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Recycled Computing
Backing Up Your G3 PowerBook Quickly and Easily
- 2008.10.27
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- Tiger, tiger burning bright
- in the forest of the night
- What immortal hand or eye
- has framed thy fearful symmetry?
Who says you don't learn anything in school? I remembered that poem from my elementary school days many, many years ago.
I'm still running Tiger on my G3 "Pismo" PowerBook, and many people ask me how I manage running Tiger in the Age of Leopard.
Well, Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4.11) runs well on the Pismo (although I would like to max out the RAM to 1 GB), and I'm not sure throwing a G4 processor at it would make Leopard that much better an operating system for this old 'Book. The limiting factor is the Pismo's graphics card. In order to utilize Cover Flow with iTunes, I have to turn down the display from "millions of colors" to "thousands of colors". A small price to pay, but Leopard is graphics heavy.
Backing Up without Time Machine
"But what about Time Machine?" you ask. "You have no way to automatically back up your critical files."
Okay, Time Machine is a very useful feature, but I have a backup method which has a unique advantage.
As Pismo fanboys know, the Pismo has two modular bays that can either hold batteries or (on the right side) optical drives, Zip drives, floppy drives, and . . . drum roll please . . . a module containing a 2.5" hard drive. Still manufactured by MCE Technologies, the convenient Xcaret Pro modules (links at end of article), which currently sell for US$69, allow you to install an old laptop drive. It's very easy to do, and you can boot the Pismo from this removable hard drive. (The same goes for the WallStreet and Lombard PowerBooks.)
To back up my drive, I clone my hard drive to the other hard drive in the MCE enclosure mounted in my right expansion bay using Carbon Copy Cloner (freeware, donations accepted). After the first full backup, you can do much faster incremental backups to save only what's been changed (the shareware SuperDuper! program can do the same thing).
If anything goes wrong with my Pismo's hard drive or I suffer a virus or hacking attack, I can boot the Pismo using the backup hard drive in my Pismo's expansion bay. I don't have to do much of anything to get the computer going again in an emergency.
What About Leopard?
Since I started writing this article, Mr. Mike, our beloved computer repair person, accidentally installed Leopard on a G4 PowerBook with a 400 MHz processor. It takes a little while to load, but once it's up, it's not too shabby.
Does this mean I can think about putting Leopard on the old Pismo? First things first: I would have to shell out for a G4 processor for the Pismo. Hmmm. But think about installing Apple's latest operating system on a 9-year-old laptop. It would make a nice commercial.
I'm waiting for Steve Jobs' phone call.
Xcaret Pro for Lombard and Pismo
- MCE Xcaret Pro-99 Do-It-Yourself Expansion Bay Hard Drive Kit
- MCE 80 GB/5400 RPM Xcaret Pro-99 Expansion Bay Hard Drive
Xcaret Pro for WallStreet
Recent Recycled Computing Columns
- Macintosh Remote Control with Chicken of the VNC, 10.06. Sometimes you want to or need to control another Mac remotely. The free Chicken of the VNC program is a great tool for doing exactly that.
- Upgrading a Pismo PowerBook with a Slot-load Drive Salvaged from an iBook, 10.01. Starting with a spare DVD-ROM module and the SuperDrive from a G4 iBook, the author ended up with a SuperDrive in his Pismo PowerBook.
- Why the 20" iMac Is Perfect for Home or School, 09.29. The aluminum iMac has plenty of power and screen space, yet it's small enough and light enough to tote from place to place.
- Windows Woes: A Lesson from Boot Camp, 09.21. Getting Windows installed, running, and activated is more work than this Mac user bargained for. Learn from his mistakes.
- More in the Recycled Computing index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 12" 'dual USB' iBook 500, May 2001 - This compact, squared off, all-white, 500 MHz iBook was nicknamed the iceBook.
- Group of the Day: Unsupported OS X is for those using OS X on unsupported hardware.
- November 4 in LEM history: 99: Mac user for a month - Home Page lives - 'I' in iMac for inferior? - 02: Why don't Macs come with RAID? - 05: Aluminum not so hot for PowerBooks - Fixing broken a power tip - Das Keyboard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Razer Orochi: One of the Nicest Mice I've Ever Used, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 11.03. The author detests the trackpad on the 17" PowerBook. This notebook gaming mouse is an absolute pleasure to use.
- Multiroom Audio with iTunes, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 11.03. Apple's iTunes software makes it easy to stream audio to another room. All you need is the right hardware and sometimes an extra app.
- Google Chrome Mac Preview Has Made a Convert, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.02. Officially a developer preview, Google's Chrome has finally made it to Intel-based Macs. It's fast, elegant, and could be your next browser.
- The Future of Personal Computing: Personal Servers and Low Cost Portables, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.02. With WiFi everywhere, virtual network computing, and remote access, your iPhone, iTouch, iTablet, or MacBook Air becomes a gateway to your home or office computer.
- 2009 Mac mini Takes 8 GB RAM, mini Server a Steal, 27" iMac Now 'the Mac to Have', Mac News Review, 10.30. Also using Blu-ray with the new iMac, 10 years of Mac OS 9, Magic Mouse potential, SSD upgrade for desktops, Chrome alpha for Mac, and more.
- Upgrades for New MacBook, Quad-core MacBook Pro Expected, New MacBook Benchmarked, and More, The 'Book Review, 10.30. Also equivalent PC laptops nearly the same price as Apple's MacBook, Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, 8 GB memory upgrade for new MacBook, and more.
- iPhone Can't Win Smartphone War, Apple to Dump AT&T for Verizon?, VW Launches Car with App and More, iNews Review, 10.30. Also H1N1 app, solar charger, Christmas Gift List, new cases, and more.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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