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F.A.Q. for PowerPC Macs

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adcx64

adcx64

macrumors 65816
Nov 17, 2008
1,270
124
Philadelphia
Marcush1286 said:
Zen,

I have Yellow Dog Linux, but how do I get the G5's wireless card to be recognized? Also, the sound does not seem to work either.. Do I have to download from YDL's website the drivers for the airport card and sound chip on the G5 Quad to get them to work? I am not sure why they advertise YDL to work out of the box with all of Apple's hardware in the G5 Quad. It plainly does not support everything. I did notice that the fans were quiet, very quiet upon boot up into YDL, but since I can't use my airport wireless and or sound, its become useless and there I went back to using Leopard again.
Click to expand...

If you do not understand how YDL works, you shouldn't run it. :) believe me, Leopard will run 10x better as its optimized for the hardware!
 
S

skinniezinho

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 1, 2009
1,101
95
Portugal
Links added for app databases and some useful topics on macrumors.
Links added for atx power supply mod on G4's.
 
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M

mackasabian

macrumors newbie
Sep 8, 2011
6
0
Canada
macpowerpc

Thanks for the mention!
http://macpowerpc.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/macpowerpc
:apple:

skinniezinho said:
Software Questions


What is the latest MacOS that my mac can run?

This info is available on everymac.com or mactracker.
For those who like to "hack", and get a newer version of MacOS on it's unsupported mac, there is Leopard Assist and xpostfacto.
Other option is installing the MacOS X version you want in a supported machine,then use carbon copy cloner to clone it to the machine HDD.
I did this for my powermac g4..using my macbook!it worked fine!See more about this here.


Can I run MacOS 10.6 Snow Leopard on my powerpc mac?and the upcoming Lion?

Short Answer: No

Are there any software tweaks that I can make to make my experience better?

Before installing MacOS: install only the languages that you need,along with extras/drivers.

After installling MacOS: update it, uninstall the current version of flash with the uninstaller available here and install the latest version of flash available wich is 10.1.102.64 available here.

After that the only tweaks that I am aware of, are:

*Disabling the dashboard:Using Dashboard disabler or by hand using this tutorial.

*Disabling the spotlight:using this tutorial.

*Use the app /trimthefat"]TrimTheFat[/URL] to remove the intel code from UB apps

*Use Powerpc Optimized Builds of some software (mozilla has them):
Camino, Firefox, Thunderbird and Seamonkey PPC Builds
More Firefox PPC Builds
Tenfourfox - firefox 4 port to Powerpc Macs

I want to use freeware apps,where do I get them?

http://www.opensourcemac.org

sometimes you must search for old versions to use with 10.3/10.4.
In terms of office suite,the recent LibreOffice has the latest version por PPC in all languages (for example,openoffice only had old versions for ppc-portuguese).

You can find lots of abandonware in the Macintosh Garden

I need to run windows,can I?

Natively no.
By virtualization,yes,using Q emulator or Virtual PC 7 for Mac (you must buy it on ebay or something).

Youtube is slow as hell,any tips?

If you have the latest flashplayer,your best bet is to use Mactubes and play the videos through quicktime.

If your problem is with flash sites,your best bet is trying tenfourfox browser or OmniWeb Browser (I find it very lightweight)
Don't expect miracles,flash runs poorly on macs,even on new macs the performance on macOs vs windows is very bad.


I have a low spec powerpc mac,the MacOS versions that it run wouldn't serve me well,what do I do?

Well, it's a fact that older versions of MacOS don't benefit of updates in some areas as java, browsers, etc...and some people just need those to make some necessary task.
As a low end spec mac will not run/run bad a up to date MacOS,the best bet is linux.
Ubuntu has now a release for powerpc,and is very well documented.
You may need to mess with xorg.conf,but there are some pre-made here.
Debian always had powerpc releases,and there are more options,but the most user friendly is for sure ubuntu.

I'm forced to run a MacOS X lower than 10.5, what can I do to backup it like Time Machine does?

There are several options you can use: carbon copy clonerr, superduper, iBackup or even Tri-Backup (paid) to achieve similar results to the time machine..

I need java 1.6, what are my options?

If you are running 10.5, you can use soylatte as suggested by
666sheep here.Otherwise guess there are no options.

I need spotify for ppc,where can I find it?

Here.

Are there any databases of powerpc apps?

