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Can i upgrade an iBook G4 from OS X to Leopard
- Thread starter MulgaBill
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Hey guys, im picking up an ibook G4 for my gf. I think its 933mhz , osx 10.3.9. 256mb ram, 40gb hd. Model A1055. I want to upgrade the memory to 1gb and install leopard.
Might have to take it to a mac tech guy, so i can get leopard installed. Install disc seems pretty expensive on ebay! I have snow leopard, but i know that will not run on an ibook. I guess what im really wondering here is, will i need to do a firmware update first?
I am kind of a new mac user here, made the switch about 3 years ago and will never go back! All started with a macmini and now this year i bought a new white macbook. Turned my gf onto macs and now she loves them.
This ibook will be her Christmas present and her first mac. Any info would be much appreciated! Thx!!!
Might have to take it to a mac tech guy, so i can get leopard installed. Install disc seems pretty expensive on ebay! I have snow leopard, but i know that will not run on an ibook. I guess what im really wondering here is, will i need to do a firmware update first?
I am kind of a new mac user here, made the switch about 3 years ago and will never go back! All started with a macmini and now this year i bought a new white macbook. Turned my gf onto macs and now she loves them.
This ibook will be her Christmas present and her first mac. Any info would be much appreciated! Thx!!!
First of all, i hope you did not pay that much for this. If I am remembering correctly, you must be buying a 14" 933mhz iBook G4? This is a 2003 year computer.
If possible, try to get the last revision iBook 14" which was a 1.42ghz machine or the 12" ibook g4 1.33ghz.
They had USB 2.0
Sudden Motion Sensor
Scrolling Trackpad
Bluetooth 2.0
Airport Extreme
built in. Plus the last revision iBook G4s had 512mb ram built in on the computer, so you can upgrade to a large total of 1.5gb of ram.
The 933mhz ibook is too old for my taste. However, if you did buy it, make sure it comes with a new or newer upgraded hard drive, because the original hard drive will be a goner by now, and has ram maxed out, and the optical drive works well. Also make sure it has an airport card installed. I do not believe they came equipped with an installed card.
It should run Leopard ok. But you will not have any of the above features.
I would not pay more than 115 dollars for a 933mhz iBook G4.
Yea, this one comes with airport extreme and has 2.0 usb. I tried looking for 1.42ghz ibooks and they were kinda outta my price range. The 993mhz was around $180 with shipping, i thought it was a decent deal considering what they were going for. It wasnt a refurbished one either. It looks brand new, the seller took real good care of it.
I did try and find one on craigslist and just for a 1.2ghz, they wanted $400 for it! I also didnt realize how much ibooks were when they first came out, $1500?
I will be putting in 1gb of memory and installing leopard. How much of a difference would i see in speed if i wouldve gotten say a 1.33ghz? This ibook will be used for surfing the internet, downloading music, storing pics, youtube and maybe some music programs like garage band. Hope it will do the job alright.
Do i need to do a firmware update before i install leopard? Thx for your help too! I appreciate it,
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Do i need to do a firmware update before i install leopard? Thx for your help too! I appreciate it,
Firmware updates were very, very rare back then. It should not be necessary as long as the current owner has kept it reasonably up-to-date. But I'll warn you, you'll be disappointed with its overall performance. (I backed my 1GHz from Leopard back to Tiger because Leopard was so slow.) Yes it will work, but it won't be terribly happy about it. Now replacing the 4200rpm HD with a SSD, that might be an interesting project... but your system bus is still 1/10th as fast as modern speeds.
Ok, thanks! Its running panther now, maybe i should just go to tiger then if leopard runs that slow. Even with 1gb memory itll still run that slow? I have a 2.26ghz macbook and love this thing! the ibook looks alot like it.
Well, i think i will cancel the 933mhz ibook g4 and get the 1.2ghz one with tiger os installed for same price. its refurbished, but oh well. so youre saying i should replace the hard drive?
I don't know who you are considering ordering from but check out Wegener Media, they have a great reputation and good prices.
Hey thx alot for the heads up. They do have a pretty good deal on there for $199. 1.33ghz ibook g4, its grade c though. 60 day warranty too. just dont wanna get one thats all banged up. not sure how bad of shape it would be in.
They claim their "B" grade are roughly the same as most other seller's rate "A" grade. I'm not sure if I would do a "C" unless I was really hard up for cash. But the guys at LowEndMac rave about that company. They have some other nice deals too, although their website isn't the easiest to navigate (but that makes it kind of fun). But whatever you get, from whomever you buy from, the first thing you should do is max out the RAM.
well, i did notice some complaints on here about them so im not too sure about them. they do have some alright deals. doesnt say anywhere on there if it comes with tiger or leopard installed.
anyone know about this?
I have the same exact iBook model as you do, OP.
Running Leopard respectably. Especially the last update Apple brought to the house made a huge performance difference.
Oh, and yes - I indeed watched some flash movies on it and as long as theyre properly encoded play just fine with flash 10.1 installed.
Also consider upgrading to Leopard since it features Safari 5 which then again has the amazing Ad-block extension (far superior to the plug in nature of its Safari 4s counterpart).
Running Leopard respectably. Especially the last update Apple brought to the house made a huge performance difference.
Oh, and yes - I indeed watched some flash movies on it and as long as theyre properly encoded play just fine with flash 10.1 installed.
Also consider upgrading to Leopard since it features Safari 5 which then again has the amazing Ad-block extension (far superior to the plug in nature of its Safari 4s counterpart).
Really, thx! Are you talking about the 933mhz or the 1.33ghz? After doing much research, ive decided to send back the 14in 933mhz with 256mb, panther installed, to the seller and purchased a 12in 1.33ghz with 1gb of ram, leopard installed for $214.
Hope i made the right choice, as i only ended up paying around $30 more for the 1.33ghz ibook. Anyone ever hear of beta-macs sales, they are on amazon and ebay. They seem ok with decent prices, mostly satisfied customers from what i can see that purchased the same ibooks.
how to burn osx 10.5 to flashdrive with win7
I had changed a hdd on an old ibook g4, but i somehow screwed up the superdrive in the process. i now want to learn how to install osx on it via a thumbdrive or through an external harddisK?
My problem is that i dont have another mac to work with, only a win7 intel box. I formatted the flashdrive using macdrive7, but it wont let me burn the iso to a flashdrive. (or am i missing something)
Any ideas would be much appreciated
I had changed a hdd on an old ibook g4, but i somehow screwed up the superdrive in the process. i now want to learn how to install osx on it via a thumbdrive or through an external harddisK?
My problem is that i dont have another mac to work with, only a win7 intel box. I formatted the flashdrive using macdrive7, but it wont let me burn the iso to a flashdrive. (or am i missing something)
Any ideas would be much appreciated