Upgrading a MDD G4

[Brian Middleton]

I was hoping to make the move to a MacPro this year, but the $ just aren't there, so I'm going to squeeze the last ounce of juice out of my trusty 2x1.25 MDD G4 for the next year or so with some upgrades. I'm hoping some of you can advise me.

1) I want to add a 3rd internal HD, in addition to the 80 gig original drive and 120 gig WD Caviar that are in there now. I'm leaning toward a Seagate Barracuda 7200 with 16MB buffer. Does that sound like a good fit? Anybody have issues (heat, etc.) with 3 internals in an MDD Mac?

2) What's the current thinking on partitioning? I have my WD divvied into 4 30-gig partitions. At the time, I had been told that in terms of access speed, several smaller partitions were better than one or two big ones. Is this still true? (Was it ever?)

3) I remember back when I bought my MDD there were some issues about maxing out RAM--that some OSX apps (or maybe it was OSX itself?) couldn't address 2 GB of RAM and might behave weirdly or crash. I assume this is ancient history. Any downside to maxing out my G4?

Many thanks for any advice....

[HCMarkus]

I have heard both sides of the partition vs speed discussion. For me, the convenience, ease of maintenance and flexibility of partitioning outweigh any speed loss, which would be nominal at most. Partitions allow quick re-formatting and backup and keep things manageable. Today's drives are so large, it is easy to lose track data. I like the smaller chunks of data partitioning allows. Also, there is no doubt the simplest way to defrag a drive is to completely erase it and start over, something that is much easier to do one partition at a time.

As far as heat goes, download and install Temperature Monitor and you can keep an eye on things. If you are worried, look for the coolest running drive you can find. Also, de-dust your Mac's interior so fresh air can circulate without obstruction.

Haven't heard anyone complaining about having too much RAM lately. I'm running 6.5GB on my G5. My current understanding is anything more than 6 gigs is wasted space under OSX Tiger. Apple's forthcoming 64-bit OS will knock RAM barriers out of the park.

For the supreme efficiency update, revert to OS9 and the last version of DP that will run thereunder. Too bad 5.12 is so sweet.

[artfarm1]

Hi.... I've got an 'old' Dual MDD 867 maxed with 2 gig of RAM and 4 internal drives, all Seagate. I'm saving my money right now too, but everythings working fine! Don't need any more bells and whistles right now.... still have software I've never fully explored (like most of us).

I've NEVER had a problem with overheating or anything like that at all. I've changed fans and done extensive sound proofing in the tower to make things nice and quiet (I bought the Verax fan kit a couple of years ago and use the suggested cardboard modifications to ensure proper air cooling flow as can be found on other forums)

Also, be sure and download the CHUD application from the Apple website for the G4's. (do a web search for 'quieting a Mac G5 and CHUD' or something like that.... it's on the Apple website.... I don't have the links handy right now..... you'll find someone has posted a 'script' to put in the 'bootup' in Systems Preferences to kick in when you turn on the computer.... but it's worth the time looking into it all..... also search for 'airflow cardboard modifications for MDD G4'.

Check out the download for 'applejack' utility as well...... between it, Disk Warrior, and fixing permissions you'll be chuckling at all the people who write in with various problems....... treat your horse well, and it'll treat you well.

[midiw]

so I'm going to squeeze the last ounce of juice out of my trusty 2x1.25 MDD G4 for the next year or so with some upgrades. I'm hoping some of you can advise me.

Brian, early last year I purchased a used dual 1.25 MDD G4. I then immediately maxed the RAM ( 2 GB ) and installed 4 internal HD's and a dual layer super burner.

However,

it kept giving me those kernel panics ( the black screen of death I call them ). They would come and go and nothing was constant when they occurred. Finally I went to a local apple service centre and "borrowed" an official apple diagnostic disk for that MDD G4. There are diagnostic disks for specific machines: meaning that the disk I had would not work on any other mac as I understood the tech guy.

Running that disk three times over a 24 hour period each time indicated that one of the RAM slots was defective.

When I removed the RAM from that slot the test showed all was well and there were no kernel attacks.

Unfortunately I was not happy with only 1.5 GB RAM and so I sold off the machine.

Therefore if had to do that again I would get a hold of the official Apple diagnostic disk and install ram in increments until all slots passed the test.

Also unless if you purchased your machine as previously owned you can get Apple tech to do a check on the "repair" history.

Well that's my experience with upgrading the MDD series.

[npatton]

Bought my brother-in-law's single 1gHz MDD a year-and-a-half ago. He had two Seagate 60 Gig drives, and I added a third 250 Gig drive. I maxed at 2 Gigs of RAM and even added a USB 2.0 card for my iPod.

