latest OS for mac mini PPC

Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Greeting all Mac friends,

I was given a mac mini PPC (EMC 2026) - No OS installed.

I installed OS 10.3.9 but every time I download any program, adobe flash, firefox using safari it crashes, on the occasion it downloaded before it crashed, the DMG file says its corrupt. I even downloaded from my other mac and USB'ed the DMG file onto the mac mini and t still says the file is corrupt.

I would like to use it for video as I travel a lot and would like to "see" my kids when I am away :)

I also have an iSight camera.

Can someone tell me which OS I can install please?

Thanks
Coz
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Greeting all Mac friends,

I was given a mac mini PPC (EMC 2026) - No OS installed.

I installed OS 10.3.9 but every time I download any program, adobe flash, firefox using safari it crashes, on the occasion it downloaded before it crashed, the DMG file says its corrupt. I even downloaded from my other mac and USB'ed the DMG file onto the mac mini and t still says the file is corrupt.

I would like to use it for video as I travel a lot and would like to "see" my kids when I am away :)

I also have an iSight camera.

Can someone tell me which OS I can install please?

Thanks
Coz

The max OS for any of the PPC Mac Minis is Leopard, OS X 10.5.8. Make sure you get the (Black) retail OS disks.

EDIT: Have you tried repairing permissions and using Disk Utility to check out your HD? Not sure from the symptoms that you aren't having some HD problems.
 
OP
C
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
The max OS for any of the PPC Mac Minis is Leopard, OS X 10.5.8. Make sure you get the (Black) retail OS disks.

EDIT: Have you tried repairing permissions and using Disk Utility to check out your HD? Not sure from the symptoms that you aren't having some HD problems.

Hey Razormac,

Thanks for your answer, I checked the HDD and everything is OK, I downloaded the MacOSXUpdCombo10.5.8.dmg file from apple.com (About the Mac OS X v10.5.8 Update) and tried running it on the mac mini and I get the message "The file cannot be opened, the bill of materials for this package was not found"

Have I broken it :(

Thanks
Coz
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Hey Razormac,

Thanks for your answer, I checked the HDD and everything is OK, I downloaded the MacOSXUpdCombo10.5.8.dmg file from apple.com (About the Mac OS X v10.5.8 Update) and tried running it on the mac mini and I get the message "The file cannot be opened, the bill of materials for this package was not found"

Have I broken it :(

Thanks
Coz

Unfortunately you can not update 10.3 to 10.5. You will have to do a version upgrade, which requires getting hold of a retail set of the OS disks. You might want to check on Tiger (OS 10.4) disks as well, as they may be cheaper--I don't keep up with prices of old OS disks, so not certain.

What I wouldn't do is spend a lot of money updating/upgrading your mini. I saw some Intel Mac Minis available on eBay for $375 Buy Now, which leads me to suspect you could pick one up in the $300-$400 range used.

Even the earliest Intel Minis is capable of running Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 (available from Apple On-line Store for $29).
 
OP
C
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Unfortunately you can not update 10.3 to 10.5. You will have to do a version upgrade, which requires getting hold of a retail set of the OS disks. You might want to check on Tiger (OS 10.4) disks as well, as they may be cheaper--I don't keep up with prices of old OS disks, so not certain.

What I wouldn't do is spend a lot of money updating/upgrading your mini. I saw some Intel Mac Minis available on eBay for $375 Buy Now, which leads me to suspect you could pick one up in the $300-$400 range used.

Even the earliest Intel Minis is capable of running Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 (available from Apple On-line Store for $29).

Hey Razormac,

I will try this as I think I have a 10.4 disk somewhere, if nothing happens I will buy a mac mini. Thanks for your support.

Coz
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Hey Razormac,

I will try this as I think I have a 10.4 disk somewhere, if nothing happens I will buy a mac mini. Thanks for your support.

Coz

You are welcome.
On that Tiger disk, if it is not the Black retail disk it will not install on your Mini unless it is from the exact same model machine. The gray and silver disks are machine specific.
 
OP
C
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
You are welcome.
On that Tiger disk, if it is not the Black retail disk it will not install on your Mini unless it is from the exact same model machine. The gray and silver disks are machine specific.

Hey Razormac,

I Installed 10.4 and it works, now and I will upgrade to 10.5 as you said, the only issue is that Flash player 10.1 (which is for PPC machines) runs very slow, is this because of the processor? I have 1GB of memory but a 40GB HDD?

Thanks for your assistance thus far.

Coz
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Hey Razormac,

I Installed 10.4 and it works, now and I will upgrade to 10.5 as you said, the only issue is that Flash player 10.1 (which is for PPC machines) runs very slow, is this because of the processor? I have 1GB of memory but a 40GB HDD?

Thanks for your assistance thus far.

Coz

That may be the case. Have to admit my experience using non-Intel Macs is very limited. My first Mac purchase was a 2006 MacBook.

One thing that may be slowing you down with only a 40Gb HDD is free space. If you have less than 15% free space (in your case 6Gb) things can start to bog down.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top