kmos9: Mac OS 9: How to create a bootable CD

First of all, you'll need Roxio's Toast, CharisMac's Discribe or other CD burning software to make a bootable CD, because Apple's Disc Burner can't create bootable CDs.

This is a way that can be used with different burning applications (they just have to be able to install the necessary wrapper code to make a volume bootable):

*start Disk Copy (usually located in the Utilities-folder), select Image>>>Create new Image... from the menu

* fill in a name for the CD, make sure that a size of 663,000K (CD-ROM 12cm, full) is selected and "Mount Image" is checked (checking the "Zero blocks"-option also is a good idea)

*save the image (usually to the desktop)

*you can now use a Mac OS installer (your original Mac OS install CD, for example) to install a System Folder to that disc image (once installed, you can also update that system using any [download] updater) and add all applications you want (try to install them whenever possible, because simply copying things over will not always work)

*when using Mac OS 9.2.x, remove these files from the System Folder: "Classic", "Classic Support" and "Classic Support UI"

*now run those applications on the disk image which require registration (e.g. a serial number) - otherwise they will ask for registration when booted from the CD and therefore might not work

*disable any AutoUpdate- / LiveUpdate-features, as the applications on the CD can't be updated anyway once they've been burned

*when running applications from the disk image, some applications might create preference files in the System Folder you are currently booted to - in that case, just copy those preference files to the System Folder on the disk image afterwards

*now you should remove anything that may have been stored in "Startup Items" or "Shutdown Items" inside the disk image's System Folder; you might also want to remove some useless control panels, extensions, etc. and set the Energy Saver control panel to "never go to sleep"; also set all other preferences/control panels to your preferred settings (once again, you might need to copy files over from the System Folder you're booted to for these changes to take effect)

*when finished, burn the CD [when using Toast Titanium, set it to "Other", select "Mac Volume", click "Select", choose the disc image from the menu, select "bootable" and click "Record"] - in case you're given the choice, make sure to select "Mac OS Standard (HFS)" volume format, not "Mac OS Extended (HFS+)"







Useful links:

* Mac OS 9.1 updater (updates Mac OS 9.0 - 9.0.4 to 9.1)
* Mac OS 9.2.1 updater (updates Mac OS 9.1 or 9.2 to 9.2.1)
* Mac OS 9.2.2 updater (updates Mac OS 9.2.1 to 9.2.2)

* Disk First Aid 8.6.1 (in case you use an earlier version)

* Movie from Macworld on the subject
* How do I make a bootable CD for my Mac using Toast? (Article from Roxio's Knowledge Base)
* Bootable CD tips from Symantec (Norton Utilities)