iMac G3, I want to max out, Help me out.

[UrbanLife]

Hello everyone, this is my 1st post here but been checking up on this site for some time now. Seems like you guys know what you're talking about on here so maybe someone can help me out.

I have 2 iMac at home, a White 24in 2.16 Intel, and an old iMac G3 500 DV. I do all my regular stuff on the newer iMac and really only use my G3 for backing up some of my own DVDs and letting my daughter get on the web and check emails, nothing more than just that. It's running OSX 10.1.3 I believe, with 512 memory and a 30gb hard drive, dvd drive but no write just plays dvds. I have an external dvd burner connected through the firewire port. What I want to do is know how can I max it out, more memory, bigger hard drive and update to the lastest OS possible that can run on this G3. But at a low cost where ever it's possible.

1st what's the most memory I can upgrade this unit to? Where can I buy and what's a good deal to buy at.

2nd same for the internal hard drive, can I do this myself? What kind of hard drive does it use and can this even be done.

3rd OS upgrade, if I update the hardware in the G3 can I upgrade to OS 10.5 or where would it top out at?

4th The clock always resets itself after every shutdown, is this because of the little battery inside that needs to be replaced and if so can I do it myself and where can I buy the right one.

If anyone can chime in with anything useful information thanks in advance.

 

[teleromeo]

1st what's the most memory I can upgrade this unit to? Where can I buy and what's a good deal to buy at.

2nd same for the internal hard drive, can I do this myself? What kind of hard drive does it use and can this even be done.

3rd OS upgrade, if I update the hardware in the G3 can I upgrade to OS 10.5 or where would it top out at?

4th The clock always resets itself after every shutdown, is this because of the little battery inside that needs to be replaced and if so can I do it myself and where can I buy the right one.

If anyone can chime in with anything useful information thanks in advance.

1. 2 x 512 MB
crucial.com is a good point to start searching for ram. There is a module that leads you to the right set op ram chips.

2. yes you can.
There are some tutorials and you don't need very high skills to do so.

3. OsX 10.4.11 runs fine on my iMac G3 700 Mhz with 640 Mb ram.
10.5 is for G4 models and higher.

4. no idea.
Should be easy to do when it is open to replace the harddisk.

 

[UrbanLife]

Thanks, I guess my 1st move should be to upgrade the memory to 1gb, so that 2X512 is that max I can put in there, then I'm going to try to figure out how to remove the hard drive and replace with something bigger. I'm going to check on ebay to see how much I can get Tiger for and do an installation if the price is right, I'll try to keep you update and see how things turn out. Going to check for the memory now. Thanks again.

 

[CHAOS STEP]

I recently upgraded a G3 iMac, namely a 400Mhz DVD Model.

I had the same problem with the clock not keeping track of time and it is was the battery.

It is possible to change this without opening the case, but you may as well do it if you are upgrading the HDD.

Getting the shell off after I undid all the screws (don't forget the ones under the VGA cover), was a little scary as I heard terrible cracking sounds when I was pulling it free from the chassis

However, the tabs that can easily snap are not important and their absence will not be seen visually, so don't worry about that.

Don't rush the job, the most tricky part was removing the cables off the back of the old HDD as they were very stiff, but I used a teeny watchmakers type flathead screwdriver to gently pry the plugs out (it isn't that tricky though).

The type of HDD you should look for is an IDE or EIDE 3.5" Drive, with a maximum capacity of 120GB.

Tiger will be the limit, but when you add it, you might want to disable the Resource Hog Apps, aka Dashboard and Spotlight as this will assist the old G3.

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

These are great computers for the kids.

here are some resources

One

Video1


Video part 2

 

[ickystay]

It's very easy to replace the pram battery. There is something about having to press the reset button afterwards or the battery will drain out in a couple days. Somewhere on the internet is a file called "slot-load_imac.pdf" that is very helpful for working on old slot loaders. Attached is the bit on resetting the pram.

Edit> Aha, here it is:

http://mrjcd.com/slot-load_iMac_repair/slot-load_imac.pdf

 

[UrbanLife]

Is it possible to upgrade to Tiger or is Panther its limit? And if so what is needed to be done to be able to grade? I understand that the memory is the 1st thing that needs to be upgrade, what's the next step?

 

[California]

Is it possible to upgrade to Tiger or is Panther its limit? And if so what is needed to be done to be able to grade? I understand that the memory is the 1st thing that needs to be upgrade, what's the next step?

Memory then hard drive. Tiger with Dashboard disabled works well. Personally, I'd just see what happens to just see what happens by dropping Leopard on it, but that's just me. I know from first hand experience that Tiger runs fine on these machines, especially if you have one gig of ram.

Also make sure you get a hard drive with a 8mb cache and 7200rpm speed. The iMac will only "see" 128gb of hard drive, even if you have 200gb or larger hard drive installed. However, sometimes a 120gb hard drive is more expensive than a 200 gig hard drive, so, work with the fastest drive for the best price. I dropped a 200gb hard drive in a 400mhz G3 iMac and it ran GREAT. Just didn't see the extra hard drive space.

 

[JSchwage]

I actually replaced the battery in my grandma's iMac DV quite easily. Open up the RAM door and take the RAM out. You should be able to see the battery through the open RAM door then. I was able to replace the battery, but it took a few minutes to get it in and out. Plus, I have long fingers, so it may be harder if you're fingers aren't as long and thin as mine.

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

I actually replaced the battery in my grandma's iMac DV quite easily. Open up the RAM door and take the RAM out. You should be able to see the battery through the open RAM door then. I was able to replace the battery, but it took a few minutes to get it in and out. Plus, I have long fingers, so it may be harder if you're fingers aren't as long and thin as mine.

It is quite easy to just take off the back case. Do that instead, it'll be easier if you don't have freakishly long fingers

 

[UrbanLife]

Thanks for everyones replies, I order the battery from the link someone posted above and now I'm starting to look for the best price for Ram and the Hard drive, OWC seems to have good deals on the Ram. Lets see what how it goes.