just got an old powerbook

impulsionaudio

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I just got a little-used four year old 1.33 GHz G4 Powerbook w/ 1GB RAM running 10.3.9. It's a little slow so I am running a bunch of clean-up routines in Leopard Cache Cleaner. Any other good free or damn cheap maintenance tasks I should run?

Also, anyone know where to get old software that runs well on the horsepower I have? Any current software requires 10.4 or higher and more horsepower. Certainly not all the copies of Office for Mac or Logic for 10.3 sold several years ago. Where can I buy them?

Thanks
 
A few things to suggest:

1. Repair Permissions: apps/utilities/disk utility/repair permissions
2. Restart ;)
3. Get OnyX for your operating system at versiontracker.com, run its cron scripts; and other fixes besides repairing permissions (unless you want to do that using OnyX which is totally fine)
4. Clear as much hard disk space as you can (virtual memory uses HD space which can help speed up your comp)
5. Remove any screen savers and or other add ons having to do with customizing the look of your OS. Can hog system resources

What kind of software are you after exactly?
 
Ditto the get onyx advice but make sure you download the correct version for your OS. You'll find the different versions This link.

If you're after Logic Pro 7 for Panther 10.3.9, it's no longer sold by Apple so you're best bet would be eBay or the like. Take great care though if you buy from these types of places that you are getting everything you need, ie: the USB Dongle.

Apple does however continue to offer some Logic Pro 7 Support/Updates here.



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A few things to suggest:

1. Repair Permissions: apps/utilities/disk utility/repair permissions
2. Restart ;)
3. Get OnyX for your operating system at versiontracker.com, run its cron scripts; and other fixes besides repairing permissions (unless you want to do that using OnyX which is totally fine)
4. Clear as much hard disk space as you can (virtual memory uses HD space which can help speed up your comp)
5. Remove any screen savers and or other add ons having to do with customizing the look of your OS. Can hog system resources

What kind of software are you after exactly?

Thanks for the reply. Where are screen savers and add-ons stored so I can remove them?

The two softwares I would like to purchase right now are Ableton Live and Microsoft Word for 10.3.9. You recommend I seek them out individually rather than from an old software vendor?

Thanks
 
Not sure what you mean by 'old' software vendor, but I'd get them from a reputable one whatever you do. Then you can take advantage of support for fully licensed software.

Here's my favorite online computer store: www.smalldog.com

Screensavers I believe have the .scr tag. But first look in your Monitor preferences and see if you have any screensavers in use. They would be listed there if installed.
 
What I mean by old software is that if I go on Amazon, Best Buy, etc. and look for Mac software, the software will have minimum reqs. beyond my computer. I need to buy older versions of the current software available.
Thanks
 
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