G3 iMac clean up

[Simbad54]

Hi all, I'm cleaning a friends G3 iMac, OSX 10.2.8, 512mb ram, 40gb hard drive. It hasn't been on the web for years, so i've downloaded software and security updates, and run onyx to verify and repair permissions, It took a long time to restart with the flashing world icon, followed by the folder icon with a question mark, so i ran disk utility to verify & repair permissions again. Restart was just as long. Do you think it might need a firmware upgrade? Help would be appreciated,
Sim

 

[MacHeadCase]

The flashing world icon means that the Mac is looking for a valid system on a network instead of its own hard drive.

The folder icon with a question mark means it can't find a working system to boot from.

Do you still get those icons upon startup after the repair permissions thing?

Quite frankly, Jaguar was a lot less stable than Mac OS X 10.3.x Panther was. I'd reinstall everything with the combo updates and all that. Just so the system would be all nice and fresh again. Just remember to unplug all peripherals that aren't necessary for the install procedure.

 

[Simbad54]

Yeah i got that after repairing permissions through onyx & disk utility.
Gonna try one more time. Thing is, it wasn't doing this before i started working on it. Kind of embarassing if i end up leaving the iMac worse off than when I started!
Thanks for the advice anyway.
S

 

[MacHeadCase]

This is something DiskWarrior would do wonders with, I think.

Try reinstalling the updates you installed. It's not very elegant as a solution but sometimes it works. If you can find a Combo Update for jaguar in there, try installing that: reinstalling a Combo Update has been known to fix problems sometimes.

 

[Simbad54]

Sorry, but how would i reinstall the updates? Once software update has done it's thing, how could i re do it?
And is the combo update in Diskwarrior?

 

[MacHeadCase]

No DiskWarrior is a utility that fixes the directory. It's pricey but I find it essential and have been updating the app for years.

DOH!!! You can't go on the internet with the thing... Sorry my neurones don't speak to each other on certain days.

Does the iMac have a FireWire port? You might use your Mac and install the updates using Target Disk Mode. And you would need to download the updates manually of course.



Edited to add:

I just did a quick search on Apple's Support download website and here are the hits for Jaguar. Included in there should be the downloads for updating OS X Jaguar.

 

[Simbad54]

No, I can go on the internet, it just hadn't been connected for a long time before i got to it. I'm doing a complete re-install. Can't afford diskwarrior for now. Thanks again.
Sim

 

[MacHeadCase]

No problem. And good luck!

Post back when you're done, okay?


Edited to add:

Oh and don't feel bad about the iMac being worse than when you got it to fix. This happened in Jaguar to me as well. If the maintenance tasks weren't performed for a while, something in the OS would corrupt them no matter what you tried to clean it out.

 

[Simbad54]

Will do.

 

[MacHeadCase]

Okay dokay sir.

 

[Simbad54]

Well, the clean install worked a treat, and i'm just doing a VERY extended software update. That's all i can do as i have to leave my friends so, it's up to her to finish it off. I got her to join mac forums, name smiley kylee, so keep and eye out for her, she's very much a newbie but a quick learner. thanks for the help.
see you
Sim

 

[MacHeadCase]

Excellent! Will do!