The Second Hand Mac OS
Finding software for a vintage Mac is quite an undertaking. This starts with the operating system itself. Apple obviously doesn’t sell those outdated operating systems anymore. What you are left with are specialized dealers, craiglist or eBay. If you look at the prices at some good dealers like LowEndMac or Hardcoremac.com you’ll notice that we are talking serious money here. For popular PowerPC operating systems such as OS X Tiger or especially Leopard (the last OS X capable of running on PowerPC Macs) you are often looking at price tags above $200 or even $250. That in my personal opinion is just too much for an obsolete operating system, especially if you consider that unlike a PC, your old Mac initially came with an operating system that was included in its price.
If you are like me, you are left with eBay and Craiglist or their local equivalents in your country. That doesn’t mean you get your retail version of OS X or Mac OS there for cheap, but sometimes you can spot auctions or ads for far more reasonable prices like $50 or sometimes even less. You just have to spend a couple of weeks looking for a good find.
Purchase a refurbished used Mac computer. Shop a wide selection of Apple computers and Apple accessories at the lowest prices. Sell your used Mac computer mac of all trades. Purchase a refurbished used Mac computer. Shop a wide selection of Apple computers and Apple accessories at the lowest prices. Sell your used Mac computer mac of all trades. Apple Mac Mini with Keyboard and Monitor. This advert is located in and around Worcester Park, Surrey. Apple Mac Mini 'Core 2 Duo' 1.66 2Gb 60gb (Mid 2006) - includes power lead and keyboard. Monitor is a well built Dell. System running Snow.
You also have to pay attention to what you are looking for. In general Apple operating systems are being offered as retail version, but also on gray disks that initially came with a Mac. These gray installation disks however do work with only a very limited selection of Macs, usually the ones they came with and maybe, just maybe and occasionally, other Macs from the same period.
- Buying a second-hand Mac on a site like eBay is a riskier business. It can be fraught with problems, but this is particularly true with high-value products such as computers.
- Macs As New, An Apple Authorised secondhand Reseller, are specialised in selling and Servicing Used and Refurbished Macs, iPads, iPhones, iPods, watches.
I got myself OS X Leopard and Tiger (both retail) for $35 and $28 respectively, but it took close to 3 months to find them at these prices. I also snatched an old Mac OS 9 retail CD (unfortunately without the box) for mere $10 at a local store dealing in computer repairs and second hand hardware. Having both OS X Tiger and Mac OS 9 I felt I’m being covered in terms of my iMac G4. Wrong.
As it turned out, the Mac OS 9 (9.2.1) retail disk is basically too old for the iMac G4. It does boot, it even starts to launch Mac OS 9, but then the screen goes black and that’s it. Looks a lot like an issue with graphics drivers. What I would need is the original Mac OS 9 installation/restore disk that came with the iMac G4. Except I find it close to impossible to get one of those. Nobody seems to sell them and if they do, they are usually from a much never iMac G4.
If you think going to a forum and ask for help would be a good idea at this point, you are quite mistaken. I did spent some time looking into the problem and reading several related posts on various forums and what I usually found was: whenever someone came up with a problem like that rather than getting offered an image of a disk that would solve the problem he got told off followed by multiple posters telling in harsh words to not pirate software.
I am against software piracy even more than the next guy (I do make my living from creating software), but at least some common sense should be applied. Apple declared these operating systems obsolete, unsupported and doesn’t sell them anymore. At this point what I would expect is being able to download restoration disks for obsolete Macs in the support section. Unlike Windows, Mac OS and OS X are bound to Mac hardware and that’s where Apple makes its money.
What I am left with at this point with my Mac OS 9 installation is turning to torrents and hopefully find the disk I need there. Do I feel bad about? Not even a tiny bit, especially since I actually own a retail version of Mac OS 9.
