History
Apple revamped the iMac in late 1999. Both the internal and external components
changed greatly. It became a very popular range of machines which sold in the millions.
Internally they went for a whole new logic board with FireWire and
Airport sockets on all except the earliest revisions. The motherboard changed to a 100MHz board which accepted the
cheaper and larger SDRAM DIMM memory, instead of SODIMMs as used on the tray-loading iMac.
The CD-ROM was replaced with a slot loading version (which became a DVD-ROM and
CD-RW on later models).
Later machines were announced with speed bumped processors, more VRAM
and some interesting choices of colours.
It was the iMacs distinctive colouration that set it
apart from the rest, and is still being imitated today. However some of the
outrageous colours, including "Blue Dalmatian" and "Flower Power", did not
go down as well as others!
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How to Identify these Machines
The iMac G3 Slot Loader is distinctive in its appearance. There were three types
made, all with different processors, RAM and colouration.
The G3 iMac series can be distinguished by their optical drives. These G3 iMacs
have a slot loading optical drive. The earlier machines have a tray loading CD
optical drive.
The vast majority of the slot-loading iMacs had a FireWire port. However the first model, the 350MHz version, does not have FireWire.
Although this page covers a number of versions, all the upgrades
available are the same.
If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412, or by email, for
confirmation. If you want to upgrade but aren't happy to install your upgrades
then we can help. Simply ask our engineers for further details.
Memory Upgrades
The iMac G3 slot loader has 2 memory socket available for upgrade. It can accept up to 1GB of RAM in 2 x 512MB chips.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
Turn off the machine and remove the power cable.
Turn your iMac so that the Display is facing the surface
(a soft cloth can reduce scratching).
On the underside of the machine there is a small circle in the same colour as the
rest of the iMac. This (with a coin) can be turned to the unlocked position to reveal the RAM sockets. These SDRAM chips
will only fit in one way round and are secured, with clips, on the end of each RAM modules.
Apple's fitting guide is here.
CD & DVD Drive Upgrades
The iMac G3 Slot Loaders came equipped with either a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or CD-RW optical drive on the front of the machine. At present we don't stock internal
CD or DVD writers for this machine, but it is possible to use an external device via USB or
FireWire (FireWire is better if your iMac has it).
There are no optical drive upgrades available for these Macs
Difficulty 1/5 - Very Easy
Install any supplied software.
Restart machine and connect the new device.
Internal Hard Drive Upgrades
This range of drives will work in your iMac G3 Slot loader, although user installation is difficult
(see below). Please note that internal hard drives larger than 120GB will not work in this machine.
If you don't want to fit a new hard drive yourself, you can take advantage of the MacUpgrades Installation Service. Add the installation service from the list below to your cart along with your chosen hard drive. We can also clone your existing hard drive onto the new one, simply add the Clone Original Hard Drive service below to your cart.
Once you have booked the service, send your machine to us, we will carry out the work and return it to you. Alternatively, we do offer a Collection Service with our courier, please see here for details.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 4 / 5 - Reasonably tricky.
WARNING: The iMac has a CRT tube which can store a build-up of electrostatic charge. These instructions assume you know and understand this danger.
Turn off the machine and remove the Power cable.
Turn your iMac so that the display is face down
(a soft cloth can reduce scratching).
The bottom case is secured with two screws which are located near the feet of the stand.
Remove these two screws.
The next screws are hidden beneath the VGA port cover. To the rear of the machine there is a cover
dotted with holes. With a flat blade screwdriver this can be gently pried out. This reveals 4 screws. Remove the outer set of screws.
With a gentle tug you can then remove the bottom case of the iMac.
This reveals a metal grill which covers the whole machine.
This grill is held in place with 6 screws dotted around the base of the metal grill. WARNING: these screws have a habit of falling into the
case when being screwed in or out - if this happens you must remove them before restarting, or you risk damage to your iMac. Once the screws are out the grill can
be gently lifted out.
The next job is to remove the RAM which is housed in the long black sockets secured with clips at either end.
The hard drive is connected with 2 cables, one coloured and one of a ribbon type. Remove these cables.
The drive is held in place
with 4 screws (flat Phillips head) gently remove these and the drive will release. Replace drive and reassemble machine.
Start
from CD (hold down 'C' key on startup) and initialise the drive.
If you are unsure we can install the drive for you. Please contact our team for details.
Graphics Card Upgrades
The graphics card in your iMac G3 Slot Loader is part of the main logic board. Unfortunately therefore it is
not possible to increase or change the graphics card. It may be worth expanding your memory to its maximum
to try and compensate, although this will have a limited effect at best on your iMac's 3D capabilities.
There are no graphics card upgrades available for these Macs
Expansion Card Upgrades
Your iMac G3 Slot Loader has no available PCMCIA or PCI sockets for connectivity expansion.
There are no expansion cards available for these Macs
Keyboards & Mice
The following keyboards and mice are compatible with this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy
Keyboards plug into the relevant port on your Mac. Mice can either be plugged into your keyboard, or they can be plugged directly into your Mac.
Power Supplies & Batteries
Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Cables & Tools
Listed below are power cables, tools and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
External Hard Drive Upgrades
Versions of this Mac which have FireWire can use any of the following external hard drives. If you don't have FireWire then unfortunately your only
option is to use normal USB - this is a very slow connection for data storage, and is not generally recommended.
| 1 | Not compatible with the 350MHz model. |
| 2 | Requires 9.2 or later or 10.1.5 or later. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy
Install any supplied software and connect the new device.
You will need to format the drive before use. This is done with the "Drive Setup" utility, which can be found in Applications > Utilities.
