Thread
Power Mac G5
hi everybody,
this is my first post, and i am so glad i have found this forum. i think it is a great community. i have loved macs since my early childhood (i can still remember my father working on a IIci), and now, finally, after years of using pc's (yukk), hackintoshing and trying all sorts of emulators, i finally have a dual 2ghz g5.
enough of me, on to my questions:
firstly, the machine has been in use for a while, by sick bastards if you ask me - the inside was totally messed up with improperly inserted parts and dirt, the original os x loaded with useless crap etc., and sometimes behaves strangely.
when i turn it off for the night and turn it on next morning, it gives the startup sound, starts to boot, i can even enter my password and it continues to do something. i guess it boots just fine, but my monitor gets no signal. after turning it off and on again a few times (2-3 times) it boots just fine.
if it has been on for a while and i restart it, or shut it down and start it up again, it boots fine too.
tried zapping pram, installed the latest firmware, tried another monitor. nothing seems to work. could somebody help me..?
secondly, i stumbled upon something at tidbits called 'countdown g5' which would enable booting into os 9, but the link points to a dead site. does anybody have this or are there other chances for my g5 to use os 9 natively?
sorry for being this lengthy.
thank you
this is my first post, and i am so glad i have found this forum. i think it is a great community. i have loved macs since my early childhood (i can still remember my father working on a IIci), and now, finally, after years of using pc's (yukk), hackintoshing and trying all sorts of emulators, i finally have a dual 2ghz g5.
enough of me, on to my questions:
firstly, the machine has been in use for a while, by sick bastards if you ask me - the inside was totally messed up with improperly inserted parts and dirt, the original os x loaded with useless crap etc., and sometimes behaves strangely.
when i turn it off for the night and turn it on next morning, it gives the startup sound, starts to boot, i can even enter my password and it continues to do something. i guess it boots just fine, but my monitor gets no signal. after turning it off and on again a few times (2-3 times) it boots just fine.
if it has been on for a while and i restart it, or shut it down and start it up again, it boots fine too.
tried zapping pram, installed the latest firmware, tried another monitor. nothing seems to work. could somebody help me..?
secondly, i stumbled upon something at tidbits called 'countdown g5' which would enable booting into os 9, but the link points to a dead site. does anybody have this or are there other chances for my g5 to use os 9 natively?
sorry for being this lengthy.
thank you
here is the article, see for yourself: http://db.tidbits.com/article/7617
it is some sort of a firmware up (or more probably down-) grade.
the card is an ati radeon 9600 pro with dvi, my sony tft is connected through a dvi>vga converter, but i double-checked the cables and they are not broken, neither are the connectors loose. i will replace the card this night, and tomorrow morning i will get back to you. thanks.
it is some sort of a firmware up (or more probably down-) grade.
the card is an ati radeon 9600 pro with dvi, my sony tft is connected through a dvi>vga converter, but i double-checked the cables and they are not broken, neither are the connectors loose. i will replace the card this night, and tomorrow morning i will get back to you. thanks.
well, i have lots of classic stuff and i hate the classic environment. might be good for some word processors, but hey, even prince of persia is sluggish. currently i am dual-booting panther (with classic) and leopard, but i can't stand less than full backward compatibility. call me obsessed.
the cable is fine, i can move it anyway i want. must be something else. i have a nice little 32meg card from my father's g4, i will try that.
the cable is fine, i can move it anyway i want. must be something else. i have a nice little 32meg card from my father's g4, i will try that.
Check the date that the article was posted...here is the article, see for yourself: http://db.tidbits.com/article/7617it is some sort of a firmware up (or more probably down-) grade.
[
] ]'>that is why i asked if anyone still has it. ;DCheck the date that the article was posted...here is the article, see for yourself: http://db.tidbits.com/article/7617it is some sort of a firmware up (or more probably down-) grade.
[
certainly not. i did some research: http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx/TidBITS/Talk/66
if it is incompatible with anything it must be real. it might be useless and destructive, but that is for me to find out after having found it and before doing something foolish.
Again, check the date on both articles (and the disclaimer at the top of the first one for that matter). It's an April Fools' joke...certainly not. i did some research: http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx/TidBITS/Talk/66
if it is incompatible with anything it must be real. it might be useless and destructive, but that is for me to find out after having found it and before doing something foolish.