This brings me to another issue. I would love to try OS X Panther, Cheetah or Jaguar on my iMac G4 just to see how they looked and felt. I do however consider paying upwards of $300 for those systems and especially for that purpose madness. Unlike OS X Tiger or Leopard, the older versions of OS X rarely show up in classifieds or on auctions. And the situation gets even worse when it comes to old software. Check eBay for very popular software like let’s say Office 2001. As I am writing this, eBay.co.uk has tons of books for Microsoft Office 2001, but the only software is an Office 2001 update CD. Finding software that is more rare than Office or games is an exercise in futility. I should know as I am trying for a couple of months now.
This is where abandonware comes in. While from a legal standpoint it’s a gray area at best, when one applies common sense to the issue it is the only viable approach available today.
I love abandonware and have been a big fan of sites offering old software and games to download. As a matter of fact, I was also professionally grateful for the service these sites provide whenever I needed to look at some of the software or games I did in the past. Even if I would find the original game somewhere in storage at the office I would still have to battle the stupid copy protection we shipped our games with. Considering I don’t have an optical drive in any of my notebooks for at least 5 years now, that would be a serious problem on its own.
The company I work at and that I am a majority owner of does not care about our old games or software. We don’t sell then, we don’t support them and many people in the team don’t even remember those products anymore. If there are sites that make those products available to fans, then we are glad about it. If there are gamers or users out there who can enjoy our old work, the better. Should we want to use one of those brands to release a sequel, we can just write those sites to take the old products down and from experience from another company I worked for I know they do it quite promptly. Everyone is happy.
Out of curiosity, over the past couple of years I asked a lot of friends in the gaming industry about their opinion on abandonware. To my surprise, most just didn’t give a damn about the subject. Some were fans of it like I am. Few didn’t like the idea, but couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it either. Very few were really glad those sites exists, because their company does not have the one or other game anymore. They never bothered to transfer their products to new storage medias and put them into their backups. These games would otherwise be lost forever.
With more and more companies taking their old games and developing remakes for mobile (iOS and Android), the situation in terms of abandonware might see a change in the future. Until this happens though, let’s just enjoy it.
Just google mac abandonware and you’ll find the major sites on the first result page.
If you have been using computers for a couple of decades or even longer, you are likely to re-discover software and games you used and played in the past. Chances are you payed for many of the ones you downloading today in your past. I know I do.
I slowly start to seriously regret junking my large game collection a decade ago when I moved from one country to another. I do believe games with their original disks and boxes will become proper collector items within the next decade. Maybe not as large as comics are today, but what comics were for the last generation, computer games are for the current one. On the other hand half of my games back then were already so old, the diskettes could not be read reliable anymore. I did keep the boxes in good condition though…
My favorite site for mac software is Macintosh Garden. When it comes to old games, I usually look at My Abandonware and play those oldies on my modern Macs using Boxer. It is basically a Mac port of DOSBox wrapped into a beautifully made user interface making setting those games up and running them incredibly simple.
Now, some very popular oldies cannot be found on abandonware sites anymore, because they again can be bought. You can find them on Steam occasionally, but there is one site you want to put into your bookmarks: gog.com. What those guys do is they license old games, remove copy protections making these games DRM free and modify them to run on recent computers. Then they sell them at bargain prices, usually only for a couple of bucks. Like Steam, they often have great special offers. They currently offer more than 600 games for PC, but their Mac games section is growing nicely, too.
Hipsters’ emblematic item, a MacBook is more accessible than one might think. A fresh Mac release or Apple’s main event can be a signal to start hunting for a second-hand purchase. This is when some previous models become more available.
You can read our previous post about the advantages of buying a MacBook instead of a Windows PC.
The key elements here are who to buy from and how to check properly. Take into account the following details:
What Should We Consider When Buying A Second Hand MacBook Pro?
“Value for money” – this should be your main goal when buying for a second hand MacBook. Sure, there are so many stores out there offering refurbished Apple MacBook. And some of them will even give you huge discounts. But, are you sure you are getting your money’s worth?
