upgrade

What is it running now? If it's running Mac OS 9 or below, click on the Apple at top left and select the Apple System Profiler. Take that information and post it here so we can get a better idea of which model iMac you have (there have been many iMacs starting with the 233 MHz G3 model up to the 20" iMac G5).

256 MB should be the bare minimum you'd want on OS X to make it a little usable. The more memory you add, the better OS X will run.
 
It looks like I have imac with OS Power PC G3, ROM 7.5.1 i don't se anything that has GB on it - I know my hard drie is nowhere near that - I bought the computer in 2000 - then it was a swift thing of beauty. I haven't kept up with the times. Can I put more harddrive or RAM into it or am I destined to get another computer soon?
 
You can upgrade the hard drive and the memory on it, but it's going to require opening up the iMac and because of the CRT inside, might be a risky. Wait until the end of this week for any announcements on newly released Macs (something that's rumored to happen during MacWorld this week). If new machines are released, try and get one of those. If not, then I would look at something like the Mac mini as a replacement machine, or an iMac G5 if you have the money for it. The nice thing about that Mac mini is that it's affordable and if you decide to get one of the newer Intel based Macs later this year (if they aren't released this week), you can still afford to do so. Not that this will make the current lineup obsolete (it won't for a while), but you'll have a much snappier system once the new Intel Macs come out.
 
To clarify my statement a bit, replacing the memory is not that bad. It's very easy and there's a spot underneath the iMac where you can replace the memory modules. As for the hard drive, that's where the risk comes in from what I've heard. However, there may be someone here who can walk you through it. Of course, don't expect Mac OS X to be super-snappy. I still stand by my recommendation of purchasing something like a Mac mini, but wait until Macworld is over in case Apple releases something new on the hardware side.
 
Thanks for the info. My home computer gets a lot of routine use because it can't handle a lot of high level gaming. A new mac line - I'll be on the lookout. I'l rather get that than an X-box.

I don't even know what a mac mini is. . . I use macs at home and work where they are upgrading slowly to OSX and forcing me to change along with them. I tend to just deal with what's in front of me.

I'll look into the new stuff (and when is money not an issue!) - and wait on the memory ugrade for now. I have a stripped down, very old imac with OSX on it as well. Don' use it for much but I can learn OSX on that.
 
You can also check out sites like this one and some others that I will list below to get your daily Macintosh fix. :D

Low End Mac - a site about older Macs and how to make the best use of them.
MacSlash - a Slashdot-like site that deals with Apple news.
MacSurfer Headline News - a comprehensive news site not only about Apple stuff, but also about technology in general. They also list a lot of other Macs sites towards the bottom that you might find useful. This particular site was what introduced me years ago to a lot of Macintosh sites, which then lead me to some other PC/General computing sites and even some computer enthusiast sites.
Slashdot - a news site about computer news and general geeky stuff. They also have a section dedicated to Apple news postings.

Enjoy! :D
 
I have a question about the macmini - before you posted I looked around macstore and apple sites so I got some info and will check the site you suggested as well. Is this a drive I plug into my imac or do I have to buy periferals - specifically the monitor - and set up my computer all over again? I have cable modem with email that was a bear to set up through them and don't want to do it over again.
 
Take a look at Low End Mac:

http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml

Your iMac can take up to a gig of RAM!

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac-G3-G4-G5/G3-350MHz-700MHz/

You will be able to run OS X 10.3 Panther without any rigamarole but if you want to run the latest OS, 10.4 Tiger, you would need to install it under Xpostfacto:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7594

Also if it is not equipped with DVD you would have to get a hold of the CD set for Tiger. Again, no obstacles to run Panther.

Hope this helps.
 
The Mac Mini s a full computer. You need a monitor, keyboard and mouse to use it.

The modem and email are simple to setup. Most here will help you with that.

You can also open your settings up, the window for your email settings, and network, and take a screen shot and print it out for reference in setting it up again.
 
The Mac mini is a computer, just like your iMac. However, you do have to purchase a keyboard, monitor, and mouse if you don't have a USB keyboard and mouse or a monitor. Fortunately, if you have the USB keyboard and mouse from your iMac, it will work on the Mac mini. If you have an old VGA monitor somewhere, that will work as well. Heck, you can even use a PC mouse and keyboard with it, the only minor issue being that you'll have Windows icons on the keyboard as opposed to the keys that come with the Mac, but they will work (In other words, the Command key would be the Ctrl key on the windows keyboard, but it will function as the Command key on the Mac keyboard....simple things like that).

The only thing you would have to set up is the modem connetion, but since OS X is a much newer OS and better supported than OS 9 and below, it should be much easier.

(BTW, sorry for the incomplete post a few seconds ago. My 1 year old made me hit Submit on accident. :p)
 
And the Mac mini doesn't have a built-in modem, that's a separate purchase to get a USB dial-up modem. But it supports broadband connections with its built-in 10/100 ethernet port...and wi-fi if you get one with Airport built-in.
 
Great information. You'd never know that I have always used and owned an apple or mac. . . i ball, I was wondering about the modem - I've got a cable connection now.
I'm still not sure about OSX - I know it does a lot more but I just want to click and drag and be done with it. Feels more like a PC-based program (did spend one year a job where I labored under that cloud.) I'm going to take a quick training at work and maybe then I'll see the light.
I upgraded a castoff imac to OS 10.3, whatever it is called. Heard that v.4 has a lot of holes in it. Is that true?
Again - I appreciate the info.
 
OS X is still very much click and drag as the Mac OS has always been. However, there are other features that are useful to power users, but that dfoesn't mean that you have to use them.

As for 10.4, the only buggy version that I know of was 10.4.0. I'm running 10.4.3 on my iMac and it's running fine without any problems. The one thing to remember about performing upgrades is to not have any extra peripherals conncted other than the keyboard and the mouse when upgrading, and to make sure to run Disk Utility to repair the disk as well as repair permissions before performing the upgrade. If you follow those common sense procedures, you should be able to upgrade without any issues, barring any software that might not be compatible with OS X (which if the company is smart, would have a patch for it before too long).
 
I'm getting my nerve up - I'll follow those directions and see what happens. Probably won't do it until I copy all my files in case I lose anything.
 
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