Mac newb help please!

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Marshmule

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Hi guys,

Please accept my apologies if i have posted this into wrong section,

I have recently been lucky enough to get my hands on an as new mac g3, it has been switched on 2 times and since sat in a box in an attic, its like new!

Anyway, i would really like to start using macs and i am considering buying my self a new mac mini, but before i make a decision im going to use the G3 for a month or two and decide.

First off how hard is the transition from windows to OSX?

I have a large ammount of mp3's and mpegs on my external pc harddrive, how do i use this on my g3, where can i get the required drivers?

If i do get a new mac and wish to upgrade the hard drive how easy is this process? Is it the same as with a pc? I.e. will i have any problems with compatitbility?

What would be the latest osx i could put on the G3? It currently runs 9.1 but that looks very dated.

Will i have any problems connecting to my current network? Its wireless but i can plug a cable in if i require.

Buying external devices such as dvd writer, hard drives etc would i have any compatibility issues,

i know these may seem like simple questions but i have never really used a mac in my life,

Any help is very much appreciated!

marshmule
 
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Marshmule said:
Hi guys,
First off how hard is the transition from windows to OSX?

No so bad, especially if you keep a Windows PC at hand for those, oops! There's no application opening /those/ files on a Mac (very few, but it happens, like .pub or .lit)

I have a large ammount of mp3's and mpegs on my external pc harddrive, how do i use this on my g3, where can i get the required drivers?

No drivers needed for mp3s, no idea if codecs are needed for mpgs. Make sure to uncheck "Copy MP3s to itunes" in iTunes, if you're planning to just copy them to your Mac harddrive, lest you'll end up with space-wasting duplicates.

Will i have any problems connecting to my current network? Its wireless but i can plug a cable in if i require.

Connecting the mini to a wired ethernet wasn't a problem at all, I haven't gotten the wireless to work yet. Installing and printing to a network printer isn't a problem, sharing a printer that's connected to the mac via USB doesn't work yet either.

Any help is very much appreciated!

Well, I answered the ones I have figured out yet :)
 
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what os do you plan on running? do you know how much ram is in this 'g3'?
 
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Marshmule

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EDIT-XTREEM said:
what os do you plan on running? do you know how much ram is in this 'g3'?

128mb as far as im aware, im not sure what os to run as im not sure what it would cope with, i think its a 350mhz with a 6gb hdd, if thats any help!

One other question, is installing a new OS much like installing windows? i.e format then install etc?

thanks guys
 
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hmm...

No the switch is REALLY easy. If you're using OS X Tiger (which I don't recommend with a G3 machine unless your specs match the requirements), it took me about two to three hours to completely adjust to the new OS. But make the dive, it's worth it. I'm never switching back to Windows again (meaning I'll still have Windows machines, just I'll always have a mac too)
 
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Your new to you Mac sounds great. Have fun with it.
Don't worry about changing to Mac, just take off your windows hat and you'll be fine. My XP is collecting dust rather than malware, it's not even plugged in.

Best resource for older Mac's
http://www.lowendmac.com/
Best
 

dtravis7


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Marshmule said:
128mb as far as im aware, im not sure what os to run as im not sure what it would cope with, i think its a 350mhz with a 6gb hdd, if thats any help!

One other question, is installing a new OS much like installing windows? i.e format then install etc?

thanks guys

What does the case look like? A Tower that is Blue & White or an iMac with built in monitor and pretty colors? With 128 Megs I would try OSX Jaguar 10.2. Anything newer would be very slow with 128 Megs RAM. The Ram can be upgraded though so you could at least use Panther 10.3.

Again what does the machine look like?
 

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