Creative solution needed to streamline use of two drives and OS9 with OSX

[dorshelle]

I run my business using an os9 compatible software which I cannot effectively upgrade. We currently run 6 Imacs networked to one Imac server. Stuck in the OS and hardware VS browser timewarp. Have been limping along with IMACs running in both OS10.3 and Classic but now flash and browsers do not run effectively on 10.3 and need to upgrade...which will no longer allow running in classic os9 mode. Staff needs to access both our server using os9 and the internet.

Solutions/Questions under consideration are:

Set up two separate systems at each counter, one to run internet etc and one to run database access but the hardware implication would be large and bulky so looking for a solution that would at the very least allow us to use ONE monitor, keyboard and mouse. We could camoflage the two drives somewhere. I can only find solutions for the osx side, nothing seems compatible with os9.

OR

Can I run os9 and windows on one drive and use a newer windows interface to get online? If so, suggest hardware mac or pc host? Which pc on mac or vice versa software? Which windows software? Is this a stable option?

OR

Do you have a creative solution that I have not thought of? Keep in mind staff is not tech saavy so looking for least complicated interface for them as possible.

 

[madog]

10.4 is perfectly capable system at the moment and as far as I remember supported OS 9 Classic as well if run on a certain computer (not Intels, and possibly not G5's, but G4's and below).

One possible solution is to keep one machine dedicated to OS 9 only, and then have a newer Intel machine running the latest OS and installing Windows on it. Looking for a used late-model G4 tower should be able to accomplish this and I bet you could have one drive loaded with 9 and one with (depending on the machine) 10.4 to dual boot.

Depending on what you need done in Windows, having VMWare or Parallels will allow one to run Windows as an application in a window alongside 10.5. This can accomplish most functions in Windows, however as you would be running two OSes at the same time it can't really handle hardware intensive apps such as games or video apps. Alternatively, if you install Windows via Bootcamp on an Intel machine, it will allow you to restart it using solely Mac OS or solely Windows, though it sounds like you need both active at the same time.

With any option, you can look into purchasing a KVM switch. This is a device which is either DVI or VGA and usually has a few USB ports on it as well. With this switch, you can connect two computers to the device along with a keyboard/mouse as well as a display. Hitting a switch ON the KVM switch would alternate between the machines (so, one at a time) while using the same display, keyboard, and mouse.

Something to at least consider.

 

[dorshelle]

Thanks...

I will look into 10.4...I did not think it would run classic....thanks

Can any config run os9 and Windows simulataneously? I would not need os10 if I could use windows to run the browser? What software do I need to run windows on the mac G4 tower?

As far as I can tell the KVM switches I found online need osx. So the the one computer running os 9 would probably not support whatever interface needed..unlees I am missing something.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and all of your consideration.

 

[BlueRevolution]

Can any config run os9 and Windows simulataneously?

Not natively, no. OS 9 is exclusively PowerPC while Windows is exclusively x86. You could emulate Windows on a PowerPC computer, but I wouldn't recommend doing so. G5s can't run OS 9 natively, nor can some G4s, so any machine that could do so would probably be too slow to emulate Windows on any useable level.