Upgrade emac

I have an emac running os 10.3.9 What os can I upgrade to and will it be advantageous? the machine has 768 MB od ram how much can it be increased?
Is running an external drive with a firewire connection better than usb 2.0?
Thank you in advance for any help
<edited by host>

The "LRX" at the end of your serial number indicates that you have a first-generation eMac running no faster than 800 mHz (reference article: eMac: How to locate the serial number and identify your model). Therefore Tiger (OS 10.4.11) is the newest OS you can install.
That model is also limited to a maximum of 1G or RAM (2 x 512MB modules). I recently upgraded my daughter's eMac 700 to 10.4.11 and it runs fine on 768MB RAM for routine mail and surfing. No eMac of that generation will handle newer web video content very well regardless of what you add/upgrade.
As an aside, it is not considered "safe" to post your entire serial number in a thread or in your equipment line. I've asked the Hosts to edit it for you.

Similar Messages

Upgrade eMac or Buy New iMac

I've got an obsolete ol' eMac running Mac OSX 1.3.9, as I never upgraded to Tiger. Well now that Leopard's come along, I figure I might as well go for it. However, my eMac's only got 512MB of memory and I'd need to spend like $100 or more on 1GB of memory alone just to run Leopard. On top of that, I need another external hard drive, and my eMac's fan is loud (though I guess there's nothing wrong with it exactly, it's just being loud and weird).
All that said, would it be worth it to even bother upgrading my eMac and everything, or should I just get a new iMac? I mean eMac's are already obsolete as it is, and it'd be a waste of money if I upgraded it now and in a year or so just ended up having to buy a new computer for some reason anyway (such as if this one dies, like if the wack fan leads to it's demise or something)...

Obsolete! Older, yes. No longer sold, yes, but gosh dag nabbit, my old eMac is still my primary machine and does the job very well with everything I need it to do (video editing, iTunes, iPod, etc.). That said, I have been drooling over the new iMacs lately, but this eMac still has a lot of life left in it.
But back to your eMac. First thing I would do is invest in a nice external hard drive if you do not have one. Get one that can be connected via Firewire so you can take advantage of Firewire speed if your eMac is an older model without USB2 ports. Then back up everything important to that external.
An external is not a bad investment at all, even for an old machine, because it can go with you when you upgrade so there is no risk of "leaving it behind" if the eMac dies. If and when you get a new iMac, the drive can simple be moved to that machine and you keep using it. So regardless of which way you go, keep the eMac or move to an iMac, the external hard drive is still a great idea to protect your irreplaceable data (family digital photos, home videos, etc.).
As to the eMac, if you wanted to upgrade the operating system, I would look into getting a copy of Tiger. It is a nice upgrade to Panther (10.3.9) and with Leopard (10.5) out, will should start to see copies of Tiger for very affordable prices. While more would be better, under Tiger, you can probably do fine with the 512MB RAM you have now if you don't do any sort of heavy processing.
So like the others, a new iMac would be fantastic and you wouldn't regret it. But if you want to stick with the eMac for a bit more, get the external hard drive anyway as you will want it to backup even if you get the iMac. Now either continue to use the eMac as is (10.3.9 & 512MB) or find a cheap copy of Tiger and upgrade to that and stick with the same RAM and just turn off some of the memory hogging eye candy in Tiger like the Widgets. I bet if you looked around you might be able to find Tiger for $50-ish so your total upgrade cost is $50 (the external hard drive I don't count since it will go with you to the iMac).
Patrick

Upgrading eMac 10.2.8 to Panther - Are eMac OS 10.3 install discs prefered?

My original eMac came with the Jaguar 10.2 installed (and included the eMac 10.2 installation discs).
I have since upgraded as far as 10.2.8, but am considering upgrading to 10.3+ (possibly 10.4+ eventually).
Would I still be able to keep the Apple OS 10.2 "Classic" (OS 9.2) installed after doing the upgrade to Panther? Or would installing Panther make the "classic" application not function any more under Panther?
My real question is: would it be better to get may hands on the actual original eMac Panther (10.3+) installer discs .... or will any Panther 10.3+ installer discs be just as effective for upgrading the eMac. I would assume it would be better to obtain the original Panther instalation discs for the eMac (from eBay, etc.)?
Also, would there be any problems finally installing Tiger (10.4+) on an older eMac. I have the 880 mhz (1 gb RAM) eMac version (2002 - 2003), and I am wondering how far I could upgrade this eMac without pushing the limits of it's capabilities?
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks
-David
800 mhz eMac/Superdrive Mac OS X (10.2.x) (2) LaCie External Hard Drives (120 -320), 1 GB RAM

