PowerMac G4, MacOS9 and a Tiger

[jofima]

I'm on a PowerMac G4 (the old kind), and I still run OS9. I have two internal hard drives, one of which has the OS. I'm now looking to update, spec. to a Tiger (10.4.xx), as that seems to be the last OS version that works on my machine. But before I start hunting for a Tiger license, there are a few issues that I'd like to understand first:

1.
If I format one of the HDs with Tiger, and then star up with that, can I still access the files on the OS9 disc without trouble?

2.
If I start up on Tiger (HD1), can I still run OS9 programs on HD2, or do I have to move those to HD1 and run them in/via Classic?

3.
Do I need to delete OS9 from HD2, or can I keep it there without it causing any trouble?

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jofima

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I'm on a PowerMac G4 (the old kind), and I still run OS9. I have two internal hard drives, one of which has the OS. I'm now looking to update, spec. to a Tiger (10.4.xx), as that seems to be the last OS version that works on my machine. But before I start hunting for a Tiger license, there are a few issues that I'd like to understand first:

1.
If I format one of the HDs with Tiger, and then star up with that, can I still access the files on the OS9 disc without trouble?

2.
If I start up on Tiger (HD1), can I still run OS9 programs on HD2, or do I have to move those to HD1 and run them in/via Classic?

3.
Do I need to delete OS9 from HD2, or can I keep it there without it causing any trouble?

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jofima

1. Yes you can!
2. Neither. You have two ways of running those Mac OS 9 programs:
a. Boot into Mac OS 9 then run them (best for programs incompatible with Classic)
b. Run them directly from HD2 using the Classic environment in Tiger (best for programs compatible with Classic)
3. Keep it - it'll make your life a lot easier running Classic programs.

 

[jofima]

Brilliant! Thanks for the swift replies.