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Amethyst1

macrumors G3
Original poster
Oct 28, 2015
9,345
11,467
I've been wanting to try this for quite some time...

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DSC_0498.JPG


DSC_0499.JPG


It's an original 500 MHz model. I used the 8.6 image for the Sawtooth, copied in the ATI and FireWire kexts from the stock 9.1 volume and did the OF trickery to spoof a PowerBook2,1. I've only played with it for a couple of minutes but it feels very responsive. I'm going to monitor CPU temps as @AphoticD had thermal problems with 8.6 on his Pismo.

Next step is to use the modified Mac OS ROM @LightBulbFun made so no OF trickery is required. Another nod to @LightBulbFun as his 8.6-on-Pismo thread inspired me to try this. :)

So, do I have the world's sexiest OS 8.6 machine? :D
 

MBAir2010

macrumors 603
May 30, 2018
6,433
5,919
there
keep us posted as far as productivity and other fun stuff you can do on that mac.
i'm looking into reviving an older imac that needs a new logic board.
 

ziggy29

macrumors 6502
Oct 29, 2014
495
323
Oregon North Coast
Best classic OS IMO. I and many others I knew ran 8.6 over 9 back then. I have a Sawtooth 450MHz setup as an OS 8.6 machine.
Generally my favorite, too. As long as I'm going to be playing around with apps that run under 8.6, it's my go-to when I can. It's a little slimmer and snappier than OS 9 and very stable. It's also the earliest version that fully supports USB well and also has some FW support.

When I play with my old, pretty much maxed-out 7600 which has seven different systems installed from 7.6.1 to Tiger, 8.6 is the one I use most, followed by 9.1. (It has 7.6.1, 8.1, 8.6, 9.1, 9.2.2, 10.3.9 and 10.4.11. It needs XPostFacto for running OS X, of course. It's almost decent in OS X with the full 1 GB of RAM -- 8 x 128MB -- and a Sonnet 1 GHz G4 card.)
 

Amethyst1

macrumors G3
Original poster
Oct 28, 2015
9,345
11,467
When I play with my old, pretty much maxed-out 7600 which has seven different systems installed from 7.6.1 to Tiger, 8.6 is the one I use most, followed by 9.1. (It has 7.6.1, 8.1, 8.6, 9.1, 9.2.2, 10.3.9 and 10.4.11. It needs XPostFacto for running OS X, of course. It's almost decent in OS X with the full 1 GB of RAM -- 8 x 128MB -- and a Sonnet 1 GHz G4 card.)

I imagine 7.6.1 must be fast on that 1 GHz G4. :D

If you don't mind me asking, how do 8.1 and 8.6 compare in terms of performance/snappiness on the machine? Is 8.1 noticeably faster?
 
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Project Alice

macrumors 68020
Jul 13, 2008
2,018
2,088
Post Falls, ID
Awesome stuff, pretty cool to see it working on more machines :)

(hopefully my modded TBXI ROM works for you too :) )
I just read through your original thread on the Pismo. I am going to try this out on a slot loading iMac G3, 400Mhz that I believe shipped with 9.0.4. How exactly would I modify the ROM? I assume you only changed the models that you have for the powerbook and MDD, so I would either have to keep the OF trick or add the iMac into the rom.
 

LightBulbFun

macrumors 68030
Nov 17, 2013
2,808
3,125
London UK
the modified ROM I provided should be "bootable" on any PPC Mac :) (does not necessarily mean it will boot, just that OF will make an attempt at loading it)

its worth noting that I tested it out on my Early 2001 iMac, PowerMac2,2 where it sadly did not work

however some earlier slot loading iMacs, PowerMac2,1 did ship with 8.6 natively so i imagine those would work, and work quite well at that
 
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ziggy29

macrumors 6502
Oct 29, 2014
495
323
Oregon North Coast
I imagine 7.6.1 must be fast on that 1 GHz G4. :D

If you don't mind me asking, how do 8.1 and 8.6 compare in terms of performance/snappiness on the machine? Is 8.1 noticeably faster?
Not really. With a processor that far advanced of the software, it's almost like trying to clock the speed of sound from 50 feet away compared to, say, 80 feet away. There is probably a difference, but all are fast enough that the absolute difference is too small to really notice.

I do notice a little bit of slowdown in 9.2.2 compared to 8.6, though. Not much, but I feel it. (And a lot, of course, when running Tiger.)

The thing about 7.6.1 is that I have to pull out my ADB keyboard and mouse, which can be kinda fun in an old school/retro way some times. I can reliably use USB for I/O devices in 8.1, but USB storage devices don't work for me until 8.6. And, of course, in 7.6.1 I can't read the HFS+ partitions where the other systems are installed.

In 7.6.1, I have
 
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galgot

macrumors 6502
May 28, 2015
485
898
I've been wanting to try this for quite some time...

View attachment 825510

View attachment 825511

View attachment 825512

It's an original 500 MHz model. I used the 8.6 image for the Sawtooth, copied in the ATI and FireWire kexts from the stock 9.1 volume and did the OF trickery to spoof a PowerBook2,1. I've only played with it for a couple of minutes but it feels very responsive. I'm going to monitor CPU temps as @AphoticD had thermal problems with 8.6 on his Pismo.

Next step is to use the modified Mac OS ROM @LightBulbFun made so no OF trickery is required. Another nod to @LightBulbFun as his 8.6-on-Pismo thread inspired me to try this. :)

So, do I have the world's sexiest OS 8.6 machine? :D

Sorry for unearthing this thread, but where can I find that modified ROM ?
I think installing 8.6 (my favorite) on a 500Mhz Ti will be one of my next project .
 
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