Lombard RAM and CPU Upgrades, Panther Upgrade CDs, 10.3 on a G3, and More

• Lombard RAM
• Lombard CPU Upgrades
• Panther on Lombard
• Panther on G3 'Book
• Processor Upgrade for My G4
• Processor Upgrades
• Panther Upgrade Discs
• Panther Upgrade CDs
• OS X, InDesign, Old LaserWriter

Lombard RAM

From David Yuguchi

Charles:

I have a Lombard PowerBook on which I wanted the RAM maxed out. My dealer (Melrose Mac in L.A.) installed a 256 in the upper slot and a 128 in the lower slot, saying that a 256 MB chip would not fit in the lower slot. I have noticed that others have said that a "low profile" 256 MB chip, specifically made for the Lombard, will fit in the lower slot (Daniel Cota of powerbooktech.com has also confirmed this). I have also noticed that your site has recommended to use "low-profile" chips in both slots; would this make a difference (i.e., from a "normal" 256 in the upper and a "low-profile" in the lower)?

Lastly, I have noticed that I cannot purchase processor upgrades for the Lombard anymore. Is there a particular reason for this, and were processor upgrades successful in this machine?

Can I look forward to processor upgrades for the Lombard?

Thank you,
David Yuguchi
Architect

Hi David,

You can use either a low-profile or standard RAM module in the upper slot of the Lombard, but you need a low-profile unit for the lower slot. Incidentally, the Lombard uses the same RAM modules as the WallStreet and early iMacs.

The Lombard was only made for eight months, and therefore numbers were not as great as with the WallStreet and Pismo, so I assume that the reason Lombard upgrades have dropped off the map was slack demand.

However, you will be pleased to learn that Daystar has just announced a 433 MHz MAChSpeed G4 Lombard Upgrade. "The XLR8 433 MAChSpeed G4 LOMBARD upgrade with 250 MHz backside cache and exclusive MAChSpeed Control software transforms your PowerBook G3 into an AltiVec energized laptop. This is a factory installed upgrade."

To be priced at: $239
Prerelease special: $210

Charles

Lombard CPU Upgrades

From John K.

Hi Charles,

I'm sure that you got a message from Gary Dailey but in case you didn't - good news on the Lombard front. He sent me an email indicating that Daystar has a prerelease special on a new web page

http://4daystar.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=78

Thanks for all of your good writing

John

Great news John!

Charles

Panther on Lombard

From Keith Veitch

Just read the posting about upgrading to Panther on a Lombard and problems with RAM in the upper slot. My Lombard 333 has 320 RAM - 256 in the lower slot and 64 in the upper, and installation of Panther on top of Jaguar ran without a hitch and makes the machine really "smooth" to work with - easily fast enough for my needs which are mainly Internet access (with the wonderful Safari!) and word-processing (with the super-cool Nisus Writer Express!), and some CD burning (Toast Titanium - doesn't everybody?). So if you are concerned about upgrading do give it a go and if there are problems, check whether it is the 256 RAM in the upper slot as suggested.

Cheers,
Keith

Thanks for the report and valuable tip, Keith, and delighted to hear that you're enjoying Panther on your Lombard.

Charles

Panther on G3 'Book

From Steven R. Virata, MD

Charles,

I have a quick comment on Sandy Mitchell's question about updating to Panther from Jaguar. I completely agree about the speed differences that I noticed on both a 12" 867 MHz PowerBook G4 and my wife's G3 iBook 600 doing the same upgrade. A G3 can definitely handle it.

However, startup time should not be an issue because most PowerBook owners that I know just put them to sleep when not in use. Startup time in the morning for me is about 2-3 seconds from lifting the screen. When I'm done, I close the screen and it sleeps. Panther is so stable that I rarely have to go through the entire startup process.

Hope this helps,
Steve

Hi Steve,

We're on the same page. Panther prowls nicely on my 700 MHz G3 iBook, and I sometimes go literally for months without shutting down my machines and restarting from scratch. I just put them to sleep. I do find that a reboot is prudent every 10 days or so to sort out the memory and cut down on pageouts, but I really should have larger hard drives.

