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warnergt

macrumors member
Jan 20, 2006
60
30
I'm a Parallels user with Windows. I haven't yet tried it with Snow Leopard Server. Is it possible to simultaneously run Snow Leopard and Windows on a Mavericks machine? That is, can I run two virtual machines on my Mac which is running Mavericks? That would be perfect for what I do.
 

dKupe

macrumors member
Apr 10, 2011
56
26
I'm a Parallels user with Windows. I haven't yet tried it with Snow Leopard Server. Is it possible to simultaneously run Snow Leopard and Windows on a Mavericks machine? That is, can I run two virtual machines on my Mac which is running Mavericks? That would be perfect for what I do.

Yep- I do it all the time. I'm running a late 2013 iMac with 8GB of ram and the 3.5ghz Intel Core i7. It doesn't even break a sweat with a Windows and Snow Leopard Server VM running simultaneously.

Dave
 

Lynnwood

macrumors newbie
Mar 28, 2014
1
0
Another thanks for excellent tutorial!

I've been resisting upgrading past 10.6.8 because of various apps that I still depend on which won't run on newer systems. (Shout out to Canvas and iView fans out there!) Finally feeling like I was going to have to make the move, I searched for options to at least keep a VM copy of Snow Leopard working. I tried several tutorials that I found for VirtualBox but couldn't get them to work. Finally came across yours and tried it out since I use Parallels anyway for Windows. Usually in these kind of fairly techie tutorials, one has to read through all the user comments to get the whole picture and various gotchas, but not with yours. I followed the steps exactly as presented without a single hitch. Your description of the steps and what to look out for were impeccable! Well done!! Thanks so much for taking the time to work this out and document it so thoroughly for others to follow. It's a valuable gift to us poor mac users just trying to get stuff done while Apple continues it march to glory (NOT!).
 

Precisely

macrumors newbie
Mar 29, 2014
4
0
Thank you for being HERE !

Now, if I could only get a life!!! :D:D:D

Michael... I share those exact sentiments.

3.5 questions, though:

1. If I purchase a lovely and fast Mac running Maverick, is there any reason why I should not downgrade the whole OS to Snow Leopard?

2. If I firewire-connect my older G4 PPC iMacs running Tiger,
a) will I be able to access the files as if they were external drives?
b) would I be able to run and use my older QuarkXPress and CS2 apps?

3. Or, will my older iMacs only be available for use (connected via Firewire) in Target mode... or, not even then?

Many Thanks,
Precisely
 

MichaelLAX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
843
23
1. If I purchase a lovely and fast Mac running Maverick, is there any reason why I should not downgrade the whole OS to Snow Leopard?

Currently produced Macs cannot natively boot nor run Snow Leopard. The last Macs to do so were produced in 2011. Hence the need to run Snow Leopard in Parallels to restore Rosetta and PPC app capability.

2. If I firewire-connect my older G4 PPC iMacs running Tiger,
a) will I be able to access the files as if they were external drives?

Not sure about "networking" using Firewire, but if connected via Ethernet cable (or wireless) and Networking turned on, you could.

b) would I be able to run and use my older QuarkXPress and CS2 apps?

Not sure what you are asking here, but you could run Quark and CS2 on your older G4 and use Screen Sharing over ethernet or wireless to see and control the G4 from a newer Mac.

3. Or, will my older iMacs only be available for use (connected via Firewire) in Target mode... or, not even then?

In Target mode, your G4's hard drive will appear as an external drive connected to the new Mac and then would be accessible by a newer Mac. It will probably be best to make new copies of your G4 files on your new Mac; perhaps using Migration Assistant.

Many Thanks,
Precisely
You're welcome! However, soon I expect to be over THERE! :)
 

MichaelLAX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
843
23
UPDATED THOUGHT: I see you have more than one G4 "iMacs" so yes, you could network all of them with your new Mac, keep your files on one as a "server" and then access those common files from all of your Macs, including the new one using ethernet or wireless.

