Category Archives: old school Mac

fixed : get very old iPhoto Library to open in macOS Mojave Photos.app

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Question :

On my old PowerPC G4 (or G5) Mac I found some old photos in iPhoto.

Is it possible to copy the database and open it in the Photos.app on my new Mac that runs macOS 10.14 Mojave ?

Or do I have to import the photos as just photos and lose all additional info and edit that was done in iPhoto long ago ?

 

Answer :

Of course, the easiest and quickest way to get the original photos into your new Photos.app would be to just import all the old photos into Photo.app. But… as you already mentioned, you will loose all additional info and edits that you added in iPhoto back in the days.

The best way to get as much info and edits into Photos.app as possible is to do the following :

  • connect an external HD, external SSD or USB-stick with plenty of GBs to your old PowerPC G4 or G5 Mac
  • go to Users –> [your account name] –> Pictures –> iPhoto Library
  • copy the iPhoto Library (or even the entire Pictures folder) onto your external HD/SSD or USB-stick
  • when done, eject the external HD/SSD or USB-stick (by dragging it’s icon to the trash or clicking the eject-icon besides it’s name in the Finder) and disconnect it from your old Mac
  • then connect the external HD/SSD or USB-stick to your new Mac
  • download the iPhoto Library Upgrader software from Apple :

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202358

  • install the iPhoto Library Upgrader Tool
  • go to Applications –> Utilities –> iPhoto Library Upgrader Tool
  • run the iPhoto Library Upgrader Tool
  • in the window that opens, click on the Choose Library button
  • then select the iPhoto Library that is now on your external HD/SSD or USB-stick
  • then click Continue
  • when done, exit the iPhoto Library Upgrader Tool
  • then go to Apple-menu (Apple-icon top-left in the Finder) –> System Preferences –> iCloud
  • make sure you are Signed In into iCloud
  • then, in the list on the right at “Photos” click on the Options button
  • then make sure that there is a check mark at “iCloud Photos”
  • then exit System Preferences
  • now, double-click the Photos.app while holding down the [ALT]-key on your keyboard
  • now, while starting up Photos.app will ask you which Photos/ iPhoto Library to open
  • then choose the iPhoto Library that’s on your external HD/SSD or USB-stick
  • now, Photos.app will start converting the iPhoto Library to an up-to-date Photos Library
  • when done, Photos.app will display your old iPhoto photos
  • then, in Photos.app, goto Preferences, then General-tab and at Library Location click the ‘Use as System Photo Library’-button, to (temporarily) make the old iPhoto/Photos Library the one that syncs with iCloud
  • then Photo.app will start uploading the old photos to iCloud
  • now, in iCloud, these photos will be merged with the ones that were already in iCloud and they will be sent out to your iCloud (or rather iCloud Photos) connected devices
  • when the uploading is complete, you can quit Photos.app
  • now, double-click the Photos.app while holding down the [ALT]-key on your keyboard
  • now, while starting up Photos.app will ask you which Photos/ iPhoto Library to open
  • then choose the iPhoto Library that used to be your main Photos Library previously (usually the one that is in your current user’s Pictures folder)
  • then, in Photos.app, goto Preferences, then General-tab and at Library Location click the ‘Use as System Photo Library’-button, to make make your main Photos Library the one that syncs with iCloud again and be the one that opens when you startup Photos.app
  • then wait for the ‘new’ (additional old) photos to sync from iCloud and you will have an integrated Photos Library of old and new Photos and iPhoto’s databases

that’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : where to get an OSX driver for Griffin iMate USB to ADB adapter

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Question :

I came across an old Mac gamepad that has an ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) connector and I was wondering if it would be possible to use it with my current Mac.

I also found a ‘Griffin iMate USB to ADB adapter’ that enables me to connect the gamepad to my USB-port. Unfortunately, when I connect it, only the joystick directions work, but not the buttons.

Is there anywhere I can get drivers for the Griffin iMate that would work for OSX ?

 

Answer :

Luckily, the WaybackMachine has a rather good backup off the original Griffin website, and most downloads still work. You can find it here :

Griffin iMate Software @WaybackMachine

This includes iMate-drivers for both MacOS9 and MacOSX (both support MacOSX Classic mode, which is MacOS9 running from inside MacOSX).

for MacOS9 driver version 2.7 and earlier versions are available

for MacOSX driver version 1.5.2 and 1.5.3beta are available

Since these are really old drivers, you will have to try if you can still run in your recent version of OSX / macOS.

