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just got a g3 clamshell, now time for upgrades! :)

S

Sean7512

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 8, 2005
857
55
Ok, well I just got an original Tangerine G3 iBook and I am very happy. The computer is in great condition, not even a scratch nor is the keyboard shiny/worn out! It was a great find. Its use is going to be for outside around the pool just as an internet computer. Here are the current specs...

300mhz g3
96mb ram
CD drive
Airport card 802.11b
3GB hdd

Now, in my preparations to get this upgraded, I have updated from OS 9.0 to 9.2.2 and then ran the firmware updater to firmware 4.17 I believe it was. The plan is to up the ram, hdd, new battery, and throw Panther on it. I just have a few questions before I start:

1. I CAN add a 512mb stick of ram (512 + 32) in there right? I was fairly certain you could, but on most websites (crucial, owc) they state that only a 256mb chip can be added.

2. I heard somewhere that when installing OS X on a clamshell that the boot partition has to be less than 8GB or else it won't boot up. Is this true?

3. What kind of harddrive do I need to buy for it? (I'm looking for 60-80GB)

4. I have a retail copy of Panther that is not in use. Problem is that it is a DVD, so either, where can I still find the CD version. OR if I install it from my eMac to the new harddrive (from a USB enclosure), then pop it into the iBook, will it work?

5. Panther should run OK on this right? I'm not expecting anything great, but it should be tolerable once its booted up and Safari is running, right?

I already have a new battery...I spent $50 for the new battery, and am hoping that the ram+harddrive combined will be about $100. I got the laptop itself for $50, so this should be a decent throw-around computer for $200.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
5. Panther should run OK on this right? I'm not expecting anything great, but it should be tolerable once its booted up and Safari is running, right?
Click to expand...


Panther will run on that system decent, i had it on my first gen blue imac.. i with it was a 266ghz .. and it had 128mb of ram.

the os will work, you will be able to browse the web, but webpages will load slower than normal, like 56k style because of all the images....

also dont expect to be able to watch any videos/dvd's/youtube on that machine, osx will eat too many resources.. but it is prolly your best bet ..


if you just use it to browse rumor sites, heeheh you will be ok
 
Hmm...

My GF has one lying around in the basement because the power adapter gave up. Maybe I should find a new power adapter and get it up and running again and do the same thing as the OP; upgrade what can be upgraded.

Sorry if this is hijacking: Does anyone know where to look for a new power adapter for an oldie like this?
 
PimpDaddy said:
Hmm...

My GF has one lying around in the basement because the power adapter gave up. Maybe I should find a new power adapter and get it up and running again and do the same thing as the OP; upgrade what can be upgraded.

Sorry if this is hijacking: Does anyone know where to look for a new power adapter for an oldie like this?
Click to expand...

Go for it! I'm pretty sure you can get a power adapter on ebay for $10....good luck! They seem to be incredibly durable, nice machines! Ive been using it in 9.2.2 more than my MacBook with leopard....its fun playing with os 9 haha

Anyways, I'm glad to hear that it should run alright! Anyone know answers to the other questions? Thanks!
 
1. Yes
2. Not sure
3. A Pata/Ultra 100 (ATA) 2.5" drive No bigger
Than 120gb
4. Not sure either bout the USB, but a CD copy is usally on ebay
5. Yes
 
Sean7512 said:
I already have a new battery...I spent $50 for the new battery, and am hoping that the ram+harddrive combined will be about $100. I got the laptop itself for $50, so this should be a decent throw-around computer for $200.
Click to expand...

I would just warn you that anything less than a late model "ice" ibook g3 will not be able to run youtube, avi files, etc with any ease.
 
Lots of people have said Tiger runs better on the clamshells than Panther, so keep that in mind, too.

You can get a 120GB Hard Drive for around $100 these days. Any 2.5" drive wil work as long as it's 9.5 mm high.
 
