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Will restoration discs install OS 9?

MacBH928

MacBH928

macrumors G3
Original poster
May 17, 2008
9,167
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I bought an iMac in 02 and it came with 2 partitions , os 9 and os X .

Any way I got the restorations discs with it and I was wondering can I install OS 9 from those discs on other powerPC machines or are these going to restore my iMac exclusively?
 
It also depends on which restore disc it is. Some OS X systems' restore discs don't actually "install" OS 9, they just throw an OS 9 folder down as "Install Classic". Although I think most of those were systems that couldn't natively boot OS 9, so if yours can natively boot it, and you have the matching restore disc, it will likely install a "full" OS 9, not a "Classic Environment" copy. (Which is itself still fully bootable on OS 9-bootable systems, of course. It's just that it won't "install" like a real OS 9 install disc would.)
 
well... then I guess Apple should put OS 9 out for the public domain.

Its so old, it will be hard to find a copy, let alone a machine to run it on. Then once you use it, you can't really go online with it because its pretty outdated.

So it should not hurt them to let it out for the hobbyists.
 
MacBH928 said:
well... then I guess Apple should put OS 9 out for the public domain.
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose you could grab a copy of Netboot 9, which Apple puts out on its site for anyone to grab for free. You should be able to get a System Folder from that, which will boot just about every OS9 bootable Mac out there.

Apart from that, there is no shortage of OS 9 disks on eBay and the like, so no pressure on Apple to encourage anyone to spend time on old systems rather than buy The Best xxx Ever and fill the coffers of its shareholders.
 
MacBH928 said:
well... then I guess Apple should put OS 9 out for the public domain.

Its so old, it will be hard to find a copy, let alone a machine to run it on. Then once you use it, you can't really go online with it because its pretty outdated.

So it should not hurt them to let it out for the hobbyists.
Click to expand...

Apple has said that they can't put OS 9 out for public domain because of licensed parts inside. (i.e. Parts of OS 9 are licensed from other companies, and THOSE companies won't allow free distribution.)

And Apple likely doesn't have the willingness to spend the time to create a version of OS 9 that doesn't have them.
 
You can do it, but it's through a piecemeal install method. I've often used old restore discs to install software and even OS 9. HOW TO DO IT:

1. You will need to have the Finder reveal hidden items.

2. Put in your restore disc.

3. Copy the items in the restore disc using the exact file path as defined by the restore. For instance, if it goes in /Library/Application Support, it goes in that same folder. Install the base system first on the root level of your partition.

4. Install OS 9 applications the same way if they are on the restore. Follow the path of the file name exactly as shown.

5. Reboot and pray that you followed the pathways exactly right.
 
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