Oh my God Help. D:

Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Okay. Firstly~ Hi, my name is Autumn. Thank you for even opening this. Prepare for me to probably sound like an idiot.

I had never touched a Mac in my life until yesterday. I've been using PCs since I was 8, and I'm pretty computer-savvy.

I needed a new computer, I plan on starting school soon...and I decided (because of my very tiny budget) I would look on Craigslist. (Please no lectures D: I trust too easily, maybe :p)
Anywho. I see an add for an iMac for $299...and I figure, y'know...I'm gonna go for it! So I do. The woman selling it was really sweet and all that...it has the disks for the OS on it and I think one that was also on it previously. I can tell it's well taken care of (no scratches etc.)

So I get on it, start playing around and stuff....and I decide to sign up for netflix! Well, netflix doesn't work...due to the operating system. (Tiger? 10.4.11) And neither do some of the game emulators I had on my old PC.

The things it can run (Firefox and Frontierville on Facebook specifically- Don't laugh at meeee) it runs very slowly.

I call Apple and they say the only way to salvage this beast is to get the new OS, Snow Leopard. It's 129 dollars. :I

This is what I wanna know~!
~Is it the machine that's making everything run slower than a ticked off slug, or is it the OS?
~Do I NEEEED to spend 129 dollars on this new OS or is there one that will work pretty well. And is the 129 entirely worth it?
~How do I know if my machine will even run the new software?


I'm sure you'll need more information from me, so if you ask me what somethin' is and tell me where to find it, I'll let ya know! Thanks so much.

(TL ; DR - Purchased computer on Craigslist. Old OS doesn't do what I want it to. Should I spend money on the newest one, and how do I know if my computer will run it smoothly and quickly.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
Need to know this iMac's specs.:

- cpu speed
- amount of ram
- verify OS version

Go to:

- Apple drop down menu
- select "About This Mac"

- Nick
 
OP
Q
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Need to know this iMac's specs.:

- cpu speed
- amount of ram
- verify OS version

Go to:

- Apple drop down menu
- select "About This Mac"

- Nick

cpu speed - 1.8
memory - 512 mb
os- Mac OS X 10.4.11
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Please if you can do what Nick suggested and post the specs. That price sounds low for an iMac unless it's rather old. If it's really old it will not run Snow Leopard. Also what does the iMac look like? Color? Screen? Flat Panel?

Click the Apple in the upper left corner and on About This Mac. Tell us what the CPU and OS and Memory is.

Ok see your post. 1.8 G4? G5? Intel?
 
OP
Q
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Please if you can do what Nick suggested and post the specs. That price sounds low for an iMac unless it's rather old. If it's really old it will not run Snow Leopard. Also what does the iMac look like? Color? Screen? Flat Panel?

Click the Apple in the upper left corner and on About This Mac. Tell us what the CPU and OS and Memory is.

Ok see your post. 1.8 G4? G5? Intel?

It says 1.8 G5.
And it's white, I couldn't tell you how big, I'm bad with eyeballing that sort of thing.
Wider than it is tall. The screen takes up a bit more than 3/4 of the actual computer, if you get what I'm saying. (There's a about a 1/4 gap of just white with the apple on it at the bottom after the screen ends) I dunno if any of this is standard with all Macs or not, sorry D: But, the power button is on the back left side of it~ and if by Flat Panel you mean that it's one thin rectangle, with a small stand coming off the back, then yes.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
The latest version of OSX for that machine is Leopard 10.5. Snow Leopard 10.6 if for Intel Macs only and will not run nor install on a G5 since it's a Power PC. Leopard would be $129 probably if you can find it.

Going from 10.4 to 10.5 would help with newer versions of software but probably not the speed issues. Some of the speed issues might be the OS is all messed up, so installing a new OS could help.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
It says 1.8 G5.

Good deal...I forgot to ask what CPU it had...and you said it's a G5. You cannot install Snow Leopard on a G5 (you need an Intel cpu).

OS 10.5 is the best you can do...and that's going to cost $100+.

- Nick
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15

robduckyworth


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
2,971
Reaction score
109
Points
63
Location
Reading, UK
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP, 2.5GHz i7, 750GB, 6770M 1GB, iPad 3, iPhone 4, custom PC
If you want to speed it up, remove any unneccassary files from it, perhaps reinstall the OS from the discs if this hasnt been done so already.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
One thing I will tell you, if those Game Emulators are for a Windows PC, they are not going to run on a Mac as it's a different platform. Just saying this in case.
 

robduckyworth


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
2,971
Reaction score
109
Points
63
Location
Reading, UK
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP, 2.5GHz i7, 750GB, 6770M 1GB, iPad 3, iPhone 4, custom PC
One thing I will tell you, if those Game Emulators are for a Windows PC, they are not going to run on a Mac as it's a different platform. Just saying this in case.

but there are alternatives. not sure if they will run on PPC, but name the platforms and i can link you to the corresponding programs.
 
OP
Q
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I was using some that said they were for Mac. If you want to link me to some that you know and trust and that will work with what I've got that'd be awesome. :D
 

robduckyworth


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
2,971
Reaction score
109
Points
63
Location
Reading, UK
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP, 2.5GHz i7, 750GB, 6770M 1GB, iPad 3, iPhone 4, custom PC
what platforms are you after?
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
2,116
Reaction score
123
Points
63
Location
Rocky Mountain High, Colorado
Your Mac's Specs
1.8 GHz i7 MBA 11" OSX 10.8.2
I don't think Netflix will work - as most everything I've seen says you need an Intel processor to run Netflix. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
netflix minimum - Google Search

edit: but it is a perfectly good excuse to go get a new iOS device such as an iPad or iPod touch - Netflix works great on those.
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
452
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Location
Canada
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook Pro, 2.4GHz Core2 Duo 10.6.8, MacMini
Leopard (10.5) should run you around 129+, and as said Snow Leopard (10.6, which they say wouldn't work on a G5 I think was $29). The Apple guy probably meant Leopard because any OS above and current is not meant for PPCs. I think your best bet is to see how upgrading memory does and upgrade to Leopard. The memory, I'm not sure you should be able to do this yourself but I'm not sure and your best bet would be to get Leopard disks from an Apple dealer or rep. I don't know that getting used disks for Leopard are any good for other machines unless unused and new (Mac OS disks aren't like Windows OSes) Hopefully, someone who knows more will tell you that. That being said, prepare for the ease of use of a Mac!

Oh yes, as for gaming, you definately will want to upgrade your memory. You can get Mac versions of emulators but you can also do a search for PC games on a Mac (which you can pay for parallels, fusion etc). There are also free (legal) alternatives like Winebottler and Opensource virtualization but again you will definately want to upgrade your memory to atleast 2 gigs and make sure they work with a G5 (PPC) as some require Intel chips.

Hope that helps.. Aqua :)
 

robduckyworth


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
2,971
Reaction score
109
Points
63
Location
Reading, UK
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP, 2.5GHz i7, 750GB, 6770M 1GB, iPad 3, iPhone 4, custom PC
SNES

NES

both claim to work on Tiger.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
2,116
Reaction score
123
Points
63
Location
Rocky Mountain High, Colorado
Your Mac's Specs
1.8 GHz i7 MBA 11" OSX 10.8.2
Emulators are hard to find anymore - and Parallels and Fusion will not work on PPC - they need Intel processors - they are virtual machines versus an Emulator which is what you need to run Windows on a PPC (that is emulate an Intel Processor). Emulators never really worked very well either so I wouldn't hold much hope for gaming with PC games on a PPC Mac.
 

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