Apple G4 Towers
So I bought 3 G4 Towers in working condition from eBay within my suburb. 2 are the 400Mhz AGP models and the other a 667Mhz (Digital Audio).
I generally haven't been a Mac user over the years, but something different to play around with and learn a few things.
Was looking at using one of the 400s for a MacOS 9.2 machine, and the 667 for early OS X. I'd be interested to contribute software to WinWorld as there isn't much compared to DOS/Windows.
Regardless, is the MacOS 9.2.2 disc on WinWorld the universal version? What's the best way to burn a Mac CD on a PC? I'm downloading it now though I assume it will be a DMG or Toast image or something like that.
I generally haven't been a Mac user over the years, but something different to play around with and learn a few things.
Was looking at using one of the 400s for a MacOS 9.2 machine, and the 667 for early OS X. I'd be interested to contribute software to WinWorld as there isn't much compared to DOS/Windows.
Regardless, is the MacOS 9.2.2 disc on WinWorld the universal version? What's the best way to burn a Mac CD on a PC? I'm downloading it now though I assume it will be a DMG or Toast image or something like that.
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I give that Transmac a go with the 9.2.2 CD. I couldn't find one on eBay, though I did find a retail copy of Tiger.
How much modding did you do to one?
It's a G4 733Mhz Quiksilver model, so the casing looks a bit different from the earlier ones. This one even came with a 17" Apple Cinema Display, though is missing the stand part. The RAM had been upgraded from the standard 128MB to 384MB, and noticed it has some audio visual card of some sort which the others didn't have. Having 4 G4s is enough I think!
One thing I immediately noticed are the handles on the Quiksilver - it's all smooth. Much easier to clean than the previous version with all the plastic grooves.
First one.
1.5GB ram PC133
120GB hard drive
Pioneer DVR110 DVD+RW drive
Cheap AGP ATI Radeon 7000 64MB I had to flash it to make it compatible.
Modified ATX power supply 450watts
Custom paint job to the case made it red and black and also fiberglassed the zip drive slot on the bezel. I even painted the inside red with some Metalcast paint. However I painted a B&W case that I bought dirt cheap and then tossed in the sawtooth parts in it.
Before I fiberglassed the bezel.
Second one.
1.5GB ram
two 120GB maxtor hard drives
Pioneer DVR110 DVD+RW
Cheap AGP ATI Radeon 9200 AGP 128MB flashed as well.
Two ATI Radeon 7000 PCI cards 64MB
Modified a external USB floppy drive to replace the zip drive.
Dynex USB 2.0 card
Modified ATX power supply 500watts.
The digital audio
I was sponsored by MacMod.com to build a car PC. They donated a Digital Audio model and some GPS modules. Had it in a ATX case until I built a custom case that even used a A/C vent to keep it cool.
The specs to the digital audio was 1GB ram flashed AGP Radeon 7000. Customized a DC-DC audiomotive ATX power supply to support 24volt output and a few other goodies that can't remember.
Had a quick look on eBay - saw a DVR109 - same diff?
How did you go about flashing the video cards? I've never attempted it, only motherboards.
Flashing a video card to work from PC to older PPC macs can be some what of a hassle. find a Apple certified card and read up on the specs and then find a cheaper PC card that has the same specs. Try and stay with in the same memory size and speed as well. I used a customized minimum install of Debian Linux so I can locate the exact address of the video card like what PCI/AGP slot location and used Flashrom to inject the firmware. You'll loose video when halfway done. I let it sit for about a hour then turn off the system, remove the card and put it in the mac and cross my fingers. The firmware is a ROM dump of the real Mac card. There are websites that have ROM dumps and at times I've used IRC to find a ROM dump of a card.
Painting plastic is the same as painting anything else. Sand, paint, seal. Something like this you don't need primer because it will look chunky and troublesome. I sand with 800grit to give the paint something to stick on. Use lite coats and build up. If you try and put only one or two coats it will have more of a chance to chip away. Let it sit for a week to cure then blast it with a clear if you wish then let it sit for a few days and use a carnauba car wax to seal it. I attend to use a enamel paint but you should use a acrylic paint for plastics. The metal parts that I used the metal cast paint I just polished it with some metal polish and then wiped it down with rubbing alcohol to remove the left over polish oil and just paint it. With the metal cast you can't do multiple thin coats or it will look splotchy and ugly. You can use a ultra clear to protect it but it might add a yellow haze.
Heres a cool paint job I guy I knew from MacMod did.
Maybe you could upload onto this site? There's not a lot in comparison to Windows software on here. Not sure exactly what constitutes abandonware for OS X, I suspect as long as it's only PowerPC based, but MacOS 8/9 software would be a nice addition.
I've packed up the G4s away due to a lack of space and will be moving out in the near future. I had bought a legit copy of Tiger and upgraded the RAM in the Quicksilver to 640MB and runs fairly nicely. I discovered one of the G4 400s had 256MB RAM after completing a fresh install of MacOS 9.2.2 so did some swapping around. I figured having 128MB RAM is probably sufficient in that machine.