I have an iMac G3 that the previous owner deleted the OS. I have the OS X tiger (10.4) and I have downloaded the Apple version 7.5.3 in Binary and have it on CD RW. I am new to mac and would appreciate help loading the older OS so I can find a way to upg

Mac OS 7.5.3 can't be run on it, and you need an external FireWire DVD drive to use the Mac OS X 10.4 DVD. The computer's firmware needs to be up to date before inserting the DVD.

(81806)

Clean Install of Snow Leopard

1. Boot the computer using the Tiger Installer Disc. Insert the disc into the

optical drive and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the

"C" key. Release the key when you see a small spinning gear appear below the

dark gray Apple logo.

2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue

button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive

size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of

partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, set the format type to Mac

OS Extended (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Partition button.

3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed

with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.

4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup

Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which you

will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update process by

opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your

installation current.

Could you supply us with a little more info about your iMac that will helps us help you more.

There were 3 iMac models that came with 500 MHz CPUs.

There should a a sticker or plate somewhere on the outside of your iMac (maybe on the bottom) that will give you and us additonal details.

What color is the iMac? That will gives a us another clue.

Mac OS 7.5 cannot be run on these iMacs.

In order to run any version of OS X on your iMac, you will need to run a Firmware update.

This firmware update needs to be run from a Mac OS 9.1 or 9.2 system.

You need to find, purchase and install first Mac OS 9.1 or 9.2 onto your iMac, download and run the firmware update before trying to install OS X 10.4 Tiger.

This is the firmware update you need, but not sure where if this is still anywhere on Apple's website any longer.

iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9

You will need to purchase an external FireWire CD/DVD optical drive as OS X 10.4 Tiger I believe is on DVD and there were only two iMac G3 models out of that entire G3 generation that came with a CD/DVD ROM drive.

The other iMac G3 models just shipped with CD ROM/CD-RW drives.

found OS 9.2.1 here.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Mac-OS-9-2-1/dp/B001DBGRRK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=13 67244080&sr=8-1&keywords=Mac+OS+9

or

OS 9.1 here, also.

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-9-1-OLD-VERSION/dp/B000058E1S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qi d=1367244080&sr=8-2&keywords=Mac+OS+9

Also, if you are planning on installing OS X 10.4 Tiger, 128 MBs of RAM is very paltry.

Here are the mimimum system specs to run OS X 10.4 Tiger.

To use Mac OS X v10.4, your Macintosh needs:

• A PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
• Built-in FireWire
• At least 256 MB of RAM
• DVD drive (DVD-ROM), Combo (CD-RW/DVD-ROM) or SuperDrive (DVD-R) for installation
• At least 3 GB of free disk space; 4 GB if you install the XCode 2 Developer Tools

Also, for best experience and performance, your iMac can take 1 Gb of RAM memory.

You can install (2) 512 MB RAM modules in your iMac.

Purchase here.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/100SD512328/

These are user installable.

Here's a video showing how to do the RAM upgrade.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=3vYrlMH1A-8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3vYrlMH1A- 8

I am curious.

Since you are completely new to Apple and Macs, why start your experience on older, obsolete technology that you'll need to finagle, somewhat, to get working.

The hardest thing to find will be the firmware update to run OS X on this iMac.

This is 12 year old technology. You'll be limited to what software is on the install discs (and any updates).

These Mac use older, no longer supported PowerPC technology and CPUs.

Getting any third party software that ran on these Macs and on OS X Tiger will be an exercise in futility.

Older Macs are very limited for Internet use, now. Especially for any type of video.

This is not a good way to be introducing yourself to the world of Apple and Macs.

Plus, you'll be using a computer with a tiny 13 inch screen size.

Your time and efforts maybe better served looking for and purchasing much newer Intel CPU Mac.

There are plenty of reputable used Mac resellers that sell older, but more modern Macs.

And those newer Macs will be ready to use right out of the box with no real hassles.

Plus, the screen sizes of newer iMacs start at 20 inch screen sizes.

This iMac you have is going to be a hassle,

You need to procure and install an older OS first.

Then you need to find, download and run a ROM firmware update.

Then to have an optimized system, you will need to purchase and install more RAM.

Then you need to purchase an external CD/DVD drive to install the newer OS X operating system.

You are going to have to purchase a lot of extras to get this iMac going well enough to use and when it is all said and done, it will not be the best Mac experience you can have.

