[G4] G4 newbie, migration Qs

[Tracker at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/19/04 3:36:24, jim at jimpage.com writes:

<< my current primary MAC: (also have a backup 8100 similarly configured)
- 8100, w 300Mhz G3, 264M, 21" supermac monitor(fixed freq), dual 17G
SCSI-2, MACOS 8.6, UMAX 2200 scanner(SCSI/USB), HP 870Cxi AppleTalk printer
- s/w used, Microsoft works 4.0, Office 98, mozilla, outlook express
 >>

My $.02 worth:

When you locate a satisfactory G4, try to locate at least a 40G drive with 
it, an 80G would be better. Also, make sure that you get at least 512Mb of RAM 
with it.

I would simply replace both of the SCSI drives with a larger IDE drive, it 
would leave you space to put more large drives inside the box if you need the 
storage capability. Of course, if you don't have extra money laying around for 
the drives, then use the ones that you have with the card

You could use the SCSI card and install both 17G drives on the extra mounting 
sleds that the G4 has internally, but you should reformat them to OS-Extended 
format after transferring your data to the new larger drive.

You could use a ethernet hub to link the older machine to the G4 and transfer 
your documents over. Having a small hub around the house is always a good 
idea anyway.

Definitely upgrade to OS-X.3.2 as soon as possible. It will be worth your 
time and money. You should expect to buy new versions of productivity software 
because working in the Classic environment is going to be slower than you might 
like.

Get rid of MS Works and Office 98 and replace them with ThinkFree Office or 
AppleWorks. TF Office is only around $50 and does everything that those old 
programs do and more. OS-X will give you the Safari browser and Mail for free, 
try them out and see if you like them better than Mozilla and OE. Otherwise, 
look for the upgrades because the old versions do not work with OS-X.

I have no experience with Umax scanners, so no suggestions there. 

My HP-740 did not like OS-X and my HP-1215 needed driver upgrades to work 
with OS-X. The effort to find the upgraded driver almost sent me to the store for 
a newer printer. Expect to have some problems or hitches finding drivers for 
older printers to make them work properly with OS-X. I seriously recommend a 
newer printer with USB connections and slots for digital camera memory cards.

I am using a Sony M-scan G200 17" monitor with my G4 with the Apple 
SVGA-15/DB-15 adapter. It has been working fine since I connected it, so I would 
suggest that it is possible the SuperMac may work for you. It's worth a try before 
going out and spending more money on a new/refurbished monitor.

Good luck on moving up to the new machine(s).