Can I install OS 9 on newer computers?

[Greasyman]

Hi everybody, this is my first post here.

I have an old slot loading imac G3 with 9.0 on it. I also have several apps that I don't want to replace such as Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, etc.

Will these apps work if I try to install them on a computer with OS X? I was assuming they wouldn't but I'm suddenly not so sure.

What are the most recent Macs that I can install 9.0 on? I'm hoping it's anything before the Intels.

Would I be able to simply copy 9.0 onto a flash drive and install it on a newer computer?

The plan is to buy a used G4 or pre Intel G5 iMac and install what I now have on my G3.

Thanks for any advice, I'm pretty ignorant about computers so I'm open to any alternative ideas also.

 

[bartelby]

Well you won't be able to boot into OS 9. I'm not sure if Classic is supported on newest Macs.

 

[72930]

Sheepshaver allows virtualization of OS9 and below

 

[Eraserhead]

Some G4's support OS 9, G5's don't however you can probably run any of your programs in Classic on a PowerPC Mac.

 

[lostless]

leopard does not support os9 at all. intel macs the same. sheepshaver will not be able to run any of those apps well at all. Time to jut bite the bullet and upgrade your software. Photoshop ran on OSX since version 7, we are on version 10 now (CS3). Anything lower than CS3 will not be intel native either.

 

[Queso]

Some G4's support OS 9, G5's don't however you can probably run any of your programs in Classic on a PowerPC Mac.

This is the best course of action IMO. Buy one of the last iMac G5s, the ones with the built-in iSight cameras, make sure it has the old Tiger or Panther versions of OSX then install the Classic environment from the installation CDs.

What you have already (your G3) is a PowerPC Mac. Only other PowerPC Macs support Classic at all, and the moment you put Leopard on them they lose that capability.

 

[MacsRgr8]

OS 9 support in a nutshell:

Native OS 9 boot:
Mac's up until the FW 800 models (MDD G4 2nd series, PowerBooks G4 1 GHz 2nd series)

Classic (OS 9 boot inside Mac OS X)
Power Macs capable of running Tiger

Emulated (like Sheepshaver):
Probably all Intel Macs

Emulating Mac OS 9 on Intel is the exact opposite of running Windows on a PPC, i.e. on Virtual PC. Emulation is always slow and not great.

If you must run Mac OS 9, try getting the non-FW 800 MDD G4 (Single or Dual 1.25 GHz). That would have been the best OS 9 machine.