# For all you Apple Mac people



## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

I collected a Mac (G5) today I won on ebay at a bargain price I might add and have a few questions. It's the 2ghz dual with 1gb RAM, 160gb HDD and 256mb ATI graphics card.

The RAM is PC3200 and I know it has to be installed in pairs but can I use any brand? Not sure what's in there ATM but it's 4 x 256mb sticks.

I'm getting a 500gb HDD (this one) from my local computer place, which is SATA and 7200rpm. I'm just wondering though if SATAII will work as well?

I'm going to need more USB ports but not sure what cards are compatible, any suggestions?

It came with the wired keyboard and mouse. I think I'll miss using wireless and my scroll mouse and would prefer genuine apple input devices but it seems I need a bluetooth adapter. Any suggestions on where to get one from? I may possibly get some non apple ones if you have any suggestions?

I have a genuine copy of OSX 10.3, the guy has installed 10.4 on there but I'm thinking of getting 10.5...is there much difference between these 2? Where's the best place to get a genuine copy of 10.5? I've seen some on ebay but I'm sure some are rip offs!

Also can the apps still be copied from the program folder and used on another Mac? I've had a break of a few years from using these and I remember we would just copy program folders between Macs and just enter the serial numbers for them. I'm sure it's not this simple anymore due to piracy?


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Just go to crucials website for the ram. It'll tell you exactly the one you need at a fraction of apples prices.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

ardandy said:


> Just go to crucials website for the ram. It'll tell you exactly the one you need at a fraction of apples prices.


Yep I will probably get it from there TBH but just wondering if any other brand will work or if they're fussy?

Decided to stick the drive from my PC into the Mac now and get a 2TB portable drive as a backup, they're getting very cheap now.


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

tbh they are exactly the same its the specs that important buying from apple they will rape you in all honesty


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

Right,
RAM has to be installed in matched pairs, but brand doesn't matter.
Drives are easy to install, but the connectors are a little fiddly. SATAII is fine.
For USB ports I use an external powered USB hub, any will work.
The bluetooth adapters go onto the logic board themselves, or a bluetooth dongle should work ok, ill have to double check that one.

OSX10.4 and 10.5 there is quite a large difference, but I will warn you 10.5 plays up on dual processor G5's, they suffer from sleep/wake issues, but you can get around this to an extent. 

As for copying programs, you will need more than just the application, all the libary files will be needed, if your looking to just swap stuff from one drive to a larger one, use "carbon copy cloner" its a free 4MB file and does an EXACT copy to another drive.

PM me if you need any help.
byrnes


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Cheers for the reply mate...I don't use sleep or wake functions, the computer is either on or off so will it still affect that?

I don't really like USB hubs, would prefer a PCI card so might try a cheap one and see what happens.

Years ago, late 90's, we would copy the application folder to CD, put that in another Mac and use it. But as I said I doubt it's that easy with newer software.


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

No shutting down, wont effect the sleep/wake issue, so it will work fine in that case.

Any PCI card will work in a mac, it will recognise what it is as soon as it's turned on.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Does anyone know if a SATA3 drive will work ok on the G5?


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

it should be backwards compatible with earlier versions you will not see the full speed of the device though


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

amazon for your os, just about to upgrade mine.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Ninja59 said:


> it should be backwards compatible with earlier versions you will not see the full speed of the device though


I thought that was the case but wasn't sure, the SATA3 drive I've seen is cheaper than the I and II versions.



JJ_ said:


> amazon for your os, just about to upgrade mine.


I have a copy of this now, thanks though :thumb:


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

Yeah SATA3 are backwards compatible.
You will need to un screw the two 'lobes' on the existing hard drive to screw to the new one, due to the way the drives slide in to the mounts on a G5


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Cheers, 30 quid for a 500gb drive is a bargain. If they're backwards compatible why are the SATA I and II more expensive?


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

I ordered a couple of Hitachi 500gb drives from Dixons that were being discontinued. Not the greatest make but for £23 each delivered I thought why not. They arrived this morning and they've sent me Seagate ones so must've sold out of the others...bargain!


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Pezza4u said:


> I ordered a couple of Hitachi 500gb drives from Dixons that were being discontinued. Not the greatest make but for £23 each delivered I thought why not. They arrived this morning and they've sent me Seagate ones so must've sold out of the others...bargain!


ace nice to see you got it sorted!


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Right! Need some advice on how to format my backup drive. I have already done it on the Mac but then I remembered the PC probably wouldn't read it, it didn't!

It seems if I format it as NTFS OSX will only read from the drive, not write, although it will if I use FAT32. The only problem with this is I might not get all of the hard drive space.

So, what's the best way of formatting the drive so it can be read by both OSX and Windows?

Cheers


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

you have a max size for FAT32 which i cannot rem right now allowing both to read and write

if you go NTFS you cannot allow them to written to iirc

i trust you are bootcamping it?


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Yeah for FAT32 it's 32GB max but I'm going to try the seagate tools to see if it will format it with a larger size.

