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A vast majority of all the software that runs on 9 will also run on 8.6. Carbon apps were an early X days thing that allowed properly coded apps to live a double life on 9 and X. But in terms of classic only apps, virtually everything will run on 8.6.

What is the latest Mac that supports Mac OS 8.6?
 
and the iBook G3 Clamshell PowerBook2,1 and the first gen iMac G3 slot loader's PowerMac2,1 :)
Thanks for telling! I completly forgot about what system is installed by the recovery-disk initially, while always aiming for the latest and greatest - which I thought, was os9.22 ...
Looking forward to set up a Clamshell with the original os8.6 configuration! :)
 
Oh well, the Pismo G4 supports min 9.0.4 which is close to 8.6, while my G4 Titanium 1ghz supports 9.2.2 and is the last mac to boot MAC OS 9, much less 8.6 - I can see if there is a copy of sheephaver for PPC macs and I guess I could emulate it on Leopard.
 
If those were the last Macs that booted OS 8.6, then what were the last Macs (all types - iMac, iBook, Power Mac, PowerBook) that could boot Mac OS 9?
 
If those were the last Macs that booted OS 8.6, then what were the last Macs (all types - iMac, iBook, Power Mac, PowerBook) that could boot Mac OS 9?

Hi noticed your name is JPNMAC - Are you Japamac from Apple's forums ? I remember you as you were the top guru there. Its good to see you again. JPNMAC from Japan, right?
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Those that have 9.2.2 listed as minimum.

So, if I can get Sheepshaver to run on my G4, I should be able to emulate 8.6 right ?
 
I do like 8.6 cause it’s indeed fast. But one thing that bothers me is that whenever i’ve tried connecting to a file sharing OS X 10.5 or earlier, via the Chooser and connect with IP or Appletalk, it failed.
So i have to use MacSFTP... or install 9.0.4 or 9.2.2 .
Maybe it’s due to the Appletalk or ethernet extensions installed with 8.6. Would have to try swapping with these form a 9 install.
 
Hi noticed your name is JPNMAC - Are you Japamac from Apple's forums ? I remember you as you were the top guru there. Its good to see you again. JPNMAC from Japan, right?
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So, if I can get Sheepshaver to run on my G4, I should be able to emulate 8.6 right ?
And no - I am not Japamac from Apple's forums.
 
It would be a G4 emulating a G4 (or some other PPC processor). Sheepshaver is an emulator and not a virtulization environment (hence how you can run it under x86 machines).
Well ... that may not be so.

Originally Sheepshaver was made for PPC, which it ran at 'native' speeds (according to both the official Sheepshaver page, and a copy of E-Maculation from about that time period), only doing PPC emulation 'for non-PPC platforms'. So, it should be possible to run 8.6 at a good pace, and have a viable Classic substitute for 10.5. A Low End Mac guide from '08 said as much.

That said, it's worth noting that:
1) Sheepshaver (the x86 version, at least) has historically tended to provide a somewhat limited experience, with weak or no support for 3D graphics, among other quirks and problems.
2) There are no very recent PPC builds of Sheepshaver that I'm aware of (the focus having shifted almost exclusively to the x86 emulation scene). The choices for prebuilt binaries seem to be a somewhat unstable '14 build, or a more stable but more limited '09 build.
3) The most recent PPC E-Maculation guide says that it is "extremely CPU hungry on PPC hosts". While SS itself may run fine, that implies that SS alongside other OS X apps can be more questionable.

So, if you can run native or Classic, you probably should, but it's a viable choice in some circumstances.
 
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Well ... that may not be so.

Originally Sheepshaver was made for PPC, which it ran at 'native' speeds (according to both the official Sheepshaver page, and a copy of E-Maculation from about that time period), only doing PPC emulation 'for non-PPC platforms'. So, it should be possible to run 8.6 at a good pace, and have a viable Classic substitute for 10.5. A Low End Mac guide from '08 said as much.

That said, it's worth noting that:
1) Sheepshaver (the x86 version, at least) has historically tended to provide a somewhat limited experience, with weak or no support for 3D graphics, among other quirks and problems.
2) There are no very recent PPC builds of Sheepshaver that I'm aware of (the focus having shifted almost exclusively to the x86 emulation scene). The choices for prebuilt binaries seem to be a somewhat unstable '14 build, or a more stable but more limited '09 build.
3) The most recent PPC E-Maculation guide says that it is "extremely CPU hungry on PPC hosts". While SS itself may run fine, that implies that SS alongside other OS X apps can be more questionable.

