Forum Moderators: travelin cat
I have a revb imac 233mhz 96mb Ram and run OS 8.6 on it. I use it mainly for web stuff but the Mozilla options for 8.6 ended awhile back. Well, I was wondering if I am able to; what would I need to do to install OS X Panther or Jaquar on it?
Would this be wise or should I think about getting a newer computer?
Thanks for any help
Welcome to the board. Theorically you can run Mac OS X on your iMac, but you will need a minimum of 128 megs of ram (I would double that), and 2 Gig of free disk space.
[apple.com...]
If you do NOT update the Firmware, you could really permanently mess up your computer.
see this Apple article here:
[docs.info.apple.com...]
find your model, download the firmware update, install if you don't already have it installed before you try installing Jaguar or Panther.
Would this be wise or should I think about getting a newer computer?
I've upgraded a few Rev. A's and Rev. B's to OS X and the advice you've gotten so far is sound. Machines with 160Mb (128+32) of RAM run pretty well unless you hammer them.
However, I've found these machines don't "last forever" like some Mac's have. I've seen CD-ROM's go bad, a monitors go, and a couple of HD crashes, after these machines turned 4. Then again, none of these machines were used "gently." (They were used by kids, or worse yet, sales staff.)
I have about 1.96 gb on my hardrive but can clean this up to free the 2 gb easy enough.
I think I am going to try increasing my memory first. Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to get this revb imac to 256mb. I looked at another post here and installing instructions looks straight forward and should be within my capabilities. I looked through my system profiler and the memory looks like this
{Location size
J3/bottom 32mb
J1/top 96mb}
But does it matter how the memory is added? Are (4) 32mb pieces functionally equal to a 128mb modules?
thanks again
I think the iMac have only 2 slots for memory. Both are presently used by a 64 and 32 meg memory module. I have never heard of 96 MB memory modules for iMacs. The best thing to do would be to replace one of them with 128 megs module (about 30 $ to 40 $ each). I never replaced RAM in iMacs but it does not sound very complicated. I dont know wich post you are referring to for memory installation, but just in case, here is this 2 pages article from Apple about it. It explains everything in details with diagrams.
[docs.info.apple.com...]
As microcars mentions in message # 5, updating your ROM with firmware 1.2 would be the first thing to do, if not done already.
[docs.info.apple.com...]
Also, you will need more disk space than the 2 gig necessary for the system, sooner or later. Just count 30 megs or more for a browser not counting it's cache... It will probably be sooner than later. :)
iMac used some very cheap hard drives. They churned at 4400 rpm and offered sluggish performance, and low capacity (4 gigs?). I would replace it too with a larger capacity 7200 rpm drive with a 8 megs buffer for better overall performance.
I found this article at MacWorld for overall general iMac upgrades.
[macworld.com...]
They mention "A 5,400-rpm ATA or Ultra ATA hard drive (faster drives may be too hot for iMacs)".
I replaced internal HD in 5 iMacs for larger 7200 rpm disks with no problem whatsoever. Those machines where quietly downloading and crunching logfiles 24/7 all year long.
You can get a 80 G drive for about 70 $.
For about 100 $ you will get a pretty decent upgrade. For 400 $ more, you can get a used G4 ready to fly.
I think the iMac have only 2 slots for memory
Yes, there are 2 slots. One is pretty easy to get to, and one a little trickier. Be aware the two slots take different kinds of memory modules. (The "upper slot" takes "hi-profile" and the lower slot takes "lo-profile.")
You'll need PC 100 144 pin memory for a Rev B. This is actually a little more expensive than memory for newer iMacs.
Just be aware of that. Most memory merchants will make sure you get the right thing if you call them.
Also, I went to [memory4all.com...] and the price for an upper 256mb module was about $39 but I thought the revb had a max of 256RAM? Can I put 512mb of RAM in a 233mhz Revb; i.e 256mb in each slot?
Buying a newer computer is gaining ground here, or else I'll be a certified imac repairperson before OSX ever functions on my machine.
[edited by: Macguru at 11:28 am (utc) on April 6, 2004]
[edit reason] Linkless URL [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]
OOps! Not a good sign here. :(
I will refer to timester's post # 6
I've seen CD-ROM's go bad, a monitors go, and a couple of HD crashes, after these machines turned 4.
I dont **believe** deleting some extension made the CD reader go south, but without a CD reader, your iMac will be pretty useless in some emergency situation. It will be hard to startup from a CD if something else go wrong. You can probably get a used CD reader some local Mac stores. You can also replace it with a CD RW drive specifically made for the iMac for about 150 $. Go with internal drive to benefit from the internal IDE bus speed. An external drive is not a good option since the USB bus if very slow. Also, I am not sure it will allow you to startup from it in emergencies. (did it with SCSI hard drives on older Macs, but never tried this with usb Macs)
For your memory question, I would stick with replacing only the module on top to stay on the safe side. I will quote timester again, from message # 9 :
Yes, there are 2 slots. One is pretty easy to get to, and one a little trickier. Be aware the two slots take different kinds of memory modules. (The "upper slot" takes "hi-profile" and the lower slot takes "lo-profile.")
Here is what I got from here :
[lowendmac.com...]
RAM: 32 MB, expandable to 384 MB* using two DIMM sockets (256 MB on top, 128 MB on the botton), uses same SDRAM SO-DIMM as PowerBook G3, top DIMM socket accepts 2" DIMM, bottom socket takes 1.5" DIMM.
* The exact amount a Rev. A-D iMac can be upgraded varies from unit to unit. We have field reports of some models accepting 256 MB modules in both memory socket and reaching 512 MB -- and other reports of early iMacs that won't work at all with 256 MB modules. There appears to be no way to know in advance whether a particular iMac will work with a certain sized memory module.
I am not 100 % sure your Mac can take 256 MB modules. Replacing the top memory module with 128 MB will give you enough memory to run Mac OS X, and you wont have to crack it open just to find out...
>>Buying a newer computer is gaining ground here, or else I'll be a certified imac repairperson before OSX ever functions on my machine.
:)
If you ever buy a more recent Mac I have 2 advices :
1 - Stay away from "All in One" designs.
They use proprietary parts that are more expensive and harder to get by. eMacs and recent iMacs, will have some limits regarding expandability.
2 - If you get a used G4, make sure you can listen to it running first. G4 fans can be very noisy.
I guess you dont need a high end G5 to do web work, some used G4 can be a reasonable upgrade.
In my G4, I will need a minute to add ram, 5 minutes to add a drive or a video card, or 10 minutes to install some internal DVD RW or Zip drive. They are fun to mess with.
Does anyone know what goes wrong in these tray CD's?
I'd guess dust.
Yeah, it sounds like you need a anothher machine. I'd take MacGuru's advice and consider a G4 tower.
If you've got the space for it, you might just keep the iMac around running testing in OS 9, until it really gives up the ghost.
We recently had to replace all computers in the office because of a fire. The insurance company did not cover everything, so we had to purchase used equipment.
My local classified ads site listed about 20 G4 to choose from. They varied a lot in configuration, from plain vanilla to exotic high-end gizmos. But in most cases we where quite happy with all that stuff that was left on the hard drives... :)
With a simple crossover cable you can transfer all your good files to the new one and save yourself a lot of hassle...
