how do i upgrade my powerbook G3?

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Level 1

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how do i upgrade my powerbook G3?

hi,
im new to this but hoping someone will shed some light on my problem!
i have a powerbook G3 (333mhz lombard bronze keyboard).
i basically want my mac stripped down to default and a newer OS installed.
im currectly running on OS 10.1 but need to upgrade to 10.3.
i only have 4GB hard drive space and my memory says 192mb. (is this the RAM?!)
sorry, im not very good at this technical stuff!!
i just purchased the CDs to install OS 10.3 but they did not run on my mac???
not sure if its because i dont have enough space?!
i want to add an external memory drive, as putting it in my laptop would really confuse me! but to this the, the only ones i can find to buy need OS10.3 or higher to run.
so feels like im in a catch 22 situation!
any advice would be greatly appreciated!
thanks
Em.

PowerBook G3, Mac OS X (10.1.x), Bronze Keyboard model M5343

Posted on Dec 12, 2007 6:36 AM

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Answer 1

mhwc

Level 1

0 points

Dec 12, 2007 7:17 AM in response to em555

I have upgraded my Lombard two years ago. I filled in both memory slots with 256MB memories for a grand total of 512MB of memory. I also replaced the HD with a 40GB 2.5-inch ATA disk. It was no problem to install from the CDs with 10.3; I just booted from them as usual.

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Answer 2

jpl

Level 7

28,285 points

Dec 12, 2007 8:07 AM in response to em555

Em,

Welcome to the Discussions.

Yes, the 192 MB of RAM is your memory.

When you state you have only 4GB of hard drive space, is this the total capacity of your HD or the amount available or the amount used? Highlight your HD icon, then Get Info (command-I) just to make sure.

When you inserted the Panther/10.3 CD, did your Powerbook G3 Series Bronze Keyboard "Lombard" boot to the CD? If it did not boot to the optical disk, the amount of HD space is not the problem (I'll get to that later).

Regarding an external HD for additional storage/space: The Lombard has only a USB 1.1 port and is very slow for moving large amounts of data. USB 1.1 has a speed of 12Mbps while the newer USB 2.0 has is 480Mbps and FireWire is 400Mbps. You can buy an external USB HD to work with your Lombard and one which will work with any version OS that runs on the Lombard, starting with OS 8.6.

Just to see if your Panther disks will boot your Lombard, try this:

1. Disconnect all peripherals including your mouse.

2. With the powerbook shut down, follow the instructions for resetting the PRAM:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238

(You may want to practice placing your fingers on the appropriate keys before resetting...it is awkward. Be sure to wait for two startup chimes.)

3. Once the Lombard is running, load the Panther CD...does it mount on the desktop? Click restart...does it boot to the CD? It takes a long time to load OSX from CD but you should be able to hear the optical drive chugging away.

4. If it does not boot to the CD but instead the HD, select Restart from the menu and then press the 'c' key.

If you can boot to the CD, don't do anything at this point...just select Shut Down; when the powerbook is off, manually remove the CD from the drive by pushing an opened paperclip into the small hole next to the eject button on the drive. I am not sure but I believe the Lombard will continue to boot to the OSX CD so this procedure will avoid that issue.

If you will kindly answer the above questions, we can then move forward. In addition, how much HD space would you like? Are you looking to store large amounts of photos and music? It would be much, much cleaner, and simpler to have a large internal HD installed than trying to use an external USB HD even if you have to spend $100(?) labor to have a drive installed.

I look forward to your reply...

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