Data Transfer & Creatures since Friday -

I bought a new (used) MAC on Thursday. I’ve been putting it off for quite a while. My old system is a G4 circa 2001. That is a dinosaur in technological terms. I hate upgrading my system. I hate upgrading software, but most of all I really don’t want to deal with the hassle of making the new system function as closely as possible to the old system.

The guy in the store said this would be no problem. Since both old G4 and new iMAC are both running OSX (different versions) all I had to do was transfer my data files at initial start-up the iMAC. Easy peasy. All I’d need was a Firewire cable. So I purchased the Firewire cable and came home with my new iMAC in a box all ready for a smooth transition. Yeah right.

Seems the version of G4 I own won’t play nice when being booted in Firewire mode. So I spent an few hours doing internet searches trying to find the fix. No luck. First thing after business began on Friday, I called up the store and told them the issue and asked them how to work around it. They never heard of such a thing and told me I could either a. bring both systems in and they would do it for a fee or b. forget about it and start fresh. Very helpful. NOT!

So I made a profile and got the iMAC booted up. Seems that in Firewire mode the only drive on the G4 that will register is NOT the start up drive, but the one I have been using as a scratch disk and it is EMPTY. I cannot access the data on the start-up drive in Firewire mode, so that was not going to work. Next option. Reinstall all software and transfer the preferences via file sharing.

Needless to say, this is a time consuming and not at all straightforward process. So it’s taking me days to accomplish. I am pretty sure if I had a higher tolerance for frustration, I’d be done sooner, but I can only take so much aggravation at a time before I have to go do something else. Like scrubbing the bathtub or filing the mounds of paperwork I can never seem to stay ahead of!

One of the peripherals that will not funtion with the iMAC is my trusty scanner. Microtek just hasn’t seen a need to add drivers since OSX v 10.4.x new system is running on 10.5.8. Scanner don’t want to play nice with iMAC. *sigh*

I have managed a work-around by installing the scanner drivers onto my trusty little Notepad. It’s a PC so getting the scans from it onto the MAC will be a hassle. But until I can save up for a replacement scanner, it will have to do. There are other more pressing projects requiring money than a new scanner. Especially since the old one works just fine. Shame on you Microtek.

Of course, this snag meant the scans of the creature for the day has been somewhat delayed. So without further ado here are the creatures from Friday thru today.