Power Mac G4 needs clean install; looking for general advice

[rooftopfilms]

Hi there.

I have a Power Mac G4, Dual 1.25 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, with 2 internal drives (40GB and one 240GB), both of which were almost totally full (2-3GB free on each). For the past few years, this computer has been used mostly for Final Cut Pro, with minimal internet browsing, word processing, etc. We've attached (and de-attached) lots of Firewire Drives, and worked the editing pretty hard. Various compatibility issues, firewire port problems, and basic overuse have run this computer down until we had a kernal panic that required reinstalling the OS. So, recently, we upgraded to a new MacPro.

Now I'd like to clean off this old G4 and start it from scratch. We won't be doing any more serious editing on here, though exactly what it would be best for (some basic FCP, Photoshop and InDesign work?), I'm not sure.

I've never really done this before, so general advice would be greatly appreciated. Or, more specifically:

+ How do I best completely clean the drives?
+ That one drive is so small (40GB), should I install the OS on there and nothing else? What can I do with a 40GB drive?
+ Should the Applications be on the bigger (240GB) drive?

Thanks in advance.

 

[merl1n]

Hi there.

I have a Power Mac G4, Dual 1.25 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, with 2 internal drives (40GB and one 240GB), both of which were almost totally full (2-3GB free on each). For the past few years, this computer has been used mostly for Final Cut Pro, with minimal internet browsing, word processing, etc. We've attached (and de-attached) lots of Firewire Drives, and worked the editing pretty hard. Various compatibility issues, firewire port problems, and basic overuse have run this computer down until we had a kernal panic that required reinstalling the OS. So, recently, we upgraded to a new MacPro.

Now I'd like to clean off this old G4 and start it from scratch. We won't be doing any more serious editing on here, though exactly what it would be best for (some basic FCP, Photoshop and InDesign work?), I'm not sure.

I've never really done this before, so general advice would be greatly appreciated. Or, more specifically:

+ How do I best completely clean the drives?
+ That one drive is so small (40GB), should I install the OS on there and nothing else? What can I do with a 40GB drive?
+ Should the Applications be on the bigger (240GB) drive?

Thanks in advance.

Use the 40GB drive for scratch.

Just do a fresh install of the OS on the 240GB and select "Erase and Install" in the options since you are not getting rid of the computer. Don't over complicate it. You can use Disk Utility to erase the 40GB drive as well.

 

[agentphish]

Yes, a simple erase and install will do.
I would put Tiger for the sake of speed.

A helpful tip is to download the latest Combo update for Tiger onto an external hard disk or cd and have it ready as the first thing you install once you get Tiger freshly installed. Then go do your other Apple Updates.

If it were me i'd leave the 40 in and use for scratch as well, or find someone selling a used drive or someone around your office who has a used drive that's even bigger than 40 and use it for scratch.

Good luck. That machine will run forever.