I am currently running OS x 10.4.11
I would like to upgrade to OS X 10.5.4 and want to know if first off my computer will run more efficently with it and will it be of any benefit?
Machine Name: eMac
Machine Model: PowerMac6,4
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.42 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.2f1
OS X 10.5.6 was the last set of retail discs that Apple sold prior to 10.6 Snow Leopard.
OS X Leopard will run fine on this Mac.
If you want max performance after the update, you could increase your RAM memory to 2 GBs.
Your eMac uses PC2700 DDR333-184 pin SDRAM.
Do you already have/own 10.5 Leopard discs?
If no, you could call Apple to see if they still have retail discs still available for sale.
If they don't, be prepared to spend more than Apple's original price to buy a set of full retail discs from a third party reseller. OS X 10.5 Leopard has been discontinued for a little bit.
Search and shop online for best price. You need the full retail sale discs for your eMac.
These have a black "X" with a black starry background on them.
Good Luck and have fun!
Your still running Tiger on your eMac. The folks at the new Apple Store on Greenwich Avenue reiterated that 10.5 is long gone out of most, if even all, the retail outlets. Amazon has nothing and Ebay will cost you over $100 at this time; plus, it would be just the 10.5.1 which you would not want. Keep the money you would have spent on Leopard which would have run on your eMac but an additional 1G memory would help offset the slow processing speed. Snow Leopard cannot run on the eMac since it does not have an Intel chip set. I know they upgraded my Lab to 10.6; if they left 10.5 disc behind that would be great for you. Did your HD stay out of the trash?
I meant the poster could call the Apple Online store from their direct 800 number.
For awhile, Apple hangs on to the last most recent OS. Could still get this for their normal price.
I just bought my box set from my local Apple store in May this year. Apple may still have Leopard available for sale if poster calls the online store.
It wouldn't hurt to try.
However, you are right about picking up Leopard via third party resellers.
And the poster is going to pay much, much more than the original Apple price for these discs.
Probably best to spend the cash on increasing the amount of RAM.
Yes, I already have the disc sitting on my desk waiting to hear from you all if I should upgrade or not. I recently upgraded my memory to 1 Gb. You think I need to go to 2 gb? Right now I have 512 Mb in each slot. I don't run many heavy programs, but it seems as though the computer runs slow especially when on the internet.
I have seemed to keep the HD away from the trash so far. Thanks!
What type of connection do you have to the internet?
If it's a cable or broadband connection, sometimes access can slow down as more users access the same connection at approx. same times. Some broadband/cable providers are less susceptible to this, some are more. The flow of data slows down as more simultaneous users are online.
DSL connections, while slower data rates/flow, are less susceptible to this data slow down when the ISP is getting taxed on simultaneous online users
If you suspect that it's still your eMac, increasing the memory will help some with data throughput and speed issues.
Also, if upgrading to Leopard, it wouldn't hurt to have more memory installed as this version of OS X is even more of a resource hog.
Another question. How long have you had your eMac and do you run regular hard drive maintenance on your eMac?
If no regular maintenance was ever done, the hard drive and your computer can slow down because the data on your HD gets fragmented or separated and it takes your computer longer to access the data on the HD because it's spread out all over the drive.
can do some needed periodic maintenance to your Mac.
For heavy duty maintenance and de-fragmentation of your HD, you need to purchase a disk utilty/maintenance app called TechTool Pro from a company called MicroMat
I am using a cable connection hardwired (not wi fi)
What would be the benefits of upgrading? I have the disc and it is ready to install, just want to make sure it is the right thing to do. I have had the computer for 5-6 years now. No, I do not run regular maintenance. I have done some sporadically maybe 3-4X since I purchased the computer. I the free program OnyX a good place to start with maintenance? I thought there were ways to do that directly thru the computer.
I seem to have issue with many dropped pages (mainly on e-bay) that the page won't load. Not sure why that happens.
So before I install the new OS, I should run some maintenance, is that what you are suggesting?
How much free (available) space do you have on your hard drive?
Here's the instructions for installing Leopard.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1544 Choose Archive & Install and be sure to check to retain user settings. After you install, be sure to trash the Previous System folder (your old Tiger system).
Not sure where I can find how much free space I have. I see I have a 60KB with (59,682 bytes) Not sure I am looking in the right place. I am sure there are things on there that I can get rid of, should I do that before upgrading?
