Installing Mac OS 9 on an iBook G3 800mhz from a USB Flash Drive using a Windows 10 laptop

[TSE]

Sorry for the longest title on earth.


I have a Windows 10 computer without a optical disc drive and an iBook G3 2002 model running Mac OS X Jaguar. I also have a flash drive.

How do I go about installing Mac OS 9 on this iBook G3 and erasing Jaguar altogether? I've been fiddling with different guides for hours now and haven't gotten any closer.


Thanks!

 

[eyoungren]

Quite simply, I don't know.

That said, first thing: You can't boot from USB on most PowerPC Macs. It was never a stock option. There is a way to do it using Open Firmware, but I've not seen it done with OS9, only OS X.

Macintosh Garden has a stock OS9 install that can be downloaded and transferred over. The problem is getting your Windows 10 PC to connect, wipe the drive, format the drive correctly and then transfer it over. The one nice thing about OS9 is that you can simply copy the System folder over and you have a working system, unlike OS X where things need to be installed or cloned.

Maybe someone else has some ideas.

 

[repairedCheese]

So, because it runs Jaguar, shouldn't it be possible to install Classic? And because it's a Mac that supports it, shouldn't it be possible to boot from it? Since this is all without firewire or a proper burned cd rom, I would suggest staying far away from wiping the thing, but I have to figure running 9.2 natively should be possible.

 

[bobesch]

Sorry for the longest title on earth.
I have a Windows 10 computer without a optical disc drive and an iBook G3 2002 model running Mac OS X Jaguar. I also have a flash drive.
How do I go about installing Mac OS 9 on this iBook G3 and erasing Jaguar altogether? I've been fiddling with different guides for hours now and haven't gotten any closer.
Thanks

I'd try this:
1. Download any uncompresses os9 disk image from Macintoshgarden (e.g. as sit-archive)
2. Transfer that file via USB-storage to the iBook
3. Expand that os9 disk-image within Jaguar
4. Use DiskUtility to prepare the flashdrive
5. Expand/install the os9 disk-image to the flashdrive
6. Boot the iBook from the flashdrive.
If all that should be working and you're able to boot from the flashdrive:
7. use os9 disk-utility to erase the iBook's hard drive
8. install os9

Yes, as @repairedCheese said: better install os9 onto the same drive side-by-side to Jaguar without erasing the drive and keep Jaguar.
So you have the dual-boot option of running either os9 or Jaguar/Classic.

 

[Amethyst1]

2. Transfer that file via USB-storage to the iBook

That's going to be fun via USB 1.1.

Also, OP, the 800 MHz iBook requires a machine-specific 9.2.2 so you should use the newest 9.2.2 image you can get, such as this one:

Installing the necessary components to use Classic on a Mac that can’t boot from Mac OS 9

I’m writing this post to be more like a personal reminder in case I find myself in a similar situation in the future. I don’t know if this is the simplest or quickest method to install …

systemfolder.wordpress.com

 

[repairedCheese]

6. Boot the iBook from the flashdrive.

@TSE This is very much the part where is may just not work. If it does, congrats! You'll have an easy to manage system with the equipment you already have. But otherwise, you might want to invest in an external cd burner.

 

[bobesch]

@TSE This is very much the part where is may just not work. If it does, congrats! You'll have an easy to manage system with the equipment you already have. But otherwise, you might want to invest in an external cd burner.

Oh, so he might use the iBooks optical drive to burn an os9-CD? (he didn't mention, that the iBook's optical drive is faulty or missing ...)
For the "otherwise" I'd suggest an external FireWire-optical drive. A few of them show up in auctions (LaCie or LG are one's I can recommend).

 

[repairedCheese]

Oh, so he might use the iBooks optical drive to burn an os9-CD? (he didn't mention, that the iBook's optical drive is faulty or missing ...)
For the "otherwise" I'd suggest an external FireWire-optical drive. A few of them show up in auctions (LaCie or LG are one's I can recommend).

