Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Question

Dec 30, 2005 4:03AM PST

Ok, I have another iMac G3. Thanks to MrMacFixit, I got the other one back up and going. But this iMac G3 is a 400mHz, 512 mb Ram, 20 gb HD. It has OS9 on it and Jaguar on another partition. I really don't care for Jaguar and would like to upgrade this one to Panther. I know its hard to find Panther since Tiger is all the rage, but I know I could find it. Actually, Tiger would be fun to run on it, but this iMac, unlike my other, does not have a DVD drive. So, how can I upgrade this iMac? Do I need to do anything other than popping the Panther CD, cause I know its not that simple? Thanks in advanced. Happy

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Moving to Panther
Dec 30, 2005 4:39AM PST

Panther is probably the highest version of OS X that will comfortably run on this machine.
If there is nothing on the iMac G3 that you really care about, the best thing to do would be to do an Erase and Install. This formats the drive, removes the partitions and deletes all your existing data. This is by far the best way to go. The HD on this machine is a little small but it's not a show stopper.
You said "cause I know its not that simple" and I say "Oh but it is!"
That is all that is involved with moving up to Panther on that machine. Insert CD, click Install OS X, reboot, choose Erase(format) and Install then sit back and enjoy the ride. If you want to save your data, it is nearly as easy. You just do an Upgrade, Archive and Install. All your data is saved and put back where it was after the upgrade.

So, which one?? Decisions, Decisions. Happy

P

- Collapse -
WOW!
Dec 30, 2005 4:43AM PST

After living in the PC world so long, I really did not think it would be simple. I should have known better. I figured Panther was the highest that would run. There really is nothing on that particular computer that I do not have on the others. So, I will take your advice and erase and install. The HD is a bit small, I was thinking of getting a larger one. I have placed HD's in PC's, but not ever a Mac. SO, it makes me a tad nervous.
I just can't believe it is that easy. Sorry, I am just floored. Happy
Thanks again for your help!
Rachyl

- Collapse -
When you decide
Dec 30, 2005 7:20AM PST

to change out the HD's, email my profile and I'll give you a step by step take apart and replace for one.
The case has to be cracked to replace the drive.

P