Need To Move from Power Mac G5, 7.3 {2 cpu} - to perhaps a new Mac Mini

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Need To Move from Power Mac G5, 7.3 {2 cpu} - to perhaps a new Mac Mini

I need to move on - ever more applications are no longer supported for 10.4.11, I can't even find printer drivers for newer printers. Looking at a new Mac Mini to run two 20" displays.

I have a bootable firewire hard drive, used only as a Carbon Copy system backup.

Reviewing the extremely detailed instructions and process needed to migrate my data to the newer system - - - - I realize it is quite beyond my very limited capabilities. Most important is moving my E-Mail files from Eudora 6.6 to ...Apple Mail?

Question - with the above information and goals - - Are you allowed to recommend specific professional individuals, in the Tampa Bay area - that can handle the migration of my data from the old system to the new? Someone with "real experience" doing this?

thanks,

Carl

Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Oct 5, 2013 6:47 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

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Oct 5, 2013 9:45 PM in response to Carl Beck

Hi Carl,

We are not allowed to recommd ot post hings that may benefit somene financially, for the most part.

I'd find an Indenent AASP, they generally know more than Apple stores...

https://locate.apple.com/service/?pt=4&lat=27.950575&lon=-82.45717760000002

Most of this can be done,, I know how, it'll likely nvolve upgrading to 10.5.8 first, cloning again, & several more steps.

On a newer OSX, Mail>File>Iport>from Eudora.

Not sure if it'll be so easy in a few weeks when 10.9 is released.

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Answer 2

Carl Beck Author

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Oct 6, 2013 11:31 PM in response to BDAqua

I have 10.5.6 update disc - does a hard drive have to be partitioned with 10.5 {like 10.4}.

I have a firewire hard drive I use as a backup - with CCC. It shows up as a boot drive, but I can't boot from it because it doesn't have a System O/S installed yet. Can I install 10.5.6 on that without having to wipe it clean and partition it?

If so - I can run a trial run there.. to at least get to 10.5.8...

thanks,

Carl

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Answer 3

BDAqua

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Oct 7, 2013 9:44 AM in response to Carl Beck

You should be able to Install without erasing using 10.5.x, but was there a reason you didn't clone the whole drive that includes the OS using CCC?

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Answer 4

Carl Beck Author

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Oct 7, 2013 3:08 PM in response to Carl Beck

Hi BDAqua:

I did do a backup of the entire hard drive in my G5 Desktop - to the Firewire Drive. I could not however get the computer to boot from the Firewire Drive. I would select it in the Sys Pref as the Boot Drive - restart, but the computer would reboot from its internal drive.

I thought that was because a system OS could not be copied, while it was already running another CPU. So thought I'd have to boot from a DVD to install an O/S on the firewire drive. Since I had to do that - I installed 10.5.6

I did that - It successfully installed 10.5.6 on the firewire drive. At least the System Installer said it was successful. Nonetheless, I still can't get the computer to boot from that drive. I can access the FW drive and see that the System Folder etc was updated today.

When I select the System Folder on the FW drive - and do a "Get Info" - it doesn't show me what Rev. of the System is there.

I must have missed something.. the FW Drive is a 1T "OWC Mercury Elite AL Pro" Is there anything else I needed to do - to make that drive a Boot Drive? Actually it shows up as a Boot Drive - but the computer just won't boot useing it.

thanks,

Carl

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Answer 5

BDAqua

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Oct 7, 2013 4:45 PM in response to Carl Beck

Ah, great clues, if this is a recent OWC Mercury Elite AL Pro, there's a tiny red swich inside that needs flipping to boot PPC Macs, if you don' want to void the warranty, you have to call or beter chat with them to get it OKed.

Then you have to erase & re-install or clone... least wise I did.

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Answer 6

Carl Beck Author

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Oct 7, 2013 10:26 PM in response to Carl Beck

Oh...man, that is a bummer. I think I bought the drive in Jan. of this year.

I'll give them a call..

thanks BDAqua...

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Answer 7

BDAqua

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238,955 points

Oct 8, 2013 11:38 AM in response to Carl Beck

Or click the Live Chat support icon here...

http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/

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Answer 8

Carl Beck Author

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Oct 8, 2013 4:07 PM in response to Carl Beck

"If it ain't one thing - it's another" Well Alex, on Live Chat at OWC support spent about 45 minutes with me. He referred me to the User Manual when I couldn't find that "red switch". I took pictures of the PWB in my enclosure and sent them to him... Turns out that the drive I received is hard wired, and will need to be rewired to work as a boot disc.. Yes, it was that 2.2TB addressing limited needed vs having more than 2.2TB available.

The best they could do for me - was to pay the shipping both ways - to send it back to them for a hard wire reconfiguration. I'd had the drive for 10 months - and it is now loaded with backups. So I wound up buying yet another drive - so I can have a working backup on hand - during the time it will take to send the original drive back to them, have them fix it, and return it to me. Alex got me a 10% discount on the new drive. Not much but it was something..

I appreciate your time and effort to help me resolve this..

Carl

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Answer 9

BDAqua

Level 10

238,955 points

Oct 8, 2013 8:23 PM in response to Carl Beck

Whew, OK, plesae keep us posted, this is a new development for me. 🙂

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Answer 10

Nov 11, 2013 5:04 AM in response to BDAqua

Status Update:

Last month I bought another OWC Mercury Elite AL Pro - 1TB. The drive arrived, hooked it up - and same result.

I used CCC to clone the entire System, then If I selected it in System Preferences as the boot drive - the Computer couldn't seem to find the external drive - and it would default to using the internal drive.

Getting nowhere, I decided to update the OS on my G5 from X 10.4.11 to X10.5.6 - even if I didn't have a bootable backup. I had the OS-X 10.5 install disc. The installation went about 1/4 way - and the system crashed. I couldn't get the CD/DVD drive to eject the Install Disc.. So did a cold boot - holding down the "Option" key - - - The system searched for a minute, then displayed icons for the internal hard drive, the CD/DVD drive and The External Hard Drive… I selected the External Drive.. and the system booted from that!

So for some unknown reason - my system wouldn't boot from the external drive when selected from the Sys. Preferences "Startup Disc" panel - - - but it would boot from the external drive when the "Option Key" was held down - and it was selected during the Start Up Process.

Having my old G5 PPC Pro up and running again at 10.4.11 - I updated the backup on the external drive - then dropped by the local Best Buy and bought a new Mac Mini i7. Had to give up waiting for Apple to release a new Mac Mini. So I've spent what time I've had available - moving my data and software to the new Mini.

Although not a part of this original discussion - I will mention that I have found the following:

1. MS-Office 2008 loaded and seems to run fine on OS-X 10.8.5

2. Had to update Photoshop Elements..from v 4. to v12

- - had to use Phoenix Slides Software to replace the basic functions of "Bridge" in Elements v4

3. Had to update Fetch for FTP transfers

4. Used EMailChemy - to pull all my Eudora Mail files - into AppleMail. AMAZING!!

98,000 EMail messages, 2445 attachments, in at least 45 Mail boxes - many with subfolders.

5. Still haven't been able to get my Personal Address Book data/information transferred to the new "Contacts" address book on OS-X 10.8.5. This is a real worry…

Thanks for all the help..

Carl

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