Can I run Leopard?

[ChuckB]

Need some help from the Mac gurus. I'm not up to speed on all this new stuff. You'll see what I mean in a minute.
I have run into a bit of a problem. I am currently a full-time student getting my Masters and need to complete a PC cd-rom based course for work. My only computer at home is a 12" PowerBook and I'm working out of my house and don't have easy access to a PC.
My current Mac served me well for 4+ years before the hard-drive finally died. I replaced the HD (160GB) and added RAM so now its at 1.25 GB. Here's the specs.

Machine Name: PowerBook G4 12"
Machine Model: PowerBook6,4
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.33 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1.25 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.8.3f1

My question is can I run Leopard and more specifically Bootcamp on this machine? Based on the requirements from the Apple website it looks like it should be possible. Here are the min. requirements.

Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor
512MB of memory
DVD drive for installation
9GB of available disk space
Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
Some features require Apple's .Mac service; fees apply

My second question is then do I have to purchase Windows as well? So I'd be looking at $130 for Leopard and $180 for Windows XP vs. buying a new iMac.

I love my 12" Powerbook and I'm not really looking to purchased a new computer right now unless it is absolutely necessary. I appreciate any advice. TIA.

 

[whipp]

You should be able to run Leopard, but not Boot Camp.

Boot Camp (to dual boot into windows) requires an Intel based Mac.

 

[RAV4fun]

What he said...

Your specs are fine for 10.5 but you have to have an newer Macbook running an Intel processor to install windows.

What about the cd makes it PC only? Have you tried sticking it in your powerbook to see if it can be read?

 

[Superu]

Boot Camp (to dual boot into windows) requires an Intel based Mac.

You should be able to run Virtual PC on your MAC with Leopard. I'd recommend adding more memory to your Powerbook if you can.

 

[ChuckB]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I guess the bad news is that I might get a new computer out this deal :wings: .

I did stick the CD in and there are some auto-run files that the Mac won't recognize. When I tried to open them, I got the "choose application" window. Then, as far as I know, I'm stuck at that point. Most of the files I can open individually, but I cannot open the .exe, .inf or .INI files which obviously drive the content of the course through a specific sequence. I could probably work my way through the course manually, but it would very time intensive and I want to make sure that I don't miss anything.

Any other ideas or am I stuck?

 

[ChuckB]

You should be able to run Virtual PC on your MAC with Leopard. I'd recommend adding more memory to your Powerbook if you can.

That is interesting I didn't know about Virtual PC. It says it is not compatible with OS 10.4 which is what I currently have. So in theory I would have to buy Leopard and download Virtual PC, correct?

 

[DaveInDenver]

That is interesting I didn't know about Virtual PC. It says it is not compatible with OS 10.4 which is what I currently have. So in theory I would have to buy Leopard and download Virtual PC, correct?

I was running VPC 7 on our 1.25GHz G4 iMac with 10.4. It's workable and stable but will be an exercise in patience to say the least. If you have to use Windows a lot, it's worth seeking an Intel Mac or at least a faster G5 Mac. It's easily a 50% speed hit running emulated Windows like VPC, so it's like running a 600MHz Pentium with 512MB using XP, a pig. I've gone to 10.5 and we have another Windows option now, so I never tried the VPC with 10.5 on my Mac.

 

[ChuckB]

Dave,

Thanks for that insight. Up to this point I have not had a strong necessity to run Windows programs. That's after having only Macs for going on 5 years now. My power book is definitely starting to show its age though. The battery will only hold a charge for about 20 minutes now

I did some searching and tried to find Virtual PC on both the Apple website and on the net. All I could come up with are the upgrades (7.0.3). What am I doing wrong or where can I get the base program??? I'd be willing to at least try it before I pluck down $$$ for a new iMac or Powerbook.

 

[Robthebrit]

I am running OS-X on a PC, its great if you want a robust 'mac'. Real macs are too night and somewhat flimsy for real outdoor use.

Rob

 

[Desertdude]

http://www.parallels.com/

will also run windows OS on the Mac

 

[jeffryscott]

As others have stated, Intel only for XP on Bootcamp, but Leopard will run fine on the 12-inch powerbook (have it on my old 867 12 with 768 RAM and works fine.)

Virtual PC will work, but it would be a dog. Look on Craigslist, I've seen used MacBooks for about 500 or slightly less. Ram is cheap, HD's are cheap for the new machines and at least for the MacBook, very easy to swap out yourself. Then with Bootcamp and XP, you are set, or any of the other options out there.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I am running OS-X on a PC, its great if you want a robust 'mac'. Real macs are too night and somewhat flimsy for real outdoor use.

Rob

Yeah, I dunno. My wife's Mac notebook took a few foot fall from that back of my truck onto the street (open the tailgate and boom!). Got a little dent the corner of the lower half, but other than a little cosmetic bump it's still fine. The screen half made it completely unharmed. Definitely not a Toughbook, but tougher than I'd have expected.

More info about your Hackintosh, what are you running?

BTW, Chuck, Virtual PC is no more AFAIK with the introduction of Intel Macs. Being able to dual boot or use Parallels made emulated PCs unnecessary and I suspect the combination of that and being a minor market to start and Microsoft buying it killed it's niche. It really was a kludge, you're not missing much. I'd guess eBay would be the best bet to find an old copy. The best thing about it was it came with XP and I used that version to put on my wife's Parallel's machine, so that was a lot cheaper.

 

[Robthebrit]

I first ran OSX on a PC because I never had a mac and needed to do some iphone work (IBM since documented how to build iphone apps from windows/linux).

The first attempt was an old Sony Viao but it didn't work too well because you need an intel processor with SSE2 for it to work at all and you need SSE3 for things like itunes and other multimedia apps - the viao didn't have either and it would crash fairly reliably with an illegal instruction exception. The next attempt was done on a fairly new core duo HP laptop and it worked flawlessly and that is what I am still using.

Installing was quite tricky when I tried it, I had to first install linux because the hacked up installer for OSX was a linux image. I think you should be able to use one of the linux boot CDs (live CD) to save having to fully install it but I didn't think of that until after I had done it.

I never got dual boot to work the only way I could see to do it was have 2 different hard disks but thats not so practical for a laptop.

Rob

 

[Zaphod]

I am running OS-X on a PC

How the heck did you pull THAT off?

Regarding VirtualPC, don't bother. Runs WAY too slow to be even remotely useful. I bought it for my PowerBook G4 back when I was using my computer for work and wanted to use Visio. FORGET IT.

 

[Robthebrit]

How the heck did you pull THAT off?

Regarding VirtualPC, don't bother. Runs WAY too slow to be even remotely useful. I bought it for my PowerBook G4 back when I was using my computer for work and wanted to use Visio. FORGET IT.

There is lots of stuff on the web (google for 'OSX on a PC'), it seems a lot easier than when I first did it. You can get a really powerful PC for a fraction of the cost of a mac. Also, even though you cannot get Macs with 8 or 16 processors OSX still supports this number so in some ways OSX is better on PC hardware then on original apple hardware. I guess this is for furture support and for OSX servers.

Here are some links:

http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
http://lifehacker.com/348653/install-os-x-on-your-hackintosh-pc-no-hacking-required
http://laughingsquid.com/installing-leopard-on-a-pc-in-three-easy-steps/

The only legally questionable part is downloading the hacked OS image and its huge (6gb). If you already have a copy of OSX you can download a patch tool which will patch you local copy and make a PC installable version. This is somewhat more legal but its still against the license to install on anything but apple hardware.

Rob