A 800 MHz eMac with 1 GB of RAM will easily run Tiger, and Classic will continue to run. If you're upgrading, since you'll need the retail (black label) disc as roam as already noted, by bother stpping at 10.3.x? Just go direct to 10.4, following the guide in Gulliver - Tiger Upgrade Guide. You'll need about 5 GB free space on the hard drive to do an archive & install update; you can lower that by doing an upgrade install and/or using the installer option to select only the language support you actually need (e.g., if you only use English, you can save about 1 GB but leaving the other languages out, or by running Monolingual if you've already done the upgrade). Note that besides the OS, you'll need to update any third-party disk utilities as well (see Only use Mac OS X 10.4-compatible disk utilities with Mac OS X 10.4 volumes).

Upgrading Emac 700

Hi guys i wanted to upgrade my Emac 700 motherboard, processor etc. Can it be done and where? I live in the UK. Thanks. Lee

The main logic board (including the processor) cannot be upgraded. The hard drive, RAM, and certain other things can, but it's not easy, nor cheap, nor even fun.
I'd strongly urge you to consdier a newer Mac. A refurbished Mac Mini is about the cheapest route, if budget is an issue.

System Administrator Password Reset Q after Upgrade eMac

I recently upgraded my Moms eMac from 40GB to 80GB. It took me about one hour and I booted it up. The drive was from my broken eMac. I am trying to update some of the software (Apple Download) and it will not allow me to do any changes. I keep getting an error to enter a admin name and password. I never set up a password on any of my machines, how do I reset it? I already tried putting in the OS disk 1, choosing reset password and still the same error message.
The message reads...
Type an administrators name and password to allow DiskManagementTool to make changes. Then there is a field for Name and Password. I don't know what password it would be since I always leave it blank.
Any ideas? thanks!

You always need to enter an admin username, but if there is no password you can leave the field blank.

How do I find out how to upgrade eMac to airport or airport extreme?

Hi,
I just bought a used eMac for our non profit theater ... it does not have the airport card. How do I find out if I need airport or airport extreme ... what do I need to do/know to upgrade to wireless
Thanks.

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Once you have identified your eMac, this page will tell you if Airport, or Airport Extreme is necessary:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106777
If the original airport card is necesssary, Apple no longer sells this card, and you can find it here:
http://www.macwireless.com/
http://www.macsolutions.com/
http://www.expercom.com/productdetail.html?PRODUCTID=305851
http://blog.smalldog.com/article/372/original-airport-cards-in-stock
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/M7600LLE/

Upgrading EMAC OS compatibility question

I have just bought an emac off ebay. Its currently running osx Jaguar 10.2.8. Its version 2.1 G4 800mhz 768mb ram super drive. Im wondering if it would be possible to upgrade to osx 10.4 tiger. Have been looking at a few and they indicate that they are only for the intel models. Which as far as im aware the emac i have doesnt have an intel processor

O.K. I am in the same boat and would like to upgrade, what would you recommend for memory upgrade. Right now I have only the original machine and can install another board. We mainly use this for homework and email but the girls are really liking garage band and other programs as they get older. We will be buying another unit in the near future and would like this Emac to go a little furthor. THANKS!!!!!

Upgrade Emac - Panther to Tiger

Hi there,
I know i´m a bit late, but is it possible to upgrade my Emac 1,25Ghz, 1GigRam, SD, ATI Radeon 9200, to Tiger 10.4.x?
better late than never, hm?
regards
FSD

Florian,
The requirements for tiger are:
PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
Built-in FireWire
At least 256MB of physical RAM
A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported by your computer
At least 3.0 GB of available space on your hard drive; 4GB of disk space if you install XCode 2 developer tools
DVD drive for installation (although a cd version is available at extra cost).
SO YES... tiger will run fine on your emac - you might even find it runs a bit smoother & faster! Get it purchased - you'll wonder how you ever managed without widgets and spotlight!!!

Can't upgrade emac to tiger

I was using 10.3.9 on my emac and tried to upgrade because I got a new ipod nano for Christmas. I decided to erase and install, but all I accomplished was erase. I now have no operating system. I have run disc utility and the hard drive is fine. I tried to load 10.3 back to no avail. I have repaired permissions and reset PRAM. I have the CD's and get the first one to run, but it fails on the second. I get a bomfatal error. HELP!

What kind of Tiger disk did you use? To upgrade from 10.3 to 10.4, you need retail install disks (black with a big gray "X"). Using the gray system install/restore disks from another Mac model with a PPC processor can cause problems; using the gray disks from a Mac model with an Intel processor will usually result in complete failure.
Sometimes a failed install leaves a mess on the hard drive. Boot from your original disks and use Disk Utility on the optical disk to repair your drive, then try reinstalling.
Can you post the processor speed of your eMAc? Some option for repair could vary depending on whether you have the models with USB 1.1 or USB 2.0. The processor specs are usually on a sticker on the inside of the optical drive door.

