Way to check how many hours a G5 has been used?

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Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
OK Guys



I am about to buy a G5 Dual 1.8 machine from an Apple Authorized dealer. The dealer assures me that he has only used the machine to "update the OS to Panther".



Is there a way in Panther to check how many hours the computer has been used in its life so that I'm not paying full price for a machine thats been used for a couple hundred hours already?



Thanks for any help



Jon

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    The best thing I can suggest is to look into /var/log/system.log file to see the date of the first entry. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the modified dates of packages inside /Library/Receipts should match the dates of their installation.



    This won't tell you how many hours the machine has been on, but will let you guess when the OS software was installed.
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  • Reply 2 of 13
    cjoncjon Posts: 20member
    Thanks Costique



    The guy is bringing the G5 to my place in a couple hours, and I'll definitely check through those directories.



    Do you know off-hand whether the Activity Monitor might have any information about hours of use?



    Thanks again



    JOn
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  • Reply 3 of 13
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    When I got my PowerBook, the first thing I did is open the terminal and type 'last'



    That told me it was turned on/rebooted like 5 times before it got to me.
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  • Reply 4 of 13
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CJon

    Do you know off-hand whether the Activity Monitor might have any information about hours of use?



    There is uptime tool which shows the time passed since the latest restart, but you need something different, of course. I am not even sure Macs have any hardware that tracks hours of usage.



    Excuse me for a dumb question: do you really need the exact usage time? Macs have only two hardware components subject to wear, hard disks and optical drives. If you check the date when the machine was manufactured (it should be stamped somewhere on the back of the case, I can't tell where precisely), you can derive the absolute maximum time of usage. Modern HDs survive 2 to 3 years of extensive use, optical drives are often less reliable, but their prices are low enough. I think you can safely buy a used computer if its characteristics are good for you. Remember that G5 Macs have been manufactured since summer 2003, so you are guaranteed to buy a machine that is less than 7-8 months old. Just don't worry.
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  • Reply 5 of 13
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ast3r3x

    When I got my PowerBook, the first thing I did is open the terminal and type 'last'



    That told me it was turned on/rebooted like 5 times before it got to me.




    Yeah, and ac command tells you for how long anyone has been logged in, in total. Of course, all this information is lost when you format the hard drive.
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  • Reply 6 of 13
    cjoncjon Posts: 20member
    you're right costique...



    call me paranoid, but you just never know what some of those sneaky dealers've been up to when they open the boxes.... perving over the speed of the G5... running small countries on the side etc...



    jon
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  • Reply 7 of 13
    lainlain Posts: 140member
    I think u are being a little paranoid. But to make u feel better.



    1.) If it indeed was used for more than just upgrades... think of it like a burn in method, at least you know all works well.



    2.) The G5 u mention was only released in November last year I believe, so it cant have been used that much.



    All said and done though, I prefer virgins too.
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  • Reply 8 of 13
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Check how much dust is in it, if there is a lot they are liars, if not then your better off. Not as scientific but a way to tell if it was used A LOT or not.
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  • Reply 9 of 13
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    does anybody know the timeline of the dual 1.8 and panther?? seems like the dual 1.8 should have had panther loaded as a default from apple as this is the latest PM released....





    g
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  • Reply 10 of 13
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by thegelding

    does anybody know the timeline of the dual 1.8 and panther?? seems like the dual 1.8 should have had panther loaded as a default from apple as this is the latest PM released....





    g




    Excellent point.
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  • Reply 11 of 13
    kennethkenneth Posts: 832member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by costique

    Yeah, and ac command tells you for how long anyone has been logged in, in total. Of course, all this information is lost when you format the hard drive.



    ac command:

    on my iBook.. total 0.00

    on my FW800 G4... total 476.77



    meaning??
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  • Reply 12 of 13
    Type "last" in terminal, really great, it will give you all the info how many times it was booted up or restarted.. my log dates back to October 8th.. the time I got my G5.
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  • Reply 13 of 13
    wmfwmf Posts: 1,164member
    A modern computer will either last less than a week or more than 5 years, so a few hundred hours won't make any difference. A dual 1.8 is "new" even if it's been on continuously since it was announced.
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