OS 9 display thinks my screen is a second/extended display - help

[bastifantasti]

Hi all,

Using a PowerMac(3,1) 450, agp graphics. Mac OS 10.4.11 and Mac OS 9.1.1 both on the boot volume. Had it since it was released. Visiting my parents and it’s still sat in my old bedroom. Booted in10.4.11 and then thought I’d boot back into Mac OS 9 which I’ve not done since like 2000 - just for nostalgia.
OS9 boots up into an extended display like mode. I’m connected via VGA cable. In this extended display mode I see no menus and cannot use os 9 as the menu bar is on the other display.

furthermore I am therefore unable to select Mac OS 10.4.11 as my bootableOS as I cannot access any of the control panels.

so then I decided to boot holding X - this does nothing.

then I’ve put a retail version of 10.4 in and tried to boot from cd by holding C - no go. I’ve tried to boot from disk by holding option - no go.

I’ve reset PRAM. No go.

not sure why my drive isn’t working at boot screen - inOS 9 if I out is x retail in I can hear the drive whirring and doing stuff (but it opens on the main display which I cannot see and not my screen which it thinks is the second display).

any ideas how to make my screen the main screen so I can leave this OS 9 hell and return to X?!


I made the fatal error of

 

[eyoungren]

Something to try.

Shut down the Mac, disconnect the monitor cable. Turn the Mac back on and rezap PRAM. Keep holding the keys down so it chimes three times and then let go. Should always zap PRAM three times.

Anyway, let it complete booting (you'll have to listen as to when you think the drive is done accessing). Then shut the Mac off. With G3/G4s you can do that by pressing the reset button and then immediately afterwards pressing the power button.

Reconnect the monitor cable and power up the Mac. See what happens if it still boots in OS9.

PS. You can choose which OS to boot into by holding down OPTN when you turn the Mac on until the boot selector comes up.

All this 'C' key and 'X' key stuff has never worked for me. I use OPTN.

 

[bastifantasti]

Something to try.

Shut down the Mac, disconnect the monitor cable. Turn the Mac back on and rezap PRAM. Keep holding the keys down so it chimes three times and then let go. Should always zap PRAM three times.

Anyway, let it complete booting (you'll have to listen as to when you think the drive is done accessing). Then shut the Mac off. With G3/G4s you can do that by pressing the reset button and then immediately afterwards pressing the power button.

Reconnect the monitor cable and power up the Mac. See what happens if it still boots in OS9.

PS. You can choose which OS to boot into by holding down OPTN when you turn the Mac on until the boot selector comes up.

All this 'C' key and 'X' key stuff has never worked for me. I use OPTN.

Hi eyoungren,

the option key doesn’t work for me as it only displays whatever the last OS booted into was if both of those operating systems are installed on the same partition. If os9 was on a different drive I’d be able to select.

I’ve done what you said - reset PRAM with no screen connected. It’s booting into os9 now but it’s doing a disk repair as I can’t power off the machine with the menu (just at the power source).

will leave it 20 mins and then I’ll plug the screen in...hopefullyI’ll be contacting you to tell you you’re a genius 🤗

 

[bastifantasti]

Ok so that didn’t work. I have managed to download os9 on my laptop and I burnt it to a CD - the installation process starts, but as an extended display - I can’t actually install as the installation window is on another screen 🧐

I have also downloaded 10.4.2 as a four CD package - when I burn them to CD (from my windows laptop) I can’t boot them on the powerMac - they are the PPC versions.

this is really p****** me off - spent nearly 24 hours trying to boot back into OSX 🤩🤩🤩

 

[bastifantasti]

Something to try.

Shut down the Mac, disconnect the monitor cable. Turn the Mac back on and rezap PRAM. Keep holding the keys down so it chimes three times and then let go. Should always zap PRAM three times.

Anyway, let it complete booting (you'll have to listen as to when you think the drive is done accessing). Then shut the Mac off. With G3/G4s you can do that by pressing the reset button and then immediately afterwards pressing the power button.

Reconnect the monitor cable and power up the Mac. See what happens if it still boots in OS9.

PS. You can choose which OS to boot into by holding down OPTN when you turn the Mac on until the boot selector comes up.

All this 'C' key and 'X' key stuff has never worked for me. I use OPTN.

You’re a genius. I’m currently booted into Mac OS 9 from the CD!!!It didn’t reset the screen issue for the os already installed but for some reason it has worked for booting from the os 9 disk 🤩

 

[Amethyst1]

PS. You can choose which OS to boot into by holding down OPTN when you turn the Mac on until the boot selector comes up

If OS 9 and X are on the same partition, this won't work.
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I have also downloaded 10.4.2 as a four CD package

If it came from Mac Repository it's actually 10.4.0.

 

[eyoungren]

If OS 9 and X are on the same partition, this won't work.

Gotcha. As you know, I hate OS9 so it's never on the same partition as OSX, just on any OS9 only Macs I may have. Thanks!
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You’re a genius. I’m currently booted into Mac OS 9 from the CD!!!It didn’t reset the screen issue for the os already installed but for some reason it has worked for booting from the os 9 disk 🤩

Interesting…and strange.

That was just a shot in the dark though. I figured, without a monitor attached the system would see no display and when doing a PRAM reset would default to a basic single display GPU.

At least it worked on the CD.