At least there are some blogs:
PPC Luddite
Mac Powerpc
[PowerPC] Software Verzeichnis
 (German)

Can I theme my tiger to look more modern?

Of course you do, read about it in this thread.
Click to expand...
 
M

mackasabian

macrumors newbie
Sep 8, 2011
6
0
Canada
I know what is like, I have the same problem. http://macpowerpc.wordpress.com :apple:

MAC MAN JW said:
Looks like that might be the last version of mintppc if he does not get a new powermac:(


From:http://www.mintppc.org


"Hi all,

I demolished my third PowerBook Pismo two days ago as I had to swap disks too many times (broken hard disk controller?). I don't have any PPC machine left to continue my work on MintPPC. I am looking for some volunteers to pay a donation to me so I can buy a seond hand G4 desktop. I am happy with 100 euro in total. Once I have the money I can buy the new machine and continue working on MintPPC 11.

Thanks for your understanding.

Jeroen Diederen aka Linuxopjemac"
Click to expand...
 
S

skinniezinho

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 1, 2009
1,101
95
Portugal
zen.state said:
I and others here have vast experience we can add about apps.
Click to expand...

So, share it =) Let's center the info for powerpc machines =)
When I have time I guess I'll make a section about apps collected from everywhere.
This weekend I made a "App backup" of about 3Gb , with powerpc only Apps, separed by kind and those for panther only and leopard only (most only required tiger).
The best part, most of them were open source and/or free =)
If anyone want to help me to put this FAQ in the "Macrumors Guidelines" it would be awesome, because I can't understand how to do it.
 
I

Imixmuan

Suspended
Dec 18, 2010
526
426
And...

zen.state said:
The MintPPC developer got enough to buy an MDD if you actually read the update he made in the same blog post.
Click to expand...


...someone in the US just sent him an imac G5 out of the blue. He says MintPPC 11 is smoking fast on it.
 
zen.state

zen.state

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2005
2,181
8
skinniezinho said:
So, share it =) Let's center the info for powerpc machines =)
When I have time I guess I'll make a section about apps collected from everywhere.
This weekend I made a "App backup" of about 3Gb , with powerpc only Apps, separed by kind and those for panther only and leopard only (most only required tiger).
The best part, most of them were open source and/or free =)
If anyone want to help me to put this FAQ in the "Macrumors Guidelines" it would be awesome, because I can't understand how to do it.
Click to expand...

We need to evolve past a simple blog. A full on site dedicated to the longevity and usability of PowerPC hardware. It could also have a vast troubleshooting area where we can send people from here for help.

Good hosting is maybe $10-20 a month now for a typical modest traffic site. If we can get 10-20 of us then it's only $1 a month each and a bit of our time.
 
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adcx64

adcx64

macrumors 65816
Nov 17, 2008
1,270
124
Philadelphia
I'm all for a PowerPC collaboration site. If we decide to do it, I could help with the hosting, and I'm fluent in HTML. I'd love to do this.
 
M

mackasabian

macrumors newbie
Sep 8, 2011
6
0
Canada
Glad to hear that he worked out. About me I could use even an windows to do any research, but it's fail, because some apps says is available for PowerPC and actually it's not and sometimes few apps it doesn't say anything and at the end works fine with PowerPC. I can not only post names, I need to make sure that they will work it, but I guess it's doesn't change anything because I started thinking that PowerPC it doesn't matter anymore. I just wasted my time taking my sister's PowerBook to install an unknown plugin to watch facebook's video, and I'm just finishing to post. I have an iMac intel running Lion, my iBook die so what should I care about apps for Mac PowerPC? People laugh about PPC, but I do it because I like it. :apple:

zen.state said:
The MintPPC developer got enough to buy an MDD if you actually read the update he made in the same blog post.

I see in your sig now that you have an Intel iMac. Not sure why you need PowerPC hardware to make a blog about them. I and others here have vast experience we can add about apps.
Click to expand...
 