I personally have a firewire compact flash reader, which isn't anywhere near as fast as I suspect it should be, but it's the only compact flash reader I have, and I only have the one compact flash card, so I only have so much to test it with. But it absolutely does the job, letting me have all the Mac OS installers I want in one place.

 

[TSE]

Oh, so he might use the iBooks optical drive to burn an os9-CD? (he didn't mention, that the iBook's optical drive is faulty or missing ...)
For the "otherwise" I'd suggest an external FireWire-optical drive. A few of them show up in auctions (LaCie or LG are one's I can recommend).

Holy girl scout cookies!!!!

I forgot that the iBook had a writable CD drive!!!!

Just ordered some blank CDs on the way, that's how I'll do it! I'll burn a Mac OS 9 image onto it and install it from there.

 

[TheShortTimer]

You can't boot from USB on most PowerPC Macs. It was never a stock option. There is a way to do it using Open Firmware, but I've not seen it done with OS9, only OS X.

IMHO we really ought to have a sticky that identifies which PPC Macs can boot and install (OS X) from USB with or without Open Firmware because this is confusing for me as I've installed OS X via USB on the following machines, simply by holding down Option after the chime has sounded:

iBook G3/500 Dual USB.
iBook G3/800 Dual USB.
iMac G3/350 (no FireWire ports.)
eMac 1Ghz (ATI).

 

[dextructor]

IMHO we really ought to have a sticky that identifies which PPC Macs can boot and install (OS X) from USB with or without Open Firmware

Agreed because there's a lot of misinformation everywhere about boot techniques (the right OpenFirmware commands or syntaxes) and compatible equipment. Will be like always a collective effort but this forum should have the man power to do it 😉

 

[philgxxd]

Maybe even better to include it in the PowerPC FAQ sticky. I think we should try to streamline the amount of stickies.

 

[bobesch]

I personally have a firewire compact flash reader, which isn't anywhere near as fast as I suspect it should be, but it's the only compact flash reader I have, and I only have the one compact flash card, so I only have so much to test it with. But it absolutely does the job, letting me have all the Mac OS installers I want in one place.

"Firewire CF-Reader"!? I wasn't aware, something like that ever existed!
Thanks for that hint! 👍
(And I've been already successful to get such a nice thing for just 10 bucks this morning... )

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

"Firewire CF-Reader"!? I wasn't aware, something like that ever existed!

Wanted to buy 1 such in my place, but it was too late .

 

[eyoungren]

IMHO we really ought to have a sticky that identifies which PPC Macs can boot and install (OS X) from USB with or without Open Firmware because this is confusing for me as I've installed OS X via USB on the following machines, simply by holding down Option after the chime has sounded:

iBook G3/500 Dual USB.
iBook G3/800 Dual USB.
iMac G3/350 (no FireWire ports.)
eMac 1Ghz (ATI).

Yeah, I agree with that. I know there are some, which is why I try to qualify my statement using the word 'most'.

Having a sticky for that, or at least somewhere we could point to would make it a lot easier.

 

[Amethyst1]

"Firewire CF-Reader"!? I wasn't aware, something like that ever existed!
Thanks for that hint! 👍
(And I've been already successful to get such a nice thing for just 10 bucks this morning... )

Hopefully it's got FireWire 800 for some really nice and fast transfer speeds!

 

[bobesch]

Hopefully it's got FireWire 800 for some really nice and fast transfer speeds!

It does - but it is mainly meant to be used with PPCs, that do not have FW800 ... so at least better FW400 than USB1!

 

[bobesch]

Yeah, I agree with that. I know there are some, which is why I try to qualify my statement using the word 'most'.

Having a sticky for that, or at least somewhere we could point to would make it a lot easier.

It would be nice to "rearrange" the first post of the F.A.Q. for PowerPC Macs into a Wiki-like TOC linking to other threads dealing with special topics.
That would help to keep the sticky section small and tidy.

