already tried.

 

[madog]

The thing I don't understand though is that when I tried updating the firmware when I had Mac OS 9 installed it said there was an error, so I don't really know what to do. I did check on Mactracker and it said I can update to 10.4.11 maximum but I need the firmware to do so and it doesn't install on OS 9 as I have already tried.

It's possible that you downloaded the incorrect file? I would double check Apple's site, see if maybe you need a specific firmware update to get to the current highest (like if there were multiple FW updates, and you need to update it sequentially).