Q: Loading OS X

The USB issue is more complex than just having a USB port. To run Mac OS X 10.3 directly, you need to have the ROM that provides a number of enhancements to support Mac OS X, which can be readily identified as the one that also supports built-in USB.

But your 3400 has no hope of running Mac OS X 10.3, since it has a 603 processor rather than a G3, and no amount of add-ons can fix that deficiency. All the code for 10.3 was compiled for execution on a G3 or better.

If you want to you could use XPostFacto to load Mac OS X 10.2. There is a bit of reading to do, starting here:

http://eshop.macsales.com/OSXCenter/XPostFacto/Framework.cfm?page=XPostFacto.htm l

Sorry, I mis-read your post (in the PowerBook 3400... section) as saying you had a 3400. My Bad.

Which of the PowerBook G3 models are we talking about? Is this a WallStreet ?

If you have a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet, you can run later versions of Mac OS X. Several Wallstreet users have reported success loading 10.3 Panther using XpostFacto. Results with 10.4 have not been as easy to obtain, and the space and speed requirements are steeper. 256 MB RAM and a 6GB or bigger Hard Drive would be good, more is always better.

fordwich,

You can identify which G3 you have:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=24604

If you have the Powerbook G3 Series M4753 "Wallstreet", you can run up to 10.2.8 natively. You have enough memory and HD space to do so, although it will be be somewhat slow plus 192MB of RAM is on the low side. If you have the software, X and PowerPoint, it will be worth a try as is.

fordwich,

You can run 10.3.x using a third-party application called XPostFacto:
http://eshop.macsales.com/OSXCenter/XPostFacto/

You need to have a working OS on the HD in order to run XPostFacto, so take a look at the documentation.

You need to have a working Mac OS to run the XPostFacto software. If you start from a newly-initialized Hard Drive, you must install Mac OS 8 or 9 first, and launch XPostFacto from there to install Mac OS X 10.3.

Partitioning is done with Drive Setup. This article takes you through Drive Setup's capabilities, including Partitioning. You need not have a Deep understanding to proceed, just an appreciation. So try to at least plod through the whole document and feel free to "snack" on the parts you need.

http://www.sciencequest.org/support/computers/mac/topics/drive_setup.html

fordwich,

Do not partition your 4GB HD...it is not necessary plus it is too small. If a Wallstreet has an HD larger than 8GB, it must be partitioned for OSX:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106235

You will need at least OS 9.0 to run XPostFacto, so anything from 9.0 up through 10.2.8 would be fine. However, with only a 4GB HD, you will want to do a few things:

1. Install just the System Folder from OS 9.x after initializing the HD; this will leave you the maximum space. If you install 10.1 or 10.2, you may not have enough space to install 10.3.

2. Install XPostFacto.

3. Boot to 9.x and launch XPostFacto, then load your 10.3.x CD.

4. Install the minimum OSX possible; as you go through the installer windows, there will be an Option button; deselect the printer drivers and foreign language translators.

You should be able to install a minimum 10.3.x using less than 2GB of HD space.

fordwich,

Sorry for the less-than-specific suggestions...

No, there is no need to wipe the HD. When you originally stated you just wanted OSX to run PowerPoint presentations, I assumed you wanted to start clean with OSX.

In my opinion, there are two considerations regarding your HD for installing OSX...free space and file fragmentation.

Free space:

I installed 10.3.9 on my Wallstreet via XPostFacto (minus the printer drivers and foreign language translators) and used 1.83GB of HD space. Since I have a 20GB HD and it is partitioned, I had my OS 9.x System Folder on another partition. A standard install of just the MacOS 9.2.2 system Folder uses about 225MB of space.

In your case, you will require about 2GB of free space for 10.3.x plus 225MB for the 9.x System Folder plus a minimum of 10-15% free HD space for normal operations of OSX. So you need approximately 2.5GB of HD space just to get 10.3.x up and running. You will then need additional space for PowerPoint.

File fragmentation:

During normal use with 9.x, files become fragmented (part of a file here...part of a file there) and the HD has less and less of contiguous free space. You want as much contiguous free space as possible when installing OSX. A utility like Norton Utilities for Mac can measure fragmentation and also defragment the HD. You can also defragment the HD by backing up your important data, erasing the HD, then running fresh installs of all your software. Another way to defragment is to drag-copy the contents of your HD to another volume, then reinstall after erasing the internal HD. When you make a Finder copy of a file or the entire HD, all files are put back together.

The ideal scenario would be this: After backing up any important files, you would boot to your 9.x CD > launch Drive Setup in the Utilities folder on the CD > zero all data > run Test Disk. This will thoroughly clean the HD and test the HD to make sure it is healthy. Now custom install just the 9.x System Folder plus XPostFacto, then install 10.x.

The simplest install, assuming you have the required free space, is to just install XPostFacto, then 10.x, and see how it runs.

fordwich,

Removing OS9 will not make the Wallstreet run faster unless you have Classic (OS9) set to launch at startup or you are running a Classic application. Go to your Dock > System Preferences > Classic and uncheck "Start Classic when you login". If Classic is running, this will increase memory available for other uses.

For the time being, I would leave the OS9 System Folder on the HD.

Here are a few additional suggestions...

1. If you have not done so, you can drag the 'Applications (Mac OS 9)' folder to the Trash and empty; this will free approximately 740MB of disk space.

2. Restart your Wallstreet to clean up memory, then open the Utilities folder > Activity Monitor, then select the System Memory button at the bottom of the window. This will show you how much RAM is used and free. Once free memory is used up, you will will start hitting the HD for virtual memory and things will slow down. I would leave this utility open and set it up so a pie chart of memory usage is maintained in the Dock (menu bar > Monitor > Dock Icon); you can then close the main Activity Viewer window and watch how memory is being used in the Dock.

3. Your Wallstreet is relatively slow (233MHz > 300MHz); adding additional memory and a faster HD is about all you can do for increased performance. In addition, Apple never wrote an OSX driver for the Wallstreet's ATI graphics card so things like scrolling are slow as are all graphics-accelerated functions. There is a hack, but it adds little to graphics performance.

4. If and when you want to remove the OS9 System Folder, there are several methods with this being one: First open the System Folder (not 'System' with the X on it), Select All from the Finder > Edit menu and drag the contents to the Trash and empty; now restart, then drag the empty System Folder to the Trash and empty.

Do you have a MacOS 9 CD to boot and/or install OS9 again if needed?