Just got an ibook g3 help required

[wattso]

Hi guys, really excited to just of got my first apple laptop I am fairly new to the mac however (only just switched a few months ago) so I have a few questions:

1/ I would like to upgrade to Tiger, the system is 900Mhz,has 256mb of ram, 40gb HDD and is currently running 10.2.8 (jaguar??) I was wondering if I could upgrade to Tiger using the Tiger install disks that I got with the imac c2d or is there an issue with this being a laptop and ppc ? I really dont have much of a clue about this kind of stuff with a mac, when I upgrade to Tiger I would also like a fresh install, there are no files I wish to keep, this presented a problem with my old xp laptop for drivers. Will the same happen when I upgrade the ibook? Should I format the HDD before attempting to upgrade to Tiger? If so how do I do this?

2/ I would like to install an airport card. Would I be able to install an Airport extreme card so that I can use 802.11g? Is the airport card even user installable? If so how?

Many, many thanks in advance. And I appoligise for me being a 'noob'

 

[yippy]

1) You cannot upgrade using your iMac disks. This is not only illegal but the disks are Intel only.

2) Good news and bad news. The airport card is user installable, see http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/. The bad news is that you can only put an 802.11b Airport card in your iBook. If you want G you will have to get an external USB dongle for it.

 

[wattso]

1) You cannot upgrade using your iMac disks. This is not only illegal but the disks are Intel only.

2) Good news and bad news. The airport card is user installable, see http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/. The bad news is that you can only put an 802.11b Airport card in your iBook. If you want G you will have to get an external USB dongle for it.

Thanks for your reply. So how would I go about upgrading to Tiger?

 

[Frankf300]

I've got the same iBook except that I maxed the RAM. I'm running Panther (10.3.9). While I do plan to upgrade it to Tiger in the future, I'd have to say Panther is probably the peak OS for this system. But, like stated above, you'd have to buy a copy of retail Tiger disks to upgrade, not your iMac disks. $129 from Apple or $69 if you're a student. You can install an Airport card, NOT Airport Extreme though. The install is very simple, same process as popping in some RAM. Only problem is that to find an original Airport card, you'll have to eBay it or find a refurbished one. They usually run anywhere from $80-100, becuase Apple doesn't make them anymore. My iBook is actually my main machine, I love it. Good luck with it, you'll like it.

 

[job]

To echo what others have said:

Stick with 10.3.9. It's stable and works pretty well on the old G3 iBooks. 10.4 tends to slow the old computers down.

Instead of throwing your money into 10.4, max out the RAM. That alone makes the G3 iBook still useable.

I still use my 600Mhz iBook with Panther, and it works like a dream for word processing, browsing, and email.

 

[wattso]

Thanks for that. So you think panther is the optimum OS for this system. I was possibly hoping of upgrading to leopard when its out using a family pack, i guess thats out of the question then You mention that you have maxed the ram at 640mb, if i was to upgrade the ram I take it I would pop in a 512 whilst leaving in a 128 then ? What do people think about the airport card then, is a b network uber slow? Should i use a usb wireless adapter instead?
Also how would I go about setting this thing to factory? Doing a clean install. Do I use the disks that i have with the laptop?

Thanks again

 

[Frankf300]

To echo what others have said:

Stick with 10.3.9. It's stable and works pretty well on the old G3 iBooks. 10.4 tends to slow the old computers down.

Instead of throwing your money into 10.4, max out the RAM. That alone makes the G3 iBook still useable.

I still use my 600Mhz iBook with Panther, and it works like a dream for word processing, browsing, and email.

I'd have to agree with you 100% on that one. On older machines like these, RAM makes the biggest difference in the world. I noticed a big difference going from 256mb to 640mb. While I would love to do it, I don't think Tiger would be too realistic on my machine, just like yours OP. Panther is a beauty to work with, and it's stable. I'd have to agree with upgrading the RAM, than you'll have a very capable laptop, even for a G3.

 

[Frankf300]

Thanks for that. So you think panther is the optimum OS for this system. I was possibly hoping of upgrading to leopard when its out using a family pack, i guess thats out of the question then You mention that you have maxed the ram at 640mb, if i was to upgrade the ram I take it I would pop in a 512 whilst leaving in a 128 then ? What do people think about the airport card then, is a b network uber slow? Should i use a usb wireless adapter instead?
Also how would I go about setting this thing to factory? Doing a clean install. Do I use the disks that i have with the laptop?

Thanks again

Posted my other reply before seeing this one . Yes, personally I think Panther would be the way to go. By the way, it's not a fact yet, but I'm almost positive that Leopard is dropping G3 support. Yes, 128mb is non-removable and than you can put in a 512mb stick. Go with either DMS or Crucial, I bought from DMS. I use the original Airport Card and for me it is not slow at all, for me it's more than enough. Do a clean install and you should be good.

 

[job]

Thanks for that. So you think panther is the optimum OS for this system.

Yup. Panther works just fine. I usually have iTunes, Adium, Mail, and Firefox open at any given time and it works well enough.

