[G4] stuck and need to upgrade-resend, last got sent back-WOW!

[Al Poulin]

Marla:

Saying that you need a firmware update suggests that your Mac is still 
running OS 9.1 or 9.2, or maybe even its original OS 8.6.  True?  But 
saying that you have OS 10.2.8 suggests that your Mac is running that.  
Which it is makes a huge difference in what you need to do to upgrade 
your machine.

Please tell us clearly whether your Mac is running OS 8.6, 9 or OS X, 
and specifically which version.  And please tell us whether your "old 
software" consists of OS 9 and earlier applications.  If so, we are 
talking about setting up your Mac for Classic operations.  The posters 
who have weighed in on this are assuming that you are already running 
OS X 10.2.8 when they mention using Carbon Copy Cloner and other 
copying utilities.  Those utilities are not for OS 8.6 or 9.

On Jan 16, 2007, at 3:20 PM, g4-request at listserver.themacintoshguy.com 
wrote:

>
> Message: 7
> Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:18:14 -0800
> From: Ronald Steinke <ronsteinke at mac.com>

> On 16 Jan 2007, at 11:50, Marla wrote:
>
>> Wow! thanks Steve, for the level of detail of your
>> reply. i have some further questions for
>> clarification, if you don't mind:
>>
>>>  I am assuming that you are using OS X.
>>
>> I currently have OS 10.2.8, and apparently need a
>> firmware upgrade before I can upgrade my OS...
>>
> If you need to upgrade the firmware, you can only do it on a drive
> that has a valid operating system already installed on it. Therefore,
> you have to install and format the new drive and put a valid OS on it
> before you can upgrade it to a newer version of the OS.

It is not clear to me whether you already have OS 10.2.8 running on 
your Mac or simply have the CD ready to install it.  If you are already 
running 10.2.8, you do not need to get the firmware update.  You 
already have it.  See this lowendmac page for info about your dual 450. 
  That Mac is in the Gigabit Ethernet family.
http://www.lowendmac.com/ppc/g4mp.html

Then see this Apple page, and if you need the firmware update, follow 
the appropriate link.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117

It is best to print the Apple info to follow the instructions in 
detail.  If you still need the firmware update, you need to be running 
OS 9.1 or later to make it happen.  You stated that a technician did 
not want to run the update with the old hard drive.  This is mysterious 
to me.  If your old, "repaired" hard drive is running well enough to 
get you to the internet and to Apple's pages for download, it would 
greatly simply the order of your work to make the firmware update using 
the old drive, before attempting to load the new drive with anything.

>
>>> Then, just download CarbonCopyCloner (donation wear)
>> to your old drive,
>>
>> can I do this download BEFORE installing the new
>> drive??
>>
> You can do the download at any time, before installing and formatting
> or after. It will not matter to CCC. The only thing that CCC really
> needs is that the new drive must be at least as big as the drive
> being copied, preferably bigger.
>
>
>>> yet--you may need to copy some registration
>> information over to the new drive).
>>
>> Will my machine tell me I need specific registration
>> info? Or will I need to figure it out by osmosis?
>>
> If you use CCC, it will make an exact copy, bit by bit, of the old
> drive. ALL data will be copied and you should not have any problems
> with having to put any registration data on the new drive. Be
> prepared to give CCC plenty of time to do its work. Do not expect it
> to finish in less than half an hour unless your original drive is a
> small one, like 20Gb or so.

CCC is great.  Some people say that SuperDuper, which is shareware for 
a fixed contribution, is easier to use and more flexible in making 
backups later on.  The "Snip-it" mentioned by another poster is the 
first mention that I have seen of it.  And I do not believe his claim 
that CCC is deficient in not copying all of the old disk.

Best of Luck,

Al Poulin
Anger, hate, and revenge are for the devil, forgiveness is for God, 
proactive self-defense is for the rest of us.