[ROBO58]

Hi Folks,

I'm a PC user moving to a used PowerMac G5 1.8Ghz. The unit has Panther and I'd like to upgrade it to Tiger. This is all new to me so I'd love some assistance in several areas.

1). The PM has a few applications and games on it that I want to keep. I would like to reinstall Panther so I start with a clean slate (don't know what previous owner may have changed). If I reinstall Panther do I loose access to the existing applications and games since they were loaded and permissioned to an old user? If so what should I do?

2). I will use Panther for a while to get to know the O/S and to move my PC related stuff over. Then upgrade to Tiger. Can Tiger be installed without messing up my Panther related applications, email, and other settings?

3). As an experiment I connected to my PC via an ethernet connection and attempted to copy an application to the PC. The connection was fine and I could see files on both sides from both machines. I did a Copy on the PM side and then via the network folder I tried to do a Paste. It attempted to work but came back saying I didn't have the permission or rights for the transfer to the PC folder. I'm lost as to why it wouldn't work. Any thoughts?

4). This PM has a product called Virtual PC that starts up at boot time. It looks like one can run Win2K or WinXP. On the PC there is a StartUp folder with these kinds of applications. How does Virtual PC start on the PM and how can I stop it? Is Virtual PC included in the O/S or is it an aftermarket application. Can it easily be moved if I reinstall Panther?

Thanks in advance Robo

[Brass]

1. I you re-install or update the OS, you'll keep all the applications. You won't lose anything. UNLESS you do a clean install that includes re-formating your hard disk (which is an option in the OS installer).

2. Yes, You can upgrade Panther to Tiger. This will automatically upgrade some of the bundles applications (eg, Mail). It won't mess up any of the other applications unless you have some of the (exceedingly rare) applications that just don't work with Tiger.

3. Dunno.

4. Virtaul PC is a 3rd party application developed by Connectix, and eventually bought out by Microsoft. It is a PC emulator. My guess is that it's actually starting up at loging time not at boot time. You can control what applications start up at login using the "System Preferences" application (there is a command to start this application in the Apple MENU). In System Prefs, click the "Accounts" preferences icon, then select the "Login Items" tab for your account.

[Brass]

3. Try doing a drag and drop rather than a copy and paste. Don't know if it would make any difference. Otherwise, check the PC's sharing preferences for that share, and make sure that it is actually writeable by whatever user you are connecting as.

[Millennium]

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is not to erase or format the hard drive. It sounds like you want to keep the apps installed on your machine, and you'll lose them if you format the hard drive. Of course, if the person you bought the machine from provided the CDs -and they should have provide them, since they left the apps installed- then you can always reinstall them later, but I don't know if they gave you the discs or not. Legally, they should have either given you the discs or uninstalled the apps.

Originally Posted by ROBO58

1). The PM has a few applications and games on it that I want to keep. I would like to reinstall Panther so I start with a clean slate (don't know what previous owner may have changed). If I reinstall Panther do I loose access to the existing applications and games since they were loaded and permissioned to an old user? If so what should I do?

This depends on the app and on how you install Tiger. If you do a plain upgrade (no archive/install or erase/install), then you should be fine for most apps. Although some of the less ethical means of "piracy control" have started to creep into OSX applications, they are not popular among OSX developers yet, and even among those who engage in such practices, few do it in ways that would break on something like an OSX upgrade. Be sure to let us know if you have problems.

2). I will use Panther for a while to get to know the O/S and to move my PC related stuff over. Then upgrade to Tiger. Can Tiger be installed without messing up my Panther related applications, email, and other settings?

Yes. The key is to do either a plain upgrade or an archive/install (in this case, be sure to tell the installer to keep your settings). In general, you should not do an erase/install unless there is no other way to get the OS to work.

3). As an experiment I connected to my PC via an ethernet connection and attempted to copy an application to the PC. The connection was fine and I could see files on both sides from both machines. I did a Copy on the PM side and then via the network folder I tried to do a Paste. It attempted to work but came back saying I didn't have the permission or rights for the transfer to the PC folder. I'm lost as to why it wouldn't work. Any thoughts?

Something would have to be strangely configured on the PC side. How did you log into the PC? Did you do it as a guest? If so, did you set up the folder on the PC to allow guests to write to the folder?
[quote]4). This PM has a product called Virtual PC that starts up at boot time. It looks like one can run Win2K or WinXP. On the PC there is a StartUp folder with these kinds of applications. How does Virtual PC start on the PM and how can I stop it? Is Virtual PC included in the O/S or is it an aftermarket application. Can it easily be moved if I reinstall Panther?
Virtual PC is an aftermarket application. You can actually run all the way back to MS-DOS 6.0 on it if you want, or even Linux or NeXTStep.

Most likely, the app is not actually starting when you boot, but when you log in. If this is the case, you can stop it by doing the following:

• Choose "System Preferences" from the Apple menu.
• Choose "Accounts".
• Choose your user from the list on the left (if there is only one user in the list, choose that one) and then cloose "Login Items".
• If Virtual PC is in the list, click it and hit the "-" button.

This will not remove Virtual PC from your computer, but it will prevent it from starting up when you log in.

[ROBO58]

On question #3 -- I logged into the PC as the Administrator via the PowerMac. I figured I'd be good to go from the PC side. I thought I'd use the PC to hold the applications while I redid the Panther install. I was hedging my bets as to whether I could do a reformat and reload and still use the applications that were on the PM.

The above feedback says DON'T so I won't.