How do I uninstall MacOS X applications?

Fortunately this is very easy in MacOS X, and in all versions. All you have to do is drag the application's icon or folder it resides in, to the trash and empty it (click and hold, then select Empty Trash). However it's auxillary files, such as preferences and applicaion support temperary files will have to be deleted manually, unless the program has an uninstall feature, which can sometimes be hidden in the installer app. To access this hidden uninstaller, press and hold the Alt key when launching the installer. If you're unsure, read the manual and see if it tells you how to uninstall the program.

What do I need to install OS X?

1) Upgrade your RAM and possibly hard disk - OS X gobbles up loads of disk space when installed, and uses lots of RAM when in use. You better have 256mb of RAM or more, in order to use OS X for modest uses, better yet install 1gig+ of RAM for workstation/game usage.
2) Upgrade your graphics card to the fastest one you can afford, ATI or Nvidia are the standard Mac graphics card manufacturers today.
3) If you have a small(ish) hard drive, you will need to upgrade that as well. MacOS X can take up to 3gig of disk space when a full install is done. You need at least 6gig hard disk or bigger if you wish to use MacOS X seriously.
4) A faster processor may also be required, but only if it’s the slowest G3 CPU that you have in your Mac. Only slot an accelerator card in after installing OS X.

The installer tries to install two thirds of the OS but fails, why, and how can I get it to install properly?

Usually this is caused by a few things:
1) The user failed to install the firmware update before he/she attempted to install MacOS X. Go to this web page to find the latest version for your Mac: docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
2) The disk on which you’re installing OS X onto has disk corruption or directory damage on it. Repair the disk or partition with the install CD’s own repair feature called Disk Utility, which is accessed via the menu on the installation screen.
3) The disk or partition which you have set aside for MacOS X is not big enough, or it is beyond the 8gig limit for G3s. You need at least 2 to 3 gigabytes of free disk space, in order to install X.
4) This one might catch some people out... MacOS X officially, will only work on G3 and G4 Macintoshs, while 10.1x requires at least a G3, however, if you want to run 10.1 on a fast 604e processor, you need a program that fools the installer. That program is called XPostFacto, and can be downloaded at: eshop.macsales.com/OSXCenter/XPostFacto/
5) The final thing that can cause problems is third party USB/Firewire devices, SCSI cards and even added RAM cards. You may need to take out or unplug all external devices, except keyboard and mouse, and perhaps a few RAM cards if installation is still a no go. Once you have successfully installed OS X, then you can plug in all the devices and RAM, without any ill effects. Note that some of your peripherals may need drivers for them, eg. scanners and USB printers, etc.

Why does the installer not allow me to install X on a particular partition/disk - it shows a ghosted disk icon on the disk selection screen?

The most likely reason is that you haven’t reformatted the partition (use HFS Extended) or disk, with Disk Utility or the installer’s Format and Install option. Or, you haven’t allocated enough disk space for the installation to be successful (note that some G3’s have a 8gig limit).

Some not so obvious reasons, is that you haven’t done a firmware update for your Macintosh. This is especially the case when you purchased your Mac before the version of OS X you want to install come out. Go to the System Preferences window (in the Apple menu), and see if a firmware update is listed in the Software Update pane, then install it.

Your Mac may not support that particular version of MacOS X, which could be the case for future versions of X after 10.3.

If I want to downgrade my current version of MacOS X to an earlier version, how should I do it?

There is only one way to do it. Do a fresh install of your base version of MacOS X from the System installation CD, and then apply the necessary updates again to the version that you need. This will involve reformatting the disk or partition.

Do not under any circumstances apply a lesser version to a later installed version of MacOS X, as this will not be allowed by the installation program, and it will cause constant system wide crashes, if you attempt to use such a system.

Which disk format should I use for OS X; UFS or HFS+?

Ideally, you should use HFS Extended, as this supports file header information such as the Data and Resource forks that are used in MacOS 9 and below. Only use UFS when all of the software you’re using is completely native, and therefore will hardly ever write files with file header info. Carbonised software is still mostly Classic MacOS code, and therefore it still needs the MacOS 9 file system.

Why is the OS X installer CD rebooting back into the installer again?

This may puzzle some people (including me) if you’re used to the retail version of 10.2. It’s OK, the installer is applying an update to the vanilla version of OS X that it just installed. It seems to happen with the 10.2.3 install/restore CD, and probably with other versions as well. Just let it do it’s thing, until the Mac reboots from the hard disk, where an auto setup screen will appear.