If you have the discs your half way there. Back-up documents and photos at this time. You would expect hard drive to last forever but they don't and you should not expect them to last. An Apple hard drive is not the problem here and you should not worry. Backing-up is just good sense. Unlike PC's, Macs do not ship with all those PC repair apps loaded from the factory because they usually do not need them. For your Internet speed you can expect the Cable connection to have sluggish periods during the day. You may wish to check your plugins such as Shockwave, Flash, etc. Visit Adobe for the latest PDF viewers. Your E-Bay problems could be your Browser and that sites are pushing alot of video content and that eats up your cache. Are you using Safari or Firefox and have they've been updated. You can find your hard drive free space various ways. Double click on your hard drive icon, if your not having that previous problem of it ending up sitting on the Trash icon, then go to>File>Get info and you will see Capacity and Available GB on disk.
To check how much free space has been used/left on your HD, click on the HD icon on your desktop, and then do a command-I and an info box pops up telling you how space you have used on your HD and how much is left. If your eMac shipped with an 80 GB drive, make sure you have at least 12-15 GBs or more left on the drive. If you have the 160 GB drive, you need at least 20 GBs left for OS X to function reasonably. OS X will become most sluggish when there is 15% or less left of HD space.
Most of the free disk utilities and the disk utility app in your Applications/Utilities folder are meant to take care of those disk maintenance items that need periodic maintenance. Such as running the daily/weekly/monthly cron scripts, repairing user permissions, optimization routines to keep the OS functioning on a relatively reliable basis, cleaning out various cache file, etc. Basically, light housekeeping of your HD.
Something like TechTool Pro does more intense and heavy disk maintenance/housekeeping in order to keep the HD healthier, efficient, and functioning with as fast access time as possible.
The faster your eMac can access data on your HD, the faster your computer will feel.
Disk maintenance is something that should be done routinely. For myself, I run OnyX about every two weeks (or if there has been a power outage or my computer does something out of the ordinary) and I use TechTool Pro once every month or two. I do a backup of my HD and all my important data about every 3-4 months or so. The saying is that its not if an HD will fail, but when.
I probably, should be doing a monthly backup, but have chosen to take a risk by only doing this every 3-4 months or 3-4 times a year. Having some type of fairly recent backup is better than having no backup if something goes wrong with the HD.
As far as upgrading, the major benefit will be that your eMac would be more up to date, you'll have access to many new features in OS X and, generally, will be of benefit if you need to update/upgrade any other software/hardware that will need OS X 10.5 a a min. requirement and leaves OS 10.4 Tiger behind..
Since OS X 10.5 Leopard is the last version of OS X to run on the PowerPC platform, it makes sense to upgrade to at least the final version of OS X for your eMac.
You do not have to upgrade to OS X 10.5, if you choose. It's not a requirement and if your computer has been running OS X Tiger fine, you can choose not to upgrade.
But, you have the discs, you'll have access to Leopard's many new and, in most cases, improved feature set and with each iteration of OS X, Apple has tried to optimize the code to run faster at each OS update. So, why not upgrade.
You don't have to run any maintenance ahead of time to do a system upgrade. However, I, definitely, recommend doing disk maintenance after doing the system upgrade, though.
As far as issues with the internet, if having issues with dropped pages, could be your browser of choice and or combination of data stream issues thru your cable connection.
Could try another browser like Firefox or Camino to see if the issue persists.
Other issues might be your browser history and cache files might have built up over time.
Probably have to clear these out.
Safari can clear its own history files by going up to the menu bar choose History drop down and choose the last option that says "Clear History" A app like OnyX can clear out any caches including browser caches from your eMac. If you have a lot of this stuff, it can slow down your computer and/ or browser's performance, also.
My recommendation is that you should do the upgrade and that you need to do a backup of any important data you have on your HD, first, before doing the system upgrade. If your eMac can burn DVDs, then backup and burn your data to DVD media. If you can only burn CDs, then you'll need to burn your data to CDs. For the future, try and be more diligent with maintaining the HD in your computer. This will keep it running as optimally as it can.
My Capacity is 148.93 GB and my available is 101.84 GB. Yes, I certainly need to back up first. So is an external HD the best or to just burn discs? I do have a DVD burner. What is the best disc to choose as I get confused with the -R -RW +R +RW etc.
Thanks again for all your great help!!!
External hard drive will save you a tremendous amount of time. Most will automatically b/u for you. So many to choose from and deals galore at this gift giving time of year. Go with a name brand Western Digital etc. No real need to get the TB capacity, 750 GB is great for your needs. Pocket or desktop model is another choice if you wish portability.
OK my first step to buy a External hard drive. Do others agree that Western Digital is a good choice for a Mac user? What other brands are good for macs? Once I purchase and back up all my important items, will then upgrade hard drive...Thanks for all the help once again!
Western Digital drives are a good choice!
Make sure you get one that's uses FireWire.
I use 2 that serve me well.
Once you get an ext. drive and backup all important data to it, you'll be ready to go with the system upgrade.
