Appleboy45
Level 1 (32 points)
Classic Mac OS

Q: What Operating System Disc Do I Need?

I want to downgrade my iMac G3 Summer 2000 from OS X 10.4 to Mac OS 9.0.4 which is the first version of Mac OS the iMac G3 Summer 2000 model came with. I noticed that the model before the iMac Summer 2000 model may have come with Mac OS 9.0.4. Will any reinstallation disc that says "iMac" on it that has 9.0.4 on it work on my Summer 2000 iMac G3 computer?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.11), G3 Processor

Posted on Apr 21, 2016 6:03 PM

Close
Appleboy45

Q: What Operating System Disc Do I Need?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Apr 21, 2016 6:14 PM in response to Appleboy45
    Level 10 (312,731 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 21, 2016 6:14 PM in response to Appleboy45

    It needs to be designed for your model of Mac.

     

    (141719)

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Apr 21, 2016 6:27 PM in response to Appleboy45
    Level 8 (38,788 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 21, 2016 6:27 PM in response to Appleboy45

    Ideally, it should be the disc that came with the iMac model, if it's not a Retail disc.  A disc for a different Mac model may not have all the necessary software components for your iMac.  The "Retail" disc is the one that was sold separately in a box; it works with all supported Mac models.  Additionally, if your iMac originally came with 9.0.4 pre-installed and you use a Retail disc, you may want to go to the next release that came on a Retail disc, which was 9.1.  9.1 is generally considered a solid release, and the most compatible with "classic" software.

     

    NOTE:  You do not need to "downgrade" when it comes to Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X.  The two system are separate, and both can exist on the same Mac at the same time.  Mac OS X even uses the Mac OS 9 system for its "Classic" environment, if you want to run older (before Mac OS X) applications under Mac OS X.