PB G3 Wallstreet II + Mac OS X version ?.?.?

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aux - 21 Apr 2007 03:24 GMT

Hi all,

I have a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet II (300 MHz), currently running Mac OS 9.2.2.

Just wondering what was the last Apple supported version of Mac OS X to
run on this particular machine (without any third party software mods)....
.....was it Mac OS X 10.2.8 ?

If so, were there ever DVD/CD ROM discs from Apple which came with the
entire complete install of 10.2.8 or were there just update
discs/downloads from previous versions of Mac OS X?

For those of you with a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet II (300 MHz), what version
of Mac OS X do you recommend...what version runs best? What caveats to
look for in terms of my particular hardware support?

I have a MacAlley USB card installed, as well as an Apple MPEG 2 DVD Video
card, Apple DVD ROM module, Apple CD ROM module, Apple 3.5 floppy module,
Apple StyleWriter Color 1500 printer, and various Apple and CH Products
ADB devices hooked up to this PB G3 Wallstreet II. And also a high speed
cable internet modem hooked up to the built in ethernet port.

Can I expect most of these hardware add ons to "break", so to speak, under
Mac OS X ?

Any advice, info would be appreciated.

By the way, I do plan to purchase a brand new Mac Book later this year or
early next year, I'm just looking to push my PowerBook G3 Wallstreet II to
the maximum limit of what it can do, until then.

best regards!

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David Empson - 21 Apr 2007 05:04 GMT

> I have a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet II (300 MHz), currently running Mac OS 9.2.2.
>
> Just wondering what was the last Apple supported version of Mac OS X to
> run on this particular machine (without any third party software mods)....
> .....was it Mac OS X 10.2.8 ?

Yes.

> If so, were there ever DVD/CD ROM discs from Apple which came with the
> entire complete install of 10.2.8 or were there just update
> discs/downloads from previous versions of Mac OS X?

Apple sold 10.2 as a retail product. They also made a "reference
release" of 10.2.3 which was supplied to members of the Apple Developer
programme. They might have also released this in an updated retail
package.

My membership of the developer programme lapsed shortly after 10.2.3 so
I don't know whether they did a later reference release of 10.2.

With either 10.2.0 or 10.2.3, you would need to install the latest
"combo" update (10.2.8) and several further application, system
component and security updates to get it up to the latest code on
10.2.8. This can be done by downloading the installers manually, or with
Software Update.

> For those of you with a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet II (300 MHz), what version
> of Mac OS X do you recommend...what version runs best? What caveats to
> look for in terms of my particular hardware support?

I don't have a Wallstreet but I might be able to answer some further
details.

Main issue is RAM and hard disk requirements. The bare minimum to run
Mac OS X 10.2 is 128 MB, but I'd strongly recommend a lot more than that
for it to be usable. Maximum RAM for that model is 512 MB, and at least
256 MB would be a reasonable starting point.

For hard disk space, you should aim for about 4 GB to install the
operating system, and it is a good idea to have plenty of disk space
left: keep at least 2 GB free at all times, preferably more. Mac OS X
applications tend to be a lot bigger than Mac OS 9, and the virtual
memory system can rapidly grow to fill all free disk space if you are
running anything memory hungry.

> I have a MacAlley USB card installed,

Should work as long as its chipset follows the standard (OHCI). MacAlly
might have done Mac OS X drivers if it is notstandard.

> as well as an Apple MPEG 2 DVD Video card,

Don't know.

> Apple DVD ROM module, Apple CD ROM module,

They will be fine.

> Apple 3.5 floppy module,

That won't work in Mac OS X. The only supported floppy drive is an
external one (USB), and that doesn't support 400K and 800K disk formats,
only 720K and 1.44M

> Apple StyleWriter Color 1500 printer,

Don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't work.

> and various Apple and CH Products ADB devices hooked up to this PB G3
> Wallstreet II.

Standard ADB keyboard and mouse are probably OK, but third party
products requiring special drivers are probably not.

> And also a high speed cable internet modem hooked up to the built in
> ethernet port.

That will be fine.

Signature

David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz

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John Johnson - 21 Apr 2007 06:07 GMT

> > I have a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet II (300 MHz), currently running Mac OS
> > 9.2.2.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Yes.

I believe that use of Xpostfacto (a 3rd party utility) allows
installation of versions later than 10.2 on the WS. 10.3 was a
significant upgrade in usability, speed, and features (greatly improved
printing support, for example). However, I recall some WS owners not
being able to get 10.3 to work on their machines at all. Check the
group's archives for more details; this was a hot topic for a while,
back around 10.3s release.

[snip]

> > as well as an Apple MPEG 2 DVD Video card,
>
> Don't know.

IIRC, the hardware DVD decoder in the WS is not supported in OS X (and
therefore not in the classic environment either). I remember people
talking about it here, some while back, so a check of the archives (or
Apple's documentation, I suppose) should get a firm answer.

Signature

Later,
John

johajohn@indianahoosiers.edu

'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

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Geoffrey S. Mendelson - 21 Apr 2007 19:04 GMT

> I believe that use of Xpostfacto (a 3rd party utility) allows
> installation of versions later than 10.2 on the WS. 10.3 was a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> group's archives for more details; this was a hot topic for a while,
> back around 10.3s release.

Using Xpostfacto, I have Tiger running on several Wallstreet's including
the original and PDQ (the II as the OP called it).

It's very important to make sure you know the exact model and bus speed
of the unit, some used 100mHz memory, some 66. 133mHz RAM will work on
some and not others. I think the 300 will use 100 and 133, but it pays
to check.

> IIRC, the hardware DVD decoder in the WS is not supported in OS X (and
> therefore not in the classic environment either). I remember people
> talking about it here, some while back, so a check of the archives (or
> Apple's documentation, I suppose) should get a firm answer.

That is correct. There are no OSX drivers for any of the Apple DVD decoder
cards. 300mHz is barely fast enough to play one without it. If the Apple
DVD player does not work, try VLC or Mplayer, they might.

Note that the DVD drives in the Wallstreet Laptops will only play commercial
pressed and DVD-R DVDs. They will not play DVD+R's.

Geoff.

Signature

Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/

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Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / April 2007

PB G3 Wallstreet II + Mac OS X version ?.?.?