fresh install of mac os help.....

[tgg]

I'm new to macs and I have this looks green color imac with a front cd tray that ejects out. I have a mac os9 cd currently and I have to questions.

How do I do a complete format/clean install? Like you would in windows? Because I did do some type of clean install with that disk but after 20 minutes of installing it kinda of looks like a fresh install and kind of doesnt because I still saw some prevoius folders on the desktop from the previous owner.

Another question is what is the highest mac os version I can install on this imac, and how do i go about doing so? Thanks..

 

[iBookG4user]

You have a G3 iMac 333MHz (If I remember the tray loading specs correctly.), the highest OS I would put on there is Panther, or Mac OS X 10.3 is the numbering.

 

[MikeTheC]

A few thoughts...

On that model of Mac, either stick with Mac OS 9 or consider putting some PPC distro of Linux on it. Don't even think of putting Mac OS X on it: you will be sorely disappointed.

Look around for pricing on upgrade options. If you can get them really, really cheap then go for it. Otherwise, it isn't worth it.

Now, on to setting the computer up from scratch...

1. Open the CD tray, snap the disc onto the spindle. Leave it OUT.
2. Shut down the Mac, and then disconnect any peripherals (Apple keyboard, Apple mouse, speakers, ethernet or phone cable excluded, of course. Leave 'em plugged in.)
3. Turn the Mac back on, and immediately press-and-hold the Command + Option + P + R keys down. The Mac, of course, will have "gonged" when it first powered up. Keep holding the keys down until you go through another 5 gongs. We call this "Zapping the P-RAM", and is roughly the equivalent of resetting the BIOS on a PC.
4. Let go of the CMD+OPT+P+R keys, shut the CD tray, and then immediately press and hold on the C key. This will cause the Mac to boot up from the CD.
5. Once the Mac starts up from the CD, open the CD icon, go into Utilities, and then open Drive Setup.
6. Once in Drive Setup, select your internal HDD, do a custom setup, ensure it's set to one partition (unless you have a really good reason to multiply partition your HDD), and let it format the drive. This should go very quickly. Quit Drive Setup.
7. Now that you've returned to your desktop, close the Utilities window and double-click the Mac OS installer app icon.
8. Let 'er rip.
9. Reboot, holding the mouse button down (which causes the Mac to eject all ejectable media), and once the CD is ejected, let go of the mouse button. The Mac will now boot up from your HDD.
10. You now have a freshly-setup Mac, clean slate, no ghosts, etc. Enjoy!

 

[tgg]

A few thoughts...

On that model of Mac, either stick with Mac OS 9 or consider putting some PPC distro of Linux on it. Don't even think of putting Mac OS X on it: you will be sorely disappointed.

Look around for pricing on upgrade options. If you can get them really, really cheap then go for it. Otherwise, it isn't worth it.

Now, on to setting the computer up from scratch...

1. Open the CD tray, snap the disc onto the spindle. Leave it OUT.
2. Shut down the Mac, and then disconnect any peripherals (Apple keyboard, Apple mouse, speakers, ethernet or phone cable excluded, of course. Leave 'em plugged in.)
3. Turn the Mac back on, and immediately press-and-hold the Command + Option + P + R keys down. The Mac, of course, will have "gonged" when it first powered up. Keep holding the keys down until you go through another 5 gongs. We call this "Zapping the P-RAM", and is roughly the equivalent of resetting the BIOS on a PC.
4. Let go of the CMD+OPT+P+R keys, shut the CD tray, and then immediately press and hold on the C key. This will cause the Mac to boot up from the CD.
5. Once the Mac starts up from the CD, open the CD icon, go into Utilities, and then open Drive Setup.
6. Once in Drive Setup, select your internal HDD, do a custom setup, ensure it's set to one partition (unless you have a really good reason to multiply partition your HDD), and let it format the drive. This should go very quickly. Quit Drive Setup.
7. Now that you've returned to your desktop, close the Utilities window and double-click the Mac OS installer app icon.
8. Let 'er rip.
9. Reboot, holding the mouse button down (which causes the Mac to eject all ejectable media), and once the CD is ejected, let go of the mouse button. The Mac will now boot up from your HDD.
10. You now have a freshly-setup Mac, clean slate, no ghosts, etc. Enjoy!

Awesome tips thank you, but where is the command button on the keyboard?

 

[iBookG4user]

Awesome tips thank you, but where is the command button on the keyboard?

That's the "Apple" key.

 

[tgg]

That's the "Apple" key.

cool thank you very much its loading the disk right. Thanks...