No power or heat problems. All have worked extremely well. I eventually added a Sonnet Dual 1.8 gHz Processor, with some problems but now all are solved (see http://www.unicornation.com/phpBB2/view ... hp?t=19848 for my post on that...)

My only complaint is more fan noise from the Sonnet, so I'm going to check out some of the above suggestions.

I'm very happy with the idea of using this one another couple years unless it dies before then!

Good luck!
n

[tikibars]

I bought my dual 1.25 GHz MDD G4 second-hand almost a year ago, and have had nothing but problems with it.

Screen-freezes and Kernel Panics almost daily.

I have long suspected that this is a thermal problem, but the crash logs that are generated are always different, always specifying new problems. Most of it is Greek to me, but I CAN see that the reasons for the crashes are always different.

The previous owner installed a Verax fan in it to quiet things down, and I wonder if the original (if noisy) Apple fan would be better (I do not have it).

Thanks for the suggestions in this thread; I already got Temperature Monitor, and am goign to look into de-dusting and this cardboard thing ASAP.

[midiw]

tikibars,

I have owned/sold-off several MDD/QuickSilver's due to a variety of problems. Those crash "logs" were useless to me to pin point the problems.

In my last MDD I sold I learned from an apple tech guy that you can get the specific official Apple diagnostic disk for a MDD/QS.

If you set the diagnostic disk to run for at least 24 hours it will pin point the problem in understandable language.

You have to ask ( politely ) for those disks at an apple service centre or find an apple tech shop in your area.

You can also get Apple tech to do a check on the "repair" history for your used mac by providing them the serial reference as shown in the AppleSystemProfiler.

[Brian Middleton]

Just to balance the ledger, my MDD dual 1.25 is probably the most trouble-free Mac I have ever owned, and that's saying something. Part of the reason I have been slow to replace it is that it's hard to imagine a more stable and reliable machine.

[Tritonemusic]

I maxed at 2 Gigs of RAM and even added a USB 2.0 card for my iPod.

I'm really interested in speeding up iPod performance on my Dual 1.25 MDD because through regular USB, it just CRAWLS along.

Which USB 2.0 card did you purchase and is it a big difference when using your iPod? If the card works well, I would get one immediately.

[Schweats]

Hi,
Is there a ram limitation for each ram slot on a Dual 1g G4 MDD ?
I am experiencing no start up. I removed 3 -256mb sticks I additionally purchased when I bought my machine new that were loaded into slots 2,3 & 4. Removing these sticks, the machine started with the original 256mb just fine. I then purchased (2) 1gig sticks ••¦ removed the original 256mb stick,
installed the (2) 1gb sticks and it wouldn't start. I return to the (1) 256mb
config and still the machine will not start.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated••¦••¦ Many TIA

Schweats

[/u]

[emulatorloo]

Hi,
Is there a ram limitation for each ram slot on a Dual 1g G4 MDD ?
<SNIP> I then purchased (2) 1gig sticks ••¦

http://www.lowendmac.com/ppc/dualg4.html

RAM: 256/512 MB standard, expandable to 2 GB using PC2100 memory in 4 DIMM slots in 1.0 GHz model, PC2700 memory in faster models

http://www.apple-history.com/?page=gall ... &order=ASC

RAM slots: 4
Maximum RAM: 2.0 GB

so looks like the max per DIMM is 512MB.

----

[tikibars]

Just an update if anyone is interested -

I installed Temperature Monitor and CHUD Tools about a month ago, and have only had about one Kernel Panic a week since then, as opposed to (sometimes) several per DAY !

Three of the four kernel panics happened when my temps were in the high 150s or 160s. The max temp for this machine is about 143.

MDD users need to get an older version of CHUD Tools:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/MDD ... l#storytop

Installing the Tools put about ten apps in a folder on my drive, none of which I need.
In fact, I deleted all of them.

But the one key thing that I kept that has saved this computer, and has dramatically improved performance and usability, is the new Hardware control panel in my System preferences.
Simply clicking "Nap Mode" in this panel has eliminated 95% of my problems.
It is like a magic bullet.

Without the Hardware control panel as modified by CHUD, my temps are ALWAYS in the 150s or above.

I use Temperature Monitor Lite to keep an eye on my temps.
When I see them creeping up into the 150s, I have to quit some apps or close some windows. Sometimes this is a drag, and interrupts my workflow, but when I do it, the temps go back down.

As long as I keep an eye on this, I am mostly panic-free.

Not an ideal situation, but it beats the constant panics, and will do until I can get a new machine.