Running OS X 10.4 on new Mac Mini

[MinkyMomo]

How about buying a refurbished iMac of the same vintage just to run your software? You can get them from powermax.com...

[kenoflife]

would it work to install Tiger or SL on an external disk - FW or USB3, then choose that disc as a startup and run it from there?

[chrfr]

Originally Posted by kenoflife

would it work to install Tiger or SL on an external disk - FW or USB3, then choose that disc as a startup and run it from there?

No, 2012 Macs can't run 10.4.x, regardless of how or where it's installed.

[MichaelLAX]

Originally Posted by MinkyMomo

How about buying a refurbished iMac of the same vintage just to run your software? You can get them from powermax.com...

With a new Mac, if it fails, you can always get another Mac easily and restore your Time Machine (or other) backup with the virtualized Snow Leopard (as mentioned as an alternative to Tiger by the OP).

Originally Posted by AlbertEinstein

Would it be possible to install Snow Leopard then?

The problem with a used Mac purchase is that it is subject to hardware failure with no notice and no recourse. And no immediate availability for another purchase on short notice. Not a good plan for a business model...

[Larry-K]

Originally Posted by AlbertEinstein

As some of you are aware of, my iMac exploded. So i went and ordered myself a brand new Mac Mini, and now i am having some second thoughts.

You see, my old iMac dual-booted OSX 10.8 and 10.4. The problem is that the new Macs can only run 10.8 (if I'm wrong don't hesitate to correct me) and as far as i can see, no-one has documented anything about running 10.4.

Q: Why would you even want to put such an old operating system on your computer?

A: My line of work requires me to use Tiger. Simple as that.

Any help (and then i really mean any help) is appreciated!

I feel your pain. I have some software that will never be updated for the newer OS, and at least for now, I need it.

I recently found a brand new "Old" Mac Mini online that runs Snow Leopard. I didn't need a lot of power, just backwards compatibility. The company had six left, but it looks like they've all been sold, still, there are some "New" refurbs out there.

[MichaelLAX]

Originally Posted by Larry-K

I recently found a brand new "Old" Mac Mini online that runs Snow Leopard. I didn't need a lot of power, just backwards compatibility. The company had six left, but it looks like they've all been sold, still, there are some "New" refurbs out there.

Will you rush over to the OP with your Mac Mini when, after he purchases the last of the six available, and it fails and there are no more for him to purchase?

Remember, this is for a business setting...

[Larry-K]

Originally Posted by Mojo1

Sounds like a typical government operation... what a surprise!

Oh, oh. Maybe it's the software that runs those robots pretending to be our elected representatives, that would explain a lot.

----------

Originally Posted by MichaelLAX

Will you rush over to the OP with your Mac Mini when, after he purchases the last of the six available, and it fails and there are no more for him to purchase?

Remember, this is for a business setting...

I'm using mine for business. How many new macs have you had fail out of the box? I've had one fail in 23 years, and that's a lot of Macs.

You can replace pretty much anything on a couple of year old machine anyway. I always buy a new spare these days when Apple discontinues something I like. My still boxed last of the 17" MacBook Pros, would be an example. It'll come in handy.

[MichaelLAX]

Originally Posted by Larry-K

I always buy a new spare these days when Apple discontinues something I like. My still boxed last of the 17" MacBook Pros, would be an example. It'll come in handy.

Out of the box failure is not the issue, but failure at any point! Yes, built in redundancy is a good policy in your situation.

However, since you do have a business, you might want to educate yourself about the solution for running PowerPC apps while in Lion or Mt. Lion, as well.

Installing Snow Leopard (with Rosetta) into Parallels in Lion or Mt. Lion

[click on image to enlarge]

[benwiggy]

The broader point is this:

ALL hardware and software is temporary. Your DATA is the thing which must survive, but it needs to be migrated to new software and new hardware as time goes by.
Floppy disks (8", 5.25" 3.5"); Zip drives; SyQuest cartridges; Rockwell 6502; Motorola 68000; PPC G4; Intel Core Duo -- these are all obsolete hardware. But Operating Systems are designed to serve the hardware they ... operate. As hardware changes, so does the OS, and so the software that runs on the OS must also change.

Make sure your data is in a file format that conforms to an open standard and is readily transferrable to new or alternative software. Otherwise, every five to ten years, you're going to find yourself in the same position: your old software isn't supported on modern hardware, and you're going to rely on frail and ageing hardware or undocumented hacks to keep things together.

[MichaelLAX]

What open standard do you use for your financial data?

[Larry-K]

Originally Posted by MichaelLAX

Out of the box failure is not the issue, but failure at any point! Yes, built in redundancy is a good policy in your situation.

However, since you do have a business, you might want to educate yourself about the solution for running PowerPC apps while in Lion or Mt. Lion, as well.

Installing Snow Leopard (with Rosetta) into Parallels in Lion or Mt. Lion

[click on image to enlarge]

Thanks for the link, I've got a parallels disk around here somewhere, and I stocked up on snow leopard disks. Except for new machines (darn, there are three of them now, must have happened when I wasn't paying attention), I'm sticking with snow leopard as long as I can, but it can't hurt to be prepared for the Future.

By the way, I still have a machine that reads Jaz Drives, Zips and even 256MB Opticals and floppies. It's saved me more than once and you never know, I might discover an old Mozart manuscript.

[MichaelLAX]

Originally Posted by Larry-K

By the way, I still have a machine that reads Jaz Drives, Zips and even 256MB Opticals and floppies. It's saved me more than once and you never know, I might discover an old Mozart manuscript.

I've kept my Powerbook 1400c with its Zip drive, floppy and CD modules; and my Apple //c with its 5.25 and 3.5" floppy drives, too!

I recently (last year) moved all of my //c floppies over to my Mac with software and a serial cable I purchased and I use Virtual ][ to run //e-era software on my Mac.

I had a need to assemble all of my home remodel costs from the mid-80s from a program Time is Money (I also used Home Accountant in prior years). Time is Money is not export friendly, but I printed reports on the Mac to PDF files and then copy and pasted the results into an Excel spreadsheet. With a little cleanup, I now have a full spreadsheet of all remodel costs and totals.

Since Virtual ][ may not work on Macs forever, I then went to every year's financial data and "printed" PDFs of a full transaction list for each year and saved these on my Mac in both pdf and txt formats.

[Larry-K]

Originally Posted by MichaelLAX

I've kept my Powerbook 1400c with its Zip drive, floppy and CD modules; and my Apple //c with its 5.25 and 3.5" floppy drives, too!

Sounds like you're Retro Proofed, but if you ever need a Syquest read, let me know.

[MichaelLAX]

Originally Posted by Larry-K

Sounds like you're Retro Proofed, but if you ever need a Syquest read, let me know.

Thanks for the offer, but I burned all of my Syquests to CD-R's years ago!

[Larry-K]

Originally Posted by MichaelLAX

Thanks for the offer, but I burned all of my Syquests to CD-R's years ago!

Oh that I had the time, I would have burned mine, but not to disk.