Most used Mac resellers have newer Intel Macs with the proper OS installed, the Macs come with enough RAM to run out of the box and with some exceptions have everything you need to have a good Mac/computing experience.

Plus, at the very least, these newer Intel Macs will be half or less than half as old.

Something to think about before embarking on getting this iMac operational.

Hi and welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

Older iMacs go for less than $1000 dollars. Not all used Macs sell for $1000+

They may have been Intel Mac towers which still can go for that or much newer Macs.

Intel Macs started in 2006. So, you have 6 years of used Mac models that sell well under the $1000 range.

Plenty of older Intel iMacs in the $450-$750 range.

Also, Mac Minis are Apple's introductory base Macs. They can be had for cheap, too,,but need to purchase a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Used Intel Mac Minis are in the $350-$600 range.

Here is a link to a Mac reseller site that I use often with a link to one of the older iMac models I speak of.

Take a look around.

http://www.powermax.com

You'll be spending between $100 and $150 to get your little jewel working.

I, also forgot to mention, there is a half height AA battery called a PRAM ( Parameter RAM battery that will probably, also, need replacing as these only last 5- 7 years and need replacing.

You can purchase one of these from Radio Shack, but they are expensive at $20 for one of these.

or purchase cheaply here.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/BAA36VPRAM/

Good Luck to you, sir!

🙂

The power supply and video tend to fail on these machines.

The unix layer is open source. You can update it, if you are brave. I haven't done much of that. TenFourFox takes a gig of memory to get any performance out of it.

My iMac g3 600 still works. Here is what you will need to do:

I hacked a dvd reader by attaching a sony dvd 5.25 inch drive to a 3.5 inch external firewire drive. The sony drive is sitting on of my open external enclosure right now.

Restore Tiger 10.4 DVDs are available from Apple by calling 800-767-2775 as of January 20, 2013. Have your serial number ready. Have your credit card ready too. There is a small fee.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4720126?tstart=0

Your going to have to boot from an external firewire dvd reader to install or find a friend with a computer you can install tiger onto the hd.

Be sure to have the correct fireware.

Open Firmware, boot into Open Firmware.

Power on your iMac while holding down command+option+o+f

The first output line contains the firmware level. Mine reads:

Apple PowerMac4,1 4.1.9f1 BootRom built on 09/14/01 at 13.18.04

Copyright 1994-2001 Apple Computer Inc.

On my machine, I have 4.1.9f1.

What firmware do you need?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1395

For a slot loading iMac, this article indicates that you need to be running 9.1 or later version of Mac OS Classic.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1283

"The iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 will only run on iMac computers with slot-loading CD or DVD drives running Mac OS 9.1 or later from a local drive. If you are using Mac OS X you must boot from a local Mac OS 9.1 or later writeable partition (not a CD, or network disk) prior to following the update instructions."

You can download the Mac OS 9 updates from the Apple site.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1387?viewlocale=en_US

For tiger, you need 256meg of memory. A slot loader will take 1gig of memory.

You may need to get more memory.

get the 512meg card(s)

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac/G3_450MHz_500MHz_600MHz_700MHz

Mac OS X 10.4: System requirements

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514

OmniWeb uses the lastest Safari framework. The open source WebKit. Other browsers like Safari and iCab use the OS version of WebKit. The OmniWeb downloaded dmg includes it's own copy of the latest WebKit.

http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/

Safari 4.1.3 for Tiger

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1069

iCab - The Taxi for the Internet

http://www.icab.de/

for PPC -- works for me on 10.4. Supports 10.5

tenfourfox -- It's a port of the latest FireFox to run on older hardware and software.

"World's most advanced web browser. Finely tuned for the Power PC."

http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/

alternative download site:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37761/tenfourfox

What is my user agent?

http://whatsmyuseragent.com/

I covered quite a bit of this.

What the OP needs, if the firmware hasn't been updated, is the iMac firmware update.

Do you have the location on Apple's website for the OP to be able to download this from?

I can't seem to find it on Apple's website.

Without it the firmware updated, the OP won't be able to install any version of OS X.

I did a cut & paste kind of thing which lead to duplication.

Do you have the location on Apple's website for the OP to be able to download this from?

It's available on this page:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1283

N-iMac_FWUpdate_4.1.9.smi.bin

avoid expanding the file on the download computer.

Robert