# Okay, I just bought an old iMac. Now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329 "2001-11-20T02:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marcus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Marcus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329/21 "2001-11-21T10:32:12Z")
No hard feelings, and thanks for the welcome **AudreyK**! ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329/22 "2001-11-21T16:08:20Z")
One of the neat things about cyberspace is that there’s not just one way to get there, you’ve got some options as to what kind of hardware and software you use. There’s something that suits most everyone, for whatever reasons they find meaningful. If a threads asks for advice or factual information about a computer or its attendant software, your opinion about the fitness of it is not at issue here. So if you don’t have something useful to add to the discussion, don’t post. Once again, let’s note that this forum is “General Questions.” Opinionating goes in other places. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329/23 "2001-11-21T16:21:01Z")
You could get OS8 from [ebay.com](http://ebay.com) Im not sure which one works best with your iMac. You usually get a folder of cds with your computer. I have OS8 opened but unused if you need it let me know. ---
**Author:** ![Etaoin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Etaoin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etaoin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329/24 "2001-11-21T16:28:26Z")
Ms. Oldmaid, There are many Macintosh message boards, among them [Macfixit.com](http://Macfixit.com) and [Macnn.com](http://Macnn.com). There are hundreds of threads under various subjects at each and many referrals to other message boards. You are sure to find help getting your computer humming. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mentor_and_Liar)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329/25 "2001-11-29T06:59:09Z")
Sorry this took so long, and sorry you had to witness the platform bigotry. You have a sweet machine there and an excellent bargain (I have a standing bounty of $300 for any Imac–I don’t even care if the CRT or the power supplies are working and still, they rarely come in). You can call Apple’s SRF Direct at 888 273 3594 they should be able to supply the original disks (system 8.something) for a nominal fee. You may want to upgrade to system 9.x I saw it offered at Mac Solutions in full retail dress for $59. It might even be cheaper elsewhere. You still have a lot of life left in that unreal box, Sonnet Tech is set to market "HARMONi " a processor upgrade for your machine with an additional firewire port in mid December at MSRP $299.99. That will more than double your processor speed (and probably accelerate your reads and writes) drop in some extra ram as long as the case is open, and your ready for OS-X, with a firewire port for camcorders or CD burners. What else would you possibly need? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-i-just-bought-an-old-imac-now-what/94329.md?page=1)