Hi, leftcoaster -
Can you tell me in layman's language how to do that?
Provided you have a stand-alone OS 9 Install CD of adequate version for that Mac, boot the machine to the OS 9 Install CD, then do a Clean Install of OS 9. Instructions for doing that are in this Apple KBase article -
Article #58176 - Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9: Performing a Clean Installation
A Clean Install of OS 9 will not remove anything - it will install a brand new, 'clean' System Folder and the standard utilities and suplemental folders that OS 9 uses. Doing a Clean Install will avoid an issue where the OS 9 installer can mistake an OSX folder for being an already installed but unknown version of OS 9.
(Another option would be to simply run the CD I have on my old G3 Mac laptop and then transfer the files I need to the PowerBook, but I'd rather not have two Macs cluttering my small space.)
Since OS 9 installs are, by default, model-specific to the machine whose OS is running the installer, a default install of OS 9 would not work for that purpose - it would not be able to boot the Mac you transfer it to. However, there is a way around that - many original OS 9 install CDs and all retail ones (white label, gold 9) have the ability to perform a universal (boot any Mac) install of OS 9. Instructions for doing that are ast the top of this page (wait for the graphics to cycle) -
Ron Jackle's Mac Page