Just got an Imac G3 - Now what to do with it?

[AmigaEd]

Oh Happy Day! I just picked up an Imac G3 - I thought that it might not work correctly, but it seems to work fine.

This is the first Apple computer that I've used since 1984. It's my understanding that Morphos won't work on this, so now what can I do with it?

Regards,
AmigaEd

[AmigaEd]

Which iMac is it? It could be anything from a 233 MHz G3 to a 700MHz one.

Well, I tried to find out some about this iMac, but I think my lack of knowledge about these systems is hurting a bit.

It appears to be running OSX 10.0.3 and has 384 MB of RAM. Any advice on how to expand the RAM?

How do I find out what speed the processor is running at?

I have to say that while I really haven't done anything with this yet, when just moving around within the OS it seems fairly responsive.

Regards,
AmigaEd

[AmigaEd]

Wow! I've got to say that I'm quite amazed by the amount of interest that this thread has generated. I thought everyone would be too busy hammering on Commodore-USA too pay any attention to this thread.

Anyway, Thank you to all who have replied! Maybe it's just me, but I think have noticed a wee bit of trend in the responses that have been posted.

I'm still not sure what the processor speed is of this thing, where the heck is Sysinfo when you need it?

I can't wait to really find out how slow this computer with OSX really is. By all accounts, it seems that I should be waiting for inexplicable amounts of time for even the simplest task to run. All I've really done so far is just turn it on and stare at it while repeatedly clicking the left mouse button (It seems the right button is mis-placed.) while poking around the standard OS applications.

[AmigaEd]

I have a 333MHz model of the Tangerine iMac and have found that it is a perfect match to install my Efika inside of.  I will provide snapshots of how it all goes together once I figure out a few more details.  My Radeon 9250 video card has both DVI & an additional VGA port that connects to the card via a pin header on the card and ribbon cable to the standard 15pin VGA connector port.  The iMac has an internal video ribbon cable that fits the pin header of the Radeon 9250 video card, but I have not tested it yet, as I have not been able to confirm the pinout of the card matches the pinout of the iMac ribbon cable and pcb which converts and connects to the two row 15pin monitor cable for the iMac's crt display.  I have also found that I can gut the USB CD/DVD external drive and connect it to the iMac's internal CD drive.  I just wish the Efika had an internal USB header, instead of having to route a short USB cable from the Efika's external USB port back into the iMac case to connect to the USB to IDE adapter.  Other than that one cable and the difference in the port placements, it will be very difficult to see that this iMac is not stock.  The only other work I need to complete is opening the case further to tap into the iMac's PSU and adapt a plug to it that will connect to the Efika's electrical input connector.

I think it will make a great looking bottom of the line MorphOS computer and hope to have it completed in time for the AmiWest 2010 Show, sitting side by side with the G4 eMac, G4 MacMini, and Dual G4 PowerMac, on the MorphOS display table.

The Efika running at 400MHz probably runs MorphOS2.5 much faster and better than the iMac's G3 running at 333MHz runs any version of MacOSX.  I think it is a great match and should be more fun with the Efika inside than the original iMac mobo.

Edit: Does your iMac have a CD/DVD drive door, or is it the "Slot Loading" type of optical drive?  I believe the Slot Loading type started with the 400MHz models that came out right after the 333MHz model that I have.

@amigadave, I haven't had a chance to really do much with mine yet. Did you get yours completed for Amiwest? Also, to answer your question, mine has the slot loading drive.

Regards,
AmigaEd

[AmigaEd]

I shouldn't have immediately spun the whole idea as negative. If you've got some of the parts and the inclination, it's no stranger than some of the hacking I've done. And if you get it done, it will look good. I've still got one PC with all blueberry colored parts, accessories, and a color matched Epson printer.

Ha! This post just made me think of an awesome idea! Back in the day I just loved my old Panasonic dot matrix printer. I put reams and reams of paper through it over the course of several years. So this got me thinking that, maybe I could make a printer that emulates a dot matrix printer!

[AmigaEd]

Just discovered some interesting things about my iMac this evening...

First it is an iMac G3 DV and interestingly it comes equiped with a second VGA port as described here...

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8840906

I also was able to upgrade it 512Mb from 384Mb by removing a 128Mb module and replacing it with an 512Mb RAM module that I had collecting dust on my desk. (I think this might be upgradeable to 1Gb) So, I'm going to look around my junk pile for two 512 Mb modules tomorrow.

Regards,
AmigaEd

[AmigaEd]

I bet you could , but you'd have to add some kind of sound generator to make that annoying racket those things made.

This would be like the floppy drive click sound emulated in WinUAE. I'm sure that I could do that fairly easy. If nothing else, maybe I could do it with a playing card and a clothes pin. You know, like the kids used to put on their bicycle wheel spokes.

Here are some real works of art...

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/04/07/three-examples-of-do.html

Regards,
AmigaEd

[AmigaEd]

You can run up to Mac OS X 10.4.whatever on any G3, but if your iMac doesn't have Firewire then you can't install it on that machine - you have to install it onto the hard drive using another machine and move the drive.

Hard drives of any size can be used, but drives larger than 8 gig on tray loading should have a small partition (less than 8 gigs) at the beginning on the drive with Mac OS 9 on it from which you can run Xpostfacto to boot OS X from the rest of the drive. Drives larger than 128 gigs need all the boot partitions to be below the 128 gig limit so that the OS can load SpeedTools ATA Hi-Capacity Driver if you want to use the rest of the drive.

Where can I find more information on upgrading the hard drive?
Also what is the best way to image and backup a Mac drive? Sadly, I didn't get any OS X disks with the computer so if something was to happen the n all would be lost.

I have a first generation iMac which I've built into a Tonka truck:

http://www.ziaspace.com/tonka/installation.jpg
http://www.ziaspace.com/tonka/tonkaonshelf.jpg

Well, I'm not sure which is more of a classic the iMac parts or the metal Tonka truck.

Regards,
AmigaEd