free g4, a couple of problems

Your Mac is capable of running Mac OS X 10.4.11. That gives you very limited access to Flash and Java, but otherwise works well on the net. USB Wifi adapters are too slow for that Mac, since it only has USB 1.1. However, an ethernet/WiFi bridge should at least get you on WiFi. Just connect the Mac to the bridge's WiFI LAN port with an ethernet cable.

Getting 10.4 is going to be tricky as you need the retail edition and not system specific. Also you need to make sure the PRAM battery is current by bringing it into an Apple authorized service center.

http://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2541

Forget watching videos, no Netflix is compatible, and very limited Youtube is. Sadly the net did not adopt Apple's early Quicktime Sorensen compression which worked on Powerbook G3 Macs that are 4 years older than that Mac. It could do 320 x 240 video and be playable on a 650 MB file (the size of a CD) for a two hour movie.

You could get an external Firewire DVD drive from http://www.macsales.com/ and watch movie DVDs with it, if it only came with a CD drive.

There may be some helpful keyboard shortcuts to make the iMac G4 boot into OS X on startup.

Or you could look into the control panels for system preference settings to be sure a default OS

is selected. The computer is capable of dual-booting OS9 and OS X, in the early models before

their iMac G4 USB2.0 model. Early 15" models and some early 17" (800MHz) ones can do it.

IF the startup manager or system preferences were to select by default the Mac OS 9.2, that

would have to be checked to see if you can choose it to find an OS X from the control panel.

•OS X: Keyboard shortcuts

http://www.tuaw.com/2006/03/27/tuaw-tip-keyboard-shortcuts-during-mac-os-x-start up/

http://www.silentway.com/mac-tips-ultimate-shortcuts-guide-mac-os-9 - Mac OS 9

•Magical Macintosh Key Sequences:

http://davespicks.com/writing/programming/mackeys.html

•MacMost 'printable' Mac keyboard shortcuts:

http://macmost.com/tag/keyboard-shortcuts

To access the optical drive, hard disk drive & battery (for replacement or upgrade) is a bit of work:

•Take-apart iMac G4 to access factory RAM slot, plus optical & hard disk drives

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/imac_g4/imacg4_takeapart.html

•Mr Totes iMac G4 take-apart (appears to be later iMac G4 USB2.0)

http://www.mrtotes.co.uk/page1/page1.html

•About PMU Reset:

Resetting the iMac (Flat Panel) Power Management Unit (PMU)

•About NVRAM and PRAM: (similar keys across several Mac OS)

OS X Mavericks: Reset your computer’s PRAM

The disassembly & reassembly of these requires some tedious effort, & a process

since there is Thermal Paste to remove from processor heat exchanger parts and

also needs to be re-applied with some attention to detail. A clear work space helps.

You may be able to obtain a replacement OS X Tiger DVD from Apple main support

by phone, for a fee; they had a generic white label version for PPC, last year,

but some did not know it existed... It may not be available, now. There was a fee.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

The "lampshade" iMacs are somewhat of a collectors item.

I recommend maxing out memory.

WIth 10.4, use TenFourFox a Firefox clone.

The startup manager will list all of your bootable partitions then give you a choice of which to boot. Hold down the option key then power on. Continue holding down the option key until you see the startup manager. This brings up the startup manager. Click on your hd or disc. Click on right arrow key.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Restore Tiger 10.4 & Leopard 10.5 DVDs are available from Apple by calling 1(800) 275-2273. Have your serial number ready. Have your credit card ready too. There may be a small fee.

Another number to try is 800-767-2775.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4720126?tstart=0 -- January 20,2013

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5772721?answerId=24588313022#24588313022 -- January 22,2014

What are the part numbers for these disc?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2191

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USB 1.1 is 10mbs. USB 2.0 is downward compatible with 1.1.

10mbs seems fast enough for Wifi traffic to me.