However, the new Mac would require that Quark and CS2 be installed in Snow Leopard Server installed in Parallels and then accessed over the network from there.

Be sure to have your "network servers" files backed up via Time Machine or otherwise and I additionally advise off-site backup, such as Dropbox, which I use.
 

Precisely

macrumors newbie
Mar 29, 2014
4
0
Where's there?

However, soon I expect to be over THERE! :)[/QUOTE]

Thank you for such a complete and even-DOUBLE answer. I'm still debating whether i should buy that computer, or just get some used dual-cores circa Snow Leopard.

If 'there' happens to be New mexico, allow me to make you dinner (I'm an excellent cook).
 
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MichaelLAX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
843
23
Here is the rub:

Used or refurbished computers do offer the ability to run your software natively; which is a benefit not to be overlooked lightly! But...

These computers will lose their Applecare (probably this year, even if you could purchase it) and then you are working with Macs that are subject to breakdown without notice with the inability to repair or recover from such breakdowns on a reliable basis.

The other side of the coin is that a new Mac will be reliable for many more years, and there is no guarantee that even Snow Leopard in Parallels will be a workable solution as time goes on with new versions of OS X, Parallels and Macs.

So, at the end of the day, you should start to see what software alternatives exist to keep your workflow vibrant for the future, while having the ability to work with them for the present.

If 'there' happens to be New mexico, allow me to make you dinner (I'm an excellent cook).

I'll keep this calendared for my next (first) trip to New Mexico! I do love driving, however, almost as much as I like home cooking!... :)

Thank you for being HERE !

You're welcome! However, soon I expect to be over THERE! :)

Actually, this "snappy retort" was based upon a "bit" I saw in a live Steve Martin concert I attended over 30 years ago (unannounced opening act - The Blues Brothers!):

Martin (to the live audience): "Really glad to be here!"

Martin (after walking a few steps): "Really glad to be HERE!"

Martin (after walking a few more steps): "I was really glad to be over THERE!"
 

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Precisely

macrumors newbie
Mar 29, 2014
4
0
SFMUG and...

LOVE Steve Martin!
LOVE DRIVING and cooking (not simultaneously)

However, back on topic:

Our Santa Fe Mac User Group has some absolutely amazing forward-and-backwards-fixing Mac repair geniuses...

Plus, I have only had excellent refurbs from Mac of All Trades (except for the iBook which smelled of cumin and curry for a year!). Of course, I've been crossing my fingers and knocking wood since i first THOUGHT to write this sentence!

The question of software updates is such a gnarly one -- will I continue to earn my living in graphics? -- I'll NEVER pay to 'rent' adobe software from the cloud -- and I greatly dislike all the bloatware monsters. When I started my computer graphics studio, in 1994, I was producing full-color magazines from a super-tiny hard drive running system 7... but it certainly did crash a lot.

Plus, I really don't need/want any of the fancy new bells and whistles that the new software offers, as I'm not designing for web or flash movies, nor creating digital animations.

In my ideal world, Quark and Adobe would offer the prior versions updated only for new OS code. Quark and Adobe -- are you listening???

Meantime, I'll just keep on slogging through wacky workarounds (or buying 7-yr-old Macs).

Thanks for "Being THERE"!--Precisely
 

MichaelLAX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
843
23
In your situation, I would advise you to continue with Macs that can continue to run Snow Leopard natively (some 2011 [iMacs and MBPs and with some work, Mac Minis] and prior). You will be much happier with those than using my solution, which is really just a workaround for a bad situation for those who have no other option!

Ah, System 7 - the first multitasking Mac OS!

BEING THERE - a great movie with Peters Sellers! :)
 

Precisely

macrumors newbie
Mar 29, 2014
4
0
Wonderful Peter Sellers, too.

Thanks for a most informative (and delightful) dialogue set, MichaelLAX! You've helped me to make up my mind and saved me quite a bit of $$ in the process.

Wishing you many joyous moments,
Precisely
 

Charles218

macrumors newbie
Jun 24, 2004
4
0
Starting Over?

