Guidance Installing Leopard on older Mac

[mooremj5]

I have a G4 Dual 867 Power Mac - 512 Mb Ram - runing 10.2.8 and love it.
I have had literally no problems with it. It is fast enough for what I do and has plenty of expansion for years to come, but some software is now requiring 10.4 or greater and my guess is this will not get better.

I am looking hard at purchasing and installing Leopard on a separate hard drive.

Since I am at the minimum on hardware requirements, I was hoping for some words of advice. Like what to expect from my most used but older software (msoffice, CanvasX, PhotoElements 1.0. AppleWorks. Will my other hardware work (Canon 960 photo printer, Cannon LIde 35 scanner, ms wireless keyboard/mouse). Do I need more memory.......will everything be slow, etc.

Any experiences you have had is appreciated.

Regards,

Mike Moore

 

[Egidio]

Mike,

Based on the many problems that have plagued Leopard since the start, I would look for another alternative. Maybe use 10.4.11 instead. Leopard is about to release a second update in barely 3 months since it was released. Not a good sign. I have a copy of Leopard in my drawer at work, but I'll wait six months before upgrading. There is really nothing in Leopard that is so compelling to me to have it installed now. There are still several third party applications that are not compatible with Leopard. So, read articles on line here as well as other forums. Sorry for not being encouraging, but I do believe Leopard was not "fully cooked." Apple spent a lot of its resources on the iPhone and rushed Leopard.

My two cents, of course.

 

[mooremj5]

Egidio,
Thanks for the advice and quick reply. I hate to be a pest, but do you have any advice on where best to purchase a legal copy of 10.4 and is any version freely upgradeable to 10.4.11? I looked on ebay and the full install/ any computer versions are going for >1.5 to 2 x the original price.

Again, thanks.

Mike Moore

 

[Egidio]

You're welcome, Mike.

I'm not sure whether Apple sell old systems, but I'd start there. Also, check Amazon.com. I believe that only 10.4 would give you free upgrades to 10.4.11

 

[mooremj5]

Egidio,

Thanks! I did find Tiger on their website for $129 with 3-4 week delivery. Amazon sellers have it used for ~$200 and new for ~$300 with 1-2 week delivery. I will check with our local Apple store today.

Aganin, thanks for your help!

Regards,

Mike Moore