I want to dump all the garbage

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Hi I am quite new to macs and have a iBook G4 that runs 10.3.9. It used to be my Dad's and has all of his previous settings and programs. I would like to just dump all of his previous settings and programs that he used to use. Basically bring the system back to new. Any idea on how to do this?

Thanks in advance for your help, Jason
 
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3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
Yes, boot the machine from the discs that came with it and do a clean install of the OS.
 
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What if I don't have the disks? I got this computer from my father and he no longer has the disks. Are there any other options?
 
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17 inch 2 GHz C2D imac (5,1) with 3GB DDR2 RAM, X1600 (128MB memory) GPU - OSX 10.6.3
You can always buy another system from Apple. A generic one and use that. Or wait till 10.5 comes round and use that for your mac and the old G4.

Option 2: You can do this. Use AppZapper to delete every non apple app on the system. And then boot up the machine in root user and delete every user account and make a new admin one. Then boot back in the new admin account you created and that should back close to a clean install. Also hitting the mac with Onyx and performing all of it's maintaince and repairing functions will help too.
 
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Well I really screwed things up now. I found and now have used the system disks to startup the computer. I was then told by someone to go into the disk utility and erase the hard drive. I did that but now the computer has no where to startup from now. It will only startup from the installer disc.

When I try to re-install Mac OS X it says that it can't because an earlier version is not found. I am so confused and frustrated now. My mac is completely useless now. HELP! Does anyone know where I can go to or who I can talk to get this thing resolved? Thanks so much.
 
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jamesx

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it sounds like you have an upgrade disk, not an entire OS. you shoudl probably go to an apple store if you feel you need help.
 
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So what do I do now? It looks all I have are the upgrade discs (3 of them) and now I can't start my computer unless the first disc is popped in. Do I buy a new operating system? I looked on Apple.com and Tiger is $129.00. Ouch. I don't even know if my iBook G4 can run Tiger. What do you guys suggest? I feel like such an idiot trying to fix this thing by myself. Thanks for your all your help guys.
 
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Do the disks say they are upgrade disks, or are you assuming that? Upgrade disks aren't all that common relatively speaking. It's a lot easier to download upgrades. Have you tried all three disks?

G4s can run Tiger.
 
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The disks have the big X on the front and say Mac OS X Panther Version 10.3 and then each disc says install disc 1,2,3. So are these upgrade disks or are they the original systems disks?

When I try to install from disc 1 it says that it can't install because I don't have an earlier version. The only drive to choose from is the hard drive and even the options button at the button won't even light up.

Any other ideas? Thanks Brown Study for the input.
 
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Maybe they're upgrade disks or install disks that shipped for another model Mac. If you end up having to buy an install DVD (ebay is mentioned frequently as an inexpensive source for Panther), make sure it's a full install for any model Mac, such as you'd buy at an Apple store, not a disk that shipped with an iMac or a Pro, for instance.
 
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So, would you say that I pretty much have to buy a whole new operating system?
 
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I can't know for certain, but it looks like it. With Leopard being only a few months away, finding an inexpensive Panther on ebay or somewhere else might be a better choice than paying full freight for Tiger.
 

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