Need help speeding up my 12" G4

[matthew$]

Hey Guys,

I have been looking to get a MBP, but wouldn't mind waiting a little bit longer (my wait really depends upon when Apple updates the MBP). I really just feel like my PowerBook is getting really slow and now the battery life is terrible (I would say less than an hour).

I did have Photo Shop on my computer, but dragged that thing into the garbage in hopes of making things better. I upgraded to Leopard, and I think that really was the downfall of my computer.

Is there anything that I can do in the meantime to speed up this old thing? Should I put Tiger back on here? If so, how do I do that? Is it possible to downgrade?

Thanks!

 

[samh004]

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RAM will give your computer a much needed boost, if it isn't at the maximum already. You can also find a performance boost if your HDD isn't completely full, I think you need about 10% free space ideally ?

 

[stevegmu]

Did you do a clean install?

 

[matthew$]

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RAM will give your computer a much needed boost, if it isn't at the maximum already. You can also find a performance boost if your HDD isn't completely full, I think you need about 10% free space ideally ?

Not looking to purchase any RAM. Right now I am only rockin' what the PB came with. How do I do the performance boost? I have 18GB of HD space left, but could clear more.

Did you do a clean install?

I loaded Leopard off the disk. To be completely honest, I am not sure of what you mean by clean install.

 

[stevegmu]

I loaded Leopard off the disk. To be completely honest, I am not sure of what you mean by clean install.

A clean install means wiping everything, as if the computer were new, vs. an archive-install- which keeps the files and settings. I recently did a clean install of Tiger on an old eMac I keep around, and the difference in speed was very noticeable.

 

[matthew$]

Is there any instructions on Apple's site or anywhere that would walk me through a clean install? If I do a clean install, can I go back to Tiger or do you not think that to be necessary? Thanks.

 

[KingYaba]

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RAM will give your computer a much needed boost, if it isn't at the maximum already. You can also find a performance boost if your HDD isn't completely full, I think you need about 10% free space ideally ?

I believe the rule of thumb is to keep 1/3rd or 1/4th free for optimum performance for the smaller internal drives.

 

[samh004]

Not looking to purchase any RAM. Right now I am only rockin' what the PB came with. How do I do the performance boost? I have 18GB of HD space left, but could clear more.

How big is the disk, total size. Work out what 10% is and if you have more than you should be fine. I suspect you should be fine.

I loaded Leopard off the disk. To be completely honest, I am not sure of what you mean by clean install.

Did you choose "Upgrade", "Archive-and-Install" or "Clean Install" when you installed it ?

 

[stevegmu]

When you put the disk in and press install, it gives you the option of archive install, or erase and install. Just check the erase and install button.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270

 

[matthew$]

Will a clean install delete stuff off my computer? Should I go back to Tiger?

Thanks for putting up with my mac ignorance.

 

[stevegmu]

Will a clean install delete stuff off my computer? Should I go back to Tiger?

Thanks for putting up with my mac ignorance.

Erase and install wipes out everything- like when you bought the computer.
I'm not sure of the differences in resource usage between Tiger and Leopard, but I assume Tiger would use less.
Erase and install is really the way to go.

 

[matthew$]

Thanks!

 

[heatmiser]

Should I go back to Tiger?

Yes. A newer OS will never require fewer resources than an older OS; your computer will be fastest if you load the oldest OS it can run. If you don't have Panther, go with Tiger. Either will be a step forward from Leopard if you're trying to speed things up.