Leopard on iBook?

I just acquired a 933 mhz ibook G4 which I'm upgrading today to 640 megs of RAM. I erased and installed 10.3.9 but I'm finding the internet has passed the OS by. Flash doesn't work, etc. I don't own 10.4 on an Install disk (just install disk for a G5 iMac I no longer have), so I'm wondering whether 10.5 will run on this machine as configured. The systems requirements indicate it should, but I'd like to know if anyone has this running on their system and how the experience is with it.
Thanks for any response.

mreed:
Although your iBook g4 meets the minimum technical specification for Leopard, it meets it only minimally. In terms of RAM I would recommend adding a 1 GB module, instead of the 512 MB module you plan to install. This will max out your RAM at 1.12 GB. In terms of the Hard Disk Drive, a couple of things: first, if you have the original HDD that came with the computer it is likely 40 GB. For Leopard you will need 9 GB just for Leopard; you will need to maintain another 5 GB as free space for swap files and allow for directory growth. That leaves about 26 GB for your data etc. although, not quite, as a 40 GB HDD partitions out to around 32 GB meaning you will have around 20 GB for data. Second, you computer is around 6 years old, and the average life of these drives is 3 to 5 years. You would want to keep important data backed up, as your HDD is liable to fail at any time.
One more thing to keep in mind about Leopard. It does not support the Classic environment. So if you have any applications that require OS 9 or Classic, it will not work with Leopard.
Other than that, Leopard should work on your iBook G4, although, probably not as well as on more powerful Macs.
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
cornelius

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Comments of installation leopard in ibook G4

I would like to know is there any problem if i install leopard in ibook G4 that have a G4 933Mhx processor,644MB RAM, 40GB HDD, and a 32MB ATI graphics

I just installed Leopard in my iBook (same specs as yours)and it runs fine. Be sure to backup your data with a bootable clone to a firewire drive and repair your permissions before you backup. I went from Panther to Leopard so I could use the iPod my daughter gave me! A free gift that so far has cost me over $500.00 in upgrades. Maybe I'll dust off that Commodore 64 in the attic......
Dan

Install Leopard on iBook

Is it possible to install from the Leopard DVDs that came with my Unibody MB on my PPC iBook G4?
I have the tiger DVDs from the iBook, but would like to upgrade to Leopard without having to buy the retail DVDs.
I don't want to start the erase and install with the Leopard DVDs and have it tell me it's not possible.
Thanks in advance!

The discs that come with any Mac are machine-specific and contain hardware drivers for that machine. I believe there's a possibility they would work on another machine with the same hardware, but that's about it.
~Lyssa

Easiest way: installing leopard on ibook

hi,
i got a ibook g4 (1.33ghz,1.25gb,cd-r/w) from a friend and im looking for the easiest way to upgrade the os to leopard. i found several ways in the inet, but none of them sounds quite easy or cheap (e.g. runninga tftp server, changing the internal cd drive with a superdrive,...). so ive the leopard dvd next to my ibook and couldnt install it...
is it possible to use an external dvd-drive connected via firewire to install leopard? i already tried an external drive with usb, but i the ibook sadly wont boot from usb devices.
thanks for help!

Hey iBookChris,
is it possible to use an external dvd-drive connected via firewire to install leopard?
Yes that's the way I do it to avoid any variance in internal drives.
Richard

Installing Leopard on iBook

Will installing Mac OS X Leopard on my iBook running Mac OS X Tiger cause it to slow down, like if you installed Windows Vista on a Windows XP PC?

