So I was on Facebook Marketplace a few weeks back, and stumbled upon a seller getting rid of a Power Mac G4 Quicksilver, 867 MHz model, with matching 17" Apple Cinema Display (with ADC connector), for $150. I threw out a $100 offer to her and she accepted so I swung by and picked it up from her place.
The system is in immaculate condition, just a very few scuffs here and there but otherwise looks almost out-of-the-box clean. Same with the display. It even came with a built-in Zip drive under the Superdrive with the proper front bezel, but I replaced the Zip with something else that I think is cool and unique (more on that in a bit...). And as far as I can tell, everything seems to be functioning perfectly with it so far.
What intrigues me most about this particular system is that this exact 867 MHz model is the ONLY Power Mac model that is supported by every retail release of PPC Mac OS X, from 10.0 through 10.5, as well as being OS 9-bootable, without requiring a CPU upgrade. Earlier PPCs are not rated fast enough for 10.5, and later PPCs couldn't run 10.0 and/or boot OS 9 (for post-late 2003 PPCs). Even other Quicksilvers (733 Mhz and dual-800 Mhz) released in 2001 alongside this model are too slow for Leopard's CPU requirement (867 MHz and above G4).
So as a proof-of-concept, I decided to demonstrate this uniqueness... the system's existing 60 GB hard disk came with some OS 9 system stuff on it, but there was no blessed system folder and could not boot. So I went about tracking down a Mac OS 9.2.2 install CD, burned it on my 2013 iMac, and used that to boot the PMG4 and partition its internal hard drive into SEVEN partitions, one for each supported Mac OS system as follows:
6 GB for Mac OS 9
2 GB for Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah
2 GB for Mac OS X 10.1 Puma
4 GB for Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
4 GB for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
18 GB for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
The remainder (a bit under 24 GB) for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
I based each partition size on a combination of that particular OS release's suggested disk space requirement as well as where I envisioned most of my time being spent actually poking around and using the system (with OS 9 and 10.4/10.5 likely having more practical use than those earlier OS X releases).
I actually had most of the OS X original install discs already in my possession, but did need to download 10.3 (for some reason couldn't find that one). I had a 10.5 install DVD, but it was for an early MacBook, and it failed upon installation, leading me to believe that it contained mostly Intel-based resources on it and, as such, would not work properly. So I had to track down a PPC 10.5 install image, and one that would fit on a single-layer DVD-R. Macintosh Garden to the rescue for both those problems.
I even still had the 10.0 Public Beta original CD, and was hoping I could get that one up and running too, but it kernel panicked during boot up...not surprising given that this Quicksilver came out after the PB's expiration date. The system came with its stock 128 MB of RAM, but I ordered a couple of 512 MB sticks to bring it up to 1.12 GB, in preparation for installing Leopard (which requires 512 MB minimum).
Cutting to the chase and skipping the menial trials and tribulations of each version's install...I was indeed successful installing Mac OS 9.2.2 as well as each version of Mac OS X, 10.0 through 10.5, onto this system. SEVEN versions of Mac OS on one Power PC Mac. No other PPC system created by Apple can lay claim to that ability without some hardware additions or hackery. And they all run pretty well, very slow (and loud) spinning hard drive aside.
For internet, the system did not come with an AirPort card, but I had an extra AirPort Express base station laying around, so I decided to use that in "client mode" and attach it via Ethernet to the G4. Works like a charm. Leopard even still was able to communicate with Apple's servers via Software Update and download and install the latest updates and software for that release. I was impressed. As this system only has USB 1.1 ports, I threw in an inexpensive USB 2.0 PCI card off Amazon as well; those ports only work as 1.1 ports in OS 9, but all the OS X partitions recognize and use them at full 2.0 speeds, so I was able to use some USB thumb drives at full speed and not have to wait a million years for file transfers.
Now for the really geeky and truly useless part. Remember that Zip drive it came with? Well, I remembered back in the early '00s when I owned a B&W G3 that I also had a USB Imation SuperDisk LS-120 drive. I vaguely remember taking the drive mechanism out of its external enclosure, removing the USB-to-IDE bridge off the back of the drive, and installing it internally in the B&W under the DVD drive. At some point, when I sold off that B&W years ago, I must've removed the SuperDisk drive and put it back in the USB enclosure, because I still have the drive. I decided to take it out of storage and test it first in its external enclosure...and it worked perfectly, with both SuperDisk diskettes (120 MB) as well as standard 1.44 MB floppy disks (though OS 9 required an install of the official SuperDisk drivers for the larger media to be recognized).
