Best version of OS X for an iMac Rev. A?

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Level 4

1,295 points

Best version of OS X for an iMac Rev. A?

Hi,
what's the best version of OS X for an iMac 233 Rev. A with 192MB RAM, 2MB VRAM, and a 10GB hard drive? I know that Tiger isn't supported, but I want to know what version would be best for this machine. It's for my sister, and Classic is kind of confusing for her. She wouldn't mind if it was slow.

BlackBook CD, 2GB RAM, 80GB HD, Mac OS X (10.4.9), G1 Black 2GB Nano, and an old iMac G3 233 Rev. A - OS 9.2.2, 192MB RAM

Posted on Apr 20, 2007 9:58 AM

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Answer 1

roam

Level 6

13,637 points

Apr 20, 2007 10:04 AM in response to aqua-star

Hi aqua*star

Theoretically it could take Panther 10.3.9, though it doesn't have much grunt and you just scrape in on the RAM.
Maybe just use OS 9.22

regards roam

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Answer 2

aqua-star Author

Level 4

1,295 points

Apr 20, 2007 10:07 AM in response to roam

Okay. Would Panther have the overall best performance? I was thinking 10.1 or 10.2 but most things I read on the internet said otherwise.

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Answer 3

Gulliver

Level 7

25,749 points

Apr 20, 2007 10:19 AM in response to aqua-star

Hi aqua*star,

in fact 10.2 Jaguar is the only version of MacOS X that is suitable for your Mac. All previous versions were actually Beta-versions and Panther only runs with a major system hack called "XPostFacto".

If this answered your question please consider granting some stars: Why reward points?

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Answer 4

aqua-star Author

Level 4

1,295 points

Apr 20, 2007 10:28 AM in response to Gulliver

Thank you! My friend has probably every Apple OS ever released, so I'll install Jaguar as soon as I can.

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Answer 5

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

Apr 20, 2007 11:31 AM in response to aqua-star

aqua*star:

As roam has already indicated, the latest version of OS X your iMac will support is Panther (10.3x) and the maximum RAM for a Rev. Q is 384 MB. You should be able to run Panther with this, although with the combination of the processor speed and the max RAM you will probably see a lot of the beachball if you try to run multiple applications. If you maintain at least 20% of your HDD as free space, that will give you more room for Virtual Memory, and if you have a later faster HDD (5400 rpms or 7200 rpms) that will boost performance even more.

You can play it safe and run Jaguar (10.2x) instead. That is not as powerful, but it will give you more options than OS 9, which you can still have on your drive. Stay away from any version of OS X earlier than 10.2 as they are essentially beta versions, and not as stable.

Good luck.

cornelius

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Answer 6

ali brown

Level 7

26,503 points

Apr 20, 2007 11:49 AM in response to aqua-star

Hi aqua"star!

You will also have to partition the drive, and install OS X, within the first 8GB partition.
More info here Install OS X on G3/First 8 GB.

And be sure to install the iMac Firmware Update 1.2 Document and Software before installing Jaguar 10.2.x.
You must start the computer from a Mac OS 8 or Mac OS 9 System Folder on the computer's hard disk, not from a CD, in order to install it.

Be sure to use the Jaguar Full Retail CDs.

Unless purchased from AppleRescue, the discs should look exactly like the images in the above link, and not say Upgrade on them.

Good Luck!

ali b

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Answer 7

aqua-star Author

Level 4

1,295 points

Apr 20, 2007 12:03 PM in response to ali brown

Thank you, Ali! I would mark your post helpful if I could, but I'm out of stars 😟

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Answer 8

ali brown

Level 7

26,503 points

Apr 20, 2007 12:11 PM in response to aqua-star

You're Welcome aqua"star!

Don't worry about the star! I wasn't expecting one.

I admit I like to receive them, but if I was only here seeking points, I would not have replied to your question, as the allotted stars for this topic, were already meted out. Thank You for that courtesy.

I just wanted you to have all of the pertinent information.

Good Luck with the upgrade! And I hope your sister enjoys OS X.

ali b

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