Since you both advise on improving the amount of RAM I currently have, do you know of any good websites where I could get it from?
I would begin with ramseeker where you will find several vendors and competitive prices. You can also check out Other World Computing as they are a very reputable and reliable source.
As for the hard drive, would it work if I used a portable hard drive for all of my music and documents etc, and just kept the hard drive in the iBook purely for OS and any software?
You do not tell us the size of your HDD so I am not sure why you are thinking of keeping you data on an external HDD. Here is what I suggest:
• On your internal drive you will have the OS and applications.
• I suggest keeping your Documents folder on the internal HDD.
• If you have sufficient room on the internal HDD you can keep your iTunes and iPhoto libraries there, too. If you do not have sufficient room to accomodate your music and photos, they are the best candidates for an external drive. The following articles will be helpful:
Moving your iTunes Music folder
How to move the Library folder to a new location
• Be sure to maintain a full backup of all your data and keep it updated at all times. The best way to do it is to get an external firewire Hard Disk Drive and clone your entire volume from the internal HDD using a utility like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. This is the best insurance for your data at any time, but is especially important if you have an aging drive.
cornelius

Loaded Leopard on iBook - where did printer drivers go?

After I installed Leopard on my wife's iBook G4, she found that she could not print because there were no printers listed for any programs. After doing some searching for the printers, I decided that I needed to reload the drivers and when I went to the Utilities folder in Applications, there is no Printer Setup Utility icon! Does that mean that I was omitted during the Leopard installation? And if so, do I have to reinstall the entire Leopard program again (plus does that mean that I have to use another of the install packages of the five that I got with the Family Pack?)?
The reason I went on line to by Leopard was because she purchased an iPad and you can't do anything with it unless you have at least Leopard on a G4 Power PC!

imagesunlt-
When you installed leopard on the computer did you update or did you fully install the OS?
I think your best bet would be to go to the website of the brand of your printer and download and install the correnct printer driver for your system. Apple may not have included a driver for your printer in leopard. Once you've done this, then go into system prefs, go to print and fax and click the +. Your printer should be listed there if its connected to the computer. Just follow the steps to add the printer
-Graham

Unable To Install Leopard to ibook G4

I'm currently using mac os 10.3.9 and I would like to install the new leopard using firewire. After i restart the mac it shows a dialog box stating that i could not install the leopard. Why?
My ibook specs:
G4 933Mhz
600+ RAM
No DVD Rom but installing from my friend's mac book via firewire

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
A MacBook can't be used to install Leopard on a G4/933 unless your MacBook predates Leopard, and you follow these directions exactly with the Leopard retail installer disc which looks like *:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1418365&tstart=10
MacBook installer discs labeled as such can't be used on a G4/933.
MacBooks newer than Leopard's release date of 10/26/2007 can't use the retail installer for Leopard unless it was revised since that date, and is newer than the MacBook in question.
- * Links to images hosted on my website may give me compensation.

Leopard on iBook G4 1GHz

I am about to invest in 1GB of memory upgrade for my trusty iBook G4 1GHz, which means officially my system will rum Leopard. I want to here peoples experiences and opinions of how good the experience is though. Are iBook G4 people enjoying Leopard on their machines?
Without the memory upgrade I am running at 256mb of RAM and my 10.4 system is very slow, I have never really used Dashboard because of the speed, multitasking and using spotlight have made me a very patient person. I want to know if running 1025mb of RAM and Leopard would be a pleasent experience?
I know FrontRow and PhotoBooth will be not usable which does not bother me. It surprised me that DVD Player recommends 1.6 GHz processor or greater, but is not an issue as I use VLC Player most of the time.
I also noticed that iChat will restrict me to a resolution of 160x120; then again I never did use iChat.
Any thoughts or reviews would be much appreciated.
Kindest regards.

HI Jaime,
One very important thing to keep in mind before installing Leopard is that it requires 9GB of available drive space. If your iBookG4 has the factory drive, I believe it's 60GB ?? Just make sure you have sufficient available space. An easy way to view this information is to open Disk Utility from the Applications/Utilities folder. Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left. Click the First Aid Button.
Now, look down toward the bottom of the window, it will say: Capacity and Available. Another way to keep an eye on free drive space is to open a Finder window. That info is displayed that the bottom.
Carolyn

Couldn't install Leopard on iBook G4

Tried to install this OS but it kept saying it couldn't be installed on this computer, even though it filled all of the specifications. I even tried uninstalling the Tiger and installing on clean disk, but wasn't able.

You cannot use the disks that came with another model of Mac. Those disks are licensed only for use with the Mac with which they came, and often lack drivers for other models or contain restrictions on installation on other models. You need to go out and purchase a retail copy of Leopard if you want it on your iBook. Make sure your iBook G4 meets the minimum system requirements:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs/
Not all iBook G4s will.

