My First Mac

[Moby]

Picked up a used G4 Tower 400MHZ 256SDRAM 20 Gig HD, 16 Meg ATI Rage card for $295 from Cash Converters today.

As it did not come with a keyboard and mouse, it cost me $49 and $29 from Compusmart in Toronto, Canada.

I have a whole lot of questions as I have been a PC user since my previous birth!

1. What is the equivalent of Explorer on Mac
2. How the heck do you install downloaded updates for Quick Time and the ATI Video card? How do you install downloads anyway? They seem to be sitting in a Downloads folder; when clicked, they can't seem to find relevant apps to go to the next step.
3. How do I know what applications are on the Mac. Is there an equivalent "Start/programs" button?
4. I opened the computer up and installed a couple of 256 Meg SDRAMS chips which gives me 768 in total. Seems as if the computer is working fine. Is it normal?
5. Can I add an old 80 Meg IDE ATA Hard drive to the Mac?
7. I plugged in Network cable from my router and can surf the net. No problem there.
8. It comes with a ZIP drive. Is there an icon for it somewhere so I dould click it open to see what files my zip diskette has?

9. Why does it freeze when surfing certain websites? Is it OK to reboot?
10. The DVD movie being played on the screen seemed choppyat times. Why?
11. Should I upgrade the OS from OS9 to OSX?
12. Can I use USB flash drives on the Mac?

Thanks a lot for your patience.

Moby

 

[iGary]

You should upgrade the OS before you pass go or collect $200.00

Then come back with questions.

 

[Josh2022]

You should upgrade the OS before you pass go or collect $200.00

Then come back with questions.

Lmao, couldnt have said it better. You really should upgrade to OSX though, it has sooo many new features that OS9 does not have.

 

[Moby]

Lmao, couldnt have said it better. You really should upgrade to OSX though, it has sooo many new features that OS9 does not have.

Thanks guys but how about questions related to upgrading hardware?

Moby

 

[ahunter3]

As one of the board dinosaurs, I'll give you the MacOS 9-applicable answers (including hardware to the extent that I know it). I really think you don't want to use MacOS 9 as your day-to-day OS, but you may choose to boot into it on rare occasion.

1. What is the equivalent of Explorer on Mac

For MacOS 9, iCab and Mozilla 1.2.1 are pretty much the only remaining viable browsers. When you install OS X you'll have Safari installed as part of the OS and can also select/download from any of a wide range of competing OS X offerings.

2. How the heck do you install downloaded updates for Quick Time and the ATI Video card? How do you install downloads anyway? They seem to be sitting in a Downloads folder; when clicked, they can't seem to find relevant apps to go to the next step.

That sounds like the downloads you snagged are intended for MacOS X. Do some of them end in ".dmg"? (By the way, if you don't have a browser on this machine, how are you downloading in the first place?)

Native MacOS 9 applications will either download as the application itself, as an Installer (which would launch when you double-click it), as a compressed Stuffit archive (.sit file) for which you need Stuffit Expander to expand/extract files, as (less often) a BinHex file (.hqx file) which Stuffit Expander will decode and then expand, or (even less often) as a MacOS 9 disk image (.img file) which should cause a volume to mount on the desktop when you double-click it.

3. How do I know what applications are on the Mac. Is there an equivalent "Start/programs" button?

From the Finder (i.e., what you're in after clicking on the Desktop itself), go Command-F to bring up the "Sherlock" file-finding tool. Do a custom search for "Applications". You should get an nice long list. Each one, when you click on it, should indicate at the bottom where it's located. Usually applications are in folders named for the application itself (e.g., Photoshop would be in an Adobe Photoshop folder). These, in turn, may be in the Applications folder at the root of your hard drive, but they don't have to be.


4. I opened the computer up and installed a couple of 256 Meg SDRAMS chips which gives me 768 in total. Seems as if the computer is working fine. Is it normal?

Go to the Apple Menu and select "About this Computer". It should show you how much RAM is recognized by the system. If it says 768, you're good. You probably are, it most likely would not boot if one of the chips was sour.

5. Can I add an old 80 Meg IDE ATA Hard drive to the Mac?

Yep. Internally or externally. I don't think Macs care which drive is slave and which is master, but the physical bus probably needs to have one of each (not an issue with external drives) Hook it up and reboot and it should mount on the desktop. You can't boot from an IDE-formatted drive but you can store files on it and access files already on it. Files with filenames longer than 32 chars will be truncated for viewing under MacOS 9 — not MSDOS 8.3 equivalents like FILENA_1.DOC but Classic-Mac compliant versions like "FileName For Macintosh Operati~1". When you get MacOS X installed the shortened filenames will not be an issue.

7. I plugged in Network cable from my router and can surf the net. No problem there.

8. It comes with a ZIP drive. Is there an icon for it somewhere so I dould click it open to see what files my zip diskette has?