This Is My Used MacBook Pro – Photo Concept by: Jason Miraples, Corporate Photographer
1. The Seller
Reputed vendors, with their warranty for refurbished stuff, are a safer option than some Craigslist catch. Make sure you will be able to return the Mac if its performance quality disappoints you.
A temptingly low price is a 9/10 mark of a scam. Insist on a clear buying/selling chain up to the original dealer.
A trustworthy seller has no problems with questions on the origins of the device, reasons for selling it, and such.
Take reasonable safety measures when meeting a seller. Do not hesitate to leave in controversial cases. Your “gut feeling” may be your best adviser.
2. Pre-purchase diagnostics of Mac’s software and hardware
You should pack stuff like:
- an external USB/hard drive with preinstalled MacOS;
- a drive management tool;
- external mic and headphones;
- a CD and a DVD (in case of an old-school optical drive Mac).
The device in question should be supplied by original recovery DVDs. They are stuffed with the OS version and hardware test. Also, look here for some handy file recovery tools.
The examination starts with Mac’s body. Pay attention to details likeloose screw heads, warped case, deep dents, display lid closing unevenly. Mind the display hinges and overall adjustment of elements. Visual damage may serve you right for a discount.
Apple offers assistance in distinguishing the models:
The Second Hand Mac Os 11
3. Check The Authenticity Of The MacBook You’re Buying
For further specification of Mac’s age and authenticity, check itsserial number on the bottom. It should coincide with that in the software. This number helps track the necessary info. A not-so-old Mac might still enjoy Apple care or warranty. Check it at Apple’s Check Coverage’ website. The serial number also shows up through the “About This Mac” option when the device is on.
4. Booting Up MacBook For Testing
Before it gets on, we should boot it, right? What if it does not go allthe way to the OS X desktop pic? This is where your bootable external harddrive comes into action. Use preloaded OS X via the Option/Alt key.
5. Password Protected MacBook
The Second Hand Mac Os X
Time to get rid of the possible firmware password protection. A locked Mac is not an option, whatever seller’s arguments are.This may mean messing with a stolen device besides limitations in command.
Invoke the password by the Option/Alt key while restarting the system, right after the startup chime, and ask the seller to call the password off. Make sure he/she also disables the myMac feature and deactivates his/her iCloud account.
6. And Here’s More Steps
Macbook Second Hand
Next steps on your way to not-so-new MacBook include:
- The display condition check. A couple of “stuck pixels” is no big trouble, while a group of them put the display quality under doubt;
- Keyboard test (Keyboard Viewer and Text Edit app come in handy);
- Optical drive test (remember, you grabbed a pair of those disks?);
- Checking the audio, USB, and Firewire ports with your mic, headphones and external hard drive;
- Trackpad check (explore every corner and edge of glass multi-touch trackpads);
- iSight camera diagnostics (Photo Booth prog or Facetime application);
- System settings test (may take checking both graphics processors);
- Hard drive issues scanning (see S.M.A.R.T. status in Disk Utility; hold from purchasing the model with Failing status);
- Battery check (System Information>Power section + Apple battery cycle counts link+ running the model unplugged);
- RAM examination (decent performance requires at least 8GB);
- Running Bluetooth and WiFi.
7. Do An Extended Testing
The Second Hand Mac Os 7
As a final chord, conduct the Extended Testing option of the AppleHardware Test. Its meaning is to reveal the possible hidden hardware failures. Beforehand, remove external devices and plug the Mac to AC power.
Final Words – You’re Lucky!
Suppose after all these stages, you are a lucky Mac owner. Last but not least, take care of its total cleaning and factory reset. Reinstall the OS with an upgrade to the desired version of OS X or macOS.
You should also consider creating a backup of your MacBook OS into an external hard drive. It may come in handy someday.
And it might interest you also this topic we’ve written before on how you can access your Mac from an iPhone. You should be able to do things remotely even you’re far away from your machine.
Now it’s finally your Mac, your setup, your rules.