The Sheck said:
Lots of people have said Tiger runs better on the clamshells than Panther, so keep that in mind, too.

You can get a 120GB Hard Drive for around $100 these days. Any 2.5" drive wil work as long as it's 9.5 mm high.
Click to expand...

I thought that Tiger wasn't supported on the first few clamshells. I thought you had to have a firewire port on the clamshell for Tiger to install? I can always try it, its not that big of a deal...
 
Nice! I recently just got a mint, stock Tangerine with 288MB for under $75. Upgraded it to 30GB, CD-RW/DVD, rebuilt the battery, and installed a WaveLAN AirPort card for less than $10. Great computer.

The boot partition must be less than 8GB, bu set it at 7GB because the fractions of GB after formatting could mess it up. This is required for any of the OS versions with an HD past 8GB.

You can add a 512MB stick to it for 544MB total RAM.

Most any laptop HD (ATA33) will work in it up to 120GB.

Mine has Jaguar 10.2.8, and it runs fine, and Panther will run just as good, especially with the extra RAM.

Installing panther from your DVD will be difficult. The G3 can't boot from USB. If you install it onto the HD from the eMac, however, it will work.
 
applefan1997 said:
Nice! I recently just got a mint, stock Tangerine with 288MB for under $75. Upgraded it to 30GB, CD-RW/DVD, rebuilt the battery, and installed a WaveLAN AirPort card for less than $10. Great computer.

The boot partition must be less than 8GB, bu set it at 7GB because the fractions of GB after formatting could mess it up. This is required for any of the OS versions with an HD past 8GB.

You can add a 512MB stick to it for 544MB total RAM.

Most any laptop HD (ATA33) will work in it up to 120GB.

Mine has Jaguar 10.2.8, and it runs fine, and Panther will run just as good, especially with the extra RAM.

Installing panther from your DVD will be difficult. The G3 can't boot from USB. If you install it onto the HD from the eMac, however, it will work.
Click to expand...

Sweet, sounds good. I was thinking of temporarily putting the harddrive into a enclosure, then hook it up to the eMac and run the Panther installation and choose the enclosure drive. Once installed, I would take the drive out of the enclosure and put it into the iBook. Would that work?

Here is the ram and hard drive that I am looking at, they are both $54 which is aweomse....just as long as they both would work, anyone know for sure?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD600UE/

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/100SO512328L/

Thanks again!
 
How did it work out ?

I hv the same laptop and would like to make it a general use wireless laptop for the house.

thanks,
covesurfer
 
Hey all, great thread! I myself, am trying to find a tangerine or key lime ibook for my wife. They are sure hard to find in nice cosmetic condition. The ones I find on ebay generally seem to beat up bad or, if they even look decent are about 250 bucks (for the tangerine which are the oldest ones). I have been searching for about a month through ebay listings, and still not found much. Anyone have good ideas of where to find one?

P.S. I installed Tiger on my old iMac G3 333, and once I put some RAM in it, it runs pretty well for general use.
 
i never will understand why people restore old things, such as cars and computers
i mean sleepers are awsome, like take that g3 apart and put a 2.5ghz processor and a 200gb hdd and 4gb of ram and get a really really nice replacement screen

sentimental value is one thing / (can't figure out the other thing would be)

downgrading for me is not something i accept open handed
 
Why not? My wife wants one cause they look cool. All she will use it for is browsing the internet. What's the difference between a clamshell and Macbook then? Older stuff still has use. There is difference between need and want, and all she really needs it for is minor things.

Why would I want a sleeper laptop? I don't have anyone to impress. Its like putting a supercharger in a Honda Civic. What is the point? I might as well go buy a G37 then.


benlangdon said:
i never will understand why people restore old things, such as cars and computers
i mean sleepers are awsome, like take that g3 apart and put a 2.5ghz processor and a 200gb hdd and 4gb of ram and get a really really nice replacement screen

sentimental value is one thing / (can't figure out the other thing would be)

downgrading for me is not something i accept open handed
Click to expand...
 