Hearkening back to my B&W experiment, and knowing that I had zero Zip disks laying around (but a handful of SuperDisks AND plenty of floppies), and knowing that there was already the proper front panel bezel in the system, I decided to do the same to this system...I took out the optical/Zip carriage, removed the SuperDisk drive from its USB enclosure, did a quick jumper change on the drive, and swapped the Zip drive out for the SuperDisk. And lo and behold...it works (mostly), and the bezel cutout is even the correct size still! All six OS X installs recognize SuperDisks and floppies with no drivers required, and they all mechanically eject the disks by dragging to the trash. I say 'mostly' works because the OS 9 install does not recognize any media inserted into the drive (my guess is because the SuperDisk drivers are USB-specific and won't properly recognize the drive, even though Apple System Profiler sees and names the drive properly in the ATA chain); as such, because the media is not recognized AND the bezel covers up the spot where the physical eject button would be, I have to use a thin flathead screwdriver to push the force-eject mechanism on the front to remove any disks inserted in OS 9. Lesson learned: simply don't use the drive at all in OS 9.
Bottom line of this experiment... I now have an ultra-rare Power Mac G4 setup: one that can boot into each Mac OS release from 9.2.2 through 10.5.8, with a matching one-cable ADC monitor, USB 2.0, AND a built-in floppy drive. Of course it has no real practical use in 2020, but I think it's a setup that has some cool potential for exploring and bridging the truly classic Mac realm to the more modern Mac realm. For my next venture with the system, I'm looking to add an IDE-to-CF adapter and running some alternate OSes...specifically, Lubuntu and MorphOS. The latter of those two, however, requires a Radeon graphics card (the system came with an NVIDIA GeForce2 MX, which MorphOS does not support), so I found a surprisingly cheap Radeon 9000 (with ADC connector) online and will attempt those additional installs once I get the adapter and graphics card all set up. I'll keep you posted.
If anyone is interested in any of this, I can post some pics of each system up and running, or might even do a YouTube video of it all.
And if you read this far, congrats!
The system is in immaculate condition, just a very few scuffs here and there but otherwise looks almost out-of-the-box clean. Same with the display. It even came with a built-in Zip drive under the Superdrive with the proper front bezel, but I replaced the Zip with something else that I think is cool and unique (more on that in a bit...). And as far as I can tell, everything seems to be functioning perfectly with it so far.
What intrigues me most about this particular system is that this exact 867 MHz model is the ONLY Power Mac model that is supported by every retail release of PPC Mac OS X, from 10.0 through 10.5, as well as being OS 9-bootable, without requiring a CPU upgrade. Earlier PPCs are not rated fast enough for 10.5, and later PPCs couldn't run 10.0 and/or boot OS 9 (for post-late 2003 PPCs). Even other Quicksilvers (733 Mhz and dual-800 Mhz) released in 2001 alongside this model are too slow for Leopard's CPU requirement (867 MHz and above G4).
So as a proof-of-concept, I decided to demonstrate this uniqueness... the system's existing 60 GB hard disk came with some OS 9 system stuff on it, but there was no blessed system folder and could not boot. So I went about tracking down a Mac OS 9.2.2 install CD, burned it on my 2013 iMac, and used that to boot the PMG4 and partition its internal hard drive into SEVEN partitions, one for each supported Mac OS system as follows:
6 GB for Mac OS 9
2 GB for Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah
2 GB for Mac OS X 10.1 Puma
4 GB for Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
4 GB for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
18 GB for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
The remainder (a bit under 24 GB) for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
I based each partition size on a combination of that particular OS release's suggested disk space requirement as well as where I envisioned most of my time being spent actually poking around and using the system (with OS 9 and 10.4/10.5 likely having more practical use than those earlier OS X releases).
I actually had most of the OS X original install discs already in my possession, but did need to download 10.3 (for some reason couldn't find that one). I had a 10.5 install DVD, but it was for an early MacBook, and it failed upon installation, leading me to believe that it contained mostly Intel-based resources on it and, as such, would not work properly. So I had to track down a PPC 10.5 install image, and one that would fit on a single-layer DVD-R. Macintosh Garden to the rescue for both those problems.
