How to use an Apple Powerbook? (crossposted in Comp help and support group)

[brentspeak]

I purchased a used Powerbook G3; however, I'm used to Windows, not the Mac OS. Some questions, for those who know:

1) How can I view and move around files on a Mac like one can do with Windows Explorer? There's something called "Sherlock 2" or "Finder" on the Mac which seems cumbersome, as I want to see ALL folders and files in the HD at once.

2) The Powerbook has all kinds of applications I want to get rid of (America Online, games, etc.). How do I uninstall them? Also, how do I get a listing of every application that's been installed? There's even a Windows 98 startup application which is taking up a gigantic part of the HD.

3) This Powerbook has OS 9. How much "better" are the Leopard, etc. subsequent Mac OS's?

[MrScorpio]

1. What ever you do, do NOT mess with the finder

You're better off keeping Sherlock 2 as well

About the apps you want that you want to dump. All the games are expendable.

Leave the apps in your system folder alone.

Give me a list of apps you want to dump. We'll go right through them

[brentspeak]

2. I only know a few of the applications

as I don't know how to determine every application that's been installed.

Here's a few I'd like to get rid of:

Virtual PC, along with the Windows 98 SE; Install Flash Player 6; Quicken 2000.

What I'd also really want is a Windows Explorer-type program which can allow me to easily list and delete all the Word and Powerpoint files on the HD.

[MrScorpio]

3. All of those can go

Just dump them in the trash

What you want to do to find your and PP files is select "find" file menu.

search for Word or PP suffixes!

[brentspeak]

5. Thanks

:)

[brentspeak]

4. kick, for anyone who knows about good file management programs

[REP]

6. There's a folder called "Applications"

Click on that. It'll show you all your applications.

Go to what ever your drive is called. Open it. It should show all folders.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. In OS 9 I used an application called Spring Cleaning

It provided plenty of uninstall options. Also it identified orphaned files, like preferences that were no longer necessary since the related application was long gone.

I would check to see if you have Spring Cleaning in your Applications folder.

Actually, OS 9 was simple to use in terms of getting rid of applications. There weren't hidden files like OS X. If you go through the Control Panels and Apple Menu Items and Extensions Manager it's fairly obvious which ones are related to Applications you no longer need.

Just be careful not to delete necessary Control Panels and Extensions. That will screw you up in a hurry. Go to Extensions Manager and take note of the System Software, titled "OS 9 All," or "OS 9 Base." Switch to that and restart. At that point the third party software will be relegated to "Control Panels (Disabled)" and "Extensions (Disabled)." You can take a look at those folders and many of them will be Third Party junk you might want to get rid of.

As far a viewing all files and folders, just double click on the hard drive icon on your desktop and the items will be visible, probably in alphabetical order of major categories. Then open up each folder. Sherlock 2 is a search tool. You have to let it run and index everything in your system, which can take quite a while and is a pain in the ass. But it allows searching. You'll probably have dozens if not hundreds of Sherlock search files, links to obscure websites which Sherlock uses. I used to dump dozens of those at a time.

Keep in mind OS 9 is ancient history by Mac terms, maybe 2000 or 2001 since it was still the choice of a majority of Mac users. I'm winging this by memory. I do have a G4 dualie capable of booting into OS 9, but I go six months or more between visits.

OS X is not as intuitive but incredibly stable and superior. You didn't specify what model of Powerbook you have so I can't identify a version of OS X that would work best, but I definitely would recommend installing OS X. A Powerbook G3 should be able to handle it, albeit perhaps not the newer versions like Tiger or Leopard. Definitely not Leopard, which requires a G4 processor or higher, and something like 967 Mhz minimum. Jaguar (10.3x) might be the best option.

An excellent site to review your specific model is EveryMac.com. It will detail your max OS X system, plus the dates your model was current, the type of memory and graphics card, etc. Go to "About This Mac" under the Apple Menu and it will list the type of processor you have, how much memory, and other specifics.

[brentspeak]

8. Now that's some great info!

Thanks! :)

(As for my Powerbook G3: it has a 400Mhz processor.)

[Awsi Dooger]

10. Then it's one of these two models

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/stats/powerbook_g3_400.html

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/stats/powerbook_g3_400_fw.html

I remember those two, although I didn't own one. The first was called Lombard and the second one Pismo. If you visit a major Mac site like DealMac and ask for advice, use that term and the regulars will know what you're talking about. They were the only two G3 Powerbooks with exactly 400 Mhz.

You'll be able to look at the pictures and descriptions and see if you have a Pismo or Lombard. I remember there were known issues with each one, but I can't recall the specifics. A site like MacFixIt or LowEndMac has plenty of archived stuff on the older models.

[brentspeak]

11. It's the Pismo

I looked for the Spring Cleaning program, but it doesn't look like it's in my system. I'll try updating my OS 9 to the later versions (9.1, etc.) and see if Spring Cleaning is included in them.

[Eagle_Eye]

9. Heres a good use

Only Known Use for Apple Computers

<>

Some people suggest boat anchors, but they do not hold up well to be submerged.

[yewberry]

12. Did you try the DU Mac users group?

Really knowledgeable folks there. They helped talked my through upgrading my G3 (blue and white) to OSX and then upgrading to 10.4.11 (but I had to put a G4 processor in it to get up to 600 MHz and then replace the CD with a DVD drive).

I really liked OS9 and used it for a long time--I never go back to the Classic environment at all now. The 10.4 feels pretty good and it's completely stable. It is different, especially in the way things are organized, but that just took a little getting used to. (And it never, ever crashes!)