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Q
& A:
Power
Mac G4 Q & A:
Software Compatibility
What version of the MacOS is
pre-installed?
The Power Macintosh G4 series was originally shipped with MacOS 8.6, 9.0.4, or 9.1 pre-installed. The original "Quicksilver" series shipped pre-installed with MacOS 9.2 and MacOS X, and the "Quicksilver" models announced on January 28, 2002 and discontinued on August 13, 2002 shipped with MacOS 9.2.2 and MacOS X v10.1 pre-installed and MacOS X selected as the default operating system. The first "Mirrored Drive Doors" Power Macintosh G4 series, announced on August 13, 2002 and discontinued on January 28, 2003, shipped with MacOS 9.2.2 and MacOS X v10.2 pre-installed and like the previous series had MacOS X selected as the default operating system. The second, and final, "Mirrored Drive Doors" Power Macintosh G4 series, introduced on January 28, 2003 and discontinued on June 23, 2003, shipped with MacOS X v.10.2.3 pre-installed, and is not compatible with any version of MacOS 9.
All Power Macintosh G4 models are compatible with the current version of MacOS X, regardless of the version that was pre-installed.
Does the Power Macintosh G4 run MacOS X?
Yes. MacOS X will run on all Power Macintosh G4 models with at least 128 MB of RAM and 1.5 GB of free hard drive space. All systems shipped after January 28, 2002 are pre-installed with adequate RAM and have MacOS X selected as the default operating system, however, the RAM in some earlier models will need to be upgraded before MacOS X can be installed. The second, and final, "Mirrored Drive Doors" Power Macintosh G4 series, introduced on January 28, 2003 and discontinued on June 23, 2003, shipped with MacOS X v.10.2.3 pre-installed, and is not compatible with any earlier versions of the MacOS.
To see if your Power Macintosh G4 shipped standard with 128 MB of RAM, see the respective specifications page for the particular model of interest.
Can the Power Macintosh G4 run Linux?
Power Macintosh G4 models using both PCI-based and AGP-based boards can run the most recent version of YellowDog Linux and the PowerPC-compatible distributions from SuSE and Mandrake. For installation instructions and ordering information refer to the companies respective websites.
To determine whether your Power Macintosh G4 is PCI-based or AGP-based please refer to the specifications for the particular model of interest, and to the Technical & Performance Q & A section of this Q & A.
Can the Power Macintosh G4 run Windows 98? Windows NT (2000)? Windows Me? Windows XP?
As shipped, all models in the Power Macintosh G4 series can run MacOS 9.x (except the second, and final, "Mirrorred Drive Doors" series) or MacOS X (with at least 128 MB of RAM). However, Power Macintosh G4 models can run versions of Windows through an inexpensive emulator program such as Connectix Virtual PC (now owned by Microsoft) or by adding a more expensive, but better performing, OrangeMicro PC-compatibility card (now discontinued).
The performance using an emulator program should be around the level of a lower-end PC, and the performance using a PC-compatibility card is equal to or better than many PCs but may cost less than buying an actual PC.
For additional information on Macintosh and Windows compatibility, be sure to check out MacWindows.com.
Can the Power Macintosh G4 run software not optimized for the Velocity Engine?
Absolutely. Any software that runs on the Power Macintosh G3 will also run without problems on the Power Macintosh G4. However, software that is not optimized for the Velocity Engine will need to be rewritten in order to take advantage of the performance boost.
Will software that requires a ADB-based "dongle" work with the Power Macintosh G4 series?
Because the Power Macintosh G4 lacks ADB ports, ADB-based dongles will not work with the Power Macintosh G4. However, it may be possible to use an ADB-to-USB adapter to connect a ADB-based dongle to one of the USB ports on the Power Macintosh G4. Fortunately, this is no longer a major issue as essentially all companies that sell software which requires a dongle have now provided a USB-based dongle for several years.
[Note: a "dongle" is a small cable that ships with some high-end, expensive software packages such as QuarkXPress and AutoCad. Upon starting the software, the computer searches for the dongle and makes sure that it is plugged into the applicable port on the back of the computer. If it is not found, then the software will not operate. Since hardware is considerably more difficult to copy and distribute than software, the dongle provides a fairly high-level of copy protection, discouraging casual software piracy.]
Is the Power Macintosh G4 series Y2K-compliant?
[02.21.2000 Update: Now that "Y2K" has come and gone with little impact, this answer is no longer relevant. Nevertheless, the original answer remains below for "historical" reference.]
Of course. The Power Macintosh G4 series and all other Macs are fully compatible with the year 2000 and far beyond. The original Macintosh (128k) and Macintosh 512k are compatible until 2040, and all other Macs are compatible until an astonishing 29,940. Check out Apple's MacOS and the Year 2000 page (now offline) for additional information and testing that you can perform to ensure that all of your software is Y2K-compliant as well. To make sure that all of your software is up-to-date, check out VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
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