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New to Mac needing serious help
- Thread starter fersinski
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fersinski said:
Not positive, but I'd bet that you need to update your OS X to something more advanced than 10.1...probably at least 10.2.8.
Definitely for a 2nd gen. mini.
In order to upgrade the operating system version, you would need to buy the discs off of ebay. Since you are new to Mac's, I'd recommend going to the closest apple store or compusa and purchasing the Macintosh OSX Tiger retail box. Once you install the newest version of the operating system, you will see some of the newer features that the Mac has to offer and you will have better compatibility with your ipod. Good luck.
If it is the first generation mini, it may be still be possible to use it with 10.1.5 if you connect your mini via FireWire instead of USB. If it's the second generation, you'll probably need to upgrade. Upgrading may not be a bad idea anyway since 10.1 is an older system that is losing support, in which case I'd say purchase at least 10.2 (and get the free update to 10.2.8 from Apple's website) or ideally 10.3 or 10.4.
Very annoying, yes. If you're going to buy a new OS make sure you buy Tiger (OS 10.4) there's no reason to buy 10.2 or .3 and then wish you got 10.4. Hope you get it worked out with the least amount of hassles and as inexpensively as possible.fersinski said:so i cant get my ipod to work with my ibook until i buy a newer mac os??
fersinki, mac's are no different than peecees in that aspect. It's not like the iPod works with Windows 95. OS 10.1 was crap, anyways. Like the previous poster said, you'll need at least 10.2. Good luck.
OnceUGoMac said:
Yes, 10.1 was three operating systems ago, it's like running Windows 98 instead of XP. An upgrade is definitely necessary.
This is rather a hassle, but keep in mind that you've got what ammounts to a fairly old computer--I'm assuming between an iBook 500 (4 1/2 years old) and 700 (3 years old)--running the equivalent of Windows ME, which was good for even less than 10.1. That said, here are some recommendations, which sound like a lot but for an investment of a few bucks and a bit of time you can upgrade yourself into a very nice computer.
As said, 10.1 really isn't very good--10.2 (aka Jaguar) is much better, and either 10.3 or 10.4 (aka Panther and Tiger, the newest) are both night-and-day better. 10.1 is old enough that a lot of software doesn't even support it--10.2.8 is the minimum for a lot these days (in part because 10.2 was where OSX went mainstream).
If you really want to save money, you can get a legit 10.2 upgrade disc from a place like MegaMacs (direct link) for about $25, but 10.3 on DVD (if you have a DVD drive--CDs cost more) can be had for $30. A copy of Tiger, being the current version, will run you about $90 unless you're a student.
Further, if your iBook has less than 256MB of RAM in it (if it's stock, it will--check "About This Mac" under the apple menu) do yourself a favor and add a bit--at least 384MB (buy a 256MB stick if it has 128MB built in) will make a HUGE difference (I don't even know if you can run iTunes with less than that). It probably won't cost you much more than $30.
Again, this may seem like a lot to go through, but if I had your computer I wouldn't hesitate to spend a few bucks on RAM and at least a copy of 10.3, which will turn it into a nice rounded laptop. (Actually, were I you I'd also splurge on a new hard drive and a wireless card if it doesn't have one already, but that's probably more trouble than it's worth at this point.)
As said, 10.1 really isn't very good--10.2 (aka Jaguar) is much better, and either 10.3 or 10.4 (aka Panther and Tiger, the newest) are both night-and-day better. 10.1 is old enough that a lot of software doesn't even support it--10.2.8 is the minimum for a lot these days (in part because 10.2 was where OSX went mainstream).
If you really want to save money, you can get a legit 10.2 upgrade disc from a place like MegaMacs (direct link) for about $25, but 10.3 on DVD (if you have a DVD drive--CDs cost more) can be had for $30. A copy of Tiger, being the current version, will run you about $90 unless you're a student.
Further, if your iBook has less than 256MB of RAM in it (if it's stock, it will--check "About This Mac" under the apple menu) do yourself a favor and add a bit--at least 384MB (buy a 256MB stick if it has 128MB built in) will make a HUGE difference (I don't even know if you can run iTunes with less than that). It probably won't cost you much more than $30.
Again, this may seem like a lot to go through, but if I had your computer I wouldn't hesitate to spend a few bucks on RAM and at least a copy of 10.3, which will turn it into a nice rounded laptop. (Actually, were I you I'd also splurge on a new hard drive and a wireless card if it doesn't have one already, but that's probably more trouble than it's worth at this point.)