Newbie needs help! Upgrade questions.

[RickF]

I was recently given (free) a PowerMac series G3 (Teal) which has 9.2.2 installed. Has 576MB of built-in memory, and the machine speed is 400MHz. ROM Version is $77D.45F6. I do not have any of the original software (OS or applications) that came with it. I don't want to get rid of it (I can't afford a new machiine) and because it has a lot of graphics software that I use daily.

Here are my newbie questions:

What version of OS X can I install on this old of a machine?
Is that upgrade easy to accomplish? Any special things I must have?
Is that OS version still available? Where might I find it?
What is the max amount of RAM that I can put in it?
Will I lose any applications when I upgrade to OS X-whatever?

I have many more questions, but if someone could at least answer these it would be a great start. I know the best thing would be to buy a new, modern machine, but theis is the best I can do at the moment.

Thanks for helping me out!

Rick
Portland, Oregon

 

[miles01110]

In theory you should be able to install anything up to Tiger, although that might run pretty slowly. Tiger was the last to support Classic mode, so your Apps can still run through emulation. You need a PPC Tiger installation kit; either on DVD or I think it shipped on something like 5 CDs if you don't have a DVD drive.

 

[iBookG4user]

What version of OS X can I install on this old of a machine?

The most recent version of OS X it supports is 10.4 (Tiger). Although I'd stick with 10.3 (Panther) since I doubt that it would run Tiger very fast.

Is that upgrade easy to accomplish? Any special things I must have?

Yes, all you need is the OS disks.

Is that OS version still available? Where might I find it?

No, it is not currently made. Check ebay for it, since it came out several years ago.

What is the max amount of RAM that I can put in it?

According to Mactracker it can utilize 1GB of RAM.

Will I lose any applications when I upgrade to OS X-whatever?

As long as you do an upgrade and install you should be fine.

 

[RickF]

Thanks, Miles

Thanks for the info. Would Tiger running slow be due to the limited amount of memory or because of the processor speed? I am looking to put more memory in the machine as soon as I can find some. I am not sure what the max amount is.
Thanks again.

 

[RickF]

Thanks iBookG4user

You answered all of my questions. I appreciate it. I am off to eBay to look for Panther and more memory!

 

[iBookG4user]

Thanks for the info. Would Tiger running slow be due to the limited amount of memory or because of the processor speed? I am looking to put more memory in the machine as soon as I can find some. I am not sure what the max amount is.
Thanks again.

It would be slow because of the Processor rather than the memory. 1GB is a decent amount of RAM and above the system requirements, but the processor is the slowest processor supported by the OS.

 

[three]

I first put 10.3 on ALL of the G3 Macs that I get, I test out 10.3 and research if 10.4 would be good on it. If 10.4 will run good on the computer I install it. Mainly 10.3 runs the best on G3 Macs though.

 

[surflordca]

You answered all of my questions. I appreciate it. I am off to eBay to look for Panther and more memory!

I don't know what memory you need but check it out before you buy because all memory won't work...

 

[POSIXFTW]

Tiger

Tiger should run well, although it might lag a bit, if you're concerned about that stick with Panther

 

[RickF]

Thanks to everyone for their help.

All the answers I received were great and spot-on. Thank you! And nobody suggested I buy something more up to date. Thanks!