[iBook] iBook 500 slow

[david]

On 1/15/05 5:26 PM, "Kathi Anderson" <kathialexis at cox.net> wrote:

> Just purchased an iBook 500 dual USB with 20gig HD, 128 ram and OS 10.3.4.
> I am new to X, but I can't help but notice how the iBook bogs down for
> simple commands (just opening and closing windows when re-setting
> preferences). Compared to my mini tower G3 266, the iBook is really
> crawling. The iBook is plugged in to AC and no other apps are on or is the
> iBook connected to ethernet or anything else. The battery is not too bad, it
> keeps things running for about an hour when charged up.
> The iBook does not have any other OS besides 10.3.4. I checked.
> Near as I can tell from checking Apple's specs, this is a late issue IBook
> 500 that came installed with X. But why does it run so slow?

I'm sure you are comparing OS 8 or OS 9 on your G3 to OS X on the iBook. OS
X will tend to seem somewhat slower compared to the older OS 8 and 9 but
what you are describing is much slower that you should experience. The
obvious solution is to add more memory - 128 meg just isn't enough if you
want to do anything more than look at the pretty desktop of OS X.

So your description makes perfect sense except for the fact you specify that
no applications are running and it still is very slow. This doesn't sound
right at all. I'm assuming you bought the computer used. Is the OS a clean
install or did the user simply sell it as is? One possible explanation for
the slowness is that there are lots of system resources being used up by
stuff loading you aren't aware of. Also, when was the last time you logged
out? With that little memory you'll find that it bogs down the longer you
use it.

The obvious solution is to add more memory. If you intend to run Office or
perhaps several applications at once, add at least a 512 stick.

david