If you insert a formatted Zip disk (PC formatted or Mac formatted) the icon should appear on the Desktop. No icon = disk is not being read for some reason. MacOS 9 does need Iomega drivers to utilize Zip drives, OS X does not. The driver name should be "Iomega Driver" (ain't Mac naming convensions awful? ) and it should be in the Extensions Folder of the System Folder. If it's not in there you need to download it or filch it from someone who has a copy.

9. Why does it freeze when surfing certain websites? Is it OK to reboot?

Under MacOS 9? Usually, badly written java. OS 9's java virtual machine leaves a lot to be desired. iCab is helpful in that it will interrupt an unending loop and ask you if you want to bail. CSS StyleSheets that require robust rendering engines may cause MacOS 9 to crap out. You're probably using a rather elderly browser which isn't helping matters. Mozilla is probably the OS 9 browser that's most compatible with today's web sites. (iCab can make bad hash of many modern sites)

10. The DVD movie being played on the screen seemed choppyat times. Why?

Could be an elderly / slow DVDROM drive, or it could be that the 400 MHz processor + not-blisteringly-fast video system just loses some frames.

11. Should I upgrade the OS from OS9 to OSX?

Hell, yes.

12. Can I use USB flash drives on the Mac?

People do. I occasionally see threads from people who are having probs with theirs but then again people don't as often start threads to talk about the hardware they aren't having problems with. You might need a driver for MacOS 9 to recognize a flash drive, I don't know for sure.

 

[iGary]

 

[wdlove]

Nice job iGary. I like it.

 

[ahunter3]

 

[Moby]

Dear AHunter:

Thanks a million for your tips. They certainly are a BIG help to me or others coming from the Windows World!

By Explorer I meant file explorer (as in Windows). Sorry for the mixup.

I would like to replace the present DVD Reader with a DVD Burner. I have a spare one at home (16X double layer). Is it compatible with the Mac?

Thanks again. I think now I now feel comoftable enough to will keep the machine as it came with a 48-Hour Money Back Guarantee.

Best regards,

Moby

 

[notjustjay]

Picked up a used G4 Tower 400MHZ 256SDRAM 20 Gig HD, 16 Meg ATI Rage card for $295 from Cash Converters today.

Hi Moby,

$295 Canadian? Wow, that sounds like quite a deal!

I echo the sentiments of the others here. If you really are serious about using the Mac, especially if you're a first-time Mac user, definitely look into OS X instead of the older OS9 (or previous).

I work with an older iMac (OS 8) every year at a kids' summer camp I volunteer with, and frankly I would not choose it over Windows for my primary computing. It's slow, unreliable, crashes or freezes too often, and there isn't a whole lot of software for me to do what I need to do. For a long time I assumed that this was the current state of the Macintosh (and why not, it had been like this for the past 10 years or so) and dismissed it.

Then my friend introduced me (dragging me near kicking and screaming) to OS X.

I've since sold my Windows laptop and bought a G4 Powerbook, and I have never looked back. I ditched Windows just before things got really bad with spyware, adware and rampant viruses, and I don't regret it. OS X is slick, stable, and does everything I need. Generally, it is also compatible with pretty much any PC hardware too, so the answer to "can I use ..." is probably YES!

I recently picked up a G4 cube to play with, specs similar to your G4 tower, for $350 (Cdn) and it runs OS X quite well.

 

[Moby]

My First Mac

Hi Moby,

$295 Canadian? Wow, that sounds like quite a deal!


Hi Jay,

Thanks! I was wondering whether it was one as I am more familiar with PC Hardware (build em in spare time for friends and family)?

Cash converters did not know that it had 256 SDRAM as they were going by the factory sticker at the back which said it comes with 64 SDRAM! How could they know, the computer was sitting there without a keyboard or a mouse. So, that makes the deal even sweeter and not too bad as my spare RAM at home for the PC worked on it!

Well, looks like I got a good deal so ...I am going to go for OS X !!

Thanks for the encouragement.

Moby

 

[ahunter3]

By Explorer I meant file explorer (as in Windows). Sorry for the mixup.

Aah.

Double-click your hard drive to open the window. Go to the View menu and select "list view".

Now, see those little triangles to the left of each folder? Click one.

As long as you're still in OS 9: Click it back closed, do a Command-A (for "Select All"), hold down the Option key, and click it again.

 

[highres]

I had an 400 MHz G4 for years before I upgraded to my G5 and ran OS9 up to OSX Tiger on it and will say one thing, max out your RAM at 1GB if possible, OSX on a 400Mhz processor is a RAM hog and you will get the spinning beachball for many apps, CS Photshop and Final Cut can really be a pain without enough RAM...

 

[Moby]

Hello All!

First of all upgraded the 20G hard drive to 40G. Installed Tiger....and....WOW!
What a difference....I am impressed[/B]! Configured my 4600 Epson printer silently and even opened a window to show pics on my USB drive!!!

Downloaded Stuffit and MS Explorer. Figured out how to install them. Not even once, the computer froze/crashed!! (Was not the case with OS 9).

Not going to spend anymore money on this baby as I am planning to buy a G5 soon as I can afford it. However, in the meantime, use it to learn about the Apple World.

