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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Accelerators for B&W Power Mac G3

alfred_bowman - Sep 19, 2007 - 4:28 pm

I am a PC user who is upgrading a B&W Power Mac G3 with the Rev 1 system board for a friend. I haven't used the Mac much, but I intend to become a Mac user between now and MacWorld SF next year.

I was doing some research into G4 vs G3 accelerators for the Power Mac. Somehow, I found a forum, which I haven't been able to find again, with a long thread consisting of posts from B&W Power Mac G3 users whose G4 accelerators wouldn't work. As I recall, these posters were using Tiger. Nobody seemed to have an answer. However, the final post stated that an update was needed; specifically, the BWG4 Enabler with
an .hqx extension. I downloaded and saved the file on my PC.

This left me with some questions.

1. Would this issue and update apply to OS 9.1, which currently is installed, or Panther, which will be installed later?

2. If it would apply, could it be installed on the MAC under 9.1 or Panther prior to installing the accelerator? If this approach wouldn't work, is there any kind of alternative? Might there be a similar issue with a 1 GHz G3?

My friend's iBook G3 is inoperable. However, he believes the problem is with the screen. He can hear the hard drive running. It has a CD/DVD combo drive. It could be operable also. Could I run a USB or Ethernet cable between the computers and try to use the optical drive from the Power Mac? Doing this with PC's requires crossover cables rather than regular ones. Would they be needed with the Mac's?

3 I have decided to buy a new external DVD+/-RW dual layer optical drive for the Mac. Would OS 9.1 and/or Panther have a problem with it? If so, is there an update for the drive? Without a DVD drive, it won't be possible to install Panther from its installation DVD.

My friend's iBook G3 is inoperable. However, he believes the problem is with the screen. He can hear the hard drive running. It has a CD/DVD combo drive. It could be operable also. Could I run a USB or Ethernet cable between the computers and try to use the optical drive from the Power Mac? Doing this with PC's requires crossover cables rather than regular ones. Would they be needed with the Mac's?

BTW, the posts talked of "flashing" something. Is it the ROM? I have no idea how to flash the Mac.

I will greatly appreciate your assistance.

PS For more information, please read my earlier posts under "I need to learn about B&W Power Mac G3."

Natobasso - Sep 19, 2007 - 7:00 pm

Per your other post, acceleration possibilities for your computer here:
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/g3c.shtml

Requirements for Tiger install:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs/

Use a firewire cable so you can Target Boot (command T on restart) the laptop to turn it into a firewire hard drive and copy the information over to the PowerMac G3. Have you tried Safe booting the laptop to see if it will boot? Instructions: Restart/hold command + s keys till computer screen shows black with white text/type fsck -f/type reboot when operation is finished.

What kind of DVD drive are you getting? I'd recommend internal if you can find it; seem to be more reliable.

I installed 10.2.8 on a PowerBook G3 Pismo laptop so you shouldn't have any problem, I don't think, with the iBook G3 which is a slightly newer model. Tiger, however, is a much larger install (8GB min required!) and you need at least 500MB RAM if not more to run it in a manner worth your time.

I'd recommend going 10.3 or below (Panther). Install 9.1, then upgrade that to 9.2.2 (becomes Classic in OS X) and then install Panther 10.3 on that machine.

For more on that iBook specs, i need more specs. MHZ of chip?

alfred_bowman - Sep 22, 2007 - 12:05 pm

I've been tied up on personal matters for the last few days.

I'll pass your suggestion about booting the iBook to my friend.

I am going to run a FireWire cable (6 pins or 4?) between the two Mac's and follow your directions. I will start the Power Mac first. Then I'll start the iBook and hold the Command-T shortcut combination down. However, if my friend is correct that the screen doesn't work, no icon can appear on the iBook's screen. Would this be a problem. I understand that if all goes well, the Power Mac will mount the iBook's hard drive its desktop.

If it does work, will the Power Mac be able to mount and use the iBook's optical drive? Also, would it be possible to boot the Power Mac from the iBook's hard drive over the FireWire connection?

I still haven't come to a decision about the G3/G4 accelerator because of the compatibility issue. If it is confined to Tiger, there isn't a near-term problem as the Power Mac will run under OS 9.1/Panther. If otherwise, I just don't know.

I greatly appreciate your assistance.

Natobasso - Sep 22, 2007 - 12:26 pm

As long as the iBook boots in Target mode it will show up as a hard drive, yes, you just have to hold command + T for at least a minute or so. If you see the firewire logo then you know the screen isn't busted, probably the graphics card is.

You'll need 9.2.2 in order to use Classic in OS X, not just 9.1. 9.1 is easy to upgrade, however: http://discussions.apple.com/thread....sageID=5308913

The accelerator is really just a processor upgrade card, right? More often than not, those work fine with OS X. However, you'll not want to install Tiger, in my opinion, because your computer won't have enough RAM or processor speed to run it with any efficiency.

Let me know what happens.

alfred_bowman - Sep 23, 2007 - 1:27 pm

Thanks for responding to my belated last message. I now understand how to try to make the iBook a target for the Power Mac. It will or won't work. I'll find out which when I connect the Mac's over Firewire. If it does work, won't I see the iBook's hard drive on the Power Mac's desktop? I hope so.

I'm migrating old hardware and and an obsolete operating systme to newer hardware and Panther. I've already run into compatibility issues. In the short term, it would really be helpful if I could boot the Power Mac from the iBook's hard drive as it would then boot into Panther rather than OS 9.1. If this isn't possible, it also would be helpful to be able to use the iBook's CD-RW/DVD-Rom drive rather than the Power Mac's CD-ROM drive. The iBook came with OS 10.0 or 10.1
installed. My friend purchased Panther himself. It came on a DVD. Of course, it cannon be installed through Power Mac's CD-ROM drive.

Longer term, my friend will need a faster CPU, much larger hard drive and a DVD- RW DL optical drive. I've already increased the RAM to 1 GB and installed a USB 2.0 PCI card. Once I've transitioned the Power Mac to Panther I will take up the remaining matters.

BTW, there is no plan to run Tiger on this Mac.

Natobasso - Sep 23, 2007 - 2:35 pm

Remember, need 9.2.2 not 9.1 in order to run classic in os X.

You can't use one computer to boot up another. You can use a system disc, though.

alfred_bowman - Sep 24, 2007 - 6:40 pm

My friend will need an external hard drive for use with Leopard someday. I have a good deal on a Mac-formatted 250 GB USB drive. However, when running under OS 9.X or Panther, will the Power Mac be able to see all of this capacity or will it see 128 GB?

Natobasso - Sep 25, 2007 - 10:19 am

It will see all the external capacity. Where you have to watch out are certain internal drive formats; those can limit your capacity.

alfred_bowman - Sep 25, 2007 - 11:00 am

Thanks for all your help.