iMac G3 400mhz (FW) RAM/HD?

[bigandy]

I have this iMac sitting in the corner, and want to do some stuff to it- upgrading the RAM and hard disk.

The disk drive is noisy and annoying. How big a drive can I put in there? Is there a limit like on some other machines, like 80Gb or something?

There's only 320mb RAM in it, something that needs taken care of. What can I put in it to max it out? 1Gb (2x512)? More?

I understand there's a certain limitation regarding RAM in regards of height? I was looking at these because they're about the same price as sticks half their size! (I'd assume they're ECC due to the size - would that matter?)

Lastly, are the G3 iMacs as picky with memory as newer Macs? Or can I just slap in anything that matches the spec?

 

[tuc]

slot-loading iMac G3: HD and RAM

You can put just about any 3.5" IDE (parallel IDE) drive in there, but
(1) it will only be able to see the first 128 GB by default, and
(2) 7200 rpm drives (at least some of them) may be too hot for the passive cooling.

2x512 MB is right for RAM. I don't think you have to worry too much about size, as there is a reasonable amount of clearance. Not just any PC100 or PC133 DIMMs will do, though I'm not sure exactly what the issue is. Most, but not all, of the generic PC100/PC133 DIMMs I have tried have worked. (The ones that didn't work in an iMac G3 did work in in a B&W G3 tower. Places like OWC charge a bit more for DIMMs that claim iMac G3 compatibility, or at least they did a year or so ago.)

 

[Sunnzy]

You can put just about any 3.5" IDE (parallel IDE) drive in there, but
(1) it will only be able to see the first 128 GB by default, and

May I ask if this is a hardware limit or software? What if you use say Linux would this limit still apply?

 

[bigandy]

the 128Gb hard drive limit on the machine will be hardware based. the IDE controller won't be able to see a drive being larger than that limit, unless you get a newer IDE controller, impossible in iMacs.

 

[xUKHCx]

I was thinking about getting a G3 iMac and stuffing it full of harddrives and using it as a file server / backup for the house.

Are these limitations the same on say G3 / G4 powermac

 

[tuc]

May I ask if this is a hardware limit or software? What if you use say Linux would this limit still apply?

It has to do with the hardware drive controller, but some have had luck with third-party software drivers to allow larger disks to be recognized.

see http://lowendmac.com/macdan/05/1024.html

For linux, I guess it would depend on the drivers. (I haven't run linux on any of my macs, but I did run macBSD unix on my IIvx back in the day.)

 

[Eidorian]

I was thinking about getting a G3 iMac and stuffing it full of harddrives and using it as a file server / backup for the house.

Are these limitations the same on say G3 / G4 powermac

The limitations the same until the iMac G4 and the Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 2002. This however on the internal IDE channel. Via FireWire (for the iMac) you can have as much space as you want.

 

[California]

There are no hd cooling issues as newer 7200rpm hard drives run cooler than the old ones from a decade ago. I've put in 7200rpm drives in many an iMac G3

Get a 120 or 80gb 7200 hard drive, drop in 1 gb of ram and you are off to the races. it is amazing how fast those old iMacs can go. I've had Tiger on all of them.

 

[California]

I have this iMac sitting in the corner, and want to do some stuff to it- upgrading the RAM and hard disk.

The disk drive is noisy and annoying. How big a drive can I put in there? Is there a limit like on some other machines, like 80Gb or something?

There's only 320mb RAM in it, something that needs taken care of. What can I put in it to max it out? 1Gb (2x512)? More?

I understand there's a certain limitation regarding RAM in regards of height? I was looking at these because they're about the same price as sticks half their size! (I'd assume they're ECC due to the size - would that matter?)

Lastly, are the G3 iMacs as picky with memory as newer Macs? Or can I just slap in anything that matches the spec?

That eBay link is for ECC ram. You want NON ECC ram. I've got a 256mb I could sell you to bring you up to 512mb which is the mininum I'd run an iMac G3 on. YOu are NOT limited to PC100 ram. PC133 runs fine in it.

The 512mb 168pin non ECC chips are a bit pricey but worth it.

 

[Sunnzy]

It has to do with the hardware drive controller, but some have had luck with third-party software drivers to allow larger disks to be recognized.

see http://lowendmac.com/macdan/05/1024.html

For linux, I guess it would depend on the drivers. (I haven't run linux on any of my macs, but I did run macBSD unix on my IIvx back in the day.)

the 128Gb hard drive limit on the machine will be hardware based. the IDE controller won't be able to see a drive being larger than that limit, unless you get a newer IDE controller, impossible in iMacs.

If it depends on the driver than it wouldn't be a hardware thing would it? There is a driver thing on that url as well... though it is said that it doesn't always work... so it is only those who get the 'lucky' batch??

Trying to use a 320GiB on G3 500, btw...