Snow iMac

[jruschme]

Strange... after years of not seeing any computers at the curb, I find my second slot-loading iMac in approximately 6 weeks. This one is a Snow iMac and, unlike the previous Indigo, actually works! I haven't checked the model number, but based on the specs, I think it's a Summer 2000 iMac DV SE- 500mhz G3, 256 MB RAM (up from stock 128), 30GB drive and DVD. No Airport or carrier card. The case was pretty dirty, but seems to have cleaned up okay. I can definitely see some cracks and two chips in the inner front bezel, though I gather that is typical for this hardware.

Ironically, I'd been hoping to find a lower spec system in order to swap in the motherboard from the Indigo.

It had a basic install of 9.2.2, but that was definately missing the Apple Menu Items folder. So far, I've reinstalled 9.1 and upgraded that to 9.2.1. (Need to d/l 9.2.2 tomorrow). I don't know if I'll install Tiger... probably depends on whether I further upgrade the memory.

This brings me to my big problem... WTF to do with it. To be honest, I mostly picked it up because I felt sorry for it. In terms of actually using it, I've already got a pretty maxed out Pismo that should be pretty much the same speed and video performance. Any suggestions?

 

[jruschme]

Well, no good deed goes unpunished... It seems as though I'm having some kind of odd problem with the built-in Ethernet. It gets an address from the router and appears to usually resolve addresses, but I can't seem to make a connection to any website, even the router config page (timeouts, it appears).

I tried updating the firmware to the latest, but the problem is the same no matter what browser or OS.

Anybody seen something like this?

I'm installing Tiger to see if that makes a difference, but, as it stands, it looks like I might be swapping in that Indigo board after all. :-(

 

[markyb86]

I have a linksys pcmcia card that does that.. still haven't figured it out. everything is good we get activity lights, dhcp hands over an IP address (or set it manually) yet it doesn't seem to make it to the router..

 

[TheMacGuy]

Hmm. Try reinstalling the OS and trying again, like you said you were going to do with Tiger, but completely reformat the HDD via Disk Utility while booted from the installer and do a completely fresh install. If it continues to happen, has to be a problem with the board. I have connected my Clamshells via Ethernet (one is even running 8.6!) and no problems.

Also, I would consider Panther (10.3) for the G3s over Tiger (10.4). It can run, but it isn't going to run fast.

 

[jruschme]

I'll keep the advice re: Panther in mind.

So, I finally got Tiger installed and Ethernet works fine. I don't get it, but I'm also not going to argue with it.

Installing Tiger was bad enough... the ancient DVD drive didn't like my DVD+R copy of Tiger and only tolerated a DVD-R copy until near the end. I finally had to use a USB DVD drive (at 1.1 speeds).

Stilll not sure what I'm going to do with it, but at least I feel like it works.

 

[TheMacGuy]

Make sure the firmware is up-to-date too! OS X might act funny too with an older firmware. You need OS 9.1 to 9.2.1. to install the update (if needed).

Panther works great on these older G3s. If your network is WPA (not WPA2), WEP or has no password, it will wirelessly surf with the original AirPort Card. Although to use WPA an AirPort update has to be installed, which can be VERY hard to find.