JosephRoy

Q: Upgrade Mac keeping compatibility with old softwares

I need to upgrade an old mac 10.4 buying a newer imac or mac pro. But first i need to know if there's a way to keep alive old software such as Photoshop CS2, Free Hand MX, Quark XPress 6.5 etc..

 

I Cannot upgrade them for now so i was thinking at 2 solutions, but i don't know if they are possible or if there's such a better way:

 

1) Create a virtual machine with old OS and old software inside new Mac.

 

2) Keep my old machine ( but i would avoid it ) creating a remote desktop connection between new and old machine. But i don't know if 10.4 has a compatible and performant remote desktop service.

 

Any suggestions?

 

thanks in advance

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.4)

Posted on Sep 26, 2014 2:25 PM

Close

Q: Upgrade Mac keeping compatibility with old softwares

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 26, 2014 2:34 PM in response to JosephRoy
    Level 10 (271,184 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 26, 2014 2:34 PM in response to JosephRoy

    Any Mac running Lion or later does not support any old PPC-only software. So you will have to look at upgrading your old software or replacing it with a substitute. See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

     

    i would bsckup your data to an external hard drive in order to restore it to a new computer when you get one. This is much easier than trying to use Migration Assistant or linking the two together. Then you can dispose of your old computer or put it into storage.

  • by JosephRoy,

    JosephRoy JosephRoy Sep 26, 2014 2:49 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2014 2:49 PM in response to Kappy

    In fact i would know if it's possible to virtualize my old 10.4 OS under new mac  or create a remote desktop connection ( maybe the tilte could be a bit confusing )

  • by kahjot,

    kahjot kahjot Sep 26, 2014 4:33 PM in response to JosephRoy
    Level 4 (1,347 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 26, 2014 4:33 PM in response to JosephRoy

    You can find pretty good deals on Mac Pros on eBay, especially on first-generation models (2006, or 1,1). If your goal is to keep your software going, a 2006 Mac Pro would work pretty well. It can run Tiger through Lion.

     

    The sweet spot is a Mac Pro that can run Snow Leopard, which is the last OS that has Rosetta, which allows you to use PPC apps. CS2 apps run just fine in Snow Leopard. I haven't tried Quark 6.5 on my Mac Pro, and do not have Freehand MX, but some googling ought to turn up info on how it would work in Snow Leopard. You could always run Tiger or Leopard if necessary if you get a 2006 model. But if everything you need to use can be used with Snow Leopard, you can get a 2009 or 2010 Mac Pro. OWC often has used Mac Pros for sale. If you want to try eBay, take the usual precautions: check feedback carefully, sort listings by location to see if there is anything for sale within your area that you could pick up. If not, look for sellers who can ship it in the original packaging. For less than $300, you should be able to find an early Mac Pro with a decent amount of installed RAM. For $1500 or somewhat less, you should be able to get a 2009 or 2010 Mac Pro, pretty nicely equipped, from OWC.

  • by kahjot,Helpful

    kahjot kahjot Sep 26, 2014 4:37 PM in response to JosephRoy
    Level 4 (1,347 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 26, 2014 4:37 PM in response to JosephRoy

    JosephRoy wrote:

     

    In fact i would know if it's possible to virtualize my old 10.4 OS under new mac  or create a remote desktop connection ( maybe the tilte could be a bit confusing )

    THere was a discussion recently at Macintouch about virtualizing 10.4. Apparently it can be done, but it takes some fiddling. Probably not the way to go.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 26, 2014 5:06 PM in response to JosephRoy
    Level 10 (271,184 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 26, 2014 5:06 PM in response to JosephRoy

    maybe the tilte could be a bit confusing


    You think?

  • by MichelPM,Helpful

    MichelPM MichelPM Sep 26, 2014 8:36 PM in response to JosephRoy
    Level 6 (13,852 points)
    iPad
    Sep 26, 2014 8:36 PM in response to JosephRoy

    Easier way would be to purchase and older, but newer Intel CPU Macs (circa 2009 -2011) that still runs OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard as Snow Leopard  is the last release to have a PowerPC emulator called Rosetta, that worked seamlessly in the background that still allowed older PowerPC coded software to still operate in a Intel CPU Mac. The use of Rosetta ended with OS X Snow Leopard as the Rosetta application was licensed to Apple from a company which got bought out, I believe by Micrsoft and Appe could no longer secure their rights to continue to use Rosetta in later versions of OS X.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Sep 26, 2014 8:42 PM in response to JosephRoy
    Level 6 (13,852 points)
    iPad
    Sep 26, 2014 8:42 PM in response to JosephRoy

    .