I even still had the 10.0 Public Beta original CD, and was hoping I could get that one up and running too, but it kernel panicked during boot up...not surprising given that this Quicksilver came out after the PB's expiration date. The system came with its stock 128 MB of RAM, but I ordered a couple of 512 MB sticks to bring it up to 1.12 GB, in preparation for installing Leopard (which requires 512 MB minimum).Cutting to the chase and skipping the menial trials and tribulations of each version's install...I was indeed successful installing Mac OS 9.2.2 as well as each version of Mac OS X, 10.0 through 10.5, onto this system. SEVEN versions of Mac OS on one Power PC Mac. No other PPC system created by Apple can lay claim to that ability without some hardware additions or hackery. And they all run pretty well, very slow (and loud) spinning hard drive aside.
For internet, the system did not come with an AirPort card, but I had an extra AirPort Express base station laying around, so I decided to use that in "client mode" and attach it via Ethernet to the G4. Works like a charm. Leopard even still was able to communicate with Apple's servers via Software Update and download and install the latest updates and software for that release. I was impressed. As this system only has USB 1.1 ports, I threw in an inexpensive USB 2.0 PCI card off Amazon as well; those ports only work as 1.1 ports in OS 9, but all the OS X partitions recognize and use them at full 2.0 speeds, so I was able to use some USB thumb drives at full speed and not have to wait a million years for file transfers.
Now for the really geeky and truly useless part. Remember that Zip drive it came with? Well, I remembered back in the early '00s when I owned a B&W G3 that I also had a USB Imation SuperDisk LS-120 drive. I vaguely remember taking the drive mechanism out of its external enclosure, removing the USB-to-IDE bridge off the back of the drive, and installing it internally in the B&W under the DVD drive. At some point, when I sold off that B&W years ago, I must've removed the SuperDisk drive and put it back in the USB enclosure, because I still have the drive. I decided to take it out of storage and test it first in its external enclosure...and it worked perfectly, with both SuperDisk diskettes (120 MB) as well as standard 1.44 MB floppy disks (though OS 9 required an install of the official SuperDisk drivers for the larger media to be recognized).
Hearkening back to my B&W experiment, and knowing that I had zero Zip disks laying around (but a handful of SuperDisks AND plenty of floppies), and knowing that there was already the proper front panel bezel in the system, I decided to do the same to this system...I took out the optical/Zip carriage, removed the SuperDisk drive from its USB enclosure, did a quick jumper change on the drive, and swapped the Zip drive out for the SuperDisk. And lo and behold...it works (mostly), and the bezel cutout is even the correct size still! All six OS X installs recognize SuperDisks and floppies with no drivers required, and they all mechanically eject the disks by dragging to the trash. I say 'mostly' works because the OS 9 install does not recognize any media inserted into the drive (my guess is because the SuperDisk drivers are USB-specific and won't properly recognize the drive, even though Apple System Profiler sees and names the drive properly in the ATA chain); as such, because the media is not recognized AND the bezel covers up the spot where the physical eject button would be, I have to use a thin flathead screwdriver to push the force-eject mechanism on the front to remove any disks inserted in OS 9. Lesson learned: simply don't use the drive at all in OS 9.
Bottom line of this experiment... I now have an ultra-rare Power Mac G4 setup: one that can boot into each Mac OS release from 9.2.2 through 10.5.8, with a matching one-cable ADC monitor, USB 2.0, AND a built-in floppy drive. Of course it has no real practical use in 2020, but I think it's a setup that has some cool potential for exploring and bridging the truly classic Mac realm to the more modern Mac realm. For my next venture with the system, I'm looking to add an IDE-to-CF adapter and running some alternate OSes...specifically, Lubuntu and MorphOS. The latter of those two, however, requires a Radeon graphics card (the system came with an NVIDIA GeForce2 MX, which MorphOS does not support), so I found a surprisingly cheap Radeon 9000 (with ADC connector) online and will attempt those additional installs once I get the adapter and graphics card all set up. I'll keep you posted.
If anyone is interested in any of this, I can post some pics of each system up and running, or might even do a YouTube video of it all.
And if you read this far, congrats!
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