Upgrading from OS 8 to OS X

D

denisov

Registered
Hello,

I just inherited a G3 from a friend. It's currently running OS 8.x, and I'd like to upgrade it to OS X. I was told that it should be feasible to make the upgrade.

My major problem is that I am a total n00b about anything Mac. Just making an upgrade from OS 8 to OS 9.2 is driving me nuts - after I load the OS, I try to trash the cd and I'm told that it's still in use.

Could someone point me to an information resource, either on this site or elsewhere, which goes into detail on making Mac OS upgrades? I looked at the info on Apple's site and did not find anything helpful - it stays very basic.

Although I did a search beforehand, I did not find this question anywhere. If there is an existing thread on this, just point me there.

Thanks.
 
First, you need to start up using the OS 9 CD. Insert the CD, restart the computer, then immediately hold down the C key. When the computer starts up, the desktop picture will be different than your usual. When you see that, release the C key.

Now you need to go to the Utilities folder on the CD and run Disk First Aid. If it does any repairs, hit the repair button again just to make sure it finds all the problems and fixes them.
Next, quit Disk First Aide and click twice on the installer icon. You want to do a clean install. This will make sure you have only one system folder installed. The old one will be renamed Previous System Folder.

Once the install is done, you need to restart the computer. Then you should be able to drag the CD icon to the trash to eject.

Now you need to use Software Update (Apple Menu>Control Panels>Software Update) to update the system. A restart will be needed once that is done.

Depending on the model of the computer, will depend on what OS X version you can run and before you even think of installing OS X, you have to check for firmware updates. There maybe several for your model. The first place to check is:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117

If you tell me the exact G3 model, I can help you with the rest.
There are a few other important factors also, like how much memory is installed and how large is the hard drive.
 
Unless that G3 has been seriously updgraded, it may be impossible
to put any OSX on it. Look to the size of your Hard Drive. And its
available space. OSX wants about 8gig free just for itself.

Were I you, I'd just upgrade to 9. For one thing, the software's a
lot cheaper these days. When you want to go to X, get a more
capable machine.
 
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