Trying some stuff

[EnduringKaze]

So, like most people I've dabbled around with Apple computers for ages when I was younger, primarily in elementary and middle school. I even bought a MacBook in 2009 when I was in college. I had to install windows on it for some classes, though.

In any case, I was on Facebook Marketplace one day when I saw something I couldn't believe, especially given how expensive certain models are on ebay... a Quicksilver G4 733 mhz for a paltry $50. I love the way the old G4 towers looked, so I bought it with dreams of putting my current gaming PC into it, but I quickly changed my plans once I realized how fun it was to mess around with the thing. So, I found a graphite G4 for $25 for the whole gaming PC malarky. xD

So, I'm in the process of upgrading the computer. It had OS 10.3.8 on it and I want to put 10.4 onto the device, but my DVD burner is being a bit cranky. Also, I don't think the DVD drive likes burned DVDs (it's the drive from the graphite G4, I had no need for a burner in this PC and being able to read DVDs could be useful). I replaced the HDD with an IDE to CF adapter, and now the computer is a lot peppier - with a lot more space. 128 GB, to be precise. I don't know if that's due to having to run OS 9.2 in the interim, while I figure out how to get 10.4 onto the computer. I can't use the USB 2.0 card I installed at the moment because apparently OS 9.2.1 doesn't support it.

I've got a stick of ram coming in within the next couple of days hopefully, so I'll have the system up to at least 512 MB of ram instead of the frankly weak 128 MB.

Is there anything else I should be doing to improve my experience with the computer? I plan on using it mostly for writing as a machine that's disconnected from the internet. I may even use it for some gaming of old school edutainment titles--there's a lot of fond memories of those games for me.

 

[eyoungren]

Well, the QS itself doesn't support USB 2.0. If you magically got 10.4 on there you'd find that your ports are still 1.1. You need a USB 2.0 PCI card if that's what you want.

As to getting 10.4 on there, you can partition a USB stick as APM (Apple Partition Map) and then restore a disk image from Macintosh Garden (do a search for OS X) on to it. You can then boot off that. But booting via USB is not a stock option, so you'll need to use Open Firmware commands to do that.

Or, you can replaced the DVD drive. That's standard IDE, nothing special. A $5 buy off eBay will get you that.

 

[EnduringKaze]

Well, the QS itself doesn't support USB 2.0. If you magically got 10.4 on there you'd find that your ports are still 1.1. You need a USB 2.0 PCI card if that's what you want.

As to getting 10.4 on there, you can partition a USB stick as APM (Apple Partition Map) and then restore a disk image from Macintosh Garden (do a search for OS X) on to it. You can then boot off that. But booting via USB is not a stock option, so you'll need to use Open Firmware commands to do that.

Or, you can replaced the DVD drive. That's standard IDE, nothing special. A $5 buy off eBay will get you that.

Yeah, I've got a 2.0 PCI card in the mac. It's just not recognized at the moment. When I had the old HDD in the computer, it did recognize the card and it worked wonderfully. the problem is the old HDD was in REALLY bad shape. As in, every time I started it I was taking a risk. It's one of the old Deskstar drives, and it sounds like popcorn every time it spins up. I'm pretty sure I've heard the head crash a couple of times. I'm planning on doing a post mortem once I get OS X 10.4 installed to see if I heard correctly.

 

[eyoungren]

Yeah, I've got a 2.0 PCI card in the mac. It's just not recognized at the moment. When I had the old HDD in the computer, it did recognize the card and it worked wonderfully. the problem is the old HDD was in REALLY bad shape. As in, every time I started it I was taking a risk. It's one of the old Deskstar drives, and it sounds like popcorn every time it spins up. I'm pretty sure I've heard the head crash a couple of times. I'm planning on doing a post mortem once I get OS X 10.4 installed to see if I heard correctly.

Install the USB 1.4.1 update: http://www.virtualinformation.com/drivers/USBCardSupport.htm

Your old HD probably had that installed.

 

[z970]

@eyoungren This appears to be a newer version:

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/usb-adapter-card-support-146

 

[eyoungren]

@eyoungren This appears to be a newer version:

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/usb-adapter-card-support-146

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Project Alice]

FireWire booting would be ideal. The QS will also run 10.5 if you wanted it to. By either installing from a supported machine or bypassing the 867Mhz check in the installer. But if that thing still has the factory Rage 128 I wouldn’t bother.

FireWire is by far the easiest way to go about this though. If you don’t have a FW disk or an enclosure, having one is pretty much a requirement for having a PPC hobby. It’s also going to be faster than USB 2.slow.