upgrade imac os 8 to os x 10

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krazyuniks

Registered
Hi there,

Have an older imac running version 8. Is it possible to upgrade to os x 10? Any hardware requirements or compatibility issues?

Cheers
 
'Is it possible to upgrade to os x 10?' - yes.
'Any hardware requirements or compatibility issues?' - yes, see Apple at (1) and (2). You may have to purchase the 'Tiger' (v. 10.4.x) MacOS X CD set, as opposed to the standard MacOS X DVD disc.
 
Another recommendation: Be careful if you're purchasing the discs through eBay. You might be better off purchasing the OS X discs from an actual vendor. Too many times I have seen people posting here that have had problems with discs purchased off of eBay thinking that they were official install discs when in fact they were either illegally downloaded or not the actual retail versions (the solid, non-black colored ones that are specific for a particular Macintosh).

You might be better off trying someplace like Other World Computing if you want to save some money.
 
If '... when in fact they were either illegally downloaded... ' were the case, then chances are quite good that - the disc(s) would work.

Otherwise, I agree with nixgeek - please, stay away from eBay and similar operations.
 
krazyuniks said:
Hi there,

Have an older imac running version 8. Is it possible to upgrade to os x 10? Any hardware requirements or compatibility issues?

Cheers
Click to expand...
Your iMac is not running version 8, it is running MacOS 8. Your computer can run MacOS X 10.3.9. If you have at least 512 MB RAM and 10 GB HD or larger (recommended), you should be fine. That takes care of the hardware. The fact that you are running MacOS 8 presents another problem. You need Classic. Because you never upgraded to MacOS 9, you will not be able to run Classic if you upgrade to MacOS X 10.3.9. You need to buy a copy of MacOS 9.2 from a vendor that sells veteran software titles. Upgrade to MacOS 9.2 first. Use Software Update to update it to MacOS 9.2.2. Upgrade you MacOS 9 drivers to their latest versions. Most of your old MacOS 8 software will run. Install MacOS X 10.3 over MacOS 9.2.2. Use Software Update to update your OS to MacOS X 10.3.9. This process will also apply all required security patches. Your installation of MacOS 9.2.2 will automatically become your Classic environment. You retain to option to boot into MacOS 9.2.2.
 
MisterMe said:
Your iMac is not running version 8, it is running MacOS 8. Your computer can run MacOS X 10.3.9. If you have at least 512 MB RAM and 10 GB HD or larger (recommended), you should be fine. That takes care of the hardware. The fact that you are running MacOS 8 presents another problem. You need Classic. Because you never upgraded to MacOS 9, you will not be able to run Classic if you upgrade to MacOS X 10.3.9. You need to buy a copy of MacOS 9.2 from a vendor that sells veteran software titles. Upgrade to MacOS 9.2 first. Use Software Update to update it to MacOS 9.2.2. Upgrade you MacOS 9 drivers to their latest versions. Most of your old MacOS 8 software will run. Install MacOS X 10.3 over MacOS 9.2.2. Use Software Update to update your OS to MacOS X 10.3.9. This process will also apply all required security patches. Your installation of MacOS 9.2.2 will automatically become your Classic environment. You retain to option to boot into MacOS 9.2.2.
Click to expand...


thanks for those specifics misterme.

This mac will be getting a new hard drive so will it will be a clean install. Does this change any of the above? I have also heard that a firmware upgrade may be in order, can you shed any light on this?

Thanks all for your help.
 
After installing System [Mac OS] 9, and updating it (at least) to version 9.1 (or all the way to System 9.2.2 [recommended]), you may have to install the 'iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9'. I say may, because I did install MacOS X 10.3.x, and a respective update, on a Summer 2000 iMac DV SE, without any Firmware updating.

Whether or not you performed the Firmware update or not - consider updating System 9 to version 9.2.2, if you have not already.

Install MacOS X. I agree with MisterMe - unless you want to use 'widgets' and / or there are some 'Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) specific applications, consider installing 'Panther' (MacOS X 10.3.x).

MacOS X 10.3.4 is where I return to when doing 'Panther' work; however, I have multiple partitions with multiple Systems / MacOS X'es installed.
Those using "iLife '05" are required to install MacOS X 10.3.7 or above. With this perspective, then MacOS X 10.3.9 is the better choice.

Thus, as told by others and above - the version of MacOS X you install, and then update / upgrade to - depends on the applications you intend to use.
 
krazyuniks said:
thanks for those specifics misterme.

This mac will be getting a new hard drive so will it will be a clean install. Does this change any of the above? I have also heard that a firmware upgrade may be in order, can you shed any light on this?

Thanks all for your help.
Click to expand...
This does not change my thinking. barhar gave you some good advice. Joint of clarification--your computer cannot run MacOS X 10.4 without help from a third-party utility like XPostFacto. However, MacOS X 10.3.9 is fully-compatible, still actively supported by Apple, and will run the latest version of most apps. As for firmware updates, those are necessary for only a few models. Yours is different from barhar's. Check Apple's support website to see if yours needs the update.
 
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