If they don’t run, you might even be able to use the iMate OS X SDK (Software Development Kit) to create your own 😉

For Windows PCs there are no drivers needed, but keyboards, mice with extended functions will only be partially supported.

enjoy !

fixed : use internal SATA hard drive in LaCie “Mac mini”-form factor housing

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Question :

I have an old, square-ish Mac mini (2005 through June 2010), which back-ups to a LaCie FireWire 400 harddrive with the same square-ish form-factor. This morning however, the harddrive inside the LaCie mini has died…

I could just get a completely new external hard drive (with a different design) for my backups now, but I really like the square-ish housing of the LaCie mini together with the Mac mini, so I’ve decided to replace the internal hard disk.

However, it turns out that the internal hard disk of the LaCie mini is an IDE (ATA) hard disk, which are increasingly harder to get than the current Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disks, and generally even more expensive.

Is there a way to use an internal SATA hard disk inside the LaCie mini housing ?

Answer :

Yes, there is.

What you need is this :

– a high-capacity internal 2.5″ laptop SATA harddisk (it is possible using a 3.5″ desktop SATA harddisk, but that is not recommended as explained at the bottom of this post), like a Hitachi TravelStar 1TB SATA harddisk

– a 2.5″ to 3.5″ bay converter-frame, or preferably just the Digitus 2.5″ to 3.5″ bay converter-brackets or alike

– a Wintech SAK-65 bi-directional SATA-to-IDE converter (because of the limited space inside the LaCie mini housing, most other IDE-to-SATA converters will be too bulky too fit in one direction or another)

Note : the Wintech SAK-65 comes with all cables to connect a SATA hard disk to the LaCie mini IDE/ATA-internal

When you have all these parts, the build-in is rather straight forward, especially if you use the manual provided with the Wintech Converter. In short :

1- unplug the LaCie mini form the power and FireWire cables, then remove the white plastic triangular feet from the LaCie mini housing (the are sticker-type feet, so temporarily stick them to a clean smooth surface to store) and unscrew the  screws you find beneath them

2- gently open the housing, unscrew the broken iDE/ATA-hard drive, and take it out

3- gently disconnect the ATA-to-ATA cable, and take it out also

4- then put the new SATA-hard drive in and screw it into place

5- then connect the Wintech converter as outlined in the instruction manual (so, set it’s switch to “Device” and do not forget to connect it to the power using the provided Molex extension cable that includes an extra power connector for the Wintech connector)

6- then connect both Wentronic cables to the hard disk on one end and on the other end to the Molex cable and the Wintech connector

7- then make sure the Wintech connector is slightly twisted in such a way that it is a flat on the hard drive as possible and gently close up the housing (don’t forget the plastic feet)

8- reconnect the power and FireWire cables, and then the LaCie mini will be recognized as and ‘unreadable’ drive by your Mac mini

9- use OSX’s Disk Utility-app to format the drive to “Mac Journaled” format, and it will appear as a healthy drive on your Mac (ready for use, for Time Machine backups or alike)

That’s it

😉

—————————

If you really want to build a 3.5″ SATA harddisk into this LaCie mini housing, it can be done, but it will fit so extremely tight that it comes with some extra things you need to address :

1- you will NOT need the 2.5″ to 3.5″ converter brackets

2- the provided cables will not fit in such a way that the housing can be properly rebuilt, so you will also need :

– a Wentronic 4p-Molex-to-angled-15p-SATA power cable (none of the cables with a regular straight SATA-connector will fit, and even most of the angled SATA-connectors will be too bulky too fit, and even this one leaves less than a mm of room for the housing) to extend the “Molex-with-an-extra-power-wire-for-the-converter”-cable

– a Wentronic SATA-to-angled-SATA data cable (most of the other angled-SATA connectors will be too bulky, but the Belkin SATA-to-angled-SATA data cable will fit as well), but you will even have to strip a little extra off the angled connector to enable the cable to make a ‘near-360’-corner

3- the Wintech SAK-65 bi-directional SATA-to-IDE converter needs to be used stripped of it’s plastic housing as it’s too bulky, and you will need to extend the IDE Master/Slave-cable (the wide and flat cable that looks like a lot of tiny wires next to each other) by opening the connection on the converter and putting the original one from the LaCie mini housing in it’s place (after having taken off the connector of that one also)

4- make sure you don’t adjust the 3.5″ SATA harddrive using the screws, just put it ‘on the floor plate'(to make a little extra space)

5- …and then you will have to puzzle quite a bit to fit all of that into the housing

As mentioned before : using a 2.5″ SATA harddrive is far more convenient and straight forward !

