Time River

Q: Upgrade OS X?

I have a Powerbook G4 17 inch 1.67 Ghz running OX10.4.11. Can i upgrade the operating system?  if so, to what?

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 17 in 1.67 ghz

Posted on Apr 18, 2012 1:57 PM

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Q: Upgrade OS X?

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  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Apr 18, 2012 2:00 PM in response to Time River
    Level 10 (314,412 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 18, 2012 2:00 PM in response to Time River

    Yes, to Mac OS X 10.5.8.

     

    (65738)

  • by Time River,

    Time River Time River Apr 18, 2012 2:23 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 18, 2012 2:23 PM in response to Niel

    Thank you Niel.

  • by Texas Mac Man,Solvedanswer

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Apr 18, 2012 6:50 PM in response to Time River
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Apr 18, 2012 6:50 PM in response to Time River

    Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard installation system requirements

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24950

     

    Leopard is no longer available at the Apple Store but may be available by calling Apple Phone Sales @ 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753).

     

    If you can't obtain a retail install DVD from Apple, look on eBay or Google the installer part numbers to possibly find at an on-line store. Here's what to look for:

     

    MB427Z/A  Leopard 10.5.1 install DVD

    MB576Z/A  Leopard 10.5.4 install DVD

    MB021Z/A  Leopard 10.5.6 install DVD (single user)

    MB022Z/A  Leopard 10.5.6 install DVD (5-user family pack)

     

    Installing Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1544

     

    Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Installation and Setup Guide

    http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/leopard_install-setup.pdf

     

    After you install the base 10.5, download & install the 10.5.8 combo update at http://support.apple.com/downloads/Mac_OS_X_10_5_8_Combo_Update

     

    The DVD should look like this

    leopard.jpg

    Caution - Leopard does not support classic mode. So, if you currently open OS 9 apps in classic mode, you won't be able to do this if you upgrade to Leopard.

     

     Cheers, Tom

  • by DrakkenWar,Helpful

    DrakkenWar DrakkenWar Apr 18, 2012 9:34 PM in response to Time River
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Apr 18, 2012 9:34 PM in response to Time River

    Agreed here. 10.5.8 is really the way to go to the best out of your powerbook. I recently did the upgrade myself here on my G4/1.5/2gig ram, and I have not looked back.

     

    While I was worried that things would be slower, boot times, programs starting and what not from research online, I have to say everything is actually a might be faster than with 10.4.11. Not to mention the availibity of software that comes once you do the upgrade.

     

    One thing that was not mentioned; 10.5 can be really REALLY expensive to obtain, so do your homework, be patient and wait for a deal to come along.

     

    ~Drake

  • by Time River,

    Time River Time River Apr 18, 2012 11:43 PM in response to DrakkenWar
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 18, 2012 11:43 PM in response to DrakkenWar

    Thanks, Drake.  I am glad to have a second confirmation about 10.5.8.  I am really broke right now, so I will have to wait out of necessity for a good deal.  In fact, I have to find it dirt cheap.  A friend offered to let me bootleg it from another bootleg copy, but I have never liked that.  However, I need to do something, because my version of Safari is not recognizing the latest Flash movies on many internet sites.  I just can afford to make the jump to intel macs.  Does 5.8 still allow Classic System 9 to run?

    kevin

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Apr 18, 2012 11:51 PM in response to Time River
    Level 10 (314,412 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 18, 2012 11:51 PM in response to Time River

    No.

     

    (65767)

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Apr 20, 2012 11:04 AM in response to Time River
    Level 8 (35,311 points)
    iPad
    Apr 20, 2012 11:04 AM in response to Time River

    However, I need to do something, because my version of Safari is not recognizing the latest Flash movies on many internet sites.

     

    Note that going to a higher level of Safari or a new OS is not going to help that. The highest level of Flash you can run on a PowerPC Mac is Flash 10.1.102.64. There is a hack to get a little higher but the G4 processor itelf is pretty challenged by today's modern video technologies.

  • by Time River,

    Time River Time River Apr 20, 2012 1:11 PM in response to Time River
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 20, 2012 1:11 PM in response to Time River

    Thanks, Tom, Niel, Allan, and Drake for sharing your knowledge with me.  It is very appreciated.

    Kevin

  • by Texas Mac Man,

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Apr 20, 2012 1:25 PM in response to Time River
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Apr 20, 2012 1:25 PM in response to Time River

    I have a no cost solution to your Flash problem.

     

    Flash Player version 10.1.102.64 is the last version available to PPC Mac users. However, this Flash version won't work for many videos on Facebook, YouTube and other sites. Adobe's latest version, 10.2.x or later, is only for Intel Macs. Adobe will not provide a newer Flash version for PPC Macs.

     

    The message requesting that you download Adobe Flash Player takes you to Flash Player requiring an Intel processor. Doesn't work on a PowerPC processor. I found a hack, installed it & it works with Firefox, TenFourFox & Safari.

     

    Download this http://www.steelbin.com/FPforFBPPC.zip to your desktop, unzip it, and replace the current Flash Player plug-in which is in your main/Library/Internet Plug-Ins folder, (not the user Library). Save the old one just in case this one doesn't work.

     

    Also, Leopard does not support running classic mode.

     

     Cheers, Tom