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iMac G3 question

A

akshep

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 2, 2010
35
0
I just acquired an iMac G3 desktop off of craigslist for $15 and have a couple of quick questions. First off the specs:
PowerPC G3 @333mhz
6 GB Hard Drive
tray load CD drive
288 MB of RAM (this seems like a weird number to me)
OS X 10.1.5

My question is what kind of RAM does it take, and whats the max amount of RAM it can hold? Also Where can I get a copy of OS X 10.1 as I want to reinstall the OS on an old 80 gig HDD that I have laying around?

This is my first mac so I appreciate your help.
 
It uses 144-pin PC66 SO-DIMM memory modules and can unofficially support 512MB of RAM.
Source

Mac OS X 10.1 could be bought via eBay or Craisglist, but make sure to get a RETAIL version of it.
Or Amazon, found via "mac os x 10.1 purchase" as search terms.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Thanks for the links. I'll spend the day reading up on it.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express
 
The odd 288 number must be the original 32MB stick + an added 256MB. 32+256=288. I have had odd numbers like 704MB in the past.
 
From what I've read If I want to put a bigger HDD in I need to set up two partitions. A 7 gig partition for OS X and the rest for applications and data.
 
akshep said:
From what I've read If I want to put a bigger HDD in I need to set up two partitions. A 7 gig partition for OS X and the rest for applications and data.
Click to expand...

Yes, you do, since yours is a tray-loading iMac. (The 7GB partition also has to be the first partition on the volume IIRC) Id also recommend, if your getting the OS from scratch, migrating to Mac OS X 10.3.9 - its the fastest on slower G3s (under 500Mhz), and quite a bit more recent (There are browsers that while not banguptodate, are at least close enough that these machines can browse the modern web without using IE5).
 
akshep said:
From what I've read If I want to put a bigger HDD in I need to set up two partitions. A 7 gig partition for OS X and the rest for applications and data.
Click to expand...

The 512mb ram max is wrong. It's actually 1 gig. They didnt' make 512mb chips in 1997, when the iMac trayload was first a gleam in J. Ives' eye.

Yes you need to partition 8gigs for OS out of your HD. You cannot put a HD in there larger than 120gigs.

You can also run Tiger on these machines, don't bother with 10.1.

I have a copy of Panther somewhere, too, if you need it, but you need your OS on CD of course. As you have no firewire, it's kind of a problem because no Target disc mode. On the other hand, you have a workhorse that should last for years more.
 
Hes right about the ram limit being 1gb. If you have another mac with a dvd drive you could install the os on that machine then put the hard drive in the imac. I would use 10.4 only if you put 1gb of ram. Less than that 10.3 is best. Def not 10.1
 
I forgot about the 8GB limit for boot on the tray load iMacs.

At least the 333MHz is the best of the tray load models.
 
Last edited:
zen.state said:
I forgot about the 8GB limit for boot on the slot load iMacs.

At least the 333MHz is the best of the slot load models.
Click to expand...

You mean tray load, correct? And yeah, I had to do that when I had a 40GB in an iMac 333, had to set the main partition at 8GB, and the other at 32GB.

Just a heads up, if you are looking to make this a main computer to surf the web, be prepared, it will be painstakingly slow. My 500MHz G3 iBook is insanely slow surfing the web....so slow I don't even bother anymore.
 
WGoins88 said:
You mean tray load, correct? And yeah, I had to do that when I had a 40GB in an iMac 333, had to set the main partition at 8GB, and the other at 32GB.

Just a heads up, if you are looking to make this a main computer to surf the web, be prepared, it will be painstakingly slow. My 500MHz G3 iBook is insanely slow surfing the web....so slow I don't even bother anymore.
Click to expand...

Yes I meant tray load. The bondi blue 233, 5 colour 266 and 5 colour 333. I almost bought a 333MHz in 99 but decided on a B&W G3 instead.
 
have owned a couple of these....i wouldn't spend too much on upgrades....if you don't care then try these

-1 gig ram max (can use pc 66/100/133)
-harddrive upgrade (rem keep first partition under 8 gigs)
-this site will show you how to change both http://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_G3_Model_M4984
-would use osx panther 10.3.9
-use camino web browser for 10.3.9 http://caminobrowser.org/download/#os10.3.9

-internet is gonna be slow no matter what you try
-utube is basically gonna be useless (you could try mactubes,but that requires tiger osx... http://macapps.web.infoseek.co.jp/mactubes/index_en.html

good luck

ps: if this is your first mac,i would rec selling it and buying something like a ibook G4 1.33/1.42 GHz (can be had for $200 ish) and running tiger osx
 
Just internet and stuff of that nature isnt that slow on g3 systems. My sister has a 466 clamshell thats her only computer and its not that slow. Its a lot faster than your imac but with 1gb of ram and a new hard drive itll be fine. Ive owned 2 g3 imacs and they are very solid machines. I ran one as my main machine for almost a year from late 09 to late 10. Slot load with 384mb of ram and original hard drive. I believe it had a 400mhz cpu. Point being as a word processor and internet browser its great.
 
I appreciate all the advice. This wont be a main/internet use computer, this is just something I can mess around with when I get bored. Like I said I got it for $15 off of craigslist so I couldnt pass it up. I have my windows based laptop for internet and anything else. Once I get out of college I will most likely get a macbook so I have something with a little more power.
 
akshep said:
I appreciate all the advice. This wont be a main/internet use computer, this is just something I can mess around with when I get bored. Like I said I got it for $15 off of craigslist so I couldnt pass it up. I have my windows based laptop for internet and anything else. Once I get out of college I will most likely get a macbook so I have something with a little more power.
Click to expand...

Dont be surprised if you spend more time on the imac than the windows machine
 
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