[
)] ]'>
It doesn't depend on the processor so much as the age of the machine, as Apple put something in the firmware of machines built just after OS X 10.2 was released that stopped them from booting 9, so while nearly all the G4 towers are 9-compatible, the iBooks didn't get the G4 until much later so no G4 iBooks can run 9, whereas all G3s can. It's worth checking MacTracker as it tells you exactly what OSes all Macs can run - all G3s can run 9 and no G5s can, but G4s are a mixture depending on their age.
oh, sh*t. so that means i will never be booting up mac os 9 until i find some hi-fi firmware hackers who are interested in discontinued os's on discontinued machines.. and let us admit it, that would be a real april fool's day joke. in other words i am stuck with sheepshaver (which happens to work better on leopard than apple's own classic on panther ).
btw, does anybody have a solution for my first problem? sorry for the nag but i have just tested with another video card and my g5 still only boots up for the 2nd or 3rd try after 15-20 minutes of power off.
).btw, does anybody have a solution for my first problem? sorry for the nag but i have just tested with another video card and my g5 still only boots up for the 2nd or 3rd try after 15-20 minutes of power off.
bluekatt: 'dual usb' (according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBook) should be a g3, so it must boot os 9.
the clamshells boot 9 no doubt about thatbluekatt: 'dual usb' (according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBook) should be a g3, so it must boot os 9.
i am very sure the 500 mhz's also boot in 9
my 800 mhz dual usb G3 refuses to boot of my os 9 disc but that might be because i have 9.0
the orginal software cd's have mac os x jaguar and os 9.2.2
you could also look in to the powerbook G3's and the early powerbook G4's
i know for certain that the wall street mainstreet lombard and pismo models boot up in os 9 with out a problem
Yeah, you'll probably need 9.2.2 on the CD for it.
If you're wanting a laptop that can boot OS 9 then your best bet would be either a later model iBook G3 or a titanium PowerBook G4 (15"). The aluminium PowerBook G4s and iBook G4s will only run OS X. If you're wanting to go with a PowerMac instead, then any G4 will run OS 9 except the one model that has FireWire 800.
but if you go for an ibook beware of the BGA video hip problem usually referred to as the logic board problem
long story short the video chip is starting to come loose of its solder and even though the mac wil boo tup you wont see anything on the screen
placinga shim inside the ibook wil apply enough pressure to get the ibook to work again
or if you are feeling adventurous play around with a paintstripper
so beware of the ibooks they might come cheap but be carefull what you are getting your self in to the 700 mhz G3 ibooks seem to be worst
followed by the 500 mhz who are the oldest but the problem is across the range
my 600 mhz never had it my 500 mhz doesnt have it but my 800 mhz does have it
so be carefull of them
the pismo G3 powerbooks have bigger screen boot in os 9 have G4 upgrade abilities but they are 7 years ol dby now are stil some what expensive and can suffer pink screen
if you just want a simple quick and easy os 9 machine get a late ibook
if you want to build a monster look to the pismo
as far as your G5 goes no idea it may be you agp slot
or something else
long story short the video chip is starting to come loose of its solder and even though the mac wil boo tup you wont see anything on the screen
placinga shim inside the ibook wil apply enough pressure to get the ibook to work again
or if you are feeling adventurous play around with a paintstripper
so beware of the ibooks they might come cheap but be carefull what you are getting your self in to the 700 mhz G3 ibooks seem to be worst
followed by the 500 mhz who are the oldest but the problem is across the range
my 600 mhz never had it my 500 mhz doesnt have it but my 800 mhz does have it
so be carefull of them
the pismo G3 powerbooks have bigger screen boot in os 9 have G4 upgrade abilities but they are 7 years ol dby now are stil some what expensive and can suffer pink screen
if you just want a simple quick and easy os 9 machine get a late ibook
if you want to build a monster look to the pismo
as far as your G5 goes no idea it may be you agp slot
or something else
and the G4 ibooks have a problem with their keyboard adhesi e which makes some of them smell like a sweat sock
and surprise surprise they also have a bga video chip problem
got for a G3 ibook or a G3 pismo
at least the pismo is upgradable
short of swapping out the mobo's there is not much to upgrade about the ibooks of G4 powerbooks
and the G4 powerbooks or all three versions of the ibooks do not have pcmcia slots
the pismo does
and surprise surprise they also have a bga video chip problem
got for a G3 ibook or a G3 pismo
at least the pismo is upgradable
short of swapping out the mobo's there is not much to upgrade about the ibooks of G4 powerbooks
and the G4 powerbooks or all three versions of the ibooks do not have pcmcia slots
the pismo does
can it be an agp slot problem, even if i am not having any other video problems at all? i can even move the card gently while the machine is on, without any issues.. only this startup thingy. but i noticed that it takes only 2 tries to turn it on correctly after updating the firmware.