Ethernet Bridge Solutions

1. Ethernet Bridge
   "The versatile Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge can make any wired Ethernet-equipped device a part of your wireless network." from linksys. The supports both web browser based or program configuration. For the program, you need mac os x 10.5 or greater or windows xp to configure. Once configured, you can use it on any ethernet port.
   http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-RE1000-Wireless-N-Range-Extender/dp/B005FDXMJS/ref =sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314563758&sr=8-1
   (examples include Netgear WNCE2001 and Linksys WET610N)
2. Airport Express
   Airport Express is an external unit and you can configure it as a bridge. 802.11n ( You will need a more modern version of Mac OS X to configure. Sadly, Apple uses a configuration program to configure, not a web browser. ) Please note this requires mac os x 10.5??? or greater to configure or windows xp to configure. Please verify requirements before buying. Once configured, you can use it on any ethernet port.
   https://www.apple.com/airportexpress/
3. Netgear WNCE2001
4. Linksys WET610N are only two bridge examples.

USB Adapters

1. BearExtender
   http://store.bearextender.com/products/bearextender-mini
2. Newer Technology MAXPower 802.11n/g/b USB Adapter. New Technology has made these adapters for a while this one is for OS X 10.5 and greater.
   http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MXP3802NU2C/
3. Newer Technology MAXPower 802.11n/g/b USB Adapter. New Technology has made these adapters for a while. What Mac OS they supports changes over time. Be careful which one you get. Amazon claims to be selling older ones as of 2/16/2013. http://www.amazon.com/NewerTech-MAXPower-802-11n-Wireless-Extension/dp/B00132CMN C
4. Tenda W311M
   http://www.microcenter.com/product/373032/W311M_150Mbps_Wireless_N_USB_20_Adapte r
   Most of the real work is done in software. Took 15% to 25% of the processor in my iMac G3 600 😟
5. Edimax EW-7722UTn -- 300Mbps Wireless 802.11b/g/n Mini-size USB Adapter
   http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Edimax/EW7722UTN/Specs
   10.4 / 10.5 / 10.6 / 10.7 / 10.8

The letters n/g/b correspond to the speed of the data transfer. You should match the speed to your existing router. You best match on the highest speed. N is the highest. G is middle. b is lowest.

To see what kinds of third party or even Apple software, drivers, and other items may work

with your vintage iMac G4 model, note the processor version; this will limit the upward

upgrade to the last supported OS X version. An iMac G4 with 700 or 800MHz PPC CPU

is limited to Tiger 10.4.11 maximum, so several later options are not supported.

As to the wi-fi, some external ideas may work OK. Even an early model AirPort Express

base station may be configured to be used by Ethernet, in some instances, along with

a main AirPort base station. I'd used an AirPort Extreme (early orb model) and Ethernet

cable to add wireless to a B&W G3 350MHz PowerMac tower lacking a wi-fi card.

The original AirPort card is required for early iMac G4 where the USB version is not USB2.0.

With the last iMac G4s (1.0GHz/15" display, 1.25GHz/17", 1.25GHz/20") they can use more

RAM, use the Extreme AirPort wi-fi card, & can utilize up to 2GB RAM w/ both slots upgraded.

Security options vary, too, with the version of OS X and the wi-fi hardware of vintage. You

may be able to connect with a WEP setting, but not a WPA or WPA2. A second vintage

base station and original AirPort wi-fi card can be used just for the old Mac setup.

If you could upgrade the OS X to Leopard 10.5.8, accessing Mac OS 9.2 would be via boot

only because the ability to run OS 9.2.2 from within the OS X is lost when upgraded past Tiger.

This is called 'classic mode'. You could still dual-boot, to switch between an old Mac OS 9.2

and a later Mac OS X 10.5.8. The Leopard OS X may be much slower than Tiger 10.4 or older

OS 9.2.2. The limits of the vintage should be explored before buying into unsupported ideas.

(There is a way to convince an older iMac G4 with less than 867MHz cpu, to run Leopard 10.5

by use of a patch; an iMac G4 800 would run slower with Leopard than with Tiger, etc.)

In any event...

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