PowerMac G4 OS install help

[tony359]

AphoticD, you were probably typing while I posted!

I did not know OS9 could run along with OSX, interesting!

Ignore the video driver error - I think the driver I found was the Apple monitor driver maybe? Which refuses to work as I don't have one!

it's the "display software" listed on this page: https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/power-mac-g4-quicksilver-2002-restore-discs

Indeed I ended up erasing the disk with 9.2 - but then I still had the faulty RAM so everything worked-ish until something weird would happen! I got suspicious when OSX crashed while updating to 10.4.11 and then failed to boot. And after reinstalling it "clean" Safari immediately refused to run and also "network" in the control panel... Anyway happy days now.

Thanks for your help!

 

[tony359]

Another update.
The G4 was filthy so today I decided to fully disassemble and clean it.

I removed everything, including CPU (I replaced the thermal paste of course), logic board, PSU (which I inspected) and all panels. I also opened the DVD rom (I thought it was a CDROM) as the drive would read CDs but not DVDs. I cleaned the lens.

Also discovered that the second mysterious drive is a SCSI ZIP drive, but the Quicksilver doesn't have the bezel for it, nor the SCSI cable - I'm on it!

With my surprise (LOL) everything worked fine when I reassembled everything! And the DVD drive now reads DVDs no problem - yay!

The PSU has 4 bulged capacitors which will need replacing. And I ended up with an extra screw...

The computer now looks stunning!

Some pics "before" and "after"

 

[AphoticD]

Nice work @tony359. That is now one happy Mac!

Fortunately this old Mac has many upgrade options; RAM, CPU, GPU, SATA, RAID, SSD, etc - any plans for decking it out?

 

[tony359]

Thanks - and thank you all for your invaluable help!

To be honest I don't think so. It's a slow machine and it will always be. I really don't see the point in investing on it, I'd rather keeping it original. That said, since one of the RAM modules was faulty, I have just ordered three x 512MB modules to replace the existing ones.
I may change my mind in the future if I come across something interesting. If I did, what is your recommendation as 'must have' upgrade, besides RAM?

Today I have decided I want to try OSX Leopard - I know it's not supported nor recommended but I want to give it a go for fun. After all I have two HDDs so I can use one to play with things and now the DVD works again! I am going to use LeopardAssist and let's hope that works. It seems that my "option" and "command" keys (Windows and Alt) don't work using my PC keyboard so it may be tricky to get into single user mode or to reset the firmware if I needed to.

 

[reukiodo]

Please search through all the old software first and upload anything missing to the Macintosh Garden. I know this is a time consuming task, but the future will thank you!

Afterwards, installing 10.5 is easy, since the only check is for CPU speed. I run 10.5 on a 550MHz G4, so I know it is slow, but I feel like it is still worth it for the newer software.

 

[tony359]

Hi
Yes, I managed to install 10.5 - LeopardAssist just worked fine for me. Indeed it's much closer to what we see nowadays but I feel 10.4 is a bit more snappy. I have them both, on two separate drives though. 10.5 is on the noisy drive that I like to keep unplugged as it sounds like a grinder!

I'll have a look at the old software but I doubt there is anything of interest. The G4 came from a Graphic studio and I can just see Photoshop 7 and some hardware drivers on it.

I am still awaiting for my RAM expansion - my Ebay seller sent me faulty and mismatched modules yesterday so it's not done yet

I'm on the outlook for a Zip faceplate and a SCSI cable to restore the Zip drive that is currently sitting idle in the unit.

 

[reukiodo]

I'll have a look at the old software but I doubt there is anything of interest. The G4 came from a Graphic studio and I can just see Photoshop 7 and some hardware drivers on it.

Drivers are especially needed, since those are necessary to use vintage hardware. Someone who comes across such hardware will be thankful to find drivers, since it will make them usable. Otherwise hardware without drivers will eventually just be ewaste.

 

[tony359]

ahhh... I don't think I kept those unfortunately. I thought it was only apps we were after... Sorry!

 

[1042686]

If it were me, I would upgrade:

USB2.0 pci card
Apple Airport card
Bluetooth USB dongle (via internal port on usb card.
AGP GPU 64mb, QE/CI support
SSD bootdrive 128gb or bigger
Dual cpu daughter card

This list is in no particular order - just whenever a deal or good price is found.

 

[tony359]

Thanks RhianB
I see the Quicksilver was available with a dual 1GHz G4 CPU - is that the fastest I can fit on this machine?