pismo is nice, i looked around, in my opinion much nicer than those white ibooks. but when i get to buying a laptop my concern will not be a native os 9, but to be able to use it for work with an attached monitor. so i will go for the g4 ibook or powerbook.
btw, to put an end to this os 9 misery, i am going to buy an imac g3 (dvi) (400mhz processor, 256mb ram, 10gb hdd, slot-loading dvd) for (calculating..) around 40$. that is a decent price.. i think.. or not? :?:
pismo is nice, i looked around, in my opinion much nicer than those white ibooks. but when i get to buying a laptop my concern will not be a native os 9, but to be able to use it for work with an attached monitor. so i will go for the g4 ibook or powerbook.
btw, to put an end to this os 9 misery, i am going to buy an imac g3 (dvi) (400mhz processor, 256mb ram, 10gb hdd, slot-loading dvd) for (calculating..) around 40$. that is a decent price.. i think.. or not? :?:
Although the Pismo has a physically bigger screen than the 12" iBooks, they both have a resolution of 1024x768. Therefore, you're not actually gaining any screen space by moving to the bigger screen. I personally prefer the slightly higher DPI that the 12" iBook offers over the 14" iBook or PowerBook.
Sorry if i missed if you did any of these or not.
have you tried to remove the video card and reseat it.
have you tried resetting Pram/Nvram by holding command+option+P+R at the start chime untill you hear the start chime 3 - 4 more times.
have you tried to go into Open firmware by holding command+option+O+F at the start chime and type
reset-all (press enter/return)
set-defaults (press enter/return)
reset-all (press enter/return)
after every command entered you should see OK (if you misspell a command it will say unknown word). if you seen no video wile doing this you can try to do it blind.
replace the video card with a known good Mac 8x AGP card.
have you pulled the Pram battery out of the machine and let it sit unplugged from the wall for a few hours (if you do this remember which way the battery goes back in), let it sit for a minimum of 3 or 4 hours.
have you tried removing all but one stick of ram (if it has more then one stick) and turn it on, repeat the step until you go through all of the sticks installed by themselves. also try different ram slots.
do you have any other cards installed in the Mac, if you do try removing them all but the video card to see if it helps.
there is a number of reasons why the video don't show when you power the unit on. these are only but a few trouble shooting steps for a Mac with issues to try to learn the reason why its having issues in the first place.
IIRC these first gen AGP G5's was sometimes troublesome.
right now a G4 upgraded pismo is the only G3 system that will run Leopard (altho a bit slowly due to its GPU and little Vram). i never had a Mac Laptop so i dont know much about them but by specs alone and what some people have done with them.
have you tried to remove the video card and reseat it.
have you tried resetting Pram/Nvram by holding command+option+P+R at the start chime untill you hear the start chime 3 - 4 more times.
have you tried to go into Open firmware by holding command+option+O+F at the start chime and type
reset-all (press enter/return)
set-defaults (press enter/return)
reset-all (press enter/return)
after every command entered you should see OK (if you misspell a command it will say unknown word). if you seen no video wile doing this you can try to do it blind.
replace the video card with a known good Mac 8x AGP card.
have you pulled the Pram battery out of the machine and let it sit unplugged from the wall for a few hours (if you do this remember which way the battery goes back in), let it sit for a minimum of 3 or 4 hours.
have you tried removing all but one stick of ram (if it has more then one stick) and turn it on, repeat the step until you go through all of the sticks installed by themselves. also try different ram slots.
do you have any other cards installed in the Mac, if you do try removing them all but the video card to see if it helps.
there is a number of reasons why the video don't show when you power the unit on. these are only but a few trouble shooting steps for a Mac with issues to try to learn the reason why its having issues in the first place.
IIRC these first gen AGP G5's was sometimes troublesome.
right now a G4 upgraded pismo is the only G3 system that will run Leopard (altho a bit slowly due to its GPU and little Vram). i never had a Mac Laptop so i dont know much about them but by specs alone and what some people have done with them.
The original 500MHz iBook G3 Dual USB will boot OS9.1 - I own one so I should know, and all subsequent versions mad prior to January 2003 also do. In February 2003 Apple's newly released models (at MacWorld 2003 - iMac G4/800 15" and 1GHz 17") had the fix to stop booting of OS 9. Also all new machines built thereafter, *EXCEPT* the PowerMac, also would not boot OS 9. The PowerMacs continued to boot OS 9 for a while longer - I think they eventually stopped it with the FireWire 800 G4s. I know Apple Resellers were still selling G4 PowerMacs as late as early-2004 that booted into OS 9 for backwards compatibility for professionals who needed it, but these were back stocks and refurbs left over after the previous years G5 product rollout.
