I'm looking to speed up my iMac G4 for the least $ possible.

The setup: iMac G4 800mhz with 768mb RAM, 128gb 7200rpm drive running 10.4.11 with FW400 drives attached storing all my music (just north of 200gb). iTunes running for all the audio ripping and playing.

The problem: it slows down considerably with any search function, or stopping and starting of tracks. The beachball appears and it will react after a few seconds (4-8) but that is frustrating.

Can I set it up to boot off the FW400 drive? Would that offer any benefit to speed (I seem to recall that it won't but have yet to attempt). Or, can I add an SSD with an adapter to the IDE interface? If so, what is the least expensive way of doing this? Again, cost is a consideration, as I don't plan to use this machine for anything else.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2015 11:07AM by mrbigstuff.

MrBig,

If you're going to open that machine to replace the drive, you'd probably want to replace the PRAM battery. 'course, my personal recommendation would be to replace the machine entirely. Just not worthwhile to put any time or money into a machine of its vintage unless you're doing it for giggles.

Robert

Was 10.6 a Nuke and Pave install?

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There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

oops, I goofed, i am running 10.4.11 on this machine.

yes, the original HD died 6mo ago, and this is a replacement with a fresh install.

>>The beachball appears and it will react after a few seconds (4-8) but that is frustrating.

Seems like something is wrong. either there a processor hungry task thats running and shouldn't be or something else is wrong.

I'd be tempted to use another external hard drive, install a new system, and make sure you can do the above tasks without the issues you see.

hm, you might try it from another user account

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Quote
RAMd®d
Was 10.6 a Nuke and Pave install?

10.6 on a G4? Sweet dreams

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space-time

Quote
RAMd®d
Was 10.6 a Nuke and Pave install?

10.6 on a G4? Sweet dreams

Yup. You could nuke, but you could not pave.

10.6 on a G4? Sweet dreams

oops, I goofed, i am running 10.4.11 on this machine.


Yes, if you're going in, replace the PRAM battery. As unlikely as it seems, that might help. And if the iMac was unplugged for any amount of time, it needs a new battery.

My buddy was getting video artifacts on his, but I put in a new battery and all was A-OK.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

CF card to IDE, as a poor man's SSD?

Sure, SSD is worth a try, if you really want to keep that machine.

OK, I am willing to try SSD, if anyone has some recommends for a cheap (but trustworthy) model, I'm all ears.

I'm not sure what is causing the beachball, either, as it is worse with the recent 7200rpm drive than it was with the original 5400rpm 12yr old drive.

mbs, I'll be following your progress as I have a 700MHz G4 iMac, and would be tempted to do the same.

But change the battery.

Unless it's fairly new, it was put upon when you unplugged the iMac for the HD swap.

As I said earlier, my buddy had major video artifacts seconds after turning it on, but it still showed the correct time before hemorrhaging pixels.

Do you get the beachball when surfing? When clicking links here? If not, maybe a Nuke and Pave is in order.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

If those FW400 cases aren't SATA on the inside, going to have to add that cost in.

Figure $50-60 for a 60 GB -120 GB SSD, then the same amount for a FW400/800 case.

For $150 you might be able to find a first gen AL iMac -- which will run 10.6.8...

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

I would suggest booting off an SSD in external FW400 case but a web search suggests that firewire booting can be hit or miss with that generation (possibly dependent on the chipset in the enclosure.)
They do make IDE SSDs (example- [www.newegg.com] ) but that may not be your best value.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

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For $150 you might be able to find a first gen AL iMac -- which will run 10.6.8...

No. Unless you have a good craigslist.

.

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2015 12:43PM by Black.

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p8712

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For $150 you might be able to find a first gen AL iMac -- which will run 10.6.8...

No. Unless you have a good craigslist.

Guess I have a good one. Or got lucky =) Got a loaded 20" 2009 for $200 awhile back.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

thanks, I will look into the SSD purchase for internal use.

I'm def keeping this machine, as I just love it, mainly for the swiveling screen as it sits on an upper shelf and I can angle the screen down.

as to the PRAM battery, I tested it last summer when I did the surgery and I was *amazed* that it tested well. so, I left it in.

I'm still confused (and perhaps I should explore this) about why it's stalling.

Quote
jdc

Quote
p8712

Quote

For $150 you might be able to find a first gen AL iMac -- which will run 10.6.8...

No. Unless you have a good craigslist.

Guess I have a good one. Or got lucky =) Got a loaded 20" 2009 for $200 awhile back.

So did I. The Plactic iMacs run 100-150, though, and are good macs.

like this one:
[allentown.craigslist.org]

TWO iMacs for $200!

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decay
like this one:
[allentown.craigslist.org]

TWO iMacs for $200!

Not a bad deal if you need/want that vintage.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

I don't, but $100 for a working Intel Mac isn't too shabby.

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Quote
jdc

Quote
p8712

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For $150 you might be able to find a first gen AL iMac -- which will run 10.6.8...

No. Unless you have a good craigslist.

Guess I have a good one. Or got lucky =) Got a loaded 20" 2009 for $200 awhile back.

Every now and then people aren't aware of what they're selling, or they misdiagnose an issue or two. Heck, many years ago I gave what I thought was a client's faulty G3 iMac to Ken Sp for parts w/ the proviso that he send the client's hard drive back... turned out it was the hard drive that was faulty, so Ken Sp got an otherwise perfectly good G3 iMac, and my client ended up buying a new eMac as a replacement. The issue w/ the G4 iLamp iMac, other than PRAM batts on opening and sealing issues, is I/O throughput speed and options. As Black notes, FW and IDE speeds can be finicky... while the form factor is amazing, if somebody could figure out how access the mobo buses in a speedier fashion, it would be a winner... or maybe figure out how to adapt a more modern Mini's guts into an iLamp... yummy.
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My local craiglist is crap for Apple gear, that's why I go more by online prices.

Here's good intel-G4 Conversion



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2015 05:11PM by p8712.

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p8712
Here's good intel-G4 Conversion

So why can't Apple do that for the rest of us!
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Sometimes it is what it is...
and then there's times when it's really better.



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cool
[www.dremeljunkie.com]

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Those mods look like a lot of fun!