Upgraded eMac OS 10.4.11, now VERY SLOW

I upgraded my eMac OS 10.4.9 (I think?) to 10.4.11, which I now have listed. But the result has been everything slower.... Driving me kwazy!
I am not too swift with the computer language, so hope you can explain it simply so I can grasp what to do.... Guess it's made me slower, too!?
Beverly Smith

One thing you can do, especially on older Macs like the eMac, is to disable the Dashboard application (the widgets) that are always running in the background.
Here are the instructions on how to disable the Dashboard application...
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050723123302403
On the other hand, if you really like the Dashboard application, you might want to re-review which and how how many widgets you are actually running. Each one eats up a tiny bit of performance. So clearly if you only really use 3 or 4 regularly but went nuts and have 15+ enabled and doing something, those 11+ tiny bits of performance start to add up.
But again, you may find if you don't use Dashboard, that your system will perk up a little bit if you disable that application.
The other list of things I can suggest (my old canned response to these types of questions follow)...
My standard list of things to do first for these weird sort of problems. There are several alternate programs that do the same things with some combining the functions of some of the ones below. So everyone has their favorites, but here are mine...
Run MacJanitor (free download) to do all the Unix Cron Maintenance scripts.
Run Disk Utility (Applications -> Utilities) and repair disk permissions on your start up drive (typically your internal drive). Also verify any other drives mounted on the system, especially any external drives that you use for iMovie and iDVD projects.
Run Preferential Treatment (free download) to check for corrupt/damaged application and system preference files.
Run Cache Out X (free download) to clear all system and application caches.
Reboot your Mac (after running Cache Out X you are given the option to restart the machine).
Additional info on this sort of thing...
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
Maintaining Mac OS X
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/maintainingmacosx.html
Cheers,
Patrick

Updating/upgrading eMac that hasn't been kept updated

Let me start by saying I purchased this Mac 5-6 years ago. About two years ago the display started getting fuzzy kind of like your eyes are out of focus. Service man came out to fix it under warranty, couldn't fix it so they refunded my money. I bought it with the intentions of really learning about the Mac platforms but needless to say I haven't been very dilligent or sucessful at that.
Cutting to the chase my daughter who is 12 now had the mac and nothing has really ever been updated. It runs OS 9.?.? and OS X 10.?.? I want to move the computer to my youngest chlids room so they can see Disney stuff etc. on the internet but I cant upgrade to flash player 8 or higher which is what these sights require. The Internet explorer 5.1 (needs updating) keeps crashing.
Everything needs updating but I don't think I want to spend the money to update to OS X tiger just so my 4 and 5 year old can have usefule machine. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
eMac Mac OS X (10.0.x)

fishkiller,
Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
If the eMac's CRT is irreparably fuzzy and out of focus, you really shouldn't let young children use it at all. Attempting to focus on such images can adversely affect development of the eye muscles.
You could use it with the built-in display masked off and using a US$20 miniVGA adapter to attach a standard VGA monitor. If you don't happen to have an old-but-serviceable VGA monitor lying around, ask around and call local businesses --- most people with old VGA CRTs stashed in a closet would be only to happy to give it away for free rather than having to haul it to a recycling center.
If your eMac has at least OS X 10.2 on it, you can download the OS X Update Combo 10.2.8. If the eMac has OS X 10.1.4, you can go through the Apple Downloads to upgrade to 10.1.5 but there are no current browsers I'm aware of that support 10.1.x
There area number of browsers that are still updated and will run under OS X 10.2, such as Firefox.

Upgrade eMAc using Kingston 1GB PC3200 400Mhz

Hello guys
Just want to get some clarifications. Is it possible for me to upgrade my eMac G4 1.25Ghz using kingston 1GB PC3200 400Mhz memory. i have two stick in my collection after upgrading my office pc with higher one.
thanks

I should probably clarify the "high-density" issue. High-density RAM is common in peecees and pack more RAM into fewer components. Example: a high-density RAM module may have only eight black chips; low-density would have 16 for a module of the same capacity.
When certain high-density RAM modules are installed in a Mac requiring low-density RAM, it shows up as exactly half its rated capacity.
So that's why it's the RAM density and not its speed )PC3200) that is at play in your situation.