Whichever solution you choose :

Enjoy !

😉

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tip : IDE harddrive replacement alternative for iBook G3 & G4

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Question :

I am happily using my iBook G4 running MacOSX 10.5 “Leopard”, but it is getting slow because my hard drive is too full. I have looked into buying a new ATA (a.k.a. IDE or PATA) hard drive, but they are rather expensive compared to the current SATA hard drives (mainly in regard to their storage capacity) and they are harder to find as time goes by now… isn’t there any alternative ?

Answer :

Yes ! you do have an interesting alternative…

…it’s far easier to install (you don’t have to open your iBook, which would be quite a hassle)  and you will get lots more GBs of disk capacity for the same price (compared to  IDE-drives) and your iBook will still slide easily in it’s sleeve bag or carrying case…

The solution : get yourself a micro USB-stick !

The type of micro USB-stick I am talking about is any USB-stick similar to the Memorex and Intenso ones, sometimes referred to as “Leave-In” or “Netbook” USB-sticks (which are becoming available in 32GB and 64GB around this time) :

http://www.verbatim.com/subcat/usb-drives/everyday-usb-drives/netbook-usb-drive/products/

http://www.intenso.de/produkte.php?kategorie=23&&produkt=1291709095

To install :

– just plug in the micro USB-stick in one of the USB-ports

– start up your Mac (or rather : your iBook) and open the Disk Utilities application

– reformat the micro USB-stick to “Mac journaled” format

– then make a complete backup of your Mac (use TimeMachine for instance)

– then copy over all your video (your Video folder), audio (your iTunes folder) and documents (your Documents folder) onto the micro USB-stick

– check if your data has been properly and completely copied, then delete the files from your Mac

– create aliasses (= link-files) of the folders on the micro USB-stick and place those in the original folders where their originals came from (if you’ve done so, you can

– open iTunes pressing the ALT-key and when iTunes ask you where to find your iTunes database, point it towards your micro USB-drive

– that’s it…

Notes :

1- I would normally recommend you to leave just MacOSX and your applications on your internal hard drive, and move all other files onto your micro USB-stick (which reminds some of us to the way a Windows 95 PC would normally be separated into an (C:) and (D:) drive

2- even if your hard drive has crashed, you can use a micro USB-stick to replace your hard drive and use it as your bootable hard drive, by installing MacOSX on it and transferring all your data to it

TIP :

– to avoid/prevent accidental disconnection of the USB-stick (which might cause serious data-loss), I would recommend to stick a few inches of Scotch-tape over the USB-stick and USB-port

– to be able to neatly place the piece of Scotch-tape, you should take out the iBook’s keyboard for a moment (which is easy to do because of the small keyboard locking sliders on the upper row of keys)

 

fixed : Flash 11 needed on PowerPC Mac (for BBC iPlayer, Facebook video, etc.)

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Question :

I was a happy user of BBC iPlayer, but it has stopped working on my G4 (or G5) PowerPC Mac, since the new BBC iPlayer version requires Adobe Flash 11, and the latest version of Flash released is version Player 10.1.102.64

Isn’t there any way for me to view Flash 11 content on my PowerPC Mac ?

Answer :

There is an unofficial version of Flash for PowerPC that tells websites it is Flash 11 to enable you to view Flash 11 content. This works for BBC iPlayer, Facebook video, YouTube video, Adobe Kuler and various other web services.

This will enable you to access Flash 11 content on your PowerPC Mac, but please be aware that modern video will still be stuttering on a G4 Mac… even with this trick… for YouTube viewing you might be better of using MacTubes ; go here for more info : https://macmanusnl.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/fixed-watch-yo…wered-g4-ibook/

Installing the unofficial Flash 11 is rather simple, but as always with ‘home-brewed’ software, using it is completely AT YOUR OWN RISK !