So, if you can run native or Classic, you probably should, but it's a viable choice in some circumstances.
Ah, ok. Interesting!
 
In fairness, it wasn't clearly labelled as such, and E-Mac's PPC downloads take a little bit of searching to uncover if you're not used to the site. It may seem like an obvious question, but there's no need to be unpleasant. A first-time delve into virtualization will be enough trouble as it is.

The '14 universal binary (.zip) is listed near the bottom of the active builds thread. The old ('09) build (also .zip) is near the bottom of the aforementioned PPC guide. The minimum requirements are said to be 10.4, so if you use Panther or below, don't hold out hope for much to happen.
 
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The site I linked to in my post (#35) explains how to set up SheepShaver on PPC hosts. Would be rather pointless if you couldn't run it on PPC wouldn't it?

yes, I just want to see what was before OS 9. I entered Mac in 1999-2000 - I never experienced 8.6, 8.5, 8.1, 8, 7,6,5 so on.
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In fairness, it wasn't clearly labelled as such, and E-Mac's PPC downloads take a little bit of searching to uncover if you're not used to the site. It may seem like an obvious question, but there's no need to be unpleasant. A first-time delve into virtualization will be enough trouble as it is.

The '14 universal binary (.zip) is listed near the bottom of the active builds thread. The old ('09) build (also .zip) is near the bottom of the aforementioned PPC guide. The minimum requirements are said to be 10.4, so if you use Panther or below, don't hold out hope for much to happen.

tried this once I believe on a G5 quad abd the fans started to scream due to a percentage Setting.
 
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yes, I just want to see what was before OS 9. I entered Mac in 1999-2000 - I never experienced 8.6, 8.5, 8.1, 8, 7,6,5 so on.
All versions of 8 appear on the surface to be largely the same as the latest version of 9, and the changes are subtle, enough that the average Mac user probably couldn't tell you the difference if they haven't actually used both of them recently. Some of the more obvious things that come to mind are the different Find tools (Fast Find > Sherlock > Sherlock 2), the eventual addition of the 'Window' menu, and that more things are draggable and/or can become new floating windows.

7 is a bit more distinct, due in part to being before 8's 'Platinum' appearance, but it's also harder to come by. I think you need an Old World ROM file for it, and that can only be (legally defensibly) obtained by extracting it from a working beige Mac.
 
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When I was in college around Sept 1995, that must have been when Macs used System 7. At that time, I was using a Pentium III 1Ghz machine in my college dorm room. That was the year I believe our school got internet working and email through the Ultrix Unix system. I remember using also Vax basic.
 
yes, I just want to see what was before OS 9. I entered Mac in 1999-2000 - I never experienced 8.6, 8.5, 8.1, 8, 7,6,5 so on.
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tried this once I believe on a G5 quad abd the fans started to scream due to a percentage Setting.
8.x was very similar to 9.x. Mac OS 9 is basically like a Mac OS 8.7. The look and most functionality is similar. Some ways you can differentiate OS 8 and 9 are:
1. OS 8 has Sherlock 1 while 9 has Sherlock 2. Sherlock was the predecessor to Spotlight in OS 8.5-10.3.9
2. OS 9 was the first to support multiple users without additional software
3. OS 9 has a Window menu in the Finder, while 8 doesn't.
 
8.x was very similar to 9.x. Mac OS 9 is basically like a Mac OS 8.7. The look and most functionality is similar. Some ways you can differentiate OS 8 and 9 are:
1. OS 8 has Sherlock 1 while 9 has Sherlock 2. Sherlock was the predecessor to Spotlight in OS 8.5-10.3.9
2. OS 9 was the first to support multiple users without additional software
3. OS 9 has a Window menu in the Finder, while 8 doesn't.
There were more under-the-hood changes. Some programs (such as After Dark) broke with OS 9 and required a patch (or just wouldn't work at all). Also, Mac OS 8.0 didn't support HFS+ (that was introduced with Mac OS 8.1) and 8.5 was the first verison to drop 68k processor support, introduced themes, and also was the first verision to display the name of the application in the menu bar as opposed to just the icon.

I'd argue that while 8 and 9 are similar, they aren't similar enough to say that 9 is essentially a minor update to 8.
 
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