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Laptop which supports OS9

C

cazza

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 15, 2008
6
0
I need to buy a laptop which supports OS9, as I have a piece of software which doesn't run properly under OS10. I have the disks and licence for OS9 from a previous laptop.

Does anyone know any laptops currently available which would support dual booting OS9 and OSX? The Mac OS8 and 9 compatibility matrixdoesn't show any macbooks at all.

Alternatively, any suggestions for reputable dealers in second hand machines?
 
cazza said:
I need to buy a laptop which supports OS9, as I have a piece of software which doesn't run properly under OS10. I have the disks and licence for OS9 from a previous laptop.

Does anyone know any laptops currently available which would support dual booting OS9 and OSX? The Mac OS8 and 9 compatibility matrixdoesn't show any macbooks at all.

Alternatively, any suggestions for reputable dealers in second hand machines?
Click to expand...

Nothing current will run OS9. In fact nothing with an Intel CPU will run OS9. And I think some of the G4s towards the end of the PPC era might not run OS9 either (but do support Classic under OSX, again unsupported on an Intel CPU).
 
I had a G3 12" iBook 900MHz, which was very close to being the last notebook to support OS 9.

Download MacTracker (google it) -- it is a database app that has info on all macs ever released. Is lists the version of the OS that originally shipped with each model. Look for notebooks from around the iBook G3 era (and earlier) and see what you can find.
 
Good luck with that... lol. Na, actually, I suggest an iBook G3 around 500MHz or so. They're usually on eBay for around $100 or so and can run OS 9 or X (even up to Tiger, but I'd stop with Panther). :)
 
This is the official compatibility chart:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1835

Make sure you examine this carefully if you're buying a used system, to see which ones can run retail versions of OS 9 and which will run only the version that was shipped with the machine. Also some support Classic mode but will not run OS 9 natively.

No Intel systems run OS 9, so no Macbooks.
 
Do you just want Classic support or do you need to boot into OS 9?

Either way, I believe you need a PPC Mac. I don't think OS 9 works at all on Intel Macs. If you need Classic support (OS 9 within OS X) you can't go above Tiger. Leopard took away Classic. If you need to boot just install OS 9 on a PPC.
 
It's for work, so I'm not allowed to buy it from eBay, it has to be a shop, from which I can get a receipt. Also, I'm in the UK, not the US which limits my options (so no lowendmac I'm afraid).

Thanks for the tip about MacTracker - brilliant resource.
 
zombitronic said:
If you need to boot just install OS 9 on a PPC.
Click to expand...

Terrible advice. Check the compatibility chart I just posted. Many later PPC machines will not run OS 9 natively.

instaxgirl said:
My past rev iBook G4 can run OS9, which makes me think that maybe the last rev Powerbook G4s would be able to as well.
Click to expand...

No they will not. The later PB G4s will only support Classic mode, not native OS 9.
 
cazza said:
It's for work, so I'm not allowed to buy it from eBay, it has to be a shop, from which I can get a receipt. Also, I'm in the UK, not the US which limits my options (so no lowendmac I'm afraid).

Thanks for the tip about MacTracker - brilliant resource.
Click to expand...

Give up now. You will never find anything that meets that impossible criteria. No current Macs support OS 9. In fact, no Macs from after 2007 do, and no Mac running Leopard no matter what year it's from will support OS 9 either. Not only that, but no computer made after 2003 will let you start up in OS 9 if you need that. They can only use classic mode.
 
Eric S. said:
Terrible advice.
Click to expand...

I got served.

cazza said:
It's for work, so I'm not allowed to buy it from eBay, it has to be a shop, from which I can get a receipt.
Click to expand...

There are some eBay "stores" that should be able to give you a receipt, but I agree, picking one up from a reputable brick & mortar shop is always more reliable. I'm not sure if these places are close enough, but Clocktower and MacBooty are two UK based used Mac shops.
 
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