– first and foremost : BACKUP your Mac ; make a copy of your entire hard drive before you proceed (use TimeMachine for instance)

– after that, and ONLY after that backup being done, open Safari and download the edited Flash-plugin here :

http://www.steelbin.com/FBforFBPPC

–  then goto the download button in the upper right corner of Safari and click it

– then in the “Downloads” windows that opens, click on the folder named “FPforFBPPC”

– when the Finder opens, click on the alias folder named “Internet Plug-Ins” (this folder can also be found at [your hard drive] –> Library –> Internet Plug-Ins)

– inside that folder, right-click (= CTRL + mouse click) on the file named “Flash Player.plugin”

– in the popup menu that appears, choose “Compress Flash Player.plugin”

– you will now have a file named “Flash Player.plugin.zip”, rename it to “Flash Player(original).plugin.zip”

– then right-click on the file named “Flash Player.plugin” and choose “Move to Trash”

– then quit Safari

– then go back to your downloads folder, click on the folder named “FPforFBPPC” once again, and right-click the file “flash Player.plugin” that’s in there

– from the popup menu choose “Label” and a color that indicates to you that this is not an original file (e.g. red or yellow)

– then drag the file “flash Player.plugin” onto the folder alias named “Internet Plug-Ins” that’s right below it

– then click on the file “READ FIRST.rtf” and read the disclaimer that the maker (called SteelBin) has for you !

– now reopen Safari and goto this website :

http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/find-version-flash-player.html

– there you can check if you see the video (at STEP1) and if your Flash Player Version is recognized as 11.1.102.55 (at STEP2)

– if that’s okay, you’re done (don’t bother about STEP3 and STEP4)

(if you get any older version of Flash listed… repeat the procedure, and if that still doesn’t work, follow the instructions below for installing a web browser for PowerPC Macs that’s still being updated)

– Now you’re able to use BBC iPlayer and many other modern sites once again on you ‘old’ Mac !

Enjoy !

A big thanks to SteelBin for creating this, please donate to him if you wish to thank him for doing so…

…and a special thanks to Telford Moore for testing the BBC iPlayer with this trick

NOTE :

– if you have trouble using a website or web service because you still get an error that your browser is too old, start using a web browser for PowerPC Macs that is still being updated. You have two options :

Camino :

http://caminobrowser.org

OmniWeb :

http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/overview/

Note : even though it is suggested elsewhere on the web to combine the use of the unofficial Flash 11 plugin with the TenFourFox web browser, I would advice to not hack TenFourFox to do so… 

Yes, the big advantage of TenFourFox is that it is the closest you can get to the modern day Firefox, but the flipside is that it has plugins (like Flash and QuickTime) completely disabled for security reasons… they’re waiting for HTML5 to make plugins obsolete…

http://code.google.com/p/tenfourfox/wiki/PluginsNoLongerSupported

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tip : planning on buying Apple stuff ?

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If you’re planning on buying Apple hardware, be it an iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Pro or Cinema Display, you should consider checking if now is the right time to buy first.

MacRumors’ Buying Advice doesn’t advice you on what product to buy, just on WHEN to buy and when not to buy (which means : “hold on and wait just a little until the product gets refreshed”) :

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

MacRumors’ Buying Advice is based on the regularity of the product cycles of Apple hardware (not on the rumors, but current rumors on upcoming hardware are listed also …as MacRumors originally is an Apple rumor site…)

The ‘advice’ categories are :

Buy now! Product just updated

Buy only if you need it – Approaching the end of a cycle

Don’t buy – updates soon

[ for your convenience, I also included this “When (not) to buy ?” link as an extra at the (static) top of this website ]

Old School Mac [7] : transfer pictures from Motorola SLVR to Mac

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— THIS IS A REPOST FROM LONG WAY BACK ; JUST FOR ENTERTAINMENT — ORIGINALLY POSTED ON THE APPLE SUPPORT COMMUNITIES IN 2006

Question : My eMac doesn’t see my Motorola SLVR mobile phone when I try to connect over Bluetooth to transfer pictures

Answer : It’s a lot easier if you connect using USB :

STEP 1

  • put your SLVR on “Memory Card” setting in Main Menu -> Settings -> Connectivity -> USB Settings

STEP 2

  • connect your SLVR to you eMac using a USB-cable (a USB-to-mini-USB-cable that is…)

STEP 3

  • now your SLVR’s memory card will show up on your eMac’s desktop as a removable hard drive
  • browse to the folder called “Pictures” ; that’s where you can find all snapshots you’ve taken with your SLVR…
  • …and you can put any pictures you want to get from your eMac onto your SLVR there…

the original post(s) can be found here :

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/448957?start=0&tstart=0