Issues With my Mac.

First off I would like to thank each and every person who reads and responds to my thread it is greatly appreciated. Ok I this mac, I am not sure what kind it is but I have a picture of it in the link below. Right now it is running OS 9.1 with 96 built-in Memory. I am trying to figure out if I can install OS X on to this system. Also on this system every time I try to visit a website the mac tells me the site is unsecured and can't establish a secure connection blah blah blah. How can I disable those warning/popups and have this Mac run like a normal PC? I have been working with PC's since I was a probably 12 years old and I have never touched a mac, this is my first time, So I know nothing about these machines ESPECIALLY these older machines. But I do have to admit that the pictures I have seen of the OS X setups do like very very nice. Can anyone help me here? It would be much appreciated. Here is a picture of what my Mac looks like: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/IMac_Bondi_Blue.jpg/544px-IMac_Bondi_Blue.jpg

Thank you all,
Merry Christmas!

You can run OS X Tiger 10.4, but will need 256Mb of RAM (I recommend 384 minimum). 512Mb costs peanuts nowadays though. You need PC133 or PC100 SDRAM 168pin e.g. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-512-MB-13...goryZ172QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

OS 9.1 is seriously long in the tooth and the web has moved on a long way. I expect you're using Internet Explorer? This was discontinued for Mac years ago and was never very good in the first place.

To run OS X Tiger you will need a DVD drive. If you only have CD, try and find a copy of 10.3 Panther.

You will need to update to OS 9.2 and update the firmware before installing OS X. The iMac G3 Apple page is here: http://www.apple.com/support/imac/g3/

To install, you must upgrade to OS 9.2 and install the latest firmware updates as previously mentioned.
It depends which OS you can use on your machine. OS X 10.4 requires all Macs to have a firewire port. A few people are going to disagree on this with me but go check Apple's specs if they do. So, if your computer does not have a firewire port, you can install OS X 10.4 though other means but you'd need a second Mac. I thought they made 10.4 on CD too so you shouldn't necessarily need a DVD drive. But DVD is a standard these days so it'd be recommend that you buy one.
Otherwise, if the iMac is the only Mac you own and it doesn't have a firewire port, you can install 10.3.
In either case, you will need to upgrade the RAM. It would be recommend for the best performance to put as much RAM in the machine as possible. Depending on which model you own, you can install 256MB to 512MB of PC66 RAM to 1GB of PC100 RAM.
There should be a list of specs on the outside case of your computer. It's either near the USB ports or on the bottom of the case I think. It should tell you the speed of the processor and all of the other things the computer was originally configured with.
If you can get us those specs, we can tell you exactly what you can do with that machine. Or, just give us the serial # and we can get the specs from that from the Apple website.

WoW Thank you all very much. Very useful information. I shall do some research on the ram and maybe even a dvd drive. I will update my situation soon. Thank you both very much. Merry Christmas!

If I remember correctly, you can change the RAM module that came factory-installed, i.e. it isn't soldered to the logic board. For the other slot, you need a low-profile RAM module.

I would recommend you order from OWC: we just ordered some from them for a G4 iBook and an iMac G5, we also recommended it to friends of ours that added RAM to an Intel-iMac. Their RAM has a lifetime warranty, they are very efficient and helpful if ever you need to email them to ask questions.

(Hopefully these links will work! )

- iMac Bondi Blue G3 233MHz RAM 256MB for upper slot

- iMac G3 Low-Profile module 256MB.

If those links have a timeout session on them, just go here and select iMac/eMac on the right, click on Show Models. Select from the next window the iMac G3 model, click on Memory Upgrades -> Show Upgrades button. This will take you to the page where you select your RAM. Remember that one needs to be Low-Profile the other module is for the top slot. You will find on one of those modules a link to instructions on how to install the RAM yourself.

Hope this helps.

Not to contradict a terrific Moderator, but before spending money to get one of these great machine up to sub par, look and evaluate the costs of the upgrades before buying them. Ram and an external DVD are not expensive items.

As an alternative, it sounds like you are surfing and typing, light duty usage as I had a purple version 1 machine ago.

Perhaps a wiser move is to acknowledge it is time to move on an maybe look at a Mini or other 1 gen old machines. If you still have your PC maybe you can use a switch to hook the monitor to both machines (tricky I tried - Mac is USB and PC is not until older versions). I am thinking of a $$ spread of maybe 400 to 600 dollars between the band aid patch and almost new Mini.

Sometimes the best choice is to let the old go and jump up to almost current because you will be doing this kind of dance soon. Those machines wear out as well and I had to fix the power board or toss which I did sadly.

Yeah true, the RAM totals $70 and it is the max of what the Bondi Blue can take. As for an external DVD player, I have no idea how much it will cost.

Panther 10.3.x did come on CD so if the OP can be satisfied with using for a while an older OS X version to get the hang of a Mac, he wouldn't absolutely have to go with a DVD player to install the OS.

At this point though, getting an external DVD player to watch movies, dunno if it would be a great idea, the video card might be panting and wheezing all the way...

It is something to consider, up to which point you want to spend on an old computer vs. getting something that is new. For the Mini, the OP would need an extra monitor. But it would come with Leopard, etc.

If that truly is a 233 Bondi Blue Mac, there might be issues with Tiger. When Tiger first came out the specs stated the machine has to have a Firewire port also or it will not install. I forget if there is a way around that or not. I have that very machine with 256Megs RAM and 10.3 Panther. It's useable and night and day to OS9 for todays computer usage.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301341