iMac G4 - password and/or memory required?

[Mainframeguy]

SO I have this iMac spawning threadage as you see!

Latest news is it needs the DDR2700 with 184 pins I think,.... and for that max I can get is 512, also 256 is available still. Will either be enough with the 512 onboard already for OSX - just Geffy recommended I took Panther and I am wondering.

Also there remains the question of if it will take ANY to add to the 512 and also boot to the install.... It is not playing with 9.2 and there's no password access fro admin - I do not want to mess with guidelines but password recover looks the next avenue - anyone know anything on that score?

 

[X-Istence]

Double check to see that the iMac takes more than one stick of RAM, according to the docs I was able to find on the 15" iMac that takes laptop memory it only has one slot for RAM.

Also, the only way to recover the password is to boot off alternate media, the OS 9.2.1 CD contains a password changing utility. I suggest burning a PowerPC linux CD (Debian for instance) and seeing if it will boot off that. If the machine is not willing too boot from CD the game is going to become much harder

 

[Mainframeguy]

it is like this- more to follow
{edit} so that is with 15" screen - having removed baseplate I can confirm there is a spare airport slot and indeed one for some 184 pin sodimm - it has a single stick of ram I can see in more conventional holder inside after I take the torx 15 to it - but I only want to go there again if I need to change the CD drive. Nothing seems to read from the drive to boot - but the drive does whir into life and seems recognised in all other ways. I have not tried to play a DVD but assume it is a bare boned CD read drive with lowest capacity - my best bet on why the 9.2 disc will not work? Then again, the drive never even shows if I boot with the ALT key.

the open firmware is accessible - has been reset.

I remain without any admin or any way to crack this that I can see...I'd not mind attempting to make a USB boot - but unsure if this is viable and my stick is only 512, hopefully enough?

 

[SpiceWare]

that's interesting, 2 types of memory.

If you have access to another Mac you can also use Target Mode. I did that to upgrade my brother's PowerMac G4 as it didn't want to boot the 10.5 DVD (it booted the 10.4 DVD w/out any problem.). Basically I put the install DVD in my MacBook, powered down and then powered on while holding down T. This put my laptop into "Target Mode". Connect the 2 macs together using FireWire and then boot the iMac and hold down ALT/OPTION to select the MacBook's DVD drive to boot off of.

 

[lancer]

i think the command for password retrivel in that circumstance is option+command+open window+release

 

[Mainframeguy]

^bump

I may spawn another thread on this - I have just been gifted the machine as payment for my repair of their laptop would have preferred cash however Because my work at netuxo will lead me to acquire ANOTHER one :smoker: so I will have two G4's and shall place one with my sister and keep one to have a safari browser in the house and enable my daughter to grow up with experience of the M4, Linux, and Mac worlds

 

[LordOfLA]

She should thank you when she's older for not having to use OS 9 or lower

 

[Mainframeguy]

She should thank you when she's older for not having to use OS 9 or lower

so long as she thanks me for the Suse box I built her someday I'll count myself lucky.... She's staying surprisingly "open" and has yet to complain that she wants XP or *shudder* VISTA there... I'm watching developments there with great interest. Always an eye opener to see someone with no prejudice take to computers as a whole new world

 

[Xie]

I ran 10.4.x with only 512MB of RAM on my mini for a long time (finally have 1GB now).

 

[Mainframeguy]

thanks X - useful info again, esp. now that I have (weirdly) ended up being gifted two G4's and shall likely hang onto one of them so that I also have a mac to play with and free access to a safari browser for site inspections