Is there a way to start the entire process over from the beginning? Using SL Server, Parallels 8, on my Mac with 10.8.5, I ran into a "Read-only file system" error. I did skip over to the Mountain Lion directions at https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/16745691/ after Step 1, but I still get the error.

I'm in a little above my head here and would just like to start from scratch and see if I can get it to work. I was at Step 2 #11 when I saw the read-only error.

Charles
 

Charles218

macrumors newbie
Jun 24, 2004
4
0
Michael,

Thanks so much for responding so quickly. I'll get to this later today, please let me know if I should go back and delete anything before I start with the new instructions.

Charles
 

RodfromC

macrumors newbie
Jun 10, 2014
1
0
Hello Michael, it seems that a couple of posts on that thread on the Apple Discussions (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6345686?tstart=0)
were deleted, probably to do with Tweedle Dum etc. My fault. Sorry about that.

I got your last post in an email, before the deletions, thanks. Unfortunately I was too late to access the image you inserted showing Tiger in SL via Fusion.

I've got a copy of Snow Leopard Server on the way, ordered from the UK Apple Store over the phone. It costs £14, with £4.80 added for shipping. The guy I spoke to seemed to be aware of us private citizens buying it for virtualisation - indeed he asked me that very question! It is also described in the confirmatory email as 'Unlimited Client License'.

Thanks for the heads up about acquiring this item. I'd have never known about any of this had I not stumbled upon that thread in the Apple Discussions.
 

MichaelLAX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
843
23
Rod: No worries; the important result is that you learned about Snow Leopard Server and how to acquire it for only £14 plus shipping by calling Apple!

If you decide to go the VMWare Fusion route, please post back and let us know your experiences.

Here's that image of OS X Tiger (Intel) 10.4 running in VMWare Fusion 2. I was never able to get it to work in Fusion 4 and then the underlying reason to use it expired (as did the trial version of Fusion 4), so I stopped trying:

[click on image to enlarge]
 

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dKupe

macrumors member
Apr 10, 2011
56
26
Hey gang-

Parallels announced Parallels 10 today. I'm still very happily running Parallels 8 with my Snow Leopard Server VM. Let's keep this thread apprised if any issues appear with Parallels 10 and a Snow Leopard VM. Thanks!

You first! ;)

Kupe
 

MichaelLAX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
843
23
Bertrude said:
Hi Michael,

Thank you for posting the image of Freehand running in SLS (in the thread about using older OS' and why). I was hoping you may be able to answer what I consider to be a pretty vital question - how well does Freehand actually run in that environment?

Is it still fast and responsive, fully usable? Are there any issues at all, any broken functions etc?

Forgive me if it's not something you use regularly, I'm just hoping to get some real world feedback to determine if it's worth upgrading to Mavericks.

I have purchased a copy of SLS (10.6.3 - Unlimited Clients MC588/ZA) which is waiting in the wings should the need arise. I'm still unsure if I'd be better with Parellels or VMWare though. I'll have to so some research on that one.

Thanks again and my apologies for asking about something you're probably sick to death with answering :eek:

Regards,

Rob

Rob: I am not an experienced Freehand user (although I do play one on TV :D).

Actually I have helped many Freehand users along the way, earlier in this thread and my understanding is that using this method does afford them a stabile way to continue to use Freehand MX in a post-Snow Leopard world.

There once was some discussions about the cursor disappearing, but I think that was eventually solved by a Parallels update.

Good luck and feel free to post future questions/observations... HERE!
 

Mick-Mac

macrumors 6502a
Oct 24, 2011
504
1,150
I've been running parallels 10 for a short while on my previously server-modified Snow Leopard Client (I'm running Yosemite), but recently I was having issues with accessing my machine's home directory and now all of a sudden Parallels is throwing up a dialog box saying it'll only run the server, not what I have. Now I'm stuck :-(. Anybody else seeing this or might you know of ways of editing my pvm file to bring it back to life. I have some really important stuff on there that I haven't had a chance to back up yet.
 
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