Tag Archives: iBook G4

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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tip : using Evernote on an iBook G4 or iMac G5

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Question :

I have Evernote running on my iPhone, my iPad and my MacBook, but I would also like to use it on my old Mac which has a Power-PC (G4/G5) processor.

On the Evernote-website I can only download the latest version of Evernote, which is Intel-Mac only…

How can I use Evernote on my old iMac G5 and iBook G4 ?

 

Answer :

If you are running MacOSX 10.5 “Leopard” on your PPC-Mac (G4/G5), you can use the previous version of Evernote, which can be found here :

http://cl.ly/1I3a0Y3f26282k3p2a0E

If you are still running MacOSX 10.4 “Tiger” (or newer) your only option is to use the online version of Evernote, which can be accessed here :

https://www.evernote.com/Home.action

tip : play some Plants vs Zombies on your Mac for free

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Question :

I wanted to play the Plants vs Zombies game on my PowerPC (G4/G5) Mac, so I downloaded the demo from the PopCap-website. It installs okay, but when I try to play, nothing happens…

What can I do ?

Answer :

Even though the Plants vs Zombies game is compatible with MacOSX 10.4.11 “Tiger” and newer, it is only compatible with Intel-Macs… so you cannot play the demo, nor the full game on any PowerPC (G4/G5) Mac…

but…

even with a G4 & G5 PPC Macs running OSX 10.5 Leopard you can play the online version…

just use your web browser, and play online from PopCap’s official Plants vs Zombies website :

Plants vs Zombies Chrome (also runs in Safari 5) :

http://chrome.plantsvszombies.com/

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 : watch YouTube on an ‘underpowered’ G4 iBook

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Question :

I am (still) using an iBook G4 and I very content with it most of the things I use it for. (Even in this day & age of OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion” and Intel-Macs, I’m still happily using MacOSX 10.5.8 “Leopard” on a PowerPC-Mac…)

And even though Safari 5.0.6 is still doing great for me for regular web browsing, it chokes on YouTube…

How can I fix this ?

Answer :

The iBook G4’s graphics card performance is rather ‘underpowered’ compared to current Macs…

Just install MacTubes, it’s a FREE dedicated application that will run current YouTube-video’s far more smooth than YouTube.com in Safari :

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/28608/mactubes

fixed : get iMovie 8.0.6 (from iLife ’09) on the unsupported G4 Macs

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Question :

The official installer DVD of iLife ’09 refuses to install iMovie 8 on my good old iBook G4 (1.33 GHz, 1GB RAM, OSX 10.5.8 Leopard) – Is there an other way to install and get it running ?

Answer :

Yes, you can !

iMovie 8.0.6 (a.k.a. iMovie ’09) is the last version of iMovie that will run on the pre-Intel PowerPC Macs (which have G4 and G5 processors), and you can even install it on an unsupported G4 Mac that runs OSX 10.5.8 ; here’s how :

1- Download the app called “Pacifist” from MacUpdate.com :

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/6812/pacifist

2- Use it to install only the iMovie.pkg from the official iLife’09 installer DVD

3- Do NOT run the iMovie app after installing ; update it first using OSX’s built-in “Software Update” function (under the Apple-logo in the top left corner of your screen) ; after upgrading you will have iMovie 8.0.6 installed

4- Do NOT run the iMovie app yet ! ; download this pre-tweaked iMovie file :

iMovie.zip

5- Rename the file to “iMovie.zip” and unzip it (just double click)

6- Now go to Applications –> iMovie –> [right-click the icon] –> Show Package Contents –> Contents –> MacOS

inside that folder is the un-tweaked version of iMovie.app (or just “iMovie”, since you might not be able to see the .app-fileextension) ; replace it with the tweaked version you’ve just downloaded

7- Now go to System Preferences –> Accounts –> select the user you are installing iMovie for and make sure that “Allow user to administer this computer” is checked during iMovie’s first run, else iMovie will not be able to set up the configuration needed…

8- Start up iMovie for a first run and see how it works 😉

9- Remember to re-adjust the account-settings back to “Managed” and/or “Parental Control” if you need to, since Administrator rights are only needed on the first run

10- Note that in the “Parental Control” settings of your System Preferences, iMovie will no longer be listed under the iLife-applications, but under the “Other” applications…

NOTE : there is (as always) a minimal, remote possibility that Apple might update iMovie 8.0.6 to a newer iMovie 8.0.x or 8.x version… If you upgrade your tweaked iMovie 8.0.6, it will no longer run… and you will have to do a new tweak yourself…

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If you need more info on this, look here :

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/iLife09_user_feedback_tips.html#imovie_G4_patch

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20090130074400511