IMAC G3 400Mhz

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IMAC G3 400Mhz

so i bought one of these imac g3's for my first mac. it is bondi blue and it has a front loading cd-rom drive. so far i really like it. i am running 9.2.2 on it right now. i know its a LITTLE outdated lol but i have one major complaint... i can't surf the internet very well. most of the web pages are scattered all over the place and i can't view them normally. any suggestions? i tried downloading mozilla but i think i downloaded the binary one, even when it was running, i didn't see a difference. should i upgrade os's? i am not sure how much my little memory can hold! please help!

imac g3, Mac OS 9.2.x

Posted on Feb 27, 2009 10:16 PM

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Answer 1

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,225 points

Feb 28, 2009 12:22 AM in response to fall0317

Mac program files on the Internet are normally encoded MacBinary (.bin) or BinHex (.hqx) for protection. Sometimes they are just compressed (StuffIt = .sit). Use StuffIt Expander for the decoding and/or decompression (drag the file onto the StuffIt Expander icon).

Unfortunately, the browsers capable of running under Mac OS 9.x are not going to work well with all web pages. iCab could possibly be an alternative worth trying.

Jan

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Answer 2

fall0317 Author

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Mar 1, 2009 2:13 PM in response to fall0317

okay so for one its not bondi blue, its sea green or something of that sort, and two its got a front loading cd-rom but not the tray loading one. i downloaded icab, but my surfing is limited (i had to install it by flash drive, bc ie wouldn't open the website) i am thinking about upgrading to osx10.4 ... should i add some memory?

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Answer 3

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,225 points

Mar 1, 2009 2:37 PM in response to fall0317

i am thinking about upgrading to osx10.4 ...

It is very important to carry out the appropriate firmware update before attempting to install any Mac OS X version.

should i add some memory?

Yes, as much as possible. For example, this article could perhaps be of interest.

Jan

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Answer 4

fall0317 Author

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Mar 1, 2009 8:28 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

thank you very much for responding. what kind of memory should i add... what do you recommend.. sorry i am so clueless when it comes to macs.

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Answer 5

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,225 points

Mar 2, 2009 2:46 PM in response to fall0317

Hi,

The easiest and best way to find the correct memory modules is probably to buy from a supplier specialised in products for Macintosh computers ( this company is merely an example, not a recommendation).

Jan

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Answer 6

Mar 3, 2009 3:40 AM in response to fall0317

Bear these two points in mind :

If you could find a copy, then OS 10.2 (Jaguar) will run comfortably in your iMac with maxed out RAM. It will seem quite slow compared to OS 9.2.2, but you will be much better off for browsers and email clients.

OS 10.4 (Tiger) needs a minimum of 256MB RAM but wouldn't comfortably in less than 500MB, and prefers 1GB to feel really smooth.

Your iMac can "officially" be maxed out to 512MB RAM so could run Tiger. "Unofficially" (unsupported by Apple, but with a machine of that age that is a fact anyway!) it could take two 512MB modules and therefore have 1GB RAM, and would therefore run Tiger comfortably.

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Answer 7

fall0317 Author

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Mar 3, 2009 8:19 AM in response to christopher rigby1

thank you for letting me know that. i have ordered some additional memory, but do not intend to replace the ram unless i need to. i ordered osx10.1 also, do i still need to do the firmware update before i install? also, do you think that will give me better surfing and e-mail? thanks

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Answer 8

Mar 3, 2009 5:24 PM in response to fall0317

Yes, you must do the firmware updates before attempting to run Mac OS X or even boot the OS X CD.

10.1 has issues, and very few here will be able to help you with it. It will introduce you to Mac OS X, but 10.2 is probably the oldest Mac OS X worth owning.

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Answer 9

fall0317 Author

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Mar 3, 2009 8:35 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

thank you. i have ordered 10.2 and i will return 10.1 once i get it.

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Answer 10

Mar 4, 2009 5:09 AM in response to fall0317

When you install 10.2, make sure you run the Software Update to bring it up to 10.2.8 - you need that upgrade for most software that still runs in 10.2, plus that last upgrade introduced Security to OS X, which didn't exist before.

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Answer 11

fall0317 Author

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Mar 4, 2009 7:37 AM in response to christopher rigby1

great thank you. do you have the website to update the firmware?

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Answer 12

Mar 4, 2009 7:46 AM in response to fall0317

Start here, and follow the links for your iMac. I think yours may be a slot loading CD (as opposed to the original tray-loading CD).

HT1935- Mac OS X: Available firmware updates

It is a wise move to PRINT OUT the step-by-step directions when you actually go to update the firmware. The procedure seems straightforward at first reading, but is just a little bit tricky.

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Answer 13

fall0317 Author

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Mar 5, 2009 5:26 PM in response to fall0317

okay, so the clamshell is taken care of, running great.... but when i insert the instill cd into my imac, it wants to give me problems... it spits it back out at me for one and then it gives me the computer with the question mark, when i take the disc out it loads 9.2.2??? i downloaded the firmware, actually it says it was up to date... so now what? the install disc worked on the clamshell. what am i doing wrong? i am holding down 'c' as the disc says... please help asap!!!

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Answer 14

dadsfav

Level 1

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Mar 5, 2009 6:04 PM in response to fall0317

Did you get anywhere near a solution to your problem? I myself have an iMac
G3 400 which I added 512 more memory to...but alas that didn't seem to help
the fact that I really need a new browser since the Explorer 5 that came
with my Indigo mac hasn't been supported since 2005. Anybody know what
browser would be a good replacement: Also, how do I install? I tried upgrading
to OS X, but ran into a wall here because my CD front-loader slot (single)
couldn't do the necessary job. Any suggestions from anybody out there?
Can't afford new computer just yet and trying to get all I can out of this
one.

Thx

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Answer 15

Mar 6, 2009 6:40 AM in response to fall0317

Hi

I have a iMac G3 with Mac OS 9.0 it has no problem with internet maybe your Modem and Ethernet plugs are damged or down grade to mac os 9.0 it gives me no problems

Thanks

David Groyer

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