OLD PowerBook G3 - Installing Software

Question

Level 2

226 points

OLD PowerBook G3 - Installing Software

Your first question is undoubtedly, "Why on earth would you want to use a laptop that is almost 20 years old?"

Well, I need to get into a Retrospect 6 backup StorageSet. In order to do that I need to install an OLD version of Retrospect on an OLD computer.

The G3 starts and currently had 10.1 installed. I was able to get it to connect to my MacPro 12-core 2016 desktop so I can get files to it. Including the 10.1.5 update.

Which, when I try and run, I get a message "Installer Update is required for this update". Not sure what that is or how to get it working. Any thoughts?

The CD drive kind of works. Meaning if I put an OSX installer disc in, and restart, it will read the disc. If, however, I put a disc I burned on my new MacPro into the drive, it doesn't spin. So having the installer on a CD isn't an answer. I don't think a laptop from 1998 can read a DVD either.

Posted on Mar 20, 2017 10:12 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,307 points

Mar 31, 2017 9:43 PM in response to xparrot

Could the Installer Update 10.1 possibly be of interest to you?

See also Security Update 2001-10-19 and the system requirements for Mac OS X Combo Update 10.1.5.

Only a few browsers are available for Mac OS X 10.1.x, so problems accessing modern web sites must be expected. You may want to check whether an older version of, for example, Opera or iCab would work better than the existing browser.

Reply

Answer 2

xparrot Author

Level 2

226 points

Mar 20, 2017 10:14 AM in response to xparrot

Also the browser that is installed comes from the OS 10.1 installer and it is Internet Explorer 5.1. For some reason it only seems to be able to access google.com. Perhaps because it is such a simple site. Trying to go to dropbox.com or other more modern sites generates and error. So downloading from the web is extremely limited.

Reply

Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

85,366 points

Apr 15, 2017 7:11 AM in response to xparrot

Powerbook G3s came in these varieties

Kanga - a 250 Mhz based on the same form factor as the Powerbook 3400c. This can't run Mac OS X and can't run Mac OS 9.2 or later.

Neither of the following machines could boot Mac OS X off an external drive:

Main Street/Wall Street/PDQ: 233 Mhz, 266 Mhz and 300 Mhz. These could run up to Mac OS X 10.2.8 with 128 MB of RAM.

Lombard 333 Mhz/400 Mhz with USB & SCSI (the 30 pin port of 5 x 6 pins). This could run up to Mac OS X 10.3.9 with 256 MB of RAM.

Pismo 400 Mhz/500 Mhz. This could run up to Mac OS X 10.4.11 with 512 MB of RAM and had a built-in Firewire IEEE 1394a 6 pin port which could boot Mac OS X externally.

Running 10.1.5 is ok, but it did not offer much in the way of browsing capability, and getting up to 10.1.5 was a bear from 10.1.1, as it required 4 separate updates in sequence, and offered no repair permissions until you already had 10.1.5.

EMC bought Dantz and made versions of Retrospect after Dantz that could probably read the storage set you had.

Reply

Answer 4

Mar 21, 2017 4:24 PM in response to xparrot

Sorry - I didn't see a clear question in your post.

You want to install Retrospect? And/or is there a separate question: you can't run the 10.1.5 update?

Reply

Answer 5

xparrot Author

Level 2

226 points

Mar 21, 2017 6:59 PM in response to Silent One

Sorry, I guess my question is whether there is a way around the "Installer Update is required for this update" message. How do I go about updating the installer?

Reply