I think apart from the G4 PowerMac, the cut off was February/March 2003 somewhere. Doesn't anyone remember the 'OS 9 funeral' at MacWorld 2003??
As for the original problem it sounds to me like the graphics card is either faulty or its working loose as it heats up (or it could be both). Do you experience any lockups while using the computer or graphical glitches on the screen if you use the graphics card intensively (running Leopard and throwing a lot of windows around on the desktop usually does the trick). It may just be the card needs reseating in the graphics slot - it happens.
Replacing the card if it is faulty is a bit more of a challenge. G5 compatible graphics cards are hard to find, although you might get lucky and pick a lower spec one up off someone who is upgrading.
I think apart from the G4 PowerMac, the cut off was February/March 2003 somewhere. Doesn't anyone remember the 'OS 9 funeral' at MacWorld 2003??
As for the original problem it sounds to me like the graphics card is either faulty or its working loose as it heats up (or it could be both). Do you experience any lockups while using the computer or graphical glitches on the screen if you use the graphics card intensively (running Leopard and throwing a lot of windows around on the desktop usually does the trick). It may just be the card needs reseating in the graphics slot - it happens.
Replacing the card if it is faulty is a bit more of a challenge. G5 compatible graphics cards are hard to find, although you might get lucky and pick a lower spec one up off someone who is upgrading.
Just for completeness sake on the booting OS9 discussion...
To make things really interesting there are nearly identical models of G4 tower and G4 iMac which will and won't boot OS9.
For the tower, everything before the last G4 towers, the MDD (Mirror Drive Door) will boot OS9. Within the MDD, the ones with 800 Mbps Firewire cannot boot OS9 and the ones which lack 800 Mbps (two 400 Mbps ports only) can boot OS9.
If you have a photo of the back of a machine, it's pretty easy to see the 800 Mbps Firewire port and so identify the later machines. The later machine has exactly the same ports on the back as the early MDD, but it also has the 800 FW port.
The iMac is an even bigger pain to distinguish. There is an 800 MHz G$ 17" LCD model which will boot OS9 and one which won't. As far as I've been able to researh, the only difference between the two is the model number which was written on the box. The model number written on the bottom plate appears to be the same.
To make things really interesting there are nearly identical models of G4 tower and G4 iMac which will and won't boot OS9.
For the tower, everything before the last G4 towers, the MDD (Mirror Drive Door) will boot OS9. Within the MDD, the ones with 800 Mbps Firewire cannot boot OS9 and the ones which lack 800 Mbps (two 400 Mbps ports only) can boot OS9.
If you have a photo of the back of a machine, it's pretty easy to see the 800 Mbps Firewire port and so identify the later machines. The later machine has exactly the same ports on the back as the early MDD, but it also has the 800 FW port.
The iMac is an even bigger pain to distinguish. There is an 800 MHz G$ 17" LCD model which will boot OS9 and one which won't. As far as I've been able to researh, the only difference between the two is the model number which was written on the box. The model number written on the bottom plate appears to be the same.
as far as i know only the first two G4 imacs boot in to os 9
all the G3 ones do
the minis wont boot in os 9
and no idea about the emacs
this thread leads me to belive that we need a list of os 9 bootable machines
one thats easier to acces then the one on apple and less obtuse then mactracker because thats some what inconclusive
all the G3 ones do
the minis wont boot in os 9
and no idea about the emacs
this thread leads me to belive that we need a list of os 9 bootable machines
one thats easier to acces then the one on apple and less obtuse then mactracker because thats some what inconclusive
i see this
PowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz) shows it has OS 9.2.2 support (but it has to be OS 9.2.2 before it will boot the installer or run the OS) system specific installer CD to run 9.2.2
and there is also a few other PB G4's that show OS support for (prolly also has to be a system specific install cd)
if that is what you was looking at
PowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz) shows it has OS 9.2.2 support (but it has to be OS 9.2.2 before it will boot the installer or run the OS) system specific installer CD to run 9.2.2
and there is also a few other PB G4's that show OS support for (prolly also has to be a system specific install cd)
if that is what you was looking at
sorry for not relplying, my net connection was down and i had to assemble two imac g3's (the 233mhz version is definetly _not_ meant for upgrading, i had to take the whole motherboard out).
