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absolut78 · Jan 27, 2005, 06:27 PM

Need some help/advice on OS9. One of my college courses requires me to use a program that only runs on OS9... the problem is that I only have OSX. When I try to download the program I am reminded that I need a classic folder to run the software.

If I go on Ebay and buy an old copy of OS9, will it solve my problem? Will I be able to run bot OS's on the same Powerbook Ti?

Joe

Millennium · Jan 27, 2005, 06:49 PM

Buying an old copy of OS9 will work, but only if your PowerBook can boot OS9 in the first place (since it can't install if it can't boot).

Your OSX discs should have a separate installer for Classic support somewhere on them. I recommend using this instead. For one thing, it saves the cost of buying some old OS9 discs on Ebay.

absolut78 · Jan 27, 2005, 06:57 PM

Okay, so would I be better off buying a set of OSX discs on ebay if they have the classic feature?

Joe

PurpleGiant · Jan 27, 2005, 07:24 PM

Your TiBook should have come with a copy of OS 9 preinstalled, did it not?

Big Mac · Jan 27, 2005, 07:32 PM

The Tis were still capable of booting OS 9, were they not? If so, then there should not be a problem with installing OS 9 with the retail CDs. Apple did not begin providing a separate Classic installer until it shipped machines that no longer booted OS 9. With all that said, the easiest way to get Classic is to copy a valid system folder from another drive.

tkmd · Jan 27, 2005, 08:00 PM

I dont get it- your program should run fine in OS X emulation of OS 9. If your PB is of the 867/ 1 GHZ generation then it should be boot into OS 9. So this problem is a non-issue.

absolut78 · Jan 27, 2005, 09:52 PM

I am using the 500Mhz Ti Book. I don't have the System CD for OSX... I guess that is the drawback of buying on Ebay.

As I am looking at my PB now, I see in the upper-right corner an OS9 icon... this is what happens when I click on it - says there is no OS9 System folder - might need to get from another system.

Joe

tkmd · Jan 27, 2005, 09:57 PM

Hmmm maybe the guy you bought it from deleted it. Perhaps if you re-install OS X it will replace the last OS 9 folder. but you dont have the OS X CD OK now I see your dilema. Could you borrow the OS X CD from someone?

absolut78 · Jan 27, 2005, 10:08 PM

I guess I need to buy a OSX CD off of Ebay and see is that works. Its this one program for my German class. If I do a reinstall I lose everything, right?

kman42 · Jan 27, 2005, 10:23 PM

Originally posted by absolut78:
I guess I need to buy a OSX CD off of Ebay and see is that works. Its this one program for my German class. If I do a reinstall I lose everything, right?

No. You can reinstall the system and save all of your user settings and files.

kman

absolut78 · Jan 27, 2005, 10:25 PM

Well everyones advice has been great! I will have to pick-up a copy of OSX.

Cheers

chris v · Jan 27, 2005, 10:27 PM

Originally posted by absolut78:
I guess I need to buy a OSX CD off of Ebay and see is that works. Its this one program for my German class. If I do a reinstall I lose everything, right?

You should be able to do this with an OS 9.2 install disk. It should boot a Ti 500 just fine. According to apple-history.com, a Ti 500 will boot OS 9.1, but you'll need to update that to 9.2.1 in order to get it to function as Classic under OS 10.3.

OS 10.3 retail did NOT ship with an OS 9 disk, so buying an OS X retail box wouldn't do you much good.

You can easily install 9.1 or 9.2 alongside your current OS 10 install without disturbing the current system or data. Just take care to not use any "erase" or "reformat" selections.

(and back up your data, anyway, just in case)

Uncle Skeleton · Jan 27, 2005, 10:42 PM

do NOT buy a copy of OS X for this. I don't know where these people got the idea that OS X will somehow install OS 9 too. It won't. The software restore discs that came with your computer will have OS 9 on them somewhere, with any luck, both an installer and a disk image with a valid OS 9 System Folder that you can copy straight over (faster and easier than running the installer). If you don't have these discs, and you don't have access to a lab computer at your school that you can copy the OS 9 System Folder from using Target disk mode, then you will want to buy an *OS 9* installation disc from ebay. NOT OS X.

Tsilou B. · Jan 28, 2005, 02:37 AM

Originally posted by chris v:
You should be able to do this with an OS 9.2 install disk. It should boot a Ti 500 just fine. According to apple-history.com, a Ti 500 will boot OS 9.1, but you'll need to update that to 9.2.1 in order to get it to function as Classic under OS 10.3.

OS 10.3 retail did NOT ship with an OS 9 disk, so buying an OS X retail box wouldn't do you much good.

You can easily install 9.1 or 9.2 alongside your current OS 10 install without disturbing the current system or data. Just take care to not use any "erase" or "reformat" selections.

(and back up your data, anyway, just in case)

Mac OS X 10.3 can also run 9.1 as Classic environment - I know this because I recently installed 9.1 and was too lazy to update to 9.2 and everything works fine nevertheless - , but 9.2.1 is indeed recommended.

TETENAL · Jan 28, 2005, 05:00 AM

The OS X retail box does not come with OS 9.
However the software restore CDs of Macs do come with OS 9. The guy who sold you the computer should have included the software restore CDs for your PowerBook. Ask him for them.

If you can't get them you need to purchase a copy of OS 9 from Ebay to use it in Classic of Mac OS X.