Toucansma said:
Why not? My wife wants one cause they look cool. All she will use it for is browsing the internet. What's the difference between a clamshell and Macbook then? Older stuff still has use. There is difference between need and want, and all she really needs it for is minor things.

Why would I want a sleeper laptop? I don't have anyone to impress. Its like putting a supercharger in a Honda Civic. What is the point? I might as well go buy a G37 then.
Click to expand...

well the point of a sleeper is not to impress people.
putting a supercharger in a civic is not a sleeper.
putting a built 3tjz (toyota supra engine) into a camery is a sleeper.
a sleeper is something that looks like a piece of crap, old, beaten, and looks like its been driven by 32 different 16 year olds for instance but inside of it it could have something that will blow most cars away in a race or w/e
i <3 sleepers

i saw a geo metro run 9's on the quarter mile, that is a sleeper
i have heard of a mini van that runs 9's, that is a sleeper
a honda civic with a supercharger and a vtech (which adds a million horsepower) sticker is not a sleeper
 
Hahah exactly, you said a piece of junk, so I said a Honda Civic (like the 100 beat up ones I see on a daily basis).

I know what a sleeper is. You are still trying to impress someone because you are making it do something its not supposed to do. Like oh wow, I didn't know that 1987 Ford Taurus Wagon from Christmas Vacation could do a 1/4 mile in 13 seconds or something insane like that. SO they think its cool then (or at least that it can do that).

Hahah what a random convo :)



benlangdon said:
well the point of a sleeper is not to impress people.
putting a supercharger in a civic is not a sleeper.
putting a built 3tjz (toyota supra engine) into a camery is a sleeper.
a sleeper is something that looks like a piece of crap, old, beaten, and looks like its been driven by 32 different 16 year olds for instance but inside of it it could have something that will blow most cars away in a race or w/e
i <3 sleepers

i saw a geo metro run 9's on the quarter mile, that is a sleeper
i have heard of a mini van that runs 9's, that is a sleeper
a honda civic with a supercharger and a vtech (which adds a million horsepower) sticker is not a sleeper
Click to expand...
 
Toucansma said:
Hahah exactly, you said a piece of junk, so I said a Honda Civic (like the 100 beat up ones I see on a daily basis).

I know what a sleeper is. You are still trying to impress someone because you are making it do something its not supposed to do. Like oh wow, I didn't know that 1987 Ford Taurus Wagon from Christmas Vacation could do a 1/4 mile in 13 seconds or something insane like that. SO they think its cool then (or at least that it can do that).

Hahah what a random convo :)
Click to expand...

ya i know (random)
 
Besides all this car talk, I agree with notion that there is no reason to revive an old laptop. I mean, it seems that when anyone brings up having some 9 year old iBook everyone decides that it is a good find. I am not advocated everyone have an MBA to sit by the pool and go online with, but what happens when your 333 MHz G3 laptop can't load a website because it is simply too demanding, or even if she wants to do anything besides what is mentioned. That being said, I think an Old Ti PB would fit the bill - they at least have 500 MHz G4s....just my $.02
 
Haha, I own a Powerbook with her, a very nice 12" 1.33, loaded, so I think we are fine. However she loves that iBook style. Heck if my iphone loads most websites, the ibook might have a fighting chance. J/k. We got an old 333mhz iMac for $10 bucks, and she loves it. We have a Dual Core PC (which as a longtime mac user, but an avid gamer, the intel macs have made it obsolute), but she will not use it anymore since the iMac arrived.

I am a cutting edge guy with many things (well when money permits), but I am also a collector. I find old tech sometimes really cool. I am not doing anything to an iBook but maybe ram. I own all the software, and all the parts I would ever need. I am not going to strip it out an rebuild it with Nasa technology, spending more than a MBA. I just want to find a used one, and was hoping someone on here might have one. Can anyone help me :D
 
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