so,
so,
yes, with no success.
this was one of the first thing i did.
done.
thank you, trying these in a few hours. i really appreciate the noob-guide.
another thing,
i have these imac g3's here, and the older one (233mhz) can boot into os 8.1 through 10.4. nice. it is really a pity that hellcats over the pacific will not run (blank screen on every powermac so far).
what i am trying to say is: not every specification is accurate, even from apple. 233's should only boot os 8.5 or 8.6 and later.
i have these imac g3's here, and the older one (233mhz) can boot into os 8.1 through 10.4. nice. it is really a pity that hellcats over the pacific will not run (blank screen on every powermac so far).
what i am trying to say is: not every specification is accurate, even from apple. 233's should only boot os 8.5 or 8.6 and later.
You shouldn't trust the VRAM amount to tell the difference, since a 4MB upgrade card was sold for the rev. A iMacs (to take them to 6MB). Though, I'd be willing to bet the majority of machines just have 2MB.
However, as you also said, the rev. A has a Rage IIc and the rev. B-D have a Rage Pro. So that's the easiest way to tell.
thanks guys.
i took the whole machine apart, it has 6 mbytes of vram and it has a rage pro. what still surprises me is that it boots 8.1 nicely (the only problem being that in 8.1 i cannot adjust the screen size, position etc. in monitors and sound, but this is normal, i think, since the 8.1 system is universal and is not for imacs).
i took the whole machine apart, it has 6 mbytes of vram and it has a rage pro. what still surprises me is that it boots 8.1 nicely (the only problem being that in 8.1 i cannot adjust the screen size, position etc. in monitors and sound, but this is normal, i think, since the 8.1 system is universal and is not for imacs).
madmax: tried everything you wrote, nothing helped, although now i am starting to get the idea that it needs a new pram battery since it has never been replaced (since 2003!).. thanks for helping anyway.
and to the others, i bought a series one macbook. pismos are hard to get around here.. but since it is not 68k or even a powermac, this is not the place to post about it.
and to the others, i bought a series one macbook. pismos are hard to get around here.. but since it is not 68k or even a powermac, this is not the place to post about it.
not sure if you thought of this, but have you thought of an eMac? Try a 1.25 or 1.42GHz eMac? I have one. The only reason why it died was because I was extra-dumb and messed with the logic board on overclocking, and royally screwed it up. I am currently hoping to get another board that I have my eyes on. I will let you know if I get it!!!
if this is a reply to me, then you bet, i would love one, but they are extremely rare (in my country). i saw somebody modding one into a homebuilt g5-looking case after the monitor stopped working. and it is sweeeeeet. even the original looks great.
so if i see one i will surely buy it, although i have only seen broken ones so far. could you give a link to a quality specs page? thanks in advance..
If you have a Quicksilver, you can upgrade the CPU. Apple made them with up to a dual 1.0ghz and aftermarket upgrades go even further than that and you have expansion slots. The eMac is pretty much a closed system with limited expandability. eMacs also have problems with video failing over time just like the original iMacs. You are better off to upgrade the Quicksilver than buy an eMac.g4 mac mini? i thought the first ever mac minis had a g5 processor.
G4 PowerBooks do have a pcmcia slot, just one typeI/TypeII, I don't know about the lombard but I know the Walstreets have TypeIII available, which is awesome in very specific situations where you either need two cards, or need to use one big card.
The "Titanium" powerBook G4s are very good at running Mac OS 9, I had one at 1GHz, and it was a great OS 9 machine, but it wasn't the most reliable machine ever, hardware-wise.
The "Titanium" powerBook G4s are very good at running Mac OS 9, I had one at 1GHz, and it was a great OS 9 machine, but it wasn't the most reliable machine ever, hardware-wise.
do you happen to know where to get some updated cpus in europe? the g5 will be sold soon, so i really need a powerful g4. btw it is insanely great to run os 9 again natively..If you have a Quicksilver, you can upgrade the CPU. Apple made them with up to a dual 1.0ghz and aftermarket upgrades go even further than that and you have expansion slots. The eMac is pretty much a closed system with limited expandability. eMacs also have problems with video failing over time just like the original iMacs. You are better off to upgrade the Quicksilver than buy an eMac.g4 mac mini? i thought the first ever mac minis had a g5 processor.
you mean the cpu upgrades ?
