I recently ordered a retail version of OSX
10.1, which I'm planning to install on my
iMac. The iMac is one of the older ones,
slot loading, with a 350 mhz processor, and
with 320mb of RAM installed. I've been
running OS9.1 up to now, and had heard that
the newer versions of OSX would run slowly,
hence the retro purchase of an older
version. Are there any issues that came to
light after the release of 10.1 that I
should know about before I install?

rhinocrat

Make sure you have latest firmware update from apple. I
installed 10.3 on my imac 400dv slotloader and it runs
great with 320 mb ram. Some software won't run on 10.1,
and 10.3 runs fine, so if you have 10.3 I would install it.
The 400 had 8 megs of video ram, if yours has less you
might have some problems. I did notice that sometimes
the screen redraw on some programs is a little slow.
Make sure you have LATEST FIRMWARE or you could fry
your system.

You should return 10.1 and get 10.3.
10.1 was basically a Beta system and not very good.

Thanks for your responses.
You'll have to forgive my ignorance; I use
my computer every day but have a geek factor
of around -3. What is firmware, why do I
need it, where do I get it and how do I know
I'm getting the correct version(s). I am
considering the suggestion to go staight for
10.3 now, but 10.1 seemed like a good toe in
the water for someone who has stuck with OS9
for so long. What is Beta, and why is it not
very good? The DV IS a jump ahead of my iMac
with a 400MHz processor as opposed to my
350MHz. Could this tip the balance do you
think? More importantly am I worrying too
much for Xmas Eve? Happy Christmas
everybody.

rhinocrat

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75130

download and install prior to installing osx, the 400 dv is
just the digital video model. It is almost identical to
yours, both are slot loading. You can check
www.everymac.com for specifics of all macs. Is a really
good site to look at. They have a pretty good forum for
help as well.

cheers

Thanks again, I now have OSX 10.3 ready to
install. I'd like to keep running 9.1 as
well for a while. Unfortunately the
install/restore discs that came with my
computer are for OS8.6 (long story involving
a replacement hard drive). Is there any way
around this other than purchasing OS 9?

rhinocrat

Hi.... I have the EXACT same G3 350 Mhz iMac as you (same RAM too). You MUST run os 9.2.2 if you don't want any trouble with OS X 10.3 I agree with the previous posters, anything older than 10.3 will be EXTREMELY slow, not even worth using. I think Apple offers a discount on OS 9 if you pruchace it with OS X (fulfillment program, or something). Or you could just pick up a copy on eBay. BTW, I'm running OS 9.2.2 and OS 10.3.7 on this iMac without problems, but it still is a bit slow. You may just want to wait 'till OS X 10.4 comes out in March.

-MikeG