Wikipedia lists the following as available GPU for the Quicksilver:
ATI Radeon 7500 with 32 MB VRAM, Nvidia GeForce4 MX with 64 MB VRAM or GeForce4 Ti with 128 MB VRAM

Is the GeForce4MX the GPU you would recommend?

Thanks for your advise!

 

[weckart]

Thanks RhianB
I see the Quicksilver was available with a dual 1GHz G4 CPU - is that the fastest I can fit on this machine?

Wikipedia lists the following as available GPU for the Quicksilver:
ATI Radeon 7500 with 32 MB VRAM, Nvidia GeForce4 MX with 64 MB VRAM or GeForce4 Ti with 128 MB VRAM

Is the GeForce4MX the GPU you would recommend?

Thanks for your advise!

The Ti is the fastest that is supported under OS9. It all depends upon whether you need OS9 support.

 

[tony359]

No, I don't think so but I also would like to keep the Quicksilver "original", that is, not to install a configuration that you couldn't get back in 2002 if that makes sense.

 

[1042686]

Hi Tony, The geforce2 mx is what I had in my 2001 box originally. Ive not used the geforce4 mx but certainly it would be an improvement over the 2mx. I currently use a AGP 64mb Radeon9000 pro in my QS 2001 for QE support but you could go up to a 9700 or 9800pro if you want to spend the $$ on it. I pulled the 9000pro from a dead MDD I had so no additional cost to me other than the tenner I bought the box with but the extra 32mb ram and QE support is noticeable and nice. I dont believe either card was an option when QS 2001 were in production but if yours is a 2002 you could config with a Mx4 or geforce4 Ti (pulled this from everymac - I certainly did not commit this to memory! ) If any of this is in error, Im sure someone will make us aware of it lol.

My QS started as a single 733mhz education box so a basic config that was sold to schools from what I gather. At this point I have made all of the above upgrades to this box (posted earlier) with the exception of a SSD which I will do soon and then reconfig the two 75GB spinners I have in there now from boot drives to a Raid1 storage array. The suggested upgrades made anoticeable difference in use, ability and speed.

Best of luck to you.

 

[tony359]

Thanks!

Yes, Wikipedia confirms the Geforce4 Ti was available on the QS back in the days. I think I'll keep an eye for that - same for the dual 1Ghz CPU board.

Power Mac G4 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thanks again!

 

[1042686]

I think it would be cool to include a scsi hdd in there. Forgot to add that one.

 

[tony359]

A SCSI drive would probably be more ‘original’ than an SSD indeed. I have a SCSI card to be honest.
Thanks for mentioning.

 

[Amethyst1]

A SCSI drive would probably be more ‘original’ than an SSD indeed.

A couple 15,000-rpm drives in RAID 0 would be savage. 🙂

 

[tony359]

That’ll need ear defenders too! 🙂

 

[tony359]

I have now replaced the bulged capacitors in the power supply. Out of curiosity I checked voltages and ripple before and after. There is definitely an improvement. Bulged capacitors were indeed reading half their capacitance - or less.

2200uF were reading between 500/800. 3300uf was reading 1900. Voltages are basically unchanged.

Attached some pictures - Sorry the 3.3V has different time base between before and after...

I've received some RAM modules but the ebay seller sent me mixed modules twice - in one case all three modules are clearly marked PC133, but with different timing. The Mac only sees two of those modules as PC100... I'm on it

 

[tony359]

A little advise on my RAM sticks please.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to replace the faulty 256MB module and I wanted some matching sticks. I went on ebay and purchased some Crucial PC133 modules. After some misunderstanding with the seller (he sent me non-matching sticks in the first place) I managed to get some Crucial PC133-222 sticks which my OSX sees as PC100 sticks. In fact, Apple Hardware Test sees them as "unknown" but with a CL3 of 7.0us and a CL2 of 7.5us. Similar Crucial sticks, but labelled 333 (and all my other sticks), are seen as PC133, but showing CL2 of 10us and CL3 of 7.5us. Running XBench I see that the 222 sticks are slightly faster than anything else. I suspect the system shows them as PC100 by mistake as I'm not sure PC100 sticks would work with a 133 bus?

As those 222 sticks test faster than anything else I've got, I'd be inclined to keep them. Opinions?

See below what AHT reports:



Edit: I now see the "fast" memory is labelled CL2 while the other is CL3. Obviously the CL2 is faster. However it's labelled "unknown" on the PPC.