Charles

Processor Upgrade for My G4

From Rod

Is it better to increase the processor speed on my 466 MHz G4 or just buy another Mac with the speed I want. I'd like to use Studio Pro 2, and that needs something around 800 MHz processor speed (I think). If you think I should upgrade, what brand and other specifics should I look for?

Thanks,
Rod

Hi Rod,

There's no comprehensively "right" answer here. The variables are endless. Do you have a lot of money invested in upgrades and peripherals for your current machine?

FastMac can upgrade you to a fast G4 fairly reasonably if you are satisfied with your current system other than its speed.

 • G4/800 MHz, $249.95
 • G4/1 GHz, $339.95
 • G4/1.2 GHz, $399.95

OTOH, a 1.25 GHz PowerMac G4 is $1,299, and a 1.6 GHz PowerMac G5 is $1,799.

It's really whatever you can afford.

Charles

Processor Upgrades

From Steve Wassenich

Re Newer Technology:

Another outfit, TechnoWarehouse LLC, has connections to now-defunct Newer Technology, according to their website:

"TechnoWarehouse, LLC is a company started by former Newer Technology managers who together devoted more than 2 decades helping to build Newer Technology's reputation as the industry leader in Macintosh upgrades.

"Over the years we've grown to appreciate great engineering and product quality. Thus it is our desire to sell products known for outstanding quality and value. Therefore, TechnoWarehouse now resells the excellent BookEndz docking stations from Photo Control Corporation, award winning FireWire/USB Hard Drives by WiebeTech, items formerly produced by the original Newer Technology and of course - our very own TechnoWarehouse products."

They appear to offer the same upgrades as FastMac.

Those Newer Technology guys got around, eh? ;-)

Steve Wassenich

Small world indeed. ;-)

Charles

Panther Upgrade Discs

From Svend Gothgen, M.D.

Just to clarify the subject a bit. The upgrade and the full installer set only differs in disc 1. The only difference between the upgrade and the full disc 1 is that the upgrade demands OS X to be present on the hard drive. You can make a clean erase and install with the upgrade set provided a copy of OS X 10.2 is present on the computer to be upgraded.

Hope this helps

sg

It does. Thanks for the clarification.

Charles

Panther Upgrade CDs

From Jeff Greffe

Hello there !

I just wanted to point out something regarding this statement: "they are labeled 'Mac OS X Upgrade Disc,' and they won't do a clean install, only an upgrade. So your correspondent must get the full install CDs if he wants to do a clean install."

That's not true!

Indeed you need to have Jaguar already installed to put Panther on your drive if you are using the "upgrade" CDs, but there are 3 options available:

1. upgrade
2. install and archive
3. clean install.

So a clean install is possible ...

Thanks !
Jeff

And thanks to you, too, Jeff.

Charles

OS X, InDesign, Old LaserWriter

From Jim Pittman

Hi Charles,

I have a problem with a new computer, new software, and old printer.

I have an iMac (1.25 MHz, 1 MB) that came with OS X 10.3 (now updated to 10.3.2) that cannot boot into OS 9. I have a LinkSys 10/100 Ethernet hub with a LaserWriter Pro 630 and a Personal LaserWriter 320, and I can also connect my 1 GHz G4 PowerBook, OS X 10.2.8. I can print to either printer from either computer through the ethernet hub.

I used Pagemaker 6.5 for years on a Desktop G3 with OS 8.6. I thought it would be better to use an OS X program on the new iMac, so I bought InDesign CS v. 3.0. It seemed to work okay, and all was well until I tried printing to the LaserWriter Pro. I found that only one page at a time would print. Attempting to print two or more pages would cause the printer to stall. I finally got the document printed by printing one page at a time.

So far, searching on the Internet has not turned up anything helpful for my combination of OS X 10.3, InDesign CD 3.0, and LaserWriter Pro 630.

I need a fix for this problem that does not include buying a new laser printer. The LaserWriter Pro 630 is a great printer for my needs.

Apple's OS X discussion forums are full of complaints about 10.3 problems printing to HP LaserJets. I assume these do not relate to my problem, which I think is specific to InDesign CS 3.0.

Thanks
Jim Pittman

Hi Jim,

I wish I could help, but this problem is beyond my level of expertise.

Perhaps some of our Low End Mac readers will be able to suggest something.

Charles 

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