How do I upgrade a g3 iMac 350 (2000 summer edition) to Mac OS X 10.3?

computerchris0

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My name is Chris and I just bought a g3 imac 350 ( 2000 summer edition) from one of my friends. The hard drive had become corrupted so I replaced it with a 40gb EIDE hard drive from ebay. I had also bought the OS X 10.3 full black instillation cd's to start fresh with a new OS. I also don't have the original cd's that came with the computer. How do I do this?


Here are some specs. about my system:
CPU: 350 MHz
RAM: upgraded to 512 MB
VRAM: 8 MB SGRAM
Hard Drive: 40 GB EIDE drive (stock)
CD-ROM: 24x
USB: 2 separate USB 1.1 ports
FireWire: none
Modem: built in v.90 56k modem
Ethernet: 10/100Base-T
WiFi: AirPort not supported
Microphone: internal
Power: 150W
 
Last edited:
Easy enough:
Boot to the 10.3 install disk #1, by inserting the disk, and reboot while holding the letter C.
After the screen where you select a language - choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu.
Select your hard drive, and choose the erase tab. And, erase the hard drive. You can choose to enter a name for the volume if you like.
Quit that Disk Utility, and continue on with the OS X install. Follow the directions on the screen. Replace the disk #1 when asked, possibly to disk 3 if you install other printer drivers.
Should be that simple....
 
The only problem is that there is no OS running on the computer right now. On other sites on the web, they tell you to upgrade the firmware in OS9 before installing OSX. how do i do this if I don't have the OS9 Cd's?
 
You don't need to have another OS installed.
Just boot to that install disk #1
Another way to try - press the power button, insert the disk as the power comes on. Press and hold the power button until your iMac shuts off (about 5 seconds). Press the power switch again, then hold the C key, and continue with the rest.

That being said, if you have some older software that requires Classic (and OS 9 installed), then you should install OS 9 first.

Keep in mind that OS X is _not_ an upgrade for OS 9. It's a completely separate install, and both can continue to exist independently. You don't need OS 9 at all, if you don't have older software that requires Classic.

More questions? come back here again....
 
Yes, the info to format your hard drive is in post #2 above, using Disk Utility.

Going back to your question about upgrading your firmware: If your iMac was already running OS X, then the firmware probably has already been done. It's not part of your software installation - it's a permanent change that only needs to be done once.
 
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