Author Topic: Can I re-purpose my iMac...???  (Read 5454 times)

Offline StereoNut

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Can I re-purpose my iMac...???
« on: January 26, 2014, 09:02:42 AM »
I have a older iMac that has been great, but is really outdated at this point. (See screen-grabs below for more info.)  The display is wonderful, but the generation Mac that it is can only upgrade the OS software one more level, but Apple tells me that it would slow the machine down even further!

A lot of programs and software now are requiring a newer OS to run, so the machine is getting me frustrated.  Can I buy a new Mac mini or laptop that has the latest OS as a CPU to run from and piggyback the iMac to either one of them to use as a monitor and extra storage WITHOUT using the old, outdated OS on it?  Even better (I think?) would be if I could disable the old OS on the iMac.

As an added attraction (if what I'm asking about here is "do-able"...???) I'd eventually like to be able to "shuttle" whatever new computer I choose back 'n forth from the iMac to my stereo system as a computer front end!

All suggestions would be appreciated.  Oh, one more thing... It's OK, you can tell me I'm crazy!  ;)  

SN
« Last Edit: January 26, 2014, 09:11:15 AM by StereoNut »
"Friends, Romans & Countrymen; lend me your ears"

• Primaluna Dialogue Tube Pre-Amp
• N.Y.A.L. Moscode 600 Amp
• Bolder/EE Minimax DAC
• Cambridge D-500SE CDP
• Von Schweikert 2012 Mod.VR-4 Gen.III speakers
• VPI Prime/Soundsmith MMP3/DV20x2H
• T.W.L


Offline richidoo

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Re: Can I re-purpose my iMac...???
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2014, 04:03:29 PM »
I'm no Mac expoert by any means, so take with a grain of salt...

Sounds like you want more processing speed without buying new versions of the installed software?

You can't disable the OS on the old iMac. Even the simplest task requires the operating system.

You can't run the old programs that are installed on the old computer on a new Mac across the network. The executable will load across the network but when it tries to open it will trip because it is looking for support files on the local HD where they are supposed to be, but they aren't on the new Mac's HD, they are on network drive, so the .exe will crash.

Any old programs installed on the old Mac which have all of their support files all in one single directory should run OK across the network on another machine, or you could copy the directory to the new PC. Few apps run this way though, they tend to scatter their shit all over the place, maybe deliberately to prevent old software from living longer than the machine it is originally installed on. Planned obsolescence?

Best re-purposing might be to use the old Mac as a file server for your network. The old machine and OS will be fast enough for that. My NAS is probably 1/4 the power of your old Mac and it works fine as file server. Look on the web for advice how to set up shared directories on a Mac if you don't already know.

Offline StereoNut

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Re: Can I re-purpose my iMac...???
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2014, 07:31:15 PM »
See comments in blue

I'm no Mac expoert by any means, so take with a grain of salt...

Sounds like you want more processing speed without buying new versions of the installed software? Not really. It's just that the machine is so old now that there is only one more version higher OS that will run on it and the programming is so large it will actually slow the machine down!  Worse yet, is that almost every other program out there "doesn't play nice" with this old Mac OS.

You can't disable the OS on the old iMac. Even the simplest task requires the operating system.  OK, thanks!  Wasn't sure.

You can't run the old programs that are installed on the old computer on a new Mac across the network. The executable will load across the network but when it tries to open it will trip because it is looking for support files on the local HD where they are supposed to be, but they aren't on the new Mac's HD, they are on network drive, so the .exe will crash.Really not looking to do that.  See next comment below for further explanation.    

Any old programs installed on the old Mac which have all of their support files all in one single directory should run OK across the network on another machine, or you could copy the directory to the new PC. Few apps run this way though, they tend to scatter their shit all over the place, maybe deliberately to prevent old software from living longer than the machine it is originally installed on. Planned obsolescence? I'd run all of the newest software on whatever new Mac I bought. I just want to use the good 'ol iMac for a monitor and extra HD disk space.

Best re-purposing might be to use the old Mac as a file server for your network. The old machine and OS will be fast enough for that. My NAS is probably 1/4 the power of your old Mac and it works fine as file server. Look on the web for advice how to set up shared directories on a Mac if you don't already know. This sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, Rich.  Thanks, Perfesser!
« Last Edit: February 04, 2014, 07:33:16 PM by StereoNut »
"Friends, Romans & Countrymen; lend me your ears"

• Primaluna Dialogue Tube Pre-Amp
• N.Y.A.L. Moscode 600 Amp
• Bolder/EE Minimax DAC
• Cambridge D-500SE CDP
• Von Schweikert 2012 Mod.VR-4 Gen.III speakers
• VPI Prime/Soundsmith MMP3/DV20x2H
• T.W.L

Offline richidoo

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