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S

skinniezinho

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 1, 2009
1,101
95
Portugal
mackasabian said:
glad to hear that he worked out. About me I could use even an windows to do any research, but it's fail, because some apps says is available for PowerPC and actually it's not and sometimes few apps it doesn't say anything and at the end works fine with PowerPC. I can not only post names, I need to make sure that they will work, but I guess it's doesn't change anything because I started thinking that PowerPC it dosn't matter anymore. :apple:
Click to expand...

mackasabian as I told you, your iBook is going to be fine.Powerpc doesn't matter in the "world", but for us it matters.


zen.state it's a very good idea, but we must get some people to arrange money for the website :S
 
SmurfBoxMasta

SmurfBoxMasta

macrumors 65816
Nov 24, 2005
1,351
0
I'm only really here at night.
skinnie: KEWL graphics :D



skinniezinho said:
Be sure that the ram that you buy is low density.

Ram can be bought on several places, but the best bet is crucial (for new ram).
For used ram/lower prices check ebay, there are many people selling ram pulled out from working macs, or even oem ram proved to work in mac (low density ram, check the feedback of the seller. Remember, high density RAM is cheaper than low density ram, so if a user is selling mac ram at higher prices, maybe he is not fooling you).

*** For the G3/G4's, you MUST get low density ram, period ! Also check out ramseeker.com for price & vendor listings to compare your options. Be SURE to check shipping charges (some places sell the ram cheap then wanna rip you off with mega-monster shipping charges. Also check for a lifetime warranty AND a no-questions-asked PREPAID return policy for defective sticks.****



My mac only has a CD-Reader, I want to put a DVD, where do I buy them?

In this part I don't have sure, but I guess you use any ordinary pc optical drive, if you then use patchburn.
If you don't want to risk, search for mac compatible drives.

** For the G3/G4's, Sony & Pioneer DVD drives are by far the most compatible & natively supported in OS X, although there are other brands that may work also.**



Can I upgrade my processor?

Laptops - I don't have great info about this, but I guess only the powerbook g3 allowed processor upgrades (check OWC site, Sonnet, Gigadesign, Lowendmac.com for more info) although be aware that a faster processor will probably produce more heat and consume more battery.
*Under construction*

Desktops - g3's, g4's do have processor upgrades,either swap from newer machines to older (for example, the dual g4 500MHz fit in some Sawtooth (it has to have a Uni-N revision 7 chipset).
CPU Upgrades Reviews Here
OWC has a high range of cpu upgrades,although you can find it on ebay too.


**Most of the G3 chips can be overclocked by 50-200mhz simply by moving a jumper on the motherboard. See OWC's website guide for more info***
Click to expand...
 
Goftrey

Goftrey

macrumors 68000
May 20, 2011
1,853
75
Wales, UK
zen.state said:
We need to evolve past a simple blog. A full on site dedicated to the longevity and usability of PowerPC hardware. It could also have a vast troubleshooting area where we can send people from here for help.

Good hosting is maybe $10-20 a month now for a typical modest traffic site. If we can get 10-20 of us then it's only $1 a month each and a bit of our time.
Click to expand...

I could do some graphics/design etc.

I'm currently at A* in my course for this year... ;)

And I'd be plenty happy to donate money to a website, I think it's a great idea.
 
T

ThunderSnake

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2010
310
1
I'm in for money, time, and whatever limited hardware knowledge that I might have. Great idea, Zen (May I call you Zen? Typing "zen.state" sometimes feels awkward because it's like putting a period in the middle of a sentence. I don't always know how to handle that type of situation).
 
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zen.state

zen.state

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2005
2,181
8
ThunderSnake said:
I'm in for money, time, and whatever limited hardware knowledge that I might have. Great idea, Zen (May I call you Zen? Typing "zen.state" sometimes feels awkward because it's like putting a period in the middle of a sentence. I don't always know how to handle that type of situation).
Click to expand...

Just zen is fine. :)

Guys like yourself, chrismacguy, skinniezinho and Nameci are for sure some of the more knowledgeable PowerPC users around here and your contributions can only help. The money we need is very little. The main thing we need is content and good design.

Although I have many skills to offer my web design is very rusty. Last time I did it at any decent frequency was about 1998 :)
 
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zen.state

zen.state

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2005
2,181
8
adcx64 said:
Welcome the the group thunder snake :p

Haha I have some pretty good web skills so it shouldn't be a problem.
Click to expand...

My late 90's web design skills are still reasonably sharp but most of that type of design has no business on any site these days. I got really heavy into hardware work around 98 and left web stuff behind so I'm rather out of date. Everyone was doing it then. That was right in the middle of the whole dot com era.

My strength will be content (writing articles/guides), 18 years of hardware experience and an impeccably anal ability to be very organized. haha
 
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