Just acquired an iMac DV SE with DVD drive and 384MB RAM. It's running OS 9.0.4 (probably what it shipped with). Will this run 10.3 or 10.4 acceptably? or should i leave it OS 9?

I have quite a few of those running 10.3.9.
Runs fine!

More RAM is better, but as long as you don't run too many apps at once, 384 will work fine.

WARNING WARNING WARNING!

Update the firmware on that iMac before you get an OS X CD or other OS X bootable volume within 10 feet of it!!!!
UPDATE THE FIRMWARE!


This has been a public service announcement to all slot-loading iMac owners who wish to try OS X on their G3 iMacs...

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

Hey, did anybody mention the firmware thing?

I'd put 10.4 on it.

Good find!

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I haven't used 10.4 too much on G3 iMacs...
The couple I tried it on got pretty slow and pokey with 10.4, but I will admit it was a pretty fast test... and I might have goobered the install up (cloned from an eMac)...

Might be better than 10.3...maybe not..

Update the firmware to 4.1.9 before trying either one of them, however!

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

what color is it? and oh, you might want to update the firmware on it prior to installing OS X, as well as feeding it any add'l available RAM you can find...

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Sometimes it is what it is...
and then there's times when it's really better.



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It's a graphite. I think I might have heard somewhere that it might need a firmware update.

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timg
It's a graphite. I think I might have heard somewhere that it might need a firmware update.

Are you sure? I never heard that.

Only if you want to keep the VIdeo board from exploding.... (OK, keep it working.. I haven't actually had them explode....)

Trying to get the video back after booting to OS X without the firmware update is an excercise in frustration... and it doesn't always work.

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

Running the latest and greatest 10.4.8 on a 400DV here with 768 and it just humms along!

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Justice Robert Jackson

Allow me to impart some sage advice my mother gave me long ago:
"Be sure to always wear clean underwear, and always check the firmware version of a slot-loading iMac before installing OS X."

I have a Snow iMac DV SE, 500 MHz, DVD-ROM, 2 FireWire ports, upgraded to 1GB RAM and 120GB hard drive. So far, I have been content to stick with Mac OS 10.3.9.

I'm sure Tiger would run okay as well, but I don't really need Spotlight nor do I use Dashboard. Well, I do use a couple widgets, but Opera 9 has the two I need, calendar and weather, so I don't really need two Widget technologies running at the same time.

The biggest loss is all the Mac software which is increasingly 10.4 only. I've even seen some developers who have started developing Leopard only applications. Even still, Opera 9.1 for web, email, RSS, and bittorrent, and xPad for note taking, I'm pretty much covered. Namely is also quite useful for launching applications and Chicken of the VNC for those times when I need to connect to my headless file server and they both work quite well on Mac OS 10.3.9.

Did you know that updating the iMac's firmware is a necessary first step when installing Mac OS X?


Nathan

i just want to add that the firmware might not need updating, but it probably does.

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I think it was remiss of everyone not to mention that the firmware should be updated to 4.18 or 4.19f before attempting to install X.

Not doing so will usually render the iMac deaf, dumb, and blind. It can be saved, but it's no mean, simple feat.

Somebody should have said something!

10.3 at the very least, and if Hm says Tiger (with mucho RAM) is fine, I'd say damn the torpedos.

I'd like to have an iMac and a shuffle to match- maybe a Sage and Green, or a Tangerine and Orange.

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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.

You will need to update the firmware. I tried loading Panther without it and went thru the no display thing...
Also, silvarios-what HD did you install? Does any ATA work in it? I have a DV 400 with 256 RAM and the original 13 GB HD that I want to upgrade.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2007 06:20AM by DP.

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DP
You will need to update the firmware. I tried loading Panther without it and went thru the no display thing...
Also, silvarios-what HD did you install? Does any ATA work in it? I have a DV 400 with 256 RAM and the original 13 GB HD that I want to upgrade.

120GB 3.5" PATA Seagate. ATA 133 or 100 or some such. 120GB drives aren't laying around for great prices these days. For $85 or $35 more than I paid for the 120GB Seagate, I got a 320GB SATA Seagate. Granted, it was several months to a year later when I bought the 320GB drive. Three times the capacity for $35 more. 160GB PATA drives, which will format to 128GB without any special setup and may be the better buy. I suppose you could get an even larger drive, but without a software driver, your iMac won't see over 128GB. OWC sales the Hi-cap driver. Too tired to find a link for it at the moment. Maybe after I steal some shut eye.


Nathan

silvarios-no need for a link; you gave me enough info. Get some shut-eye. Thanx.

OK, I updated the firmware to 4.1.9 - had to upgrade the OS to 9.1 to do it though.

Haven't decided if I'm gonna put OS X on yet, but if I do, I have eliminated the possibility of killing the video. Hope everyone can sleep better now.