newbie: how to make a Performa 6300CD works?

Hi,

I'm used to PCs but I'm ignorant about Macintosh. I've just inherited
a Performa 6300CD, but when I turn it on I get the
flashing-question-mark-on-a-disk icon.

Well, I can guess this means it's asking for a boot floppy, but I
didn't receive any CD or floppy with it. How can I get/download/copy a
system for my Mac? Which version of the OS is better (in case I have a
coice...)?

Also, I thought about installing Linux if I can't get the MacOS, but
I've read in previous discussions in these groups that no Linux
support the 6300: is this still the case or there is any new Linux
that can run on a PPC 6300?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Paula

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 11:09:26 -0700, Paula wrote
(in message <7f1e3c62.0404161009.7cb685ef.DeleteThis@posting.google.com>):

 > Hi,
 >
 > I'm used to PCs but I'm ignorant about Macintosh. I've just inherited
 > a Performa 6300CD, but when I turn it on I get the
 > flashing-question-mark-on-a-disk icon.
 >
 > Well, I can guess this means it's asking for a boot floppy, but I
 > didn't receive any CD or floppy with it. How can I get/download/copy a
 > system for my Mac? Which version of the OS is better (in case I have a
 > coice...)?
 >
 > Also, I thought about installing Linux if I can't get the MacOS, but
 > I've read in previous discussions in these groups that no Linux
 > support the 6300: is this still the case or there is any new Linux
 > that can run on a PPC 6300?
 >
 > Thanks in advance for any help.
 > Paula

This performa will run with any Mac OS from 7.5.1 up to 8.0. The flashing
question mark means that the machine can't find a good OS to boot from. I
would look for a used set of OS disks. These came in two flavors. The OE sets
that came with the machine when new, and off the shelf versions. In older
machines I don't think it was as critical, but in the G3 and up machines, you
have to get the exact match if you are buying the OE style disk. IOW, disks
for an iBook will not work on a desktop, and vise versa. On the older
machines such as yours I don't think that this is as big an issue. With the
off the shelf version, it will work on any machine that will run that OS
version.

I believe that it is possible to download old versions of the OS from apple's
website, but you would need some way to create a bootable disk, which you
don't have. So I would look for a used set on eBay. Just make sure you get a
version between OS 7.5.1 and 8.0. And look for retail versions. There are
"homemade" versions being sold, but I would not consider these to be very
reliable.

The system disks have a program called Disk Utility which might be able to
fix your current OS, and save you from having to wipe the HD.

Steve<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->