Upgrading iMac G3 to OSX
Dean Siren
some version of OSX, perhaps 10.2 which Amazon sells used for $50. What
must I do to prepare to upgrade? Should I wipe the HD before installing?
How well will my OS8 apps run in OSX? How about driver problems? Will my
Epson Stylus 740i still work, or will I need to download new drivers from
somewhere? Can those drivers even be downloaded, or do I need to buy a new
CD? How about my Logitech Trackman; will its scroll wheel and two buttons
still work, or should I download something new for that?
I also have a Jumpdrive Sport which needs a the USB Mass Storage driver from
Apple to work in OS 8.6. I've downloaded that driver, but the system
crashes every time I try to install it. How will it work in OSX?
I also have an external USB CD burner and a USB scanner. In Windows XP they
work automatically. How well will they work in OSX? Do I need to download
anything for them, or are drivers included with the OS?
How about HD space? I only have 6 GB. How much does OSX take?
matt neuburg
> I have an iMac G3 333 running OS 8.6 and I'm thinking of upgrading it to
> some version of OSX, perhaps 10.2 which Amazon sells used for $50. What
> must I do to prepare to upgrade? Should I wipe the HD before installing?
> How well will my OS8 apps run in OSX? How about driver problems? Will my
> Epson Stylus 740i still work, or will I need to download new drivers from
> somewhere? Can those drivers even be downloaded, or do I need to buy a new
> CD? How about my Logitech Trackman; will its scroll wheel and two buttons
> still work, or should I download something new for that?
>
> How about HD space? I only have 6 GB. How much does OSX take?
Let me answer the part that I know about (quoted above) and let others
take care of the rest. I've just upgraded an original iBook (tangerine!)
to Mac OS X, and I've also done my parents' iMac DV, so I have some
experience with this.
(1) Memory, memory, memory. Add memory. Add it now. The more the better.
Stick a 512 in that puppy.
(2) Do the firmware upgrade right now.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60384>
(3) If you get a larger hard drive, you will need to partition it so
that the first partition is less than 8GB and install Mac OS X on that
partition, or Mac OS X won't work.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25249>
...However, you needn't bother about the larger hard drive. Yes, Mac OS
X takes up a lot of room, but a minimal install of Mac OS X on a 6 GB
drive will leave 4 GB free. It is important to have about 1 GB free at
all times, but even with the stuff you've got now, I doubt you'll be
even close to that. Just realize that you're probably never going to
install iMovie or anything like that.
(5) You probably don't have to wipe the drive, but do it anyway if it's
not too inconvenient, as a safety measure. It's good to start out with a
really healthy hard drive. The installer will do it for you.
(6) If you want to run your existing OS 8 apps from inside Mac OS X
you're going to need to install System 9.2.2. You can install it onto
the same partition; don't partition the drive. Factor the cost of
getting hold of this system into your financial plans. The old apps
should run fine, but of course you will eventually want to upgrade
everything to Mac OS X native versions - otherwise there's absolutely no
point to this move in the first place. Factor the cost of that into your
plans as well.
(7) Don't worry about the Epson or the Logitech; everything will just
work. The Epson drivers are included with the install and you don't need
special drivers for the Logitech (they exist but I recommend that you
not use them).
m.
--
matt neuburg, phd = ma...@tidbits.com, http://www.tidbits.com/matt/
AppleScript: The Definitive Guide
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596005571/somethingsbymatt
Read TidBITS! It's free and smart. http://www.tidbits.com
SRMoll
"Dean Siren" <dea...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:eXOYd.2236$qf2....@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
It can't be overstressed how important it is to do the firmware update, as
Matt says in his post. To not do it will result in a dead machine, which at
this time seems to be hit-and-miss as to whether you can recover from it.
Some say they've managed it, but its safer to assume that you won't.
I ran OS X 10.2 on an iMac DVSE 400, for many years. It was fine for
everyday use. To be honest though, now that I used 10.3 on it, I'd recommend
waiting for, or paying a bit extra for 10.3, its leagues ahead of Jaguar on
low powered machines like these. It astonishes me at every release, how
Apple seem to be able to make older machines faster, not slower! That being
said, I had to service a iMac 350 the other day, running OS 8.6, and *that*
did feel fast.