BleepingComputer.com: Help! Purchased Ibook G3 On Ebay And Cant Get Online

Hello all, or someone who can help!

I purchased an Ibook G3 something like 600mgz, 256ram x2, 20gig h/d.... off of eBay and it arrived w/o the wireless card.

I don't know how to get online with it and it's been sitting for 3 weeks now unused.

I tried to connect through my dsl router that my pc was hooked up to (i'm new to apple/mac) and when i click internet explorer on it it says that the server page cannot be found...

I wanted this thing for its wireless capability but then when i found out it had no wireless card i noticed that were the previous airport card had been has been mangled with a butterknife or something...

So i went on eBay to purchase one of those usb wifi sticks but they're only compatible with os x 10.3 and above but mine is only 10.2 HOW DO I UPDATE TO 10.3????

HOW CAN I GET ONLINE??? CAN I USE ONE OF THOSE AOL INSTALL CD's from a phoneline (slow as hell i know) just to register with aol so that i can download updates from apple? DOES it cost money to get the updates from apple?

Can anyone walk me through this mess? by telephone? (Telephone Number Deleted from Post) PLEASE. Nobody i know knows how to use the iBook. only pc's.


~*Mod edit - Under no circumstances should you ever post your phone number, or other personal information in an forum - or on the web. *~ rigel

This post has been edited by rigel: 25 April 2007 - 06:20 PM

It should have an ethernet port that you can connect to the dsl router. I don't know if OS X 10.2 has a Network Setup that you can run, it's in System Preferences > Network > Assist Me... > Assistant, you might need an Admin Name & Password.

There are wireless Airport cards being sold by 3rd party vendors like macsales.com, don't know if they still have some for sale though. Run a Google search for one.

To Upgrade to OS X 10.3 you need to get yourself some 10.3 Upgrade Disks, not Install Disks. But you can use 10.3 Install Disks and run an Erase & Install but they might have to be for the exact version of your iBook.

All Apple updates are free. Upgrades aren't.

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

[size=2] Hi there,
I'm using G3 I-Book for this reply just to show you there is Hope.
If you're connected by Direct Subscriber Link ( DSL) you should be able to connect to internet via a service provider, an ISP, such as the phone company which you are connected to OR one of the many "Resellers" that your phone company may affiliate with. AOL, EarthLink, MSN, and other big names also can act as providers to give you a 24/7 connection experience. Your phone company may offer the provider service at a certain monthly fee higher than would be offered by your phone company ( In my area, Qwest, offers monthly DSL service starting at around $28/mo. for basic ( 256kbps) DSL provider service. Resellers affiliated with Qwest, there are many, may charge about $10 to $15/ mo. to act as provider service to your I-Book. )

Using Mac OSX 10.2.x is not too bad. One thing I would suggest is that you explore browsers other than Internet Explorer for Mac. Firefox( v2.0x) for Mac is very good, Opera 9 is good, Camino( v1.04) is my favorite, I-Cab ( v 3.03) is very good and easy to set-up, and of course,the venerable browser Safari from Apple.

Update to OSX 10.3x from whatever version of 10.2.x you have will involve erasing 10.2.x and all the work/ programs you have saved. Just 'cause Internet Explorer gripes when you connect to your DSL provider doesn't mean you ought to quit trying. You might feel a whole lot better if you begin weaning yourself off Microsoft a step at a time. I ran Win 98SE for 8 years and thought it was alright. Then I met my G3 I-Book/ 30 gb HD/ 256mb Ram/ 800mhrz processor speed, and found out how different and how much simpler to use it would be.
Think of this : No more "Patch Tuesdays", no more unpredictable crashes that are for sure going to happen, no more almost daily security software updates ( do not let Macintosh arrogance keep you from installing some basic security software on your I-Book), no more "one way" firewalls like on XP and Vista. Mac OSX 10.2x has a strong, 2-way firewall found in System Preferences > Sharing and all you do is turn it on. Add a firewall extension, like "BrickHouse" ( shareware $25, BrianHillsoftware.com) and you're better off than Win XP.

Mac is very different than Windows. Macintosh is not right for everybody, neither is Windows or Linux, for that matter. But with a bit of effort and knowledge you might fall for Macintosh OS and your G3 I-Book.

[font=Trebuchet Ms][size=2]
Hey there, again, Ryan.
I wanted to expand on what I'd posted earlier today and wanted to acknowledge Buddyme's response on 4/30/'07. With no wireless card installed you might have to connect by ethernet ports. Ethernet cables (well under $20) can be found at office supply, computer or electronic supply retailers, either online or off and local. Since Mac OSX 10.1(Puma), ethernet cards have been standard pre-installed on most Apples. Check your hardware/software with System Profiler. Cusor up to the apple in upper left corner, drop menu to "About this Mac", open and open "More Info" button. you'll have hardware and software pages to check out. Ethernet card and version # would be under hardware.

Do Not connect your G3 I-Book to your DSL modem with USB cable. The G3 USB ports are USB 1.1 ( slow) and you're modem requires USB 2.0 (fast) connection.

Back to you're OS 10.2.x, the version of IE that is pre-installed may be Internet Explorer v 5.2, the latest and last Internet Explorer for Mac. That version MAY be trying to jerk you around or maybe not. IE 5.2 is O.K. but once you get connected to 'net other browsers MAY be better for you.

Also, check that your DSL modem is ported for the phone company you are connected to. One DSL modem that I'm familiar with is ported for either Qwest, or Verizon, or for AT&T only but rarely all three on one modem.

Until you can find the appropriate wireless card on eBay or other auction site ( or follow Buddyme's suggestion) you're connecting by wire. If there's a good Apple repair service center near you, you might want to talk with them about some of your Apple problems, all of which can be fixed for not a lot $$ .

With the pre-installed software on your Mac (OSX 10.2.x)you can do pretty well. "AppleWorks" is a very good basic office suite( update to v 6.9 when you are able), save documents in Word, spreadsheets in Excel, presentations, database software, drawing modules and more. "Text Edit" is a pretty good editor, "I-Photo" is a simple blast to use, find stuff on the 'net with "Sherlock", and "I-Tunes" is a lot of fun. Upgrade to 10.3 and you MIGHT quickly run out of space on your 20gb hd. OS 10.3 is much larger than 10.2.x and, as Buddyme suggested, the OS on an Apple will take up 10 to 20% of the HD space.

nuff, Much health and happiness to you and yours.