So I have successfully regained access to our old G4 Mac mini after resolving a forgotten password issue. The question is now, what use to put it to? Is there anything interesting we could do with it/use it for? We're already fairly well-equipped in the IT department for mainstream use, but I like to have IT projects to work on, so all suggestions welcome.
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What to do with a G4 Mac mini
- Thread starter zachiedoo
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Leave it headless and connect it to a webcam looking out of your window and transmit to the world
LOL...we live in the sticks, you can't even se the road from the house. Literally NOTHING happens out here. Except snow. Lots of snow. Good idea, though!
Hey, I like watching snow
But seriously, was just thinking of what takes advantage of it's low(ish) power consumption and discrete size (other than the usual/obvious file server/itunes library.)If you were happy to have it's ports open could even host a PowerPC flavoured BBS?
MacMAME runs great on a G4 Mini. Plug in a controller and enjoy arcade goodness.
I've got a G4 mini running a few OSes for specific software and for my own dev projects;
Have fun
- Mac OS X
- 10.4 Tiger - w/ MacPorts and also OS9 Classic environment.
- 10.3 Panther - w/ MacOnMac for running 10.1 Puma and 10.2 Jaguar VMs for testing builds on these older OSes.
- Mac OS 9 (unsupported build, specifically for the G4 mini)
- http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,4365.msg30502.html#msg30502 - MorphOS 3.17 - I still haven't purchased a license though...
- https://morphos-team.net/
Have fun
I'd second @AphoticD's suggestion: the G4 mini is actually a fun little Mac OS 9 retro gaming machine thanks to the effort of the MacOS9Lives folks.
Apart from that, there's the BSDs, Linux, MorphOS, Mac OS X Jaguar (unsupported, but possible with caveats) through [Sorbet] Leopard. There's even a barely functional version of *drumroll* AmigaOS 4 for it AFAIK.
Apart from that, there's the BSDs, Linux, MorphOS, Mac OS X Jaguar (unsupported, but possible with caveats) through [Sorbet] Leopard. There's even a barely functional version of *drumroll* AmigaOS 4 for it AFAIK.
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Yes! Many of the titles in my PPC gaming thread were played on a G4 Mini - including arcade games via MacMame. It makes for an excellent games machine and takes up far less space than even my smallest consoles.
Spouse is thinking she'd like to have it as an iTunes Library, but the 4GB hard drive would be kinda small. She has LOTS of music. Now looking into putting a new drive in it.Hey, I like watching snow
If you were happy to have it's ports open could even host a PowerPC flavoured BBS?
Tinkering becomes addictive, doesn't it? 🤣
4GB HDD, did you forget a zero and mean to type 40GB?
She has LOTS of music. Now looking into putting a new drive in it.
I replaced the HDD in mine with an SSD and the performance boost is striking.
Yes and it can take over your life.
Hmmm...so I did! Well, one less thing to research/buy/do! Thanks for pointing this out.
Seconding the mSATA SSD in a PATA adapter route.
The G4 mini uses 2.5” IDE/PATA hard drives which are no longer being made. And the largest capacity 2.5” IDE/PATA hard drive ever made is 320 GB.
A 120GB Sunbow mSATA drive placed inside a PATA adapter case as @Amethyst1 has recommended above. I like their products and have their mSATA and 2.5 SSD drives in several of my PPC Macs.
No Sunbows in stock the places I checked. A Crucial through NewEgg.ca is over $300, way more than I'm willing to spend. Found this Dogfish at Amazon.ca. I've never heard of them, but I haven't shopped for a niche SSD ever before, so what do I know. Anyone familiar with this brand?
ETA: And then is this what you mean by PATA adapter case? Does this all go inside the Mac mini?
ETA: And then is this what you mean by PATA adapter case? Does this all go inside the Mac mini?
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Yes - here's the one that I used:
They can be hit and miss with PPC Macs regarding compatibility and I purchased this particular model because other customers on Amazon had attested to using them successfully with iBooks. If you obtain the exact same type as mine then you should be ok. Here's a photo of one of my enclosures (with an SSD installed) that I've been planning to fit in an iBook G3:
My G4 Mini has been running happily with one of these for several years.
You're in Canada? I've found a US seller on eBay who stocks what appears to be the exact same type of enclosure.
Check out a photo for peace of mind.
It does - and then you can kiss goodbye to old IDE drives with mediocre RPMs: which was an annoying practice on Apple's part considering the premium that they charge for their products. I carried out the whole procedure in less than 20 minutes with a set of screwdrivers and a putty knife from a discount store - which was essential to prise open the casing.
This is a task that can be easily accomplished.
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So the listing says "may not ship to Canada". Unable to contact the seller through E-Bay. Found their website online and sent an inquiry. Hopefully, they answer. 🤞
If not, just search for "mSATA PATA" adapter etc on eBay or Amazon and look for one that has the same PCB layout.
They sell these PATA 2.5-to-m.2 adapters as well on Aliexpress, which is where I bought mine in the past.
I often forget: I have a SIL close by in Maine whom I will be seeing over the holidays. She's done us this favour before. I'll check in with her.If not, just search for "mSATA PATA" adapter etc on eBay or Amazon and look for one that has the same PCB layout.
I'm not sure which version of m.2 SSD I'd need, but I checked all three and the mSATA is less expensive. I think I'll stick with that.
An mSATA SSD is the safest bet, because it's sure to use a SATA interface as the name implies.
m.2 form-factor SSDs can use either a SATA or a PCIe interface. Only the former will work with a PATA adapter; the latter will not.
Maybe a fun little project with little investment could be to turn the G4 into a ADS-B receiver and upload airplane data to Flightradar24. In exchange you get a complete subscription. Since you seem to be located in a rural area they are probably very happy when you place an ADS-B antenna.