trying to install Mac OS 9 on iBook for use with Classic Mode on 900Mhz

If these iBooks have Firewire, you could boot this one into FW Target Made...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583

Then drag your installed OS9 to the other one.

Make sure you have plenty of free space, fix the HD & repair Permissions first.

Hi, iBookProdify -

Welcome to Apple's Discussions.

If you can boot to the OS 9 Install CD on that machine, do so. Then do a Clean Install of OS 9. A clean install of OS 9 will not remove anything, but will prevent the installer from being confused by one of OSX's folders as beinng an unnknown version of OS 9.
Article #58176 - Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9: Performing a Clean Installation

It is probable that you will not be able to install OS 9 from that CD. The 900MHz model iBooks need the model-specific version of OS 9 that came with the machine originally' this is not available on a stand-alone install disk.

Those models came with a combination installer on a disk set that boots to OSX. They can be used to install just Classic on a machine which already has OSX on it. One or more of these articles should assist in doing that -
Article #106294 - Mac OS X: How to reinstall Mac OS 9
Article #107383 - Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3: How to perform Mac OS 9 clean installation with Restore CDs
Article #42929 - Using Restore Discs with Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.3..3

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If you only need Classic, and not a bootable OS 9, then you can copy a working OS 9.1 or later System Folder from another machine and place it on that hard drive. This copying can be done via CD or other media, or via drag and drop over a Firewire Target Disk Mode connection or over an ethernet connection.

To bless the system, drag the System file & the Finder file to the desktop. Then drag both to the System folder. The System folder should have a small Mac icon on it.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

Hi, iBookProdigy -

Tried to copy from a CD, was not usable.

If you were copying the System Folder from an OS 9 Install CD, that will not be usable - one or more of the files in that kind of System Folder have been altered, and that System Folder will work only when it is on the CD.

If it was one copied from another machine, it will not be able to be used for booting while on the CD. If the machine it was copied from is a different model Mac, after copying it to your hard drive it will not be usable usable for booting your iBook, but should be usable for Classic.

In order to rebless an OS 9 System Folder, open it, drag the files Finder and System out onto the desktop. Close the System Folder. Drop those two files back into the closed System Folder.

You do realize you can download the Mac OS X version for free from www.finale.com/notepad, right? (I am going to use this program frequently when I finally get around to downloading it...)