hi all,

i need some help.  trying to set up a mac for my niece (biege G3) and had a few questions.  

1.  with the ide channel thats is on the motherboard, can i connect a regualar pc style HD and CD burner?
2.  i noticed that it has 3 pci slots.  can a new PC video card or usb card be added there and if so, do i need to install Mac drivers for it
3.  it has OS 7 or 8 but i want to install OS 10 on it.  Will OS10 work on that model of G3

and if you have any cool links to good mac forums, that will be great!!!

thanks again
lojack

I'm a PC guy not a MAC guy, but here's my $.02:
You can usually put PC IDE hard drives into Macs, and "some" CD recorders will work.  You can usually check the box of the device for the system requirements.  It will tell you if Mac is supported or not.  You can use PCI video cards in Macs, but you have to make sure the video card manufacturer creates Mac drivers or it won't work.  As for running OS10, I would look into that one a little deeper, because chances are pretty good that the G3 won't have the horsepower needed to run OS10.  You'll need lots of RAM and a fast processor.  Good luck!

Dang, I thought this was a Cobray M11/9 thread...

Your beige G3 can run standard IDE devices like hard drives and CD burners.  I can't remember what speed the IDE controller is, but it's likely not 100 or 133.  You can also get a PCI video card, but you'll probably need one with mac-specific drivers.  I recommend www.smalldog.com as a great source of parts for older macs.

I think that you can put OS 10.2 on a beige G3, but 10.3 isn't supported.

EDIT: The most popular CD burning app for Mac is Roxio Toast, and you'll be fine so long as that program supports your burner.  I believe it's pretty comprehensive, so your burner will probably work.

Quoted: hi all, i need some help.  trying to set up a mac for my niece (biege G3) and had a few questions.   1.  with the ide channel thats is on the motherboard, can i connect a regualar pc style HD and CD burner? 2.  i noticed that it has 3 pci slots.  can a new PC video card or usb card be added there and if so, do i need to install Mac drivers for it 3.  it has OS 7 or 8 but i want to install OS 10 on it.  Will OS10 work on that model of G3 and if you have any cool links to good mac forums, that will be great!!! thanks again lojack

go to
apple.com/support

Quoted: Dang, I thought this was a Cobray M11/9 thread...

www.mac10talk.com

I thought you were after a mac 10 .45 or 9. my mistake.1100 rpm is fun!

www.apple.com/support/powermac/g3/

Should be able to answer a lot of your questions.

I would pass on questions to my MUG if you need more expert advice.

The answers may or may not come quickly.

Other World Computing is another great source of upgrades and tech info for older Macs.

Beige G3 probably has a mere ATA33 bus speed. All IDE HD will work, you need to make sure the Master/Slave jumper is set accordingly. The CD will work but may need drivers to be a bootable drive.

Excellent resources are the forums at:

xlr8yourmac.com

macgurus.com

hi all,

i need some help. trying to set up a mac for my niece (biege G3) and had a few questions.

1. with the ide channel thats is on the motherboard, can i connect a regualar pc style HD and CD burner?

Yes, a regular HD or optical drive should work, several burners will work with the software built into OS 9 or X.  Check xlr8yourmac.com for databases of drives or get a copy of Roxio Toast for your burning needs.

2. i noticed that it has 3 pci slots. can a new PC video card or usb card be added there and if so, do i need to install Mac drivers for it

No, the card has to have a special ROM on it for it to work on the Mac.  Your best bet is to hit Ebay up for a Radeon 7000 PCI for Mac as ATI has discontinued the card and no one else makes PCI or AGP cards for the Mac.

3. it has OS 7 or 8 but i want to install OS 10 on it. Will OS10 work on that model of G3

OS 9 is your best bet, the g3 will run up to 10.2 (10.3 a.k.a Panther will not install on this machine).  Also, look into
getting a PCI USB card for this machine for printers and other periphrials   Also, load up the RAM , x requires a minimum of 128 megs and the more memory the happier the OS

and if you have any cool links to good mac forums, that will be great!!!

www.macfixit.com



thanks again
lojack

Sorry guy, I switched to macs AFTER OS X 10 came out (that is ... after they got good ;)

Can't help you, but apple.com should tell you whether OS X 10 will install on the beige g3

good luck