they are generally sold via online stores
i dunno about hungary but i can name severla dutch stores that carries then dont see why hungary whoudl be any differnt
but keep in mind that the upgrades are expensive
...very expensive
you might be better off springing for MDD with a dual G4 then a mystic or quicksilver and upgrade the cpu
they are generally sold via online stores
i dunno about hungary but i can name severla dutch stores that carries then dont see why hungary whoudl be any differnt
but keep in mind that the upgrades are expensive
...very expensive
you might be better off springing for MDD with a dual G4 then a mystic or quicksilver and upgrade the cpu
Try ebay. I know things are harder and more expensive to get in Europe, so try to find a USA seller willing to ship. It will cost less.do you happen to know where to get some updated cpus in europe? the g5 will be sold soon, so i really need a powerful g4. btw it is insanely great to run os 9 again natively..If you have a Quicksilver, you can upgrade the CPU. Apple made them with up to a dual 1.0ghz and aftermarket upgrades go even further than that and you have expansion slots. The eMac is pretty much a closed system with limited expandability. eMacs also have problems with video failing over time just like the original iMacs. You are better off to upgrade the Quicksilver than buy an eMac.g4 mac mini? i thought the first ever mac minis had a g5 processor.
Stay away from CPU's made for a MDD model. Only a few MDD models had the 133mhz system bus. Most of them were 167mhz, so even if you could mod the CPU to work, it wouldn't run at the correct speed.
http://www.macstuff.nl/product_info.php?cPath=21_78_446&products_id=5566
ignore the dutch ( dutch ! not german ) and look at the price
446 for a dual 1.7 ghz G4 processor upgrade
...right how much was a mini again ?
ignore the dutch ( dutch ! not german ) and look at the price
446 for a dual 1.7 ghz G4 processor upgrade
...right how much was a mini again ?
I mirror that sentiment, and point out the performance benefits of using a current low-end Mac Mini over all PowerMac G5s ever. The only thing it can't do is hold 16 gigs of ram, and it doesn't have great graphics, but the graphics are fine, and many people are quick to point out that you don't "need" more than 2 or 4 gigs of ram in most computers.
thanks for the info.
all that said, i still need to get a processor upgrade for my g4. beside the fact that i am a fanatic of old mac hardware, i need my 1 terabyte (!) of hd space i put into it and my native os 9 support for older games and apps.
and consider: it would have 1.5 gbs of ram, 1 tb of storage and a nice highest-end ati agp video card (just found one for approx. 75$), so i could use it for years and years..
so it is obvious that a mini is not an option for me.
i am willing to pay even 5-600 usd (way after xmas of course) for that upgrade, but a used one would be the best.
btw, happy holidays to everybody and see you next year.
all that said, i still need to get a processor upgrade for my g4. beside the fact that i am a fanatic of old mac hardware, i need my 1 terabyte (!) of hd space i put into it and my native os 9 support for older games and apps.
and consider: it would have 1.5 gbs of ram, 1 tb of storage and a nice highest-end ati agp video card (just found one for approx. 75$), so i could use it for years and years..
so it is obvious that a mini is not an option for me.
i am willing to pay even 5-600 usd (way after xmas of course) for that upgrade, but a used one would be the best.
btw, happy holidays to everybody and see you next year.
the MDDs used a different socket for processors than the Quicksilvers did.
As far as using a G4 for years and years, I suppose it depends on what you do with it. if you only need it for the massive amounts of storage you already have in it, then that makes sense, although the Core1Solo 1.5GHz Mac Mini will far outperform (in CPU/ram tests) any PowerMac G4, ever. (Although yes, that's not really a solution for OS 9, but OS X flies on the intel Macs... so much it's not even funny.)
Plus, you can add loads of storage externally, and it doesn't even have to look awful. One of my projects for later on is to build a large firewire drive enclosure using an older AT case/PSU from a PC, and just piling in a bunch of drives. (That, or a drobo: not sure yet which though.)
As far as using a G4 for years and years, I suppose it depends on what you do with it. if you only need it for the massive amounts of storage you already have in it, then that makes sense, although the Core1Solo 1.5GHz Mac Mini will far outperform (in CPU/ram tests) any PowerMac G4, ever. (Although yes, that's not really a solution for OS 9, but OS X flies on the intel Macs... so much it's not even funny.)
Plus, you can add loads of storage externally, and it doesn't even have to look awful. One of my projects for later on is to build a large firewire drive enclosure using an older AT case/PSU from a PC, and just piling in a bunch of drives. (That, or a drobo: not sure yet which though.)