Tray-Loading iMac G3

[GTAGAMECounterShot]

I installed TIger on my iMac G3 Tray Loader, and it works finde!

[boneriffik123]

What is the difference between slot and tray loading?

[FRyriceify]

i inherited a g3 tray loading and it doesnt load any usb i plug into it. but nice upgrade thats what im hoping to do to mine

[s8erboii30]

you dont necisarrily have to take the motherboard out you just have to take the guard off and it gives you complete acess

[macman2256]

You should wack some more ram in it. That will make a huge improvement with Panther

[hellya2011]

Just Wondering.......... but how was mac os x installed on a tray loading?? the tray loadings were cd rom drives, when mac os x is on dvd rom?

[techguy1995]

nice imac m8

[Grantmacintosh1]

memyselfandsam your "Stupid" graphite on is extremaly rare did you know that?

[memyselfandsam]

I want a red one. :[ I have a stupid graphite one.

[LaPavoniMac]

I have the iMac G3 DV SE Graphite, with the DVD drive and a 400 MHz processor.

[dellvsmac]

cool i just bought one 4 30$ but it has os 8.5 lol!! but its getting osx

[techguy1995]

lol still its ok for $40

[DawVideos]

Tangarine!!!! Ive bought one too. Revison D 333mhz with 246mb ram $40

Its ibook G3 / Powerbook G3 ram...

[Knaeckebrotsaege]

i've got a Revision A tray iMac...

233MHz, 64MB MB RAM, 4GB HDD in original condition.. and i upgraded the hell out of it...

now: 333MHz G3, 320MB RAM, 40GB 5400rpm HDD (Seagate ST340015A REALLY quiet!)

OSX 10.3.9 runs fine, but i'm still thinking about buying a newer (power-)mac (blue G4 tower maybe)..

and BTW: i made a VGA adapter for the iMac so i can use my 15" LCD with it as the iMacs CRT is a bit unsharp/blurry (hey.. its made in 1998... 10years old CRT ;D)

[Btroisi13]

you should try taking the CRT out of the iMac and replacing it with that LCD you have! A guy did that with an eMac. Dont shock your self trying to do so!

[rhblakeman]

I have a Bondi Blue tray loader that I'm waiting for the 333 card for - I thought the 333 option only took 2x128's - how did you get yours to 320mb RAM? Will the 333 board take more than 256mb RAM? Anyone that knows let me know. I know you have to use non-ECC SO-DIMMs (I have lots from PC laptops since I do this for a living just getting into Mac again - last one was a Mac Classic with BW screen years ago).

[Knaeckebrotsaege]

well..

i used a 256MB SO-DIMM SD-RAM + a 128MB one back then..

it *seemed* to work.. but after some time the iMac started to crash all the time... i guess the official limit (256MB .. 2x 128MB) is there for a reason.. :o/

the 1st gen iMac (tray loading) is IMHO just too old to be useful.. you'll spend more time fixing it than actually using it.. i know what i'm talking about :o(

a Powermac G4 AGP (Sawtooth or Gigabit) is much easier to work with.. standard SD-RAM, 5,25" optical drives..

[Knaeckebrotsaege]

and if you can get your hands on one with a dead power supply, its kinda easy to rewire a standard ATX PSU.. only needs 2 diodes.. ;o)

did that with mine.. has now a 250W ATX PSU.

link to a site with a howto..

tinyurl [dot] com [slash] g4atxpsu

BTW: the tray iMac does NOT boot from non-apple optical drives.

(they work inside the OS, but you can't boot from CD)

however... there are some drives out there which still work..

notebook drives from "Quanta" a.k.a. "QSI" seem to work (boots from CD)

[rhblakeman]

yeah since I wrote that I saw on EveryMac that the Rev A unofficially can take a 256 and 128 and the Rev B (mine) can take 2x256 - I hope that's right as I have a new KB and a 333 upgrade on it's way. 512MB and a larger HDD ought to help. Sure the G4 is easier to work with but then if I wanted easy I'd stay with PC totally LOL.

[rhblakeman]

Being a CRT the blur should be able to be trimmed up with the focus pot inside the CRT bay - if you arent experienced with high voltage (like 25kv to 35kv usually) then stay out and have a shop trim the focus for you. My tray loader is crisp and sharp.

[Knaeckebrotsaege]

lucky you.. seems like your tray iMac hasn't been used that much in the past..

tried to adjust the focus already (a year ago).. only got worse than before.. so back to normal..

i guess the CRT is just worn out..

don't know the history of my iMac. seems it was in everyday use or something..

fixing the CRT up = waste of money..

high voltage arcing from the flyback started about half a year ago..

so the CRT *and* the flyback are bad.. sh$&$%..

i can only use it with the selfmade VGA out now..

[rhblakeman]

Well the flyback problem explains the blur. A flyback is cheap if you want to mess with soldering after you discharge the tube but by the time you crack it open and put shipping and part cost you could probably find a whole unit under $30. This I got free from a friend, they paid $10 for it at a local church auction. I had to put $25 into it for the 333 card, keyboard (old one got spilled into by last owner) and shipping so I have a little in it.

[ipodguy1212]

i have one too!!

[Btroisi13]

If you think that iMac was the heaviest mac you ever lifted, you should hold an Apple eMac at 50 Pounds (If you dont live in the US it would be something Grams or kilograms...)

[samjtm]

yeh. the emac is heaps heavyer than the imac. i used them at school, good computer though. burglars cant get to far with it. lol

[Btroisi13]

How can Mac OS X be installed on a Mac without fire wire? Hmmm... That must be only for Tiger...

Anyway, nice computer! But does Mac OS X run slow? The original operating system is I think was Macx OS 9 or OS 8.

[dylser4]

it runs surprisingly faster than i expected

[cammoman96]

the original first os was 8.1

[heavymetalX4Xgod]

PLUS its not a 1998 model!! its probably around 1999 or so because they didnt release colors for a while.

[dylser4]

acually it is from 1998 they relesaed coloures in late 98 (in USA)

[rokaneandcocane]

fuk im glad i did get a g4 and not a g3 lol that was slow y did u buy it for

[dylser4]

how com your not at school, i got it for my sister for christmas

[MacNerd1239]

I'm so desperate for a Mac, i'm buying on of these. If you get the right one, and clean it up it will run fantastic.

[dylser4]

your right about that, if you get a slot-loading one you can upgrade alot

[heavymetalX4Xgod]

You can upgrade the CPU and add firewire on the 233-333MHz iMac G3's