Leopard on iBook 600 MHz PowerPC G3

Is it possible to run a iBook 600 MHz PowerPC G3 with 640 MB SDRAM with Leopard??? And if so, because some of you jokers will say yes, how do I do it???
Cheers,
Johan

That would be better taken up on a different web site, since detailing ways around Apple's installer restrictions are iffy per the terms of the Discussions. If you search the web for something like "leopard install unsupported", you'll come across a number of pages of discussion about the issue.
Regards.

Como instalo Leopard en iBook G4

Qiero instalar Leopard en mi iBook G4 y no se como hacerlo. Alguien me puede ayudar. Gracias

Hola y bienvenidos a Apple Support Communities.
En primer lugar, asegúrese de que cumple con los requisitos del sistema paraLeopard. A los iBooks G4 algunos no.
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Requirements

Running Leopard On Ibook G4 14"

Hi all
I have a issue with running Leopard on my Ibook, it is a 1.42 GHZ and 1500 Mg of ram.
The problem that I am encountering is that the system is processing at full capacity 75-100% and I am not running anything in the background, why???
I have a G5 with dual processors and running Leopard, looking at the activity monitor on both machines, I can clearly see that there are several components running in the background on the Ibook and nothing on the G5, on the G5 when at idle it is using from 1- 10% CPU use, and when the Ibook is at idle it is all over the place, from 10- 100% but mostly in the high numbers.
Any answers I would appreciate.
PS" this is with a new installation on the Ibook, with Tiger I had none of these issues
Thanks
Sigi

Hi. What are the processes using that amount of CPU? It could be that Finder is still indexing. Post back with a list of the 'runaway' processes.
Good luck,
Adrian

Installing Leopard to iBook

I recently purchased an Apple iBook G4 with 1.2GHz 256MB 30GB. It came without an operating system installed. A friend gave me his copy of Leopard. It is the gray disk & the dvd. When I try to install it reads the disk then ask me what language I want. Then it says preparing to install & does nothing else. I've waited hours for it do something but just stays like that. Any help would be appreciated.

Just so you know, you will have to upgrade the RAM, too, in order to run Leopard.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3759?viewlocale=en_US
I would recommend maximizing the RAM with a 1 GB module.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iBooks-PowerBooks/G4-iBook/

Updating to Tiger or Leopard on iBook G4

I have an ibook G4 800 MHz that's currently running on panther 10.3.9. I need to update to a new operating system as i got an ipod nano for christmas that doesn't work on 10.3. I am not sure whether to get Tiger or Leopard and am not sure where to get them from.
I am reluctant to spend too much on a new operating system as my computer is quite old and may not last that long anyway.
any advice on which operating system to go for and where to get it (particularly tiger as apple no longer stock it) and how much it is worth spending would be greatly appreciated.

You haven't given the full specification of your computer, especially the amount of Ram, but if it is a 800mhz G4 like mine I am posting from, it will only go as far as Tiger officially. Check this for Tiger system requirements
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514
With only 256mb ram it would be rather slow though, and make sure you have enough space free on the hard drive. With 640mb ram my iBook gives a reasonably pleasant performance, but I don't use it for many intensive tasks. You might get Tiger from ebay but make sure you get the general upgrade disk with the X on it and not one that came as a restore disc with a particular model of a computer: if they come from an Intel Mac they would not work at all and even restore discs from a power pc computer would have issues, so check carefully with the vendor it's a generic disk before parting with money.
Remember to back up EVERYTHING before you even attempt to upgrade.

Adobe Reader for Safari, Leopard, G4 iBook - what version works?

Have an Intel iMac and a G4 iBook both using Leopard 10.5.1 & Safari 3.04 (all software latest versions). When I browse to a URL requiring Adobe Reader, I cannot successfully find a version of Adobe Reader 7.x or 8.x that works on the G4 iBook. Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance.

Adobe Reader 8.1 should work, but maybe you should ask Adobe.

Leopard on iBook?

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