 

[alex_free]

Yeah, I agree with that. I know there are some, which is why I try to qualify my statement using the word 'most'.

Having a sticky for that, or at least somewhere we could point to would make it a lot easier.

There really is a huge issue with USB OS installation. I’ve messed with it many times, but have since given up and moved on to simply burning everything to optical media with the Burn app recommended by @TheShortTimer. But I always keep a dedicated 9GB partition on the mini for OS installers. That isn’t an option for the clamshell though with “3GBs” of space.

My Mac mini and iBook Clamshell have never successfully booted from USB. I have the only Clamshell that doesn’t have FireWire, so every OS installed is via CD-ROM.

 

[repairedCheese]

"Firewire CF-Reader"!? I wasn't aware, something like that ever existed!
Thanks for that hint! 👍
(And I've been already successful to get such a nice thing for just 10 bucks this morning... )

Oh yeah, CF isn't anywhere near as cheap as I'd like, and I suspect you might be better off with a Micro SD to CF adaptor, on top of the CF reader, but it works just like an external hard drive and OF doesn't care that you're using some kind of card, nor does the Mac OS. It's great. Just have the card formatted properly and you can use it on basically any system that boots off FireWire, for installers and installed versions of the operating systems.

 

[TheShortTimer]

There really is a huge issue with USB OS installation. I’ve messed with it many times, but have since given up and moved on to simply burning everything to optical media with the Burn app recommended by @TheShortTimer. But I always keep a dedicated 9GB partition on the mini for OS installers. That isn’t an option for the clamshell though with “3GBs” of space.

I'm glad to know that Burn is working out well for you. It's a great freeware program that I keep on every Mac I own that has an optical drive. Although I do have Toast and use it occasionally, Burn possesses a certain simplicity that makes it my default choice for such tasks. @alex_free - what kind of work do you carry out with just 3GB? I'm curious as to why you've not upgraded the drive.

My Mac mini and iBook Clamshell have never successfully booted from USB. I have the only Clamshell that doesn’t have FireWire, so every OS installed is via CD-ROM.

I've just tried to boot from USB on my G4 Mini with an installer that definitely works and it wasn't detected in the boot menu. My iMac doesn't have FireWire, nor does it have a working optical drive, so being able to use USB was my salvation because I didn't fancy having to remove the SSD.

 

[alex_free]

I'm glad to know that Burn is working out well for you. It's a great freeware program that I keep on every Mac I own that has an optical drive. Although I do have Toast and use it occasionally, Burn possesses a certain simplicity that makes it my default choice for such tasks. @alex_free - what kind of work do you carry out with just 3GB? I'm curious as to why you've not upgraded the drive.



I've just tried to boot from USB on my G4 Mini with an installer that definitely works and it wasn't detected in the boot menu. My iMac doesn't have FireWire, nor does it have a working optical drive, so being able to use USB was my salvation because I didn't fancy having to remove the SSD.

Testing PPCMC on a G3, reading books (I read 1984 entirely on the clamshell), and using the PPCMC web interface for YouTube. Links2 works great too.

I just got all the tools shipped to me to replace the HDD, now I just need an actual HDD or possibly something else for storage to replace the original HDD.

 

[TSE]

does anyone know why the screen is like this and how to fix it?

This is the OS9 I used to burn onto a CD to install: https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/mac-os-922-universal

 

[Amethyst1]

You're missing the ATI graphics drivers.

Try these -

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/ati-os-9-drivers-january-2005

 

[TSE]

You're missing the ATI graphics drivers.

Try these -

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/ati-os-9-drivers-january-2005

Man, so I downloaded that, formatted my 120gb samsung flash drive with my iBook, transferred that file over to it on my PC, then tried both copying the file over to the Hard Disk and just opening it with Aladdin Systems software and the iBook just crashes! What do I do?!