Upgrade eMac 10.2.4

OK, my first post here so don't think I'm an idiot. Still cranking along on an eMac 10.2.4. From what I have heard, to upgrade I'm better off going with Tiger. The main reason I'm looking to upgrade is I very taken with Ilife. I'm running 700 MHz and
384 MB. I have no other hard drive to back up to but still have most of my applications
on CD and plan on copying others on CD in order to do a clean install. First question is
do all versions of Tiger come with Ilife ? Can I go from 10.2.4 to Tiger with out any upgrades ? Does Tiger still work with the Classic environment ? It's just before I spend $125.00 , I want to make sure it will work. And with a clean install, does one lose everything ? Thanks in advance, I will sit down and listen to my answer.

Hi bagshot!
Here is some additional information.
If your Mac meets the Tiger System Requirements, Tiger is available for purchase at The Apple Store (U.S.).
The RAM System Requirement, is the bare minimum, and for optimum performance, more is recommended.
If you know what to look for, a Full Retail Version, of the Tiger Install DVD, can also be purchased, sometimes less expensively, at some online Apple retailers, Amazon, eBay, FastMac, HardCore Mac, AllMac, etc.
This is the correct one Mac OS X 10.4.6 Tiger, (DVD) Retail, selling for $159.95, at FastMac.
And at HardCore Mac, selling for $199.99.
However, notice that both, are more expensive, than, the The Apple Store (U.S.), selling for $129.00.
As posted, be sure not to purchase grey, upgrade or machine specific CDs or DVDs.
Tiger is on DVD.
The discs should look exactly like the images in the above links, and not say Upgrade, CPU Drop-in DVD, or "This software is part of a hardware bundle purchase - not to be sold seperately." on them.
Additional info in these links.
Using OS X Install CDs/DVDs On Multiple Macs
What's A Computer Specific Mac OS X Release
Software Update, Upgrade: What's The Difference?
Caveat Emptor!
If any are presently available, examine these items very carefully, and if in doubt, ask questions of the seller before purchase!
Tiger On eBay
Once Tiger 10.4.x is installed, you can use the PPC 10.4.11 Combo Update, to upgrade to the current version.
As posted, Tiger 10.4.x ships on a DVD, and the eMac / 700MHZ, has a standard 32X CD-ROM optical drive, so you will have to use an alternative method of installation.
Info here Installing Tiger Using Firewire Target Disk Mode.
And here Installing Tiger Without A DVD Drive.
The Tiger Media Exchange Program, referred to, is no longer available.
There is also a version available on CDs, at FastMac, for $179.99.
Shop Carefully, Examine All Documentation, And I Wish You Success!
ali b

Upgraded eMac, now fan won't work

Hello,
I just upgraded my son's eMac - put in 1GB RAM, Pioneer DVD-R drive and 320 GB hard drive.
All the upgrades work just fine (and he is very happy), but now the fan won't work. I've checked and double-checked the connections - there were two connections that I've unplugged and plugged in three times. The fan can spin if I flick it, so it is not impeded in any way.
Any ideas?
eMac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Yes, the fan was operating fine because it was so loud you couldn't miss it.
I appreciate Roam's comments, but my electrical engineering background is spotty. I understand that it is either the fan or the connection to the fan, but I have not the tools nor the knowledge to connect a battery to see if the connection is good.
What I can't figure out is what went wrong. There are only two connections coming from the fan unit, and one is actually the power supply that goes to the electrical plug (which is part of the fan unit). That one is obviously working fine because the computer powers up. The other one is this simple looking small snap-in connector that seems like a total no-brainer to attach. It's not something that could even easily get bent or anything.
I'm obviously missing something important, or the fan picked a really weird time to stop working.
For now he's shutting the computer down when it feels hot. I'm sure that's not a good solution.

Please help, What can I do to upgrade eMac?

I added more Ram, but this computer is still slow. Any suggestions on giving it more speed would be greatly appreciated. here are the specs.
Thanks!
Machine Name: eMac
Machine Model: PowerMac6,4
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.25 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1 GB- 7.74 GB is Free
Bus Speed: 167 MHz

Look at these links
Mac Tune-up: 34 Software Speedups
http://www.macworld.com/article/49489/2006/02/softwarespeed.html
52 Ways to Speed Up OS X
http://www.imafish.co.uk/articles/post/articles/130/52-ways-to-speed-up os-x/
Tuning Mac OS X Performance
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/performance.html
11 Ways to Optimize Your Mac's Performance
http://lowendmac.com/eubanks/07/0312.html
The Top 7 Free Utilities To Maintain A Mac.
http://mac360.com/index.php/mac360/comments/thetop_7_free_utilities_to_maintain_amac/
Mac OS X: System maintenance
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=607640
 Cheers, Tom

Upgrade emac

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