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First PPC MacMini

J

jon8214

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 25, 2012
231
14
Belfast, NI
Hi folks, have just purchased my first PPC Mac, a 2005 mini. Was wondering what was the best os to run on it and also what is it still good for.

I was thinking of using it as an iTunes server and time machine server for the multiple macs, apple TVs that we have at home.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jon
 
What OS is it currently running, and how much RAM installed?
If not already installed, if I were you I'd go with OS 10.4.11 Tiger.
You can install up to 1GB memory in the single slot. You may wish to think about increasing memory if you have anything less than 512MB. The memory sticks are 184 pin, PC-2700 DDR333 SDRAM.
Like many laptop computers, after a number of years use, the iMac fan tends to get heavily clogged with dust & debris, which can and does lead to excessive heat generation. It's well worth checking this (Mac mini's are pretty easy to open and work on - a pizza knife is great as an 'opening tool'). You'll find a number of on-line videos and tutorials on how to open and get the best out of these little wonders.
 
I'm running Leopard on mine, but it's headless and only acts as a media server, IRC idling client, and quick downloader (it's on an ethernet cable). Three years (minus power outages) and still going strong, it's about time for me to shut her down and blow out the dust...
 
Thanks for the replies and ideas folks. Have a small problem the mini had no HDD in it and have just got one but when i connect it from dvi to via and into a 20inch tv I've got i keep getting not supported on screen. i have tried all of the tv's I've got and they are the same. Would a dvi to hdmi lead prove more successful? Or do any of you have any other ideas of what i could try? Thanks
 
jon8214 said:
Thanks for the replies and ideas folks. Have a small problem the mini had no HDD in it and have just got one but when i connect it from dvi to via and into a 20inch tv I've got i keep getting not supported on screen. i have tried all of the tv's I've got and they are the same. Would a dvi to hdmi lead prove more successful? Or do any of you have any other ideas of what i could try? Thanks
Click to expand...

I had a similar problem with an Amazon Fire TV box last year - it's HDMI output to the TV came back as "not supported" however, with a VGA adaptor it worked fine on a computer monitor. TVs don't seem to be very adaptable to resolutions different from their range - have you checked their specs online to see what resolutions they should support? The Mini output is 1920 X 1200 - I'm guessing the TVs are looking for 720 or 1080?
Best bet might be to borrow a computer monitor to check the mini and get the OS installed - at least if you use it as a server you no longer need a screen.
 
Dronecatcher said:
I had a similar problem with an Amazon Fire TV box last year - it's HDMI output to the TV came back as "not supported" however, with a VGA adaptor it worked fine on a computer monitor. TVs don't seem to be very adaptable to resolutions different from their range - have you checked their specs online to see what resolutions they should support? The Mini output is 1920 X 1200 - I'm guessing the TVs are looking for 720 or 1080?
Best bet might be to borrow a computer monitor to check the mini and get the OS installed - at least if you use it as a server you no longer need a screen.
Click to expand...

Thanks, i went and got a dvi to hdmi adaptor this morning and for some weird reason it worked ! So now I've got open firmware on screen and am making a USB installer of leopard to install on it. Will report back when I get it installed.
 
jon8214 said:
That's the problem, I don't have any os on it and I can't see anything on the screen to reinstall the os
Click to expand...
Then you need to buy an OS on eBay or wherever you prefer. You need discs for either Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or 10.5 Leopard. Make sure to not get gray discs. Only get the discs with a big X on them. I would reccommend Leopard discs, but if you get Tiger it will run faster.
 
If you're staying on the MacOS, then Leopard is the best bet. Tiger is a very good alternative, especially because of the fact that it can't boot natively into OS 9. So if you want OS 9 support without the trickery of the MacOS 9 Lives universal installer, get Tiger.

If you're looking at something non-Apple, I'd suggest MorphOS first. Yes, it is on the expensive end of things, but that particular mini will work under Morph without issues and Morph runs rather nicely on those minis.
 
I've got a copy of leopard, but i can't get it to install from a USB, I've tried everything i know but I'm used to intel macs not PPC. Any recommendations on what to try?
 
jon8214 said:
I've got a copy of leopard, but i can't get it to install from a USB, I've tried everything i know but I'm used to intel macs not PPC. Any recommendations on what to try?
Click to expand...
PPC Macs can't boot from USB, so you're going to have to copy everything off the flash drive onto a blank DVD, and you can't just drag everything to the DVD and burn it. Look up some instructions and see what you find.
 
jon8214 said:
I've got a copy of leopard, but i can't get it to install from a USB, I've tried everything i know but I'm used to intel macs not PPC. Any recommendations on what to try?
Click to expand...

Target Disk Mode the mini. From here, you'll partition it with a 10 GB recovery partition that you'll ditto the entire install to. Unhook the mini and then boot from your new recovery partition. Install Leopard.
 
HFTaylor12 said:
PPC Macs can't boot from USB, so you're going to have to copy everything off the flash drive onto a blank DVD, and you can't just drag everything to the DVD and burn it. Look up some instructions and see what you find.
Click to expand...
PPC Macs can boot from USB, I installed leopard via USB on my MDD.

Put the USB stick into your Mac and press the power button while holding down Command ⌘+Option+O+F

boot usb1/disk@1:,\\tbxi

is not a complete command. You need to list a partition number after the ":"

for example, if you are trying to install on a Mac, you will need to enter something like this

boot usb1/disk@1:10,\\tbxi

(where "10" is the partition number of the usb drive, disk@1 in this example).

To find out the partition number where OSX is located on your USB, use Disk Utility, Click on the partition you set up with OS X and then R-click or Ctrl-L click and select "Information".

You will get something to the effect of:disk1s10

s10 is the partition number. Refer to the example above.
 
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abundantmussel said:
PPC Macs can boot from USB, I installed leopard via USB on my MDD.

Put the USB stick into your Mac and press the power button while holding down Command ⌘+Option+O+F

boot usb1/disk@1:,\\tbxi

is not a complete command. You need to list a partition number after the ":"

for example, if you are trying to install on a Mac, you will need to enter something like this

boot usb1/disk@1:10,\\tbxi

(where "10" is the partition number of the usb drive, disk@1 in this example).

To find out the partition number where OSX is located on your USB, use Disk Utility, Click on the partition you set up with OS X and then R-click or Ctrl-L click and select "Information".

You will get something to the effect of:disk1s10

s10 is the partition number. Refer to the example above.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot, I had no idea this existed!
 
abundantmussel said:
PPC Macs can boot from USB, I installed leopard via USB on my MDD.

Put the USB stick into your Mac and press the power button while holding down Command ⌘+Option+O+F

boot usb1/disk@1:,\\tbxi

is not a complete command. You need to list a partition number after the ":"

for example, if you are trying to install on a Mac, you will need to enter something like this

boot usb1/disk@1:10,\\tbxi

(where "10" is the partition number of the usb drive, disk@1 in this example).

To find out the partition number where OSX is located on your USB, use Disk Utility, Click on the partition you set up with OS X and then R-click or Ctrl-L click and select "Information".

You will get something to the effect of:disk1s10

s10 is the partition number. Refer to the example above.
Click to expand...

This is the holy grail of PPC! Thanks for telling us ... !!!
 
Got it booted by USB using - boot ud:,\\:tbxi and it worked first time. Now to update it and see what programs I can get to use on it for media. Thanks for all your help
 
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