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Just bought a used PowerBook G4 Questions

Slrman

Slrman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 4, 2009
84
0
João Pessoa, Brazil
I just got a good price on a used PowerBook G4 with OSX 10.3.9 installed. I think this will make a good companion to my newer 20" 2.66 GHz iMac.

I'd like to learn all I can about it before it arrives. Like possible software upgrades, any known issues, how I can reset the user name and password, etc.

I was hoping t find a web site that I could enter the S/N and get all the base info like when built and basic technical data, but I couldn't find a thing in my list of Mac websites.

My mail issues will be (I think) how to reset the username and password, can the OSX be upgraded beyond 10.3.9 and any known issues.

It has 512 MB of RAM in 2 256 MB cards. Can this be upgraded and what type cards are needed? I happen to have 1 GB cards removed from the iMac but I suspect they will not work in a G4 PowerBook.

If anyone can help with answers or a web site for the G4 PowerBook, it will be greatly appreciated.
 
you should give us more informations (i.e. model number, processor frequency, etc.) just open "system profiler" and copy all the informations on the first page :)
 
Hate to break it to you but you just bought an obsolete mac, snow leopard wont run in it and Apple will stop updating leopard in near future.
 
Thanks

Thanks for the replies. I had the not-so-original idea of going to Google. I found out most of what I need to know. For example, I can upgrade to OSX 10.4.n But not Snow Leopard.

I also think that my 1 GB memory chips won't work, but that I can upgrade to a 2 GB maximum. I can get those memory cards easily enough, so no problem if I decide to change.

Yes, I knew that this was an obsolete Mac. So that was no news. But it will do everything I need from a laptop anyway and the price was right. (under $300)

The one thing I really need to find out is how to reset the user name/password. Without that, making changes will be next to impossible.

It would be nice also if I could do some transfers of software. There are a couple on the laptop I'd like to install on my iMac. I'd also like to put Quicktime 10.0 and 7.6.3 on the laptop from the iMac. I think I can do that from the Snow Leopard CD if they will run under OSX 10.3.9 or 10.4.

Mostly, I intend to use it for my 800+ ebooks and watching the odd video now and then on long flights. I expect to fly from Brazil to Canada later this year and the two batteries I have with it should give me close to 9 hours total time. :)

Thanks again for the fast replies. Even though this is an older PowerBook, it still rocks compared to the new Windows ones I see here. And for less than a cheapo netbook, too. I expect to be delighted.
 
Hilmi Hamidi said:
Hate to break it to you but you just bought an obsolete mac, snow leopard wont run in it and Apple will stop updating leopard in near future.
Click to expand...
I have a 7 year old 17 inch 1 gig Powerbook G4 with 1 gig of RAM, running OS X 10.4.x. It is a highly serviceable machine and is still perfect for surfing the Web, word processing, and spreadsheets. It is certainly obsolescent but hardly obsolete. It's beauty is that it is so sturdy, it still looks brand new, identical to my 17 inch 2.4 Ghz MBP, except for the ports. It still has a resale value of several hundred dollars but I don't want to sell it. When I bought it, its 17 inch 1440 x 900 display represented the state of the art and is stil excellent, even by current standards. DVDs played on it look beautiful
 
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