Mac Mini Server Core 2 Duo 2.53

[Bruferrit]

Hello, I am new to the Mac environment, I just purchased (4) Mac Mini's.
They were all G4's but to my luck one was a Server.

So the hard drive in the server was making the great Click of death sound. I opened it up and there are (2) 500gb drives & 4 gigs ram. I believe that the main drive is the bottom one. Can you run the server with one Hard drive?

Can the server be converted to a Standard Mini with a dvd drive as on of the G4's has a graphics issue?

Last question, What OS can I run on it and how do I install it?

Thanks,
Bruce (Mac Noob)

 

[brdeveloper]

Hello, I am new to the Mac environment, I just purchased (4) Mac Mini's.
They were all G4's but to my luck one was a Server.

So the hard drive in the server was making the great Click of death sound. I opened it up and there are (2) 500gb drives & 4 gigs ram. I believe that the main drive is the bottom one. Can you run the server with one Hard drive?

Can the server be converted to a Standard Mini with a dvd drive as on of the G4's has a graphics issue?

Last question, What OS can I run on it and how do I install it?

Thanks,
Bruce (Mac Noob)

I think G4 Macs aren't really fun because they are unable to run most modern applications. Most open source software can be compiled to PowerPC, though. I presume Chromium (the open source Google Chrome version) is one of them. Gimp would be another one. The latest OSX you'll get is 10.5 (Leopard). MacPorts will be your friend, since you can install a lot of open-source applications by using it.

If the server one has a graphics issue, why it could be solved by putting it inside another box?

 

[chrfr]

Hello, I am new to the Mac environment, I just purchased (4) Mac Mini's.
They were all G4's but to my luck one was a Server.

So the hard drive in the server was making the great Click of death sound. I opened it up and there are (2) 500gb drives & 4 gigs ram. I believe that the main drive is the bottom one. Can you run the server with one Hard drive?

Can the server be converted to a Standard Mini with a dvd drive as on of the G4's has a graphics issue?

Last question, What OS can I run on it and how do I install it?

Thanks,
Bruce (Mac Noob)

There never was a G4 server Mini, so what you have there is an Intel Core 2 Duo, significantly faster than the G4 mini. Are you sure the others are G4s?
The "Server" mini is a standard mini with 2 disks and no DVD drive. You can safely run it with only one disk, and buy an external USB DVD drive.

 

[cfedu]

Hello, I am new to the Mac environment, I just purchased (4) Mac Mini's.
They were all G4's but to my luck one was a Server.

So the hard drive in the server was making the great Click of death sound. I opened it up and there are (2) 500gb drives & 4 gigs ram. I believe that the main drive is the bottom one. Can you run the server with one Hard drive?

Can the server be converted to a Standard Mini with a dvd drive as on of the G4's has a graphics issue?

Last question, What OS can I run on it and how do I install it?

Thanks,
Bruce (Mac Noob)

You should be able to install 10.10 Yosemite, and can install it by making a USB install drive.

http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/16/make-os-x-yosemite-boot-install-drive/

 

[Bruferrit]

Server

the Serve is not a G4, correct. Here is what happens when I turn it on you can hear a loud clicking from the HDD then the chimes play then the clicking again. I swapped the drives (top to bottom) to see what happens there, and the same thing.

I am lost.

 

[chrfr]

the Serve is not a G4, correct. Here is what happens when I turn it on you can hear a loud clicking from the HDD then the chimes play then the clicking again. I swapped the drives (top to bottom) to see what happens there, and the same thing.

I am lost.

Unplug each drive, one at a time, and see which doesn't make the noise. You can just disconnect the cable from the board.

 

[Bruferrit]

I have unplugged each drive and tried a 250 gb WerstenDigital drive that I know works and it does the samething.