Extended vs Journaled? and Upgrading from OS X 10.2.9 to combined 10.2.11

Question

I've purchased a MS Office 2004 which I wish to install on both my G4 and on my MacBook.
The directions say that the Hard drive should be formatted in the default format of Extended HFS+.
Checked both my computers and they say Journaled HFS+.
Is that the same thing or do I have a problem?
Also - I'd like to upgrade both to 10.4.11. Can/Should I do that in both cases from Software Update Combined or is there somewhere on apple's site I can/should download the combination from?
My external hd is not working so I can't back up my G4 and I don't yet have an external hd for my MacBook (I assume I need a separate one for each computer?)
I'm having my G4 external bootable HD checked and if the problem is in the case, the little gizmos it plugs into at one end of the case, can I just purchase a new one and move this hard drive to the new case so I can keep my data?

Answer 1

Is that the same thing or do I have a problem?
HFS+ is the same as extended. Journaling is an added feature and it doesn't make a difference in your case. [Mac OS X: About file system journaling|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107249]
Also - I'd like to upgrade both to 10.4.11. Can/Should I do that in both cases from Software Update Combined or is there somewhere on apple's site I can/should download the combination from?
The 10.4.11 combo update link for [PowerPC-based Macs|http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateppc.html]
\[Edit: In your subject line you said "10.2.9" but I am assuming you meant "10.4.9".]
My external hd is not working so I can't back up my G4 and I don't yet have an external hd for my MacBook (I assume I need a separate one for each computer?)
See "Updating" below.
I'm having my G4 external bootable HD checked and if the problem is in the case, the little gizmos it plugs into at one end of the case, can I just purchase a new one and move this hard drive to the new case so I can keep my data?
Yes, as long as the connector type inside is the same, e.g. IDE/ATA.
Updating
Certain steps appear to minimize the risk of an update producing problems.
Number one is to make sure you have a clone backup of your computer in case you do need to back out of it again. This is the only guaranteed way of not having to worry about the results of an update.
Some like to boot from their installer discs or an external backup and verify (and if necessary repair) their internal drives as well as drive permissions. This is done with Disk Utility. You can verify a drive while booted from the same drive but sometimes this produces spurious errors. Repairing a drive (if necessary) has to be done while booted from another disk. Permissions repair can, and is probably best, done when booted from your internal drive.
[Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214]
[Using Disk Utility in Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672]
[Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751]
You can also go to the step of booting into safe mode to do the install.
[Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393]
[What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X)|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392]
[Safe Boot takes longer than normal startup|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107394]
I like to download the update onto my computer and install it from there rather than let Software Update do it. I know a few people who had problems with doing the update via software updater found a manual install to work.
Repair permissions again afterward.
It also helps to only install one update at a time and to run the computer for a while to make sure it is behaving well.
The more cautious even like to unplug third party peripherals (see [comment by BDaqua|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9040746#9040746]).
Almost all of the above steps (except backup) have been questioned as to necessity because probably many people have done successful updates without doing them. I say they can't hurt, they can very likely do good (especially if your computer isn't regularly maintained), so why not do them to be safe.
[BDaqua's comments on updating problems|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8948595#8948595]
[Baby Boomer's comments on updating problems|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9025760#9025760]