You mention that you have maxed the ram at 640mb, if i was to upgrade the ram I take it I would pop in a 512 whilst leaving in a 128 then ?

Yup. 900Mhz and 640MB RAM will make it nice little machine. It won't win any speed tests, but it's definitely usable and the low processor specs will give you decent battery life.

What do people think about the airport card then, is a b network uber slow? Should i use a usb wireless adapter instead?

Most USB sticks require USB 2.0, which I'm not sure if you have. My old 600Mhz definitely does not have 2.0, so I would recommend installing an old Airport card if you are stuck with USB 1.1. 802.11b is decent though, just know your limitations and you'll be fine. I use the Airport card all the time here at college, and it's done just fine downloading torrents and browsing the 'net at the same time.

Also how would I go about setting this thing to factory? Doing a clean install. Do I use the disks that i have with the laptop?

That sounds about right, but you mentioned that your disks are 10.2.

If I were you, I'd look for anywhere online that sells 10.3 for cheap, especially since 10.4 is already out and 10.5 is just around the corner.

I'd have to agree with you 100% on that one. On older machines like these, RAM makes the biggest difference in the world. I noticed a big difference going from 256mb to 640mb.

Yup. My iBook went from doorstop (with 128MB) to all-around workhorse (with 640MB.)

I'd have to agree with upgrading the RAM, than you'll have a very capable laptop, even for a G3.

 

[iBookG4user]

I was possibly hoping of upgrading to leopard when its out using a family pack, i guess thats out of the question then .

I don't think that Leopard is compatible with G3's anymore.

You mention that you have maxed the ram at 640mb, if i was to upgrade the ram I take it I would pop in a 512 whilst leaving in a 128 then ?

The iBook only has 1 RAM slot, so you would take out the 128MB in there and put in the 512MB.

What do people think about the airport card then, is a b network uber slow? Should i use a usb wireless adapter instead?

A b network runs at 11mbps so unless you have a cable or fiber connection faster than that it should be fine.

Also how would I go about setting this thing to factory? Doing a clean install. Do I use the disks that i have with the laptop?

You would want to do a clean install using the restore disks.

 

[wattso]

WOW thanks alot everyone. You've been a huge help.

I know this sounds trival But since I've started using the ibook i have missed tabs with safari, widgets and expose, I know I will not get widgets with 10.3 and will get expose but will I be able to have tabs in safari? Also would It technically work if I bought a copy of panther off ebay to upgrade with?

Thanks

 

[Frankf300]

WOW thanks alot everyone. You've been a huge help.

I know this sounds trival But since I've started using the ibook i have missed tabs with safari, widgets and expose, I know I will not get widgets with 10.3 and will get expose but will I be able to have tabs in safari? Also would It technically work if I bought a copy of panther off ebay to upgrade with?

Thanks

Yes, you can use tabbed browsing in Safari under Panther, you just have to enable it in preferences. If you buy a retail copy of Panther off of eBay, it should work fine.

 

[mkrishnan]

I know this sounds trival But since I've started using the ibook i have missed tabs with safari, widgets and expose, I know I will not get widgets with 10.3 and will get expose but will I be able to have tabs in safari? Also would It technically work if I bought a copy of panther off ebay to upgrade with?

1) Yes, Safari has tabs in Panther -- you may have to turn them on in Safari preferences though. You can probably also use an older version of Firefox in Jaguar.

2) There are a few options if you want widgets in Panther, although they are memory intensive. Amnesty is one that runs OS X widgets, Yahoo Widgets nee Konfabulator is another that runs a separate set of its own widgets.

3) Panther off eBay is fine, just make sure you get a retail install disc and not a system restore disc from another computer.

4) You might also like Quicksilver.

 

[job]

I know I will not get widgets with 10.3 and will get expose...

You can actually get widgets for 10.3 if you download Yahoo! Widgets for Mac.

I use those currently on my G3 iBook without any problems

 

[wattso]

Thanks for all your help guys! Think im going to get an aiport card from ebay along with a copy of panther. Unless anyone can show me a website in the Uk selling a copy?

Many thanks

 

[wattso]

I have been looking at ram upgrades on crucial's website http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?model=iBook+%28G3+900MHz%29seems a bit pricey, is any ram ok? or does it have to be a certain type? eg: pc133 ?? I'm not really clued up on this.

 

[mkrishnan]

I have been looking at ram upgrades on crucial's website http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?model=iBook+%28G3+900MHz%29seems a bit pricey, is any ram ok? or does it have to be a certain type? eg: pc133 ?? I'm not really clued up on this.

Those prices are high in dollars converted from pounds, but I'm not sure what is typical in the UK. The US cost is something <$80 for 512MB.

You do want a PC133 SODIMM. You can get them up to 512MB (which will give you 640 altogether; I'd recommend this). You may be able to find one used, either by looking at marketplace here (often people end up with a spare one lying around for some reason) or perhaps eBay or the like.