[judd]

This might sound silly but I will ask in any case.

If I were to buy a new PM OSX only bootable, could I then buy an extra HD, load or copy OS9 on it and then use that as my primary disk when I want OS9?

Or are there physical incompatabilities (ie MoBo) with OS9? .. and if that is the case what is the difference in terms of components between the new PM OS9 bootable and the new PM OSX only bootable

Thanks in advance

[Phanguye]

you cant

[reader50]

Apple did not bother to write hardware drivers for the new features (FireWire 800, etc). The hardware doesn't look that different otherwise.

Of greater concern, they stripped OS9 boot support out of the firmware. You might be able to fix this by hacking a firmware flasher to install a full firmware version from the MDD PowerMacs, though this might disable the new hardware features.

Someone needs to write a custom bootloader, and hack a few system files. That would allow 9 to boot on the new hardware. Since Apple does not make the source code available for the boot code, or release detailed MB specifications, this won't be easy.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

You cannot and nobody is going to hack the ROM.

If you want a new computer that can boot into OS9 you are going to have to be stuck with the ever so slow dual 1.25 GHz computer. Oh and OS9 won't even use the second processor most of the time.

[judd]

So basically there is no way around it.

If I were to get a new PM, does quark xpress and freehand and MS office work well in classic mode. I do not need blistering speed just stability.

Thanks for your answers

[tikki]

Originally posted by reader50:
Someone needs to write a custom bootloader, and hack a few system files. That would allow 9 to boot on the new hardware. Since Apple does not make the source code available for the boot code, or release detailed MB specifications, this won't be easy.

os9 is dead. It is time to accept it.

If I were to get a new PM, does quark xpress and freehand and MS office work well in classic mode. I do not need blistering speed just stability.

Quark will run fine. Freehand 10 and office v.X work natively in OS X.

[BrunoBruin]

If you buy a new Mac before April 7 you can get the full Office suite for $199.

[reader50]

Originally posted by tikki:
os9 is dead. It is time to accept it.
...

The Mac lost the platform wars. We should all buy PCs and accept Microsoft.

No thanks, I'll make my own call on this. And filename extensions still suck. So here is what anyone can do: Download and save the most recent flasher for the MDD Macs. Open the package contents and extract the firmware file: PMG4FirmwareUpdate/Contents/Resources/Firmware

Wait for Apple to release a firmware update for the new Macs. Then open the package contents on the new flasher, and replace the new firmware file with the one from the MDD flasher. You may need to edit a few script settings elsewhere in the package contents to disable version checks. This should cause the flasher to place MDD firmware in the new models.

If it works, the new models will boot OS9, but may or may not have problems accessing the new features, even from OSX.

If it does not work, your new Mac may be toast, with unusable firmware.

Either way, forget about the warranty, it's gone. I'd suggest waiting for someone with a lot of dough to try this first. I don't have the cash to risk a new computer.

Telling someone they cannot do something, or should just give up, is rather like a challenge.

[CubieDubbie]

BrunoBruin,
best investment I ever made was getting Office X for $199.00. And it's much nicer than Office 2001, which I had to pay almost $450.00 for.

[Eug]

Originally posted by reader50:
The Mac lost the platform wars. We should all buy PCs and accept Microsoft.

No thanks, I'll make my own call on this. And filename extensions still suck. So here is what anyone can do: Download and save the most recent flasher for the MDD Macs. Open the package contents and extract the firmware file: PMG4FirmwareUpdate/Contents/Resources/Firmware

Wait for Apple to release a firmware update for the new Macs. Then open the package contents on the new flasher, and replace the new firmware file with the one from the MDD flasher. You may need to edit a few script settings elsewhere in the package contents to disable version checks. This should cause the flasher to place MDD firmware in the new models.

If it works, the new models will boot OS9, but may or may not have problems accessing the new features, even from OSX.

If it does not work, your new Mac may be toast, with unusable firmware.

Either way, forget about the warranty, it's gone. I'd suggest waiting for someone with a lot of dough to try this first. I don't have the cash to risk a new computer.

Telling someone they cannot do something, or should just give up, is rather like a challenge.

Filename extensions rule. I wish all Apple software supported it properly though, because they don't.

And instead of going to all the trouble of a firmware hack that might wreck your machine, why not just buy an OS 9 bootable dual 1.25?