Apple's website is awesome with a great Tech Support. It even has video clips to show you how to upgrade your machine!! Can't beat that.

Question: Is there an application available to copy one hard drive to another (like Norton Ghost?). 2: Is there an equivalent of "Add and Remove" programs on Tiger?

Thrilled!

Moby

 

[Nermal]

I believe that Carbon Copy Cloner lets you clone drives. To uninstall an app, just drag it to the Trash

 

[Blue Velvet]

Question: Is there an application available to copy one hard drive to another (like Norton Ghost?). 2: Is there an equivalent of "Add and Remove" programs on Tiger?

1. Either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Nope... just trash the program's folder from the Applications folder.

 

[Chundles]

Hello All!

First of all upgraded the 20G hard drive to 40G. Installed Tiger....and....WOW!
What a difference....I am impressed[/B]! Configured my 4600 Epson printer silently and even opened a window to show pics on my USB drive!!!

Downloaded Stuffit and MS Explorer. Figured out how to install them. Not even once, the computer froze/crashed!! (Was not the case with OS 9).

Not going to spend anymore money on this baby as I am planning to buy a G5 soon as I can afford it. However, in the meantime, use it to learn about the Apple World.

Apple's website is awesome with a great Tech Support. It even has video clips to show you how to upgrade your machine!! Can't beat that.

Question: Is there an application available to copy one hard drive to another (like Norton Ghost?). 2: Is there an equivalent of "Add and Remove" programs on Tiger?

Thrilled!

Moby

You downloaded what? MS Explorer? Do you mean Media Player or Messenger?

 

[skubish]

You downloaded what? MS Explorer? Do you mean Media Player or Messenger?

Finder is the equivalent of the file explorer.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Fellow; current Mac users, where's your manners??

1st Moby, Welcome to the elequent & efficient world of Mac, & Apple.

2nd Man Cash Converters is still alive in Canada, man where you from? Me I'm in Toronto & I'm gunning now for a Cube. 450/500Mhz G4.

How you liking your machine thus far, deciding on keeping it>

 

[Chundles]

Finder is the equivalent of the file explorer.

Yes I know. Still doesn't answer my question for the OP though, he says he downloaded MS Explorer so I'm guessing he got a bit confused and said the wrong name. I'm just after some clarification from him s'all.

 

[Moby]

You downloaded what? MS Explorer? Do you mean Media Player or Messenger?

Sorry, I meant Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Mac and yes, MS Media Player 9 as well!

Moby

 

[Chundles]

Sorry, I meant Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Mac and yes, MS Media Player 9 as well!

Moby

OK, well, a good idea would be to drag the icon for IE from the applications folder into the trash and then empty the trash. Use Safari, Firefox or even Camino instead of yucky old IE.

Remember, when you switch to mac it's a good idea to try and forget the way your PC made you work. Learning the way a Mac really works is a great way to figure out why we like these damn things so much. A good place to start is looking at keyboard shortcuts, such as shift-apple-H to open a new finder window, shift-apple-A for opening the applications window (then type the first few letters of the application you want and watch the OS highlight it for you then press apple-down to open the application) takes very little time at all and is great for quickly launching apps you don't have in the dock.

Stuff around looking for stuff in Spotlight.

Make Smart Folders and watch them update without you even opening them (unlike the ones in Vista which as far as I know only update when you open them again).

Download some widgets and have fun with them.

Keep the questions coming, they're good for you and for us, sometimes you learn a lot from the answers people give.

 

[Michael7k]

Have fun with your Apple. A switcher from 11 months ago I also am relatively new to the world of Macs. I find things are so stable and fun to work with on the Powerbook. It is so great to have abandoned the crtl alt delete philosophy, and constant concern of virus and spy ware.
Enjoy

 

[Moby]

My First Mac

Have fun with your Apple. A switcher from 11 months ago I also am relatively new to the world of Macs. I find things are so stable and fun to work with on the Powerbook. It is so great to have abandoned the crtl alt delete philosophy, and constant concern of virus and spy ware.
Enjoy

Well folks, have been using the G4 for the past 3 days. Returned the expensive $29 McNally? mouse as when I was in Compusmart I happened to see a regular looking Logitech Optical mouse that said "Mac Compatible" on the package. Figured why not try the Logitech USB mouse I already have? Guess what. It works perfectly, no problem! So buyers beware. You don't have to buy a dedicated mouse for Tiger.

Other than that, the computer is working great and I have picked up a "Learn Visually Guide" for $30 from Chapters which is helping me through teething problem in a big way.

I don't have to worry about spyware or viruses. I have had to format my XP Computer once in 4 months to keep it fast and squeeky clean.

Newbies please note: There is an Open Source Office Suite available free from the net: NeoOfficeJ. It can read and save Word and Excel files. So, far it is behaving.

Question: I have managed to transfer some WMA music files from the PC. Why will Itunes won't play them? Itunes in XP seem to get along fine with them but in the Mac, it refuses to do deal with em.

Over and out for now

Moby