Last Laptop that runs OS 9?

Hi, Gary -

What was the last laptop that Apple built that will run native Mac OS 9.n?

The last laptop models built that can boot to some version of OS 9 are -

• PowerBook - PowerBook (1GHz/867MHz) released in 2002.

• iBook - the last iBook G3 model, designated the (Early 2003) model.

...is there a list of Mac computers and the operating systems they support someplace?

For OS 9 and OS 8 versions, and an indication of which can not use those -
Article #HT1835 - Mac OS 8, 9: Compatibility With Macs

Note also those which came with 9.2.1 or later. These you had to have the original 9 installer disc that was bundled with the machine to install Mac OS 9.

A 9.2.1 retail disc was available for a limited time that would install on those Macs that came with 9.2(.0) or earlier. 9.0.4 is older than 9.2.

July 2002 and later Macs came with no 9 disc per se, and had to use the restore discs to install Mac OS 9 using these instructions:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61802

Regardless of the version, if you plan on installing Mac OS X on the machine, be sure to install the Mac OS 9 drivers first:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75275

Otherwise the Mac won't boot into Mac OS 9.

Message was edited by: a brody

The last laptops to support Mac OS 9 were the iBook G4 and the PowerBook G4. Any Macintosh machine with a PowerPC processor can run OS 9. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106125 iMovie: starting with iMovie 3.0, Mac OS 9 is no longer supported/compatible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMovie

Message was edited by: Hadye

Hi, Hadye -

There are so many KBase articles written over a broad span of time, that it is probably difficult for Apple to keep them all congruent.

In this case the article you refer to was last updated in 2003, hence does not take into account the capabilities (or lack thereof) of machines released after that time.

In particular, the article was stating the requirements of OS 9, that it needs a PowerPC processor - which it does. However, turning that statement around to all 'PowerPC processor machines can run OS 9' doesn't work. It's similar to the logic of, "All trees are plants; but not all plants are trees."

Keep researching the KBase articles - there's a ton of usable info in them. However, it's best to absorb that info in context, relevance, and date.

A couple of very usable KBase articles which address the theme of this thread are -
Article #HT1835 - Mac OS 8, 9: Compatibility With Macs
Article #HT2321 - Some Computers Only Start Up in Mac OS X

And, a very good utility to have on hand is MacTracker, which provides an on-machine addressable database of info about all Mac models and other Apple products.
OSX versions - http://www.mactracker.ca/
OS 9 version - Mactracker 4.0.2 {this is a direct download link; the file size is about 8.4MB}

You can look at the specs of the various laptop models at this site.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/index.html
The specs tell if the laptop is OS 9.x bootable.

 Cheers, Tom 😉



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Hi, Hadye -

The last laptops to support Mac OS 9 were the iBook G4 and the PowerBook G4.

That is not entirely accurate.

The original poster's question included this: "...that will run native Mac OS 9.n?". That means a machine that will boot to OS 9, not just be able to use it as Classic.

None of the iBook G4 models will boot to OS 9. None of the PowerBook G4 models introduced in 2003 and later are OS 9 bootable. Although iBook G4 and later PowerBook G4 models can use OS 9 as Classic under OSX 10.4.x and earlier, that is not the same as being able to boot to OS 9.

Any Macintosh machine with a PowerPC processor can run OS 9.

That, too, is not entirely accurate.

Not all machines with PowerPC G4 and none of the machines with PowerPC G5 processors can boot to OS 9. And, not all can use OS 9 as Classic - Classic is not usable on any machine running OSX 10.5.x (Leopard) or later.

A bit of clarification in terminology - when OS 9 is used as a boot OS, it is properly called OS 9; when it is used in the Classic mode, it is should be referred to as Classic (because a machine can have only one Mac OS running at a time).

Sometimes the author of a question in these forums is not aware of that important distinction, one which helps us respond more accurately. Often a careful reading of their post will clarify which it is; if not, a quick Q&A will determine which way it is being used.

Apologies. I've never attempted to install OS 9 on a Macintosh with a PowerPC G4 or G5 processor, so the only knowledge I had of this was from the Apple article I read that stated OS 9.1 could be installed on "Mac OS-based Apple computer with a PowerPC microprocessor." This led me to believe that any PowerPC based Macintosh could run OS 9.

See my FAQ* on Mac OS 9 compatibility:

http://www.macmaps.com/macosxnative.html#OSNINECAPABLE

The difference between booting into 9 and using Classic is on the same FAQ:
http://www.macmaps.com/macosxnative.html#CLASSIC

- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Message was edited by: a brody

HI, Gary -

Great - glad you found something suitable.

In case you need to look at KBase articles about it, Apple designates that machine as the "PowerBook G4 (DVI)" model.