The battery in my 2004 G5 PPC has never been changed and date and time is correct.
How is this even possible?
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How is this even possible?
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Is your G5 connected to the Internet? If so, that could be the reason because the operating system will obtain the correct date and time settings from online. Most of my iBooks have dead batteries and remain updated via the Net.
If the battery is still functioning after all this time then it's in the miraculous category. The one in my G5 was DOA but yet I have games cartridges from the early 90s whose batteries are still going strong.
Well, they might not have PRAM-batteries at all but a capacitor to do the job. That could be the reason.
The G5's seem to have a battery though, at least mine do.
I stopped using the G5 in 2011 when I bought my 2012 iMac. It was stored in its original box until this year when I pulled it
out to use Photoshop. When I was using it, it was always connected to ethernet.
I’m sure it will now probably die.
Yes, that's definitely correct with the iBook G3's. I don't know if the same applies to their G4 siblings.
Of course they do. The same type that's used throughout most of the Apple PPC and Intel desktop line. I needed so many that I bought a large pack and replaced score of dead ones in my iMac G3 through to my Mac Pro 1,1.
How about now?
Have faith!
Ps. I do have an iBook G4 14".
Yes, I have replaced them to most of the machines I have ever opened, including almost all of my G5s. Today I ordered more of the BR variety to use in my new Mac Pro and some future machines. Basic stuff in this hobby.
Ah, gotcha! Thanks for the clarifier.
I desoldered the West German battery in my Macintosh SE and installed a modern holder unit so that it could use removable batteries, which were as you can guess, the 1/2 AA 3.6v type from my stash.
Basic stuff in this hobby.
Hobby? This is a religion.
It probably just synced from the internet when you turned it on. I'd say a G5 is more likely to have a working battery in it than previous models though. They are the newest PPCs.
I just remove the batteries. They'll sync up when they're online. Even Mac OS 9 does that.
I just remove the batteries. They'll sync up when they're online. Even Mac OS 9 does that.
The batteries are pretty cheap and easy to replace, though. I think it's worth doing generally and some Macs won't work properly unless they have an operational battery.
I didn't know this but then I don't use OS 9 that often and haven't tried going online with it. A huge positive of this sub-forum is that we don't have to contend with the folks who'd by now be warning us that we risk our computers exploding if we put them online because they have unsupported operating systems.
Seriously. Everytime we get someone in here lecturing us about how unsafe and unprotected we are using old macOS reminds me of someone’s parent giving the birds n bees be protected conversation with their teens.The batteries are pretty cheap and easy to replace, though. I think it's worth doing generally and some Macs won't work properly unless they have an operational battery.
I didn't know this but then I don't use OS 9 that often and haven't tried going online with it. A huge positive of this sub-forum is that we don't have to contend with the folks who'd by now be warning us that we risk our computers exploding if we put them online because they have unsupported operating systems.
Well intended of course (I choose to think this as it’s gives me a good laugh) and not technically wrong in terms of possibility, but in practice, pretty humorous
I’m over 15 years at this point of using old unsupported OS of various makers and I’ve yet to run into anything itchy.
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Seriously. Everytime we get someone in here lecturing us about how unsafe and unprotected we are using old macOS reminds me of someone’s parent giving the birds n bees be protected conversation with their teens.
Well intended of course (I choose to think this as it’s gives me a good laugh) and not technically wrong in terms of possibility, but in practice, pretty humorous
That's a very humorous analogy and its provided me with some very welcome comic relief and I thank you for that.
Same here. My concern is predominantly directed towards my old Windows boxes in that regard and they're air-gapped anyway. If needs be, I could protect them with a hardware firewall - which is very easy and inexpensive to setup.
When my retro windows boxes are on, I have them air gapped but I rarely have retro winboxes up at this point just due to space. All but one winbox lives in the closet haha. That does bring up a good point though about building a hardware firewall. I think I have the stuff around to do that in my junk juhkie pile right now actually. I'll have a poke around and maybe build one for holiday break. That would be a fun project I think. Maybe get some of my retro win boxes back up in the garage.
