Thanks for everyone's comments on "What the heck is OS 9?". Very helpful. I have been reading up on old iBooks and OS X and think I want to give it a try on this G3 366Mhz, 6GB HD beast. At this point I have upgraded to 9.2.2 (a fine OS, I should add) and upgraded the firmware to allow for OS X transition. Currently looking into the cost for upgrading the RAM to 576MB. The problem is this iBook doesn't have a DVD drive or FireWire, just USB 1.1.
I have an external drive that I hooked up via USB to the iBook and, although slow, it was recognized. The question is, how to reformat the HD and install a skeleton of OS X without the proper drive or FireWire? I figure a skeleton install of OS X (about 2.5GB) will leave 3GB of space for my friend to play with. I am not expecting miracles with OS X, rather I think this will be the stepping stone to convince my friend to get himself an iMac. The plan is to show him OS X and then show him how fast it runs on my iBook. Conversion in process.
You could install Jaguar (10.2) since it came on CD's. I don't think Tiger will install on that iBook since it doesn't have firewire.
I wouldn't bother with OSX on that iBook. You'll just be throwing away money and time on an upgrade that is still likely to perform poorly. If it had enough memory and a bigger drive when you got it then it might be fun to try out OSX, but it ain't worth spending more money on it now. The lack of a firewire port really cripples that model even if you can find more memory cheaply.
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You could install Jaguar (10.2) since it came on CD's. I don't think Tiger will install on that iBook since it doesn't have firewire.
Hi,
I was thinking of Panther. Tiger's spotlight would KILL this little 'book. I have Jaguar discs and didn't even think to try them. I'll give them a go, but I would like to know how to do Panther if it is possible.
I had an old Wallstreet II that was 233 G3 388meg ram and 30 gig hd that I put panther on. I had to use Xpostfactso to do the install but it worked no problem.
There are many write ups on doing the install but you must partition the HD if you want to keep OS9. I think this isn't needed if you only want OSX.
I gave the powerbook to my sister to replace an old 8600 and she loves it.
There are plenty of reasons to stick with OS 9 but the question is, how do you install Panther when the iBook has no DVD drive and no FireWire to target disk from? USB 1.1 only.
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