I-Mac G3 to Panther

Ive been given a i-mac g3 with a blank HD, is it possible to install panther striaght.

Even the original iMac is capable of running OS X up to Panther if it has enough RAM and HD space. You should go to the iMac section of Low End Mac and check for the specific model you have: www.lowendmac.com. They even have tips for installing X on these machines. Apple claims that 128 mg of RAM is necessary to install Panther but you'll really need at least 256 if you want reasonable performance.

I don't know, I run Panther on a 366Mhz iBook G3 w. 128 mb ram, and it runs fine. I can only have about 4 small programs open, and it's a little choppy, but very usable.

I just installed Tiger on two B&W Powermac G3s, and a Powermac G4, runs great (although all of those had 512mb+).

You can install directly, but I thought there was something with one one the imacs, where firmware or something had to be updated first. idk though, I don't have any iMacs.

I do know for Tiger, the earliest compatible iMac is the slotloading iMac. But that's because Tiger requires a firewire connection. (I was quite amazed, Tiger actually sped up the mac by 30-50%.

I found these minimum requirements for Panther: Power Mac G3, G4 or G5
Built-in USB
iBook computer with 128 MB of physical RAM
iMac
eMac
PowerBook G3 or G4
Video conferencing requires a 600 MHz or faster PowerPC G3, a PowerPC G4, or a PowerPC G5 processor; broadband Internet access (100 Kbps or faster); and a compatible FireWire DV camera or web camera
Internet access requires a compatible service provider; iDisk requires a .Mac account; fees may apply

I would install OS 9 first, because you have to make sure you have the latest iMac firmware before upgrading to OS X or you will end up with a blank screen. I just repaired a Mac with this issue a few weeks ago. Once you've got it running with 9 and can verify the firmware is current, then you can evaluate the disk space you have and make sure you have enough ram to go to Panther. The iMac I worked on ran Panther quite well once it was fixed up. You'll want to check lowendmac.com for the firmware requirements for OS X.

(replying for Gua5d1an)
yeah its a slot loading 500MHZ with fire wire , usb etc. i want to put 768 ram in it does any one know where i can cheap ram for this machine (SDRAM 100)

I will run panther and if it runs ok ill go to tiger
thanks every 1

With that machine and that much RAM you'll be able to run Panther without a problem. As noted above, be sure - absolutely sure - that the firmware is updated before you even put an OS X CD in it.