Installing Mac OS on an old Powerbook G4

I have an old Powerbook G4 that I was given, and I just replaced the hard drive. I have one problem....I do not have the operating system disks that came with it, or have any idea what version of Mac OS came with it. I do not think the person that gave me the laptop has them. Here is some more info about the laptop:

Model number: A1010
1.3ghz, 256mb ram, 12" screen, aluminum casing. From what I gather, this model is 8-10 years old.

I am also under the impression that operating system disks are no longer made for the Power PC's.

I am not very familiar with MAC's, so any help would be appreciated. I am just trying to figure out where to get the operating system for this laptop. I was able to get a version of OSx Tiger off the internet, but the system will not boot from it.

Mike

You need OS install disks. Check e-Bay. You probably would be best with a version of OS 10.4 or 10.5. Gonna cost you $75-$100. Don't buy gray/silver colored disks...you need black ones with a big X on them.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

You need OS install disks. Check e-Bay. You probably would be best with a version of OS 10.4 or 10.5. Gonna cost you $75-$100. Don't buy gray/silver colored disks...you need black ones with a big X on them.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks! Did not think of Ebay for some reason. However, that is more than the laptop is worth. I was thinking I could get them for about $20.00. One person is selling it for over $200.00. This laptop is old and obsolete and worth maybe $50.00 max. I appreciate your help, but I am just going to scrap this thing!

mikekoz said:

Thanks! Did not think of Ebay for some reason. However, that is more than the laptop is worth. I was thinking I could get them for about $20.00. One person is selling it for over $200.00. This laptop is old and obsolete and worth maybe $50.00 max. I appreciate your help, but I am just going to scrap this thing!

Click to expand...

Yes...that's the problem when folks are messing around with 8-10 year-old computers. The computer is worth a lot less than many things you can buy for it (hard drive upgrades, ram upgrades, OS install disks, replacement batteries, software, etc.).

When I suggested Mac OS 10.4 or 10.5...I was suggesting them because they're more "modern". But if you just want to get an OS to get it running...you can install as old as OS 10.2.7 on it. OS 10.3 may be a good choice. You should be able to get it for around $20-$30 but since it's an older version...you may not find as many for sale.

- Nick

p.s. Don't scrap it...I could certainly use it if you were going to scrap it!