# MAC users, I need HELP!



## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

Picked up a used G4 tower (358 RAM 40Gig hard drive) for 50 bucks (including monitor) just so I could get to know these things at least a little.

I am figuring it out pretty well as I go as OS X is so, so, so much more user friendly than OS 9. I HATED OS 9 with a passion.

Ok, this thing has a DVD drive, but there is no CD icon on the desk top and when I press the key board short cut to eject the tray it tells me the hard drive is in use...well duh I know the hard drive is in use.

Any idea at all what I should do?


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

I'm a little confused about the question. Are you able to open the drive tray at all? There is no 'icon' for any drive on the computer unless it is mounted. For a DVD drive, that means there must be a DVD in it spinning before it will show you even have a DVD drive to deal with. Are you using the Eject button on the keyboard?


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

What eject button? I press the little square and the E button.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> What eject button? I press the little square and the E button.



What version of OSX are you using? What kind of keyboard are you using? What model PowerMac G4 is it? What do you mean by "little square"?


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## BobVigneault (Dec 8, 2005)

Adam, is there a small button on the front of the cd drawer itself?


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

Ok, never mind, I am a MAC noob idiot. I found the eject button.

I also wondered why the mouse cord was so short until I found the USB ports on the key board!


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by maxdetail_
> Adam, is there a small button on the front of the cd drawer itself?



No, apparently that wouldn't "look cool". The MAC dvd drive is behind a little flap that falls open when it is ejected by the button on the key board.

MAC's for dummies here I come.


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## BobVigneault (Dec 8, 2005)

Tehehehehehehehehehe! It's the greatest computer you've ever had the pleasure of touching brother Adam. I've been a mac-jockey for many years, professionally and at home. Give it some time, you're gonna love it.


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

Ok, what about memory? Does this thing use the same kind of memory PC's do? Nothing special I have to ask for? What about USB ports? It looks like every day PCI slots in the tower when I open it up, I assum they are?

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by houseparent]


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> Ok, what about memory? Does this thing use the same kind of memory PC's do? Nothing special I have to ask for? What about USB ports? It looks like every day PCI slots in the tower when I open it up, I assum they are?
> 
> [Edited on 12-8-2005 by houseparent]



So the eject button worked? Glad I could help. 

They use the "same memory" as PC's but you need to get the right kind for your machine. Go to www.crucial.com and you should be able to look up your specific model. If you can, do me a favor and click on the Apple button on the top right-hand corner of your screen, and click "About this Mac" and tell me what it says, then I can help you more with upgrades and such.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

Here you go: http://www.crucial.com/mac/index.asp


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by maxdetail_
> Tehehehehehehehehehe! It's the greatest computer you've ever had the pleasure of touching brother Adam. I've been a mac-jockey for many years, professionally and at home. Give it some time, you're gonna love it.



I want to learn them to be completely tech savy. I love technology. But this will always be a back up machine as my lap top and new desk top blow this away in the specs department. But I am suprised how smooth and generally fast this MAC runs.

What processor speed is a G4?


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by maxdetail_
> ...



Yeah, Apple computers will last five times as long as any PC. You can run the newest operating system on a Mac that is 10 years old. Try putting XP on any 10 year old PC, I dare you 

Click on "About this Mac" under the apple button to see the specs of the computer.


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

It is a 10.1.3 PowerPC G4
384mb RAM

That's what it said when I clicked what you asked me to.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

If you're going to go online with the PowerMac, make sure you run Software Update and get all of the programs up to date, that will help a lot as far as how the machine runs. Also, it wouldn't hurt to verify and repair your file permissions, assuming that the machine has not been recently formatted or anything.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> It is a 10.1.3 PowerPC G4
> 384mb RAM
> 
> That's what it said when I clicked what you asked me to.



Ouch, 10.1? If you want to enjoy that machine, pick up a copy of Mac OSX Tiger 10.4. You can get the education version from Apple.com for $69. It is leaps and bounds beyond 10.1, and the machine will run much faster with it as well, not to mention the myriad of cool features and utilities included with it. You can click on "More Info" to see the processor speed, etc.

I have a 15" Aluminum PowerBook G4, running 10.4.3, with a 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 and 1 GB of DDR SDRAM, with a 5400 RPM 80 GB hard drive, DVD/CDRW, and a 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics card.


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

Bought it from work, I think they reformated.


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

more info was not a choice on my screen where I got that info....


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## BobVigneault (Dec 8, 2005)

Gabe, I had no idea you were such a Mac guru. I love it when you talk techie!


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by maxdetail_
> Gabe, I had no idea you were such a Mac guru. I love it when you talk techie!



I became one early in college, since I was a graphic design major. We used dual-G4 powermacs back then. My first mac was a 17" flat screen iMac, and then I sold that and bought my powerbook a little over a year ago. I'll never buy a PC again, my stress level and enjoyment of using computers has been radically altered ever since. I bought this laptop mostly for video editing and high end graphics work, which it does amazingly well, but I mostly just use it for word processing/email now. Kind of sad, haha. I haven't heard the cooling fan kick on in months (I never push it to its full ability).


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> more info was not a choice on my screen where I got that info....



Must be a difference with 10.1... the earliest version of OSX I ever used was 10.2. You should really try and pick up a copy of Tiger!!! Do whatever it takes, trust me.

To find out your system information (proc. speed, hdd info, etc.), do this:

1. Click on the "Finder" icon on the dock or on the "Macintosh HD" icon on the desktop.
2. Select the "Applications" folder.
3. Select the "Utilities" folder.
4. Open the program called "System Profiler".


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

733 MHz
384 RAM
256K L2 cache
DVD-ROM CD/RW


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> 733 MHz
> 384 RAM
> 256K L2 cache
> DVD-ROM CD/RW



Cool. I would definitely try to pick up another GB of RAM or at least another 512 MB. And Tiger. Let me know if you need more help.


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

Thanks Gabe! You've been a help. I will get the memory and Tiger as soon as I can.

PS- This was a good deal for 50 bucks then?

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by houseparent]


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> Thanks Gabe! You've been a help. I will get the memory and Tiger as soon as I can.
> 
> PS- This was a good deal for 50 bucks then?
> ...



50 bucks?!??! 

YES, that is a great deal. Any G4 machine that is at least 700 MHz is worth having, if you want to run Tiger and other modern Apple applications effectively, just don't forget the RAM. Tiger could run on even older machines as well, but a DVD drive is a requirement for Tiger.

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by WrittenFromUtopia]


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## BobVigneault (Dec 8, 2005)

Secondhand G4s are going for around 400 these days. You did good, real good.


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## ReformedWretch (Dec 8, 2005)

Just ordered Tiger. Will get memory tomorrow hopefully.


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## BobVigneault (Dec 8, 2005)

Excellent Adam, don't forget, as Gabe said, once you install Tiger then go online and do all the appropriate software upgrades.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Dec 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> Just ordered Tiger. Will get memory tomorrow hopefully.



Make sure you get the right kind for that motherboard and G4.


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