No I'm not bootcamping but I have a couple of laptops running Windows and will be using the backup drive to share data between them and the Mac that's too large for CDs or DVDs.


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

so the backup drive is in the mac?


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Sorry forgot to reply to this...the backup drive won't be in the Mac, I formatted it as a FAT32 in the end, just means I can't copy files larger than 4gb over.

Anyway, I've started using the Mac full time now I've managed to transfer everything from the PC. I am having issues with the airport though, it's losing the connection.

It was fine yesterday, working as it should. Then last night I kept losing the connection but it was still showing as connected to my router and the signal bar was showing full. Turned it on today and it was ok for a while and then started doing it again, until it lost the signal completely (no bars showing) but is still connected to the router.

My PC, laptops and phone are all connecting fine, so it's a Mac problem. I think it's either the ariel or maybe the card inside. I know they're very delicate but how can I check? Currently got it plugged in with an Ethernet cable!


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

i occasionally have the same issue with my Air and tbh i just turn it off and on again and it tends to work again ( turn airport off/on not the whole mac)


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

After alot of head scratching and googling I think I've sorted the problem...it's to do with how the encryption is setup on the router. I changed it slightly (from an open to shared key) and now it stays connected. Could be the same solution for yours?


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Pezza4u said:


> After alot of head scratching and googling I think I've sorted the problem...it's to do with how the encryption is setup on the router. I changed it slightly (from an open to shared key) and now it stays connected. Could be the same solution for yours?


Cheers for that have a look at it soon


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

I haven't lost my connection since I changed the settings so it could be that mate.

I got a brand new Kingston 19 in 1 media reader delivered today, won it on ebay for 99p (£2.50 p&p) so that was a bargain :thumb:

I just need a USB hub now, been looking at this deal on MyMemory, and with the USB drive and free film it seems good?

All I need now is a mighty mouse with a scroll button, it's doing my head in not having one. I may also look at getting a bluetooth keyboard/mouse but the modules seem quite expensive. Would any bluetooth USB adapter work with them?


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## zynexiatech (Jun 2, 2007)

If you want to use your external drive on mac formatted NTFS then see here, there is also a tool for windows so you can read and write to macs hfs+ partitions Hfsexplorer or something.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/ntfs3g.html


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Thanks for the link but I've got it sorted now 

Anyone else that has a G5 how much heat comes out the back of it? There is so much coming out of mine I don't think I would need the radiator on in the winter!! I don't think it's overheating though just runs hot.


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## nicks500 (May 12, 2011)

*powermac*

Hi
because you are talking about pci cards I assume you have a lovely g5 powermac, if thats the case then they do run warm, my quad-core g5 used to warm my office nicely but if you are worried unplug your mac, take the side off, pull out the fan trays give them a hover and then you will have access to the heat-sinks which you can suck all the dust out(or blow if you have a can of compressed air) be careful you dont damage the fragile heatsink. This helped my mac run cooler by improving the air flow


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Yep it's a powermac. I cleaned it all out when I bought it but will check again, cheers.


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

The G5's do run quite warm, there is a widget you can download to use on dashboard called istat pro http://islayer.com/help/istatpro-manual/
It will tell you in and out exhaust fan speed, CPU temp (about 41degs) normally on a G5 IIRC, other temps and fan speeds. Download it and check the temps when idle and when under heavy useage.

As nicks has said to clean them out, but dont use a hoover, blow them out, hoovers can create static and damage bits.
If you can, get some compressed air (the can stuff) take it outside and blow it thro all the fans and both of the massive heatsinks.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Thanks Adam, I'll check that widget out tonight when I'm home.

Can you reccommend an air duster that's reasonably price? I've seen some range for a couple of quid to a tenner each with mixed reviews.


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## nicks500 (May 12, 2011)

*you only get for what you pay for*

you only get for what you pay for.... so the cheaper ones may have more moisture in them (possibly?) then again they might be all the same. the trick when using them is dont hold them upside down when spraying and dont shake the vigorously while spraying as you spray liquid propellant everywhere and when the outside of the can is really cold stop using it and wait for it to warm up again( a cold can lowers the pressure of the air coming out). but a good tip is when doing this dont do it in the room you are going to put the mac back in i.e. do it outside so all the dust settles somewhere else.


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

I'd assume all the compressed air in a can stuff would be the same, I'd spend a few quid on one, spray in on a desk or your hand to check it doesn't leak vapour out.
Then take the G5 outside and give it a good going over!
The fans in front of the CPU's can be removed simply, then you can get to the heatsinks properly.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

I've installed that istat and CPU A is 51C and CPU B is 41C. The fans are between 300rpm when idle to just under 1000rpm when it's doing something.

I'll order some compressed air then and see if that helps.


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

Fans and CPU's seem fine. A blow thro of the heatsinks should drop the temps a couple of degrees.
Both CPUs won't read the same temp, they never do. A is always the hotter of them both.


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