Powerbook G4 12" : HDD HS and no backup

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SofEvans Author

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Powerbook G4 12" : HDD HS and no backup

Hello,

I have an acquaintance ( Jerome ) who received from one of his friend a G4 powerbook 12 " .

The problem is that Jerome does not know computers well and he never turned off the mac.

The hard drive has stopped work at the end .

The inventory today is that there is no backup or reinstallation cd , not even the login / pwd computer .

The guarantee is no longer valid.

Jerome entrusted me his powerbook that I repair.

With no operating system , I intend to buy a new hard drive and buy a mac OS X, except that I 'm not familiar with the mac myself and I do not want to make mistakes .

Is it possible to install Snow Leopard on a new hard drive for a powerbook G4 12" ? Or i have to get an older OS ?

http://store.apple.com/fr/product/MC573F/A/mac -os -x -106 -snow -leopard

Thank you for reading.

Have a nice day .

PowerBook

Posted on Oct 9, 2014 7:06 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 9, 2014 7:17 AM in response to SofEvans

Hi ..

Even if you installed a new hard drive ..

v10.6 Snow Leopard cannot be installed on a PowerBook G4. It requires an Intel processor. The PowerBook is PowerPC.

v10.5 Leopard is as far as you can go for the Mac OS X on a Powerbook G4.

Check Amazon for installation an installation disc.

Keep in mind before purchasing a Leopard install disc, Leopard is an outdated Mac OS X. Given that you would have problems accessing most websites on Safari.

If you want a Mac and trying to save money, you can purchase refurbished Macs from Apple with a one year limited warranty.

Refurbished Mac Computers - Refurbished Notebooks & Desktop Computers - Apple Store

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Answer 2

SofEvans Author

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Oct 11, 2014 8:25 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

Hello Carolyn Samit,

Thank you for your reply that I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it was .

I was a bit stupid not to have notice for the PowerPC processor.

So "mac os X lépoard" maximum it is.

Thank you for your remarks about the obsolescence of lépoard , but the computer takes it a sentimental value for Jérôme.

Actually, he is more interested in the computer is running again, regardless of the OS.

Except that windows is irrelevant (PowerPC and not Intel, I learned the lesson) , Linux (kind debian / ubuntu ... ) I looked a lot on google and it looks really complicated ( especially since I recall that Jerome is not really familiar with computers ) .

So logically, I try to reinstall the best mac os X.

I had a lot of difficulty finding a reinstallation cd (bad research? Bad keyword? ) .

Does this seem right to you ?

http://www.macosxsoftware.co.uk/epages/es148690.sf/?Currency=EUR&Locale=fr_FR&Ob jectPath=/Shops/es148690/Products/006&ViewAction=ViewProductViaPortal&gclid=CJbZ w5DxpMECFZTLtAodanEAIg

I hesitated on the fact that there is the word "USB " I do not understand.

Thank you for the time taken to help me.

Kind regards .

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Answer 3

Oct 18, 2014 1:01 PM in response to SofEvans

My first Mac was a powerbook 12". Still my favourite computer. Just be aware changing the hard drive in one is not trivial, there is a lot of stuff packed into this machines.

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Answer 4

SofEvans Author

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Oct 18, 2014 4:02 PM in response to Nick Fletcher2

hello,

Thank you for clarification.

I began to follow a tutorial to disassemble the mac and it end very well.

(http://www.powerbook - fr.com/powerbook/demontage/alubook_12_g4_article53.html)

Jerome is decided , so I'll buy a new hard drive as well as Mac OS X.

The slight problem is that apparently Leopard would slow or rather be laggy due to the lack of ram. So I guess Tiger would not be a bad idea, even if it is an even older than Leopard OS .

(http://www.macosxsoftware.co.uk/epages/es148690.sf/sec9e517331aa/?ObjectPath=/Sh ops/es148690/Products/009)

Kind regards.

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