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Old OS X cd on G3 iMac

bowens

bowens

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 19, 2006
830
137
Florida
I recently received a free iMac G3. It has a 500 mhz G3, 20g hd, cd-rw, and I upgraded the ram to 256mb. I think I can get a copy of either 10.2 or 10.3 from a friend. He has upgraded to 10.4. Will these cds work since they have already been used? Does each new version come with a new serial number so the old serial numbers aren't in use anymore? I'm setting this computer up for my wife and I think OS X would be a little easier for her than 9.1. Also, I want to be able to run a few programs that will only run on OS X, like Gimp. Thanks.

Edit: Also, I really would like iPhoto on this computer. I don't really care about the rest of the iLife programs. Is there any way of getting just iPhoto or would I have to buy all of iLife? Where would be a good place to buy an older version.
 
Okay, well to install OSX on older G3 iMacs, you may need to update the firmware first. If the CDs are retail versions of OSX (bought separately from a computer) then it should be fine but if they were bundled with a Mac then it's a violation of the terms of agreement if you use them on another Mac. Also, newer versions of OSX will simply not let you install onto a different type of Mac.

Maybe look to eBay for old versions of iLife. :)
 
mad jew said:
Okay, well to install OSX on older G3 iMacs, you may need to update the firmware first. If the CDs are retail versions of OSX (bought separately from a computer) then it should be fine but if they were bundled with a Mac then it's a violation of the terms of agreement if you use them on another Mac. Also, newer versions of OSX will simply not let you install onto a different type of Mac.
Click to expand...

No they would have been bought separately. But is there an upgrade version and a full install? If so, will the upgrade work from 9.1 to 10.x?
 
Cool. Well I don't think Apple has ever released an upgrade version of OSX but I could be wrong. If they're retail copies then they should just work, assuming you have the upgraded firmware. :)
 
Full install only. I'd try OS 10.3. I'm running OS X 10.1 on an old iMac in my 'play room' (where I build my hifi:cool: ), and I use it as a music server. Works a treat...

It takes a while to start up, but once it's going, it runs pretty well. It does have 512 mb of RAM though, so if you find your iMac sluggish, I'd upgrade that...
 
mad jew said:
Cool. Well I don't think Apple has ever released an upgrade version of OSX but I could be wrong. If they're retail copies then they should just work, assuming you have the upgraded firmware. :)
Click to expand...

Sweet, thanks. Now I'll see what I can do about getting a copy of OS X. My friend is a Macaholic and buys every new version of every kind of Mac software, so I'm sure he's got some old versions laying around.

Do you guys think that 10.2 or 10.3 (preferably 10.3) will run well on a 500mhz iMac. I know it's an old computer but it doesn't have to be super fast. I just want it to be usable.
 
Yeh, OS 10.1 is OKAY, but no way near as stable as 9.1 (which is what the machine had before). 10.4 is basically a more resource consuming version of 10.3.

10.3 all the way, unless you have bags of RAM, and a nice big processor (>1.25 GHz).
 
bowens said:
Also, I really would like iPhoto on this computer. I don't really care about the rest of the iLife programs. Is there any way of getting just iPhoto or would I have to buy all of iLife? Where would be a good place to buy an older version.
Click to expand...

Nevermind, I found iPhoto 2 as a free download from Apple http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120188
I think this will suite my needs well.
 
bigandy said:
tiger is fine on my 400mhz G3 iMac.... :D
Click to expand...


Try opening iPhoto, iTunes (and playing music) plus browsing the internet with 4 tabs open in firefox, whilst loading a (big) movie of youtube.

Now is it fine? :p
 
Killyp said:
Try opening iPhoto, iTunes (and playing music) plus browsing the internet with 4 tabs open in firefox, whilst loading a (big) movie of youtube.

Now is it fine? :p
Click to expand...

Don't worry, I won't be doing anything that intensive. The most I'll be doing with this is iPhoto, Gimp, and maybe listening to iTunes.
 
Sweet, I just emailed my friend and he's got a copy of OS X that I can have. I'll install tonight and let you know how it runs.
 
Which OS X is it? I'd make sure it's at least 10.2 or above (if it is 10.2, make sure you get it up to 10.2.8). Otherwise you'll be stuck to older versions of iTunes.

10.3 would be best...
 
One more question. I got this computer from a friend so it has a lot of their files on it. Should I archive and install or erase and install. I know if I erase and install I won't have classic support, right? I don't have the os 9 disk so I couldn't reinstall it. Do I really need to use classic? I just got my first mac a few months ago so I don't have any old software.
 
Killyp said:
Which OS X is it? I'd make sure it's at least 10.2 or above (if it is 10.2, make sure you get it up to 10.2.8). Otherwise you'll be stuck to older versions of iTunes.

10.3 would be best...
Click to expand...

Like I said, he upgrades every version as soon as they come out, so I'm sure he's got 10.3. He didn't say which version but I'd bet money he has 10.3. I'll find out tonight though.

Edit: Woohoo!!! 100 posts.
 
mad jew said:
Cool. Well I don't think Apple has ever released an upgrade version of OSX but I could be wrong. If they're retail copies then they should just work, assuming you have the upgraded firmware. :)
Click to expand...

I have an upgrade version from Mac OS 10.1 to Mac OS 10.2
 
Well I got the 10.2 install disks. He had 10.3 but they were dvd and my imac only has a cd-rw drive. I installed 10.2 last night and now am running software update. This thing runs OS X faster than it did 9. I'm impressed. And I didn't realize that it came with iLife on the OS X disk (I'm not sure if it was called iLife). I had downloaded iPhoto 2 then I installed OS X and there were iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie waiting for me in my dock. Thanks for all of your help guys.
 
Well I got it all updated and it's running pretty smooth. The only problem I've had is there is no Gimp for 10.2. It needs X11 and it's only available for 10.3 and higher. So I decided I'd use Seashore. It doesn't have as many features but still decent. It needs 10.3 or higher. Finally I found an earlier version of Seashore that will run on 10.2. It's a little slow but usable.
 
I've had two 500mhz iMac G3s.

One I bumped up to a 120gig hd, 1gig of ram and it runs Tiger and iLife 06

PERFECTLY.

The other I kept the OEM 20gb HD and put in 768mb of ram. It runs Tiger and iLife 06

PERFECTLY, though slower with not as fast of a hd and less ram.

Great machines. Workhorses, 'specially if they've been desk queens, which mine were.
 
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