Uprading an older Mac

Some of you are familiar with my Mac (used).

It is now operating on a 10.3.9 OS, was upgraded to a 120G HD, new battery and I think that is it. It is a 17" Powerbook, about 5 years old, that I bought used to learn the Mac, switching from a PC

I have an appt at the Apple store tomorrow to look at new Macs, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade my older Mac to Leopard, or Snow Leopard or if it even possible.

I was just trying to save money. Would that be an out of the question idea to bring up tomorrow?

I would not even consider it on a PC, but this Mac is really powerful, just has an old OS and won't do everything I need it to.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Can you give us more specs please? CPU Speed and RAM especially.

Snow Leopard is Intel only so that will not work. 10.5 Leopard will depending on the specs.

You didn't give us any specifics like what year- model your Powerbook is but you can probably update the memory - adding more, and maybe even install a larger hard drive. Your PB can probably run Leopard but not Snow Leopard since that's limited to Intel machines only. Your PB uses a PPC processor.

Any upgrades that you decide to do, do it yourself as Apple upgrades are more expensive.

Regards.

I am not so sure I can do it myself, as a matter of fact, I am positive!

Even an "expensive" upgrade is less expensive than a new Mac .

I will confirm the specs, BRB

Here you go:

Machine Model: PowerBook G4 17"
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
L3 Cache (per CPU): 1 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.6.2f1

That will run 10.5 Leopard pretty well. I would max out the RAM (Memory) though if you can.

Wonderful, thanks!

I have an appt at Apple tomorrow to talk about a new Mac, but I may just have them upgrade this one.

Thank you so much.

Just got back from the Apple store and my Power book cannot be upgraded to anything but Tiger. So I am going to get a MacBook, just need to figure out when/where.

Pasofino said:

Just got back from the Apple store and my Power book cannot be upgraded to anything but Tiger. So I am going to get a MacBook, just need to figure out when/where.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you got that information...but from the specs you listed earlier...your Powerbook can DEFINITELY be upgraded to OS 10.5 Leopard (you just have to be willing to spend $100+ for the install disk).

The ram in your Powerbook can also be upgraded to 2 gigabyte (from it's current 1 gigabyte).

If upgrading your Powerbook to 10.5 will allow you to continue using it...then you wouldn't have to purchase a MacBook (unless you really want to).

Hope this helps,

- Nick

The trouble with upgrading to Leopard is that Apple is not going to have any install disks for it in their stores. The Mac Box Set that they currently sell, as well as the stand-alone boxed version of OS X that they have, are all Snow Leopard, i.e. they're intended to get folks on older Intel Macs up and running with the latest software.

To get a Leopard installation disk, you'll have to look on Ebay or elsewhere.

You guys all seem to be very knowledgeable, but I am lost!

If the Apple store can't or won't do it, how can I upgrade it?

They told me that the most it would handle is 10.4 (Tiger) and that is not going to help me much.

I don't feel like I can tell them they are wrong.

These are the requirements to run Leopard OS X 10.5.x http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3759

What you need is retail version discs, that look like this

The grey coloured discs won't work a they are machine specific, so be sure to get the retail ones.
RAM as mentioned, is worth upgrading to 2GB http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upg...9&type=Memory&TI=1926&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

Available on Ebay and Amazon with a bit of searching.

Thanks! I will do some research and see what I can find.

All I need is to load the disk? What about the memory? Do I need to upgrade that as well?

I am glad I can save some money. Thanks again for the help.

Purchase an OS 10.5 install disk (black disk on e-Bay)...and upgrade the ram ("memory") if you wish.

All in all...a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a MacBook if you don't need a new computer!

- Nick

Like was suggested, get the Retail 10.5 Leopard DVD and install it. If you have questions or issue how to install just ask.

The Ram you have will run 10.5 pretty well but after you get it going I would bump it up to 2GB. 10.5 Leopard will like you for it!

If there is ANY way we can help just ask.

Pasofino said:

Thanks! I will do some research and see what I can find.

All I need is to load the disk? What about the memory? Do I need to upgrade that as well?

I am glad I can save some money. Thanks again for the help.

Click to expand...

It's all been said already, but to answer it in short.
All you need is the disk (approx $150 give or take).

If you buy 2GB ram as well (approx $100), you will have a Mac that runs better than it ever has.

All this is a total of $250 to have what is like a new computer compared to the way it is now.

Thanks all.

I've put a bid on on a Tiger 10.4.11 Tiger OS. Only 7 hours left and it is only 53.00 so far.


The 2G memory may be harder to find. There is no memory upgrade for the Powerbook specifically. There is some for the Power Mac G5.

Would Apple have it? even if it is more expensive than on Ebay, it will be the right one if they carry it.

If you look at the link I gave you, you will see the specs of the RAM you need.
I wouldn't waste my money on second hand RAM, but that's up to you.
As for Tiger, in all honesty I wouldn't waste my money there, as the extra $100 is a big leap from Tiger as far as OS, and compatible software.

Actually, I think you are wasting money trying to salvage a five-year-old computer.

I'm not saying its ready for the scrapheap just yet -- I'm saying that you will end up spending a few hundred bucks (minimum) to delay the inevitable. Leopard itself is already obsolete, more and more software updates require Intel processors etc.

There are just a lot of reasons why its time for you to jump to Intel. If you want to save a little money, look to a refurb'd Macbook instead of a new one.

The PPC era is well and truly over and unless you find a copy of Leopard for super-cheap, I can't recommend investing any more serious money into a computer that old, no matter how wonderful it's been (though I'm very glad you had such a good experience with it).

For some people, parting with a beloved Mac is like putting down the family pet (seriously!), but its kind of inevitable and we just have to move on sometimes.

As much as I agree, any expense is a big expense for some of us... so, if the OP can't afford the leap, but is going to spend money on that old workhorse, rather than spending minimal on not going far, perhaps saving a little more on making what he/she has, be the best that it can be, at least until he/she can afford to make the big leap.