I am thinking about the last option you gave. About removing and erasing the hard drive (HDD). I thought this through a bit more.
I might want to save some of the software (e.g. Microsoft Office 98) as it came pre-installed when my aunt first purchased this computer. I perhaps want to save the pre-installed software, but erase all the personal files from the PowerBook’s HDD.
I imagine that macOSs Disk Utility would be out of the question at this point. So my only option that I can think of would be to selectively drag and drop files into the trash and into an external HDD. Which leads me to my next point.
I would like to save all the contents onto an external HDD. I realize that most…if not all of the software has piracy protection. I don’t plan on selling it. Just keeping it as a keepsake/memento. As with the personal files.
I am chuckling while editing this reply to you. I’m not even certain I want to sell this PowerBook at this point anymore. $100 USD isn’t worth the memories my aunt can tell using this machine. Those memories are priceless.
However, I would like to save the files and software in case the old hard drive stops working.
My aunt was a graphic designer; as am I in certain respects. This computer has old legacy/perpetual software like Microsoft Office 98, Adobe Photoshop 5.5, Acrobat Reader 4.0, etc. Some of it is abandonware at this point.
I researched if I could use these old apps on newer Mac models. Namely Macs that run macOS Catalina and above. They do not, as they are old 16/32-bit apps.
In conclusion, I think it would be better suited to modify instead of completely erasing this old hard drive if I do plan on selling this computer.
Here are my main questions:
- Would it be possible to drag and drop the files from the PowerBook’s HDD onto a newer external HDD. This external HDD has a file system of macOS Extended Journaled.
- Would using an M1 Mac running macOS Monterey 12.2.1 or alternatively, a Mac that has an Intel chip running macOS Catalina 10.15.7 make a difference? Which would you choose to do this operation?
The HDDs in PowerBook G3 Models had Mac OS Extended (HSF Plus) file systems. (Source: https://www.applerepairmanuals.com/the_manuals_are_in_here/PowerBook_G3_Series.pdf).
I imagine that if Disk Utility can still configure HDDs to Mac OS Extended format (even in macOS Monterey) then the newer OSs can open the old files as well. (I looked at the contents in the computer that I definitely want to keep and those files are TIF, MPEG, and JPG. So yes, I am able to view and edit them.)
Thank you for your time again.