I would also suggest to purchase a copy of Mac OS X. God knows how screwed up the install is that this random guy did you purchased your computer from. The first thing I do with a used computer is format the hard disk and make a fresh install. That's just my suggestion though, and not required for your particular problem.

Millennium · Jan 28, 2005, 07:29 AM

Originally posted by absolut78:
Well everyones advice has been great! I will have to pick-up a copy of OSX.

Where did you get as PowerBook, such that it didn't come with a set of OSX discs? Technically it shouldn't have been sold to you in such a condition.

Be careful about the OSX discs you get, by the way. You're probably better off getting a set of the OEM discs off of Other World Computing, because the retail discs often don't come with a Classic disk image (which you'll need to run Classic). It's more expensive than Ebay (though less so than a retail set), but you'll definitely get what you want.

CharlesS · Jan 28, 2005, 06:38 PM

Originally posted by Millennium:
Be careful about the OSX discs you get, by the way. You're probably better off getting a set of the OEM discs off of Other World Computing, because the retail discs often don't come with a Classic disk image (which you'll need to run Classic). It's more expensive than Ebay (though less so than a retail set), but you'll definitely get what you want.

OEM discs will only work if you get them for the exact same model that you own, so you need to be really careful if you go this route.

Myself, I'd just get a stock set of OS X discs, and also a stock OS 9 disc to install Classic with.

absolut78 · Jan 31, 2005, 05:42 PM

I am so confused as to what I should do.

Joe

chris v · Jan 31, 2005, 06:26 PM

If you want OS 9, buy OS 9. Just be sure to buy a version that will run on your Mac-- I.E. version 9.1 or newer.

OptimusG4 · Jan 31, 2005, 06:28 PM

If you have the OS X install discs, you don't need to buy OS X. If all you need to run classic is the OS 9 disc, you can get it cheap on eBay. Also, if you buy OS X from Apple, you can get 9.2 for $19.95 (http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/). That's if you need both. If you need them in a hurry though, eBay may be the best bet to get the software, as the fulfillment for OS 9 can take a few weeks.

With that said, if you're mac boots into OS X only right now, all you'll need to do with OS 9 is start from the OS 9 CD and install it that way. Unfortunately, it's possible that your hard drive was formatted in a way that will not allow you to install OS 9 on the hard drive. If thats the case, you can back everything up, format the hard drive with the OS 9 CD and then install OS 9 and OS X and be able to use classic that way. You may also want to partition your hard drive for each system in case something happens to either OS and you have a backup system.

Hope this sheds some light.

Millennium · Jan 31, 2005, 08:00 PM

Originally posted by CharlesS:
OEM discs will only work if you get them for the exact same model that you own, so you need to be really careful if you go this route.

Not necessarily true. I bought a set once that appear to have gone with an iBook G4, and both my PowerBook G4 and Power Mac G5 booted and installed just fine (I'd lost the install discs for both).

CharlesS · Jan 31, 2005, 08:14 PM

Originally posted by Millennium:
Not necessarily true. I bought a set once that appear to have gone with an iBook G4, and both my PowerBook G4 and Power Mac G5 booted and installed just fine (I'd lost the install discs for both).

I should have said "may" instead of "will", but nonetheless, the situation remains that the OEM discs might work with another model, but there is no guarantee that they will, particularly if you're trying to install on a later model, and doing this really isn't advisable if you don't get exactly the same model.

Plus, the Ti 500 came with OS 9.1 and was OS 9 bootable, so if you get a stock set of OS 9 CDs that are anything later than that, such as the OS 9.2.1 CDs, you should be pretty much guaranteed to be able to just boot from the CD and install. And you might not even need to do that if OS X lets you start the Classic environment from a CD (haven't tried this, so can't promise it would work, but I see no reason why it wouldn't) and then install OS 9 within the Classic environment.

PubGuy · Jan 31, 2005, 09:48 PM

If you have access to a machine that already has OS 9 on it with a firewire connection, then it is a really simple thing to do.

1) Connect the 2 computers together via the firewire cable.
2) Open you TiBook and press and hold down the "T" key and power on the machine. In a few seconds after the chime, you should have the firewire logo bouncing around your screen.
3) Now go to the OS 9 machine. You should now see the TiBook as a firewire drive on the desktop.
4) Now, locate the OS 9 system folder on the machine and drag and drop it onto the TiBook drive. NOTE: Make sure that the OS 9 system folder is not named "System" only...that would wipe out your OS X system folder --- you don't want that to happen. If the OS 9 system folder is called "System Folder" or whatever else, you will be fine.
5) Eject your firewire drive from the OS 9 desktop and unplug the firewire cable.
6) Power off your TiBook and restart it into OS X
7) Go into System Preferences --> Classic and point to your new OS 9 system folder.

That's all you need in order to run "Classic" on your TiBook. No need to by software or re-install anything. Good Luck.

osxrules · Feb 2, 2005, 03:22 PM

Installing OS 9 is a bit of a pain and I hated doing it with every new OS X so I just made a compressed disk image of the OS 9.2.2 system folder and backed it up. Sometimes if you burn the system to cd straight or copy it, it misses files out but my disk image works fine every time.

So under an OS 9 system, use disk copy and make an image of only the system folder. Then stick it on say an ipod shuffle and take it home.

What is the app you need to run? Sometimes apps get updated and renamed under X or you get 10 apps that do the same job.