[nigeljedi]

Every time I try to get rid of the OS 9 System Folder, I get informed I can't delete a System Folder. I know I've seen posts where people have done this, but could somebody let me in on it?
Thanks a million!

[Moose]

Originally posted by nigeljedi:
Every time I try to get rid of the OS 9 System Folder, I get informed I can't delete a System Folder. I know I've seen posts where people have done this, but could somebody let me in on it?
Thanks a million!

sudo rm -rf /System\ Folder/

Now be careful, and make sure you type it in just like that.

[nigeljedi]

Thanks a bunch! I'm not the most Terminal savvy guy now that you can't prebind Jaguar, so thank you!

[DaGuy]

WARNING! BE EXTEMELY CAREFUL!!!




A similar command can wipe out ALL YOUR FILES!!!

I would stay away from "sudo rm -rf" unless you are absolutely shure of what your are doing and fully appreciate the consequences of any mistakes.


A TYPO CAN BE CATASTROPHIC

[fat mac moron]

Originally posted by Moose:
sudo rm -rf /System\ Folder/

Now be careful, and make sure you type it in just like that.

Another easier way would just be to:

sudo rm -rf "System Folder"

Same with:

sudo rm -rf "Applications (MacOS 9)"

[piracy]

Originally posted by fat mac moron:
Another easier way would just be to:

sudo rm -rf "System Folder"

Same with:

sudo rm -rf "Applications (MacOS 9)"

Actyally, you'd need to do:

sudo rm -rf /"System Folder"

Please note there is NOT a space after the "/". Inserting a space after the / will attempt to delete the contents of your hard disk.

fat mac moron's command would require that the current working directory be / when executed.

A safe way might be to suggest:

cd /
sudo rm -rf "System Folder"

For what it's worth, Panther will prompt for your administrative password when you try to move or delete a file you wouldn't ordinarily have permission to manipulate.

[Moose]

Originally posted by DaGuy:
I would stay away from "sudo rm -rf" unless you are absolutely shure of what your are doing and fully appreciate the consequences of any mistakes.

The same goes with use of the Terminal as a whole.

Part of what has kept Unix around forever is that it is a "do what I say, not what I meant" system. It doesn't second guess you. It does what you tell it to do, assuming you have the authority.

rm can be dangerous. I've typed "rm file1 file2" when I meant to use mv before. Everybody screws up using Unix commands at least once.

Adding sudo to the mix increases the stakes. The first time you try to access sudo, it tells you two things:

1) Respect the privacy of others.
2) Think before you type.

If you're not comfortable with doing things in the terminal, stay out. It's the same thing as dealing with hazardous chemicals like pesticides. If you're not comfortable putting ant poison around your house, call Orkin.

I'm sure somebody wrote some cheap little thing to help you kill your 9 System Folder and is trying to charge $15 for it.

[Alex Duffield]

Originally posted by DaGuy:

WARNING! BE EXTEMELY CAREFUL!!!




A similar command can wipe out ALL YOUR FILES!!!

I would stay away from "sudo rm -rf" unless you are absolutely shure of what your are doing and fully appreciate the consequences of any mistakes.


A TYPO CAN BE CATASTROPHIC

I would agree with DaGuy on this one. I use the terminal daily to manage my web-servers and stuff, and I have used Linux for years, but rm -rf is a VERY dangerous command. If you make a mistake it could delete your whole drive with no second warning. I would never recommend that method to a non unix person.

If your mac can boot into OS9, a simple method to delete the system folder is to boot off an OS9 CD. then you can just delete as normal.

[suthercd]

Another alternative is paring down the System Folder and then putting it in a disk image. I was able to get the System Folder down to about 55MB without going to the bleeding edge. Create the disk image, copy System Folder to it, bless it, and use Startup Manager to confirm all is OK. Delete the old System Folder and when and if there is a need for Classic, the image will mount and Classic will launch. I guess there are still a couple of apps that I "might" want to use someday that need it and a 60 MB image is not the most wasteful use of disk space I have by a long shot. Not quite balt and suspenders, but close.

FWIW
Craig

[lookmark]

Thank goodness Jaguar makes this kind of thing better.

I was trying to describe how to do this to someone via the GUI, and wasn't at all sure how to do it.

Can you change the permissions on /System Folder, then delete it? Or does it have to be owned by system?

[JochenD]

What about booting from CD, then deleting anything you want.

Jochen
[email protected]

[SupahCoolX]

My memory is a little hazy here, but I didn't have to touch the Terminal when I deleted OS9 for good. IIRC, I renamed the System Folder, restarted, then was able to delete it since it wasn't recognized as a valid system folder with a different name.

[typoon]

Why not boot from another CD or Drive and just delete the old system folder that way? You could boot from your OS 9 CD that came with your computer and delete the OS 9 system folder from your Hard dreive that way. No need to do any fancy unix commandline stuff unless you like that type of stuff or are adventurous.

[nigeljedi]

I wasn't sure I could rename it. I thought of that, but didn't attempt it.
I just went to the Terminal and nuked it. Worked like a charm. Thanks, guys!