Emulation is convenient but real hardware is so much more fun.
Emulation is convenient but real hardware is so much more fun.
Go for it. All you need is a PC with a pair of gigabit NIC's and open source software (pfSense is highly regarded) to get you off the ground. A Pentium IV would be quite sufficient. I built one many moons ago that ran like a champ on a P166 with 32 meg of RAM! Since then, I've salvaged something more modern with greater horsepower that I'm planning to use as a "Mark II."
You're more than welcome to bounce ideas off me in DMs if that would help.
Absolutely and also far more accurate in many cases.
On the subject of Macs and batteries, I replaced the one in my Mini but it still fails to retain the time and date settings after shut down. I've also had this issue with a HP PC. I wonder what's the culprit in those situations.
I was actually thinking about trying to run something like pfsense on an ultra 4k OTT Box via its micro sd slot as I got one for free but haven’t figured out a use for it yet so it’s just sitting in its box. It’s tiny and uses minimal electricity so once it’s set up hypothetically I could run it headless and stick it in the corner somewhere lol.
I have countless other boxes I could use that would almost certainly be more straightforward but this OTT Box’s foot print is so tiny, it is attractive to try and utilize in this way.
I have countless other boxes I could use that would almost certainly be more straightforward but this OTT Box’s foot print is so tiny, it is attractive to try and utilize in this way.
That's exactly what I did with my prototype. It's a mini-tower and was easy to stash away on a shelf.
What's life without challenges to push us and expand our horizons?
The funny thing now is that I'd be willing to wager that very few if any Windows XP-targeting worms are still actually active on the internet attempting to find/compromise machines.
Once upon a time, the 'classic' Mac OS (specifically Mac OS 7 through Mac OS 9) were by far the biggest target for network-based worms. Now it is completely safe to put one on the internet, as those worms have all completely gone extinct.
Once upon a time, the 'classic' Mac OS (specifically Mac OS 7 through Mac OS 9) were by far the biggest target for network-based worms. Now it is completely safe to put one on the internet, as those worms have all completely gone extinct.
I suppose it wouldn't be that difficult to set up a VM session to test it.
That's very interesting. Did the shift to Unix bring this vulnerability to an end?
Makes sense. I can't imagine the average script-kiddie targeting PPC computers - or even knowing what they are.
Hello, yes, it is possible your 2004 Power Mac G5 has a couple of functions. That's why it shows the correct date and time. Your 2004 Power Mac G5 has the following features:
1. PRAM/CMOS battery (small coin cell battery)
2. The Main power supply + Capacitors
3. Internet time sync.
4. Battery Longevity Oddities.
I hope this helps.
Mamta Bankoti
Yeah I know. I replace some of them depending on how it behaves lmao.
OS 9 actually has been more stable for ntp time syncing than Mac OS X for me. It’ll do it instantaneously if I tell it ti sync. OS X sometimes takes like 5 or 10 minutes even after manually syncing it.I didn't know this but then I don't use OS 9 that often and haven't tried going online with it. A huge positive of this sub-forum is that we don't have to contend with the folks who'd by now be warning us that we risk our computers exploding if we put them online because they have unsupported operating systems.
That’s about the only thing OS 9 does better lol
That’s why I always come to this forum. I’ve never had a problem using out dated operating systems, even Windows. On reddit I see “don’t connect it to the internet!” type of comments constantly
I have a Mac Mini 2012 Server reserved to that job + TB to Ethernet -adapter. Should be enough oomph for modern internet traffic filtering.
I don't think I could do this with any of my PPC-machines, either they are too power hungry (PM G4/G5) to run 24/7 or there is no way to add the gigabit ethernets (Minis, iMacs).
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I do hope so. I would like to find an actual use case for my G4 Mac Mini 1.42GHz.