Networking OS9 and OSX together. Can It Be Done ! ?

Is it possible to network an OS 9 machine with my newer OS machines running OSX(from Panther to Leopard)

Yes, they can just be connected to a network. To share files from a system running Mac OS X 10.5 or earlier to Mac OS 9, start File Sharing from the Sharing pane of System Preferences, open the Chooser in Mac OS 9, click on AppleShare, press the Server IP Address button, and log in.

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When I go to Appleshare in Chooser on the OS 9 machine it can be selected as "on" but there's no option in the "select a file server" window area - it is empty.

As indicated above, you need to use the Server IP Address button.

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AppleTalk File Sharing was removed at Mac OS X 10.4, but IP File Sharing works fine, you will have better results starting on the OS 9 Mac, as Niel said. This illustrated guide can be very helpful:

http://homepage.mac.com/car1son/os9xnet_nfilesharing.html

Unlike Mac OS X, OS 9 and "Classic" Applications pre-allocate the amount of memory they request. If you are having trouble with an Application, you can select its Icon and choose GetInfo from the File menu to get access to the preferred size memory box. Then enter a larger number. You can use the graphs on the "About this Mac" display to check the effects. The larger bar is the total memory allocated when the Application was launched, and the inner bar is the amount of its request which has already been used. An Application that has nearly filled up its allocated bar needs a bigger allocation.

The Finder is likely to have some trouble with any large collection of files, or any file over 4 GB by itself. The best solution is to have Virtual Memory on and move files in smaller batches. There was a "hack" that allowed you to increase the memory allocation for Finder, but I do not remember the details.

Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

Perhaps my FAQ* can help you isolate the password you need:

http://www.macmaps.com/network9X.html

Mind you, the Mac OS 9 machine is always dedicated as a server, and the Mac OS X machine connects as a client. Never the reverse. The reverse has to potential to ruin Mac OS X permissions.

- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

a brody-

Your guide is interesting, but ignores the ability of Mac OS from 7.5.3 through 9 (with at least OpenTransport 1.1.2 and AppleShare Chooser extension 3.7.4) to connect to later Macs (up through 10.5) using the "Server IP Address" button provided in AppleShare 3.7.4 and later.

Also, I do not understand what you are trying to say about the involvement of Mac OS X permissions.

For something that used to be easy and near-automatic, File Sharing between old and new Macs sure has gotten complicated.

Your guide is interesting, but ignores the ability of Mac OS from 7.5.3 through 9 (with at least OpenTransport 1.1.2 and AppleShare Chooser extension 3.7.4) to connect to later Macs (up through 10.5) using the "Server IP Address" button provided in AppleShare 3.7.4 and later.

This was a feature I was unaware of.

Also, I do not understand what you are trying to say about the involvement of Mac OS X permissions.

I know several customers who royally messed up their Mac OS X machines permissions, when it was set up as a file sharing turned on, and a Mac OS 9 machine accessed them via the Chooser.

And no, they didn't move any files that I wouldn't have moved.

a brody: For your collection:

7.5.3 and later File Sharing
Any Mac running 7.5.3 or later (with at least OpenTransport 1.1.2 and AppleShare Chooser extension 3.7.4) can share the files of any Mac running OS 9 or later using built-in File Sharing using IP. What is not supported beyond 10.3 is File Sharing via AppleTalk. In addition, Sharing initiated from your 10.4 or 10.5 Mac to a Mac before OS 9 is not supported directly. So you will have to make the connection from the Older Mac end. Alternatively, you could install "Shareway IP" (a low-cost utility) on the older Mac and connect from the newer Mac.

You need an appropriate Ethernet connection, and each Mac must have a similar (but not identical) IP Address. On the 10.4 or 10.5 Mac: You must turn on File Sharing in your 10.4 or 10.5 Mac:
System Preferences > Sharing > Services pane > \[X] Personal File Sharing
and click ( Start )
Look up the 10.4 or 10.5 Mac's IPv4 Address in System Profiler OR Network Preferences, and write it down for later. It may resemble 192.168.0.6

On the Older Mac: open the Chooser and select AppleShare. Your 10.4 or 10.5 Mac will NOT appear in the right-hand pane, because it does not speak AppleTalk File Sharing protocol. But do not despair!

It can speak IP protocol, if you ask it nicely. So click on the "Server IP Address" button on the bottom of the right pane, and enter the IPv4 Address of the 10.4 or 10.5 Mac.

The login screen that appears is sent to you from the 10.4 or 10.5 Mac. Enter a Username and password that is valid on the 10.4 or later Mac. Choose the drive(s) you want to mount, if there is a choice, and they will appear on the desktop of the Older Mac as shared Network Drives (Drive Icon with a cable coming out the bottom).

Drag whatever you like to the newly-mounted drive. It will appear on the 10.4 or 10.5 Mac. Try to resist the temptation to drag your whole drive all at once. Move smaller batches in a thoughtful way, and you should have no problems.

TA23008- Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: "Connection failed" error when connecting to an AFP server

http://homepage.mac.com/car1son/os9xnet_nfilesharing.html

tearing out hair on this -
just upgraded to 10.5.8 - and suddenly - the older os9 machine with the pre-pres scanner is no longer seen on the network.

your comment re: IPv4 sounds like a hint - but I cannot locate this information - and when I look at the pane where that data should exit - it is blank

I am ready to sneaker net like the 90's

any thoughts would be appreciated

B

bennetthall-

In 10.4, your own IPv4 Address is just labeled "IP Address", (the IPv6 Address, which does not get used very often in the US, is at the bottom of the TCP/IP pane).

In OS9, the IP address shows in the TCP/IP Control Panel, with the same caveat about its being blank. If you have AppleTalk ON, sometimes the server's name WILL appear in connection dialogs, and you can use it to make connection easier (but the actual connection to 10.5 will be made via IP protocol).

If your Mac has not yet obtained ANY IP Address, it is usually because you have not forced it to do anything that requires the Internet. I sometimes use getting the network time or checking Software Update to cause internet activity and force an Address to appear. Opening a page in a Browser and requesting a page also works.

If you are not connected to a Router that can dispense an IP Address, you should see a "self-assigned" IP Address in the 169.254.xxx.yyy range. That allows you to talk, but is an indication no one else will talk to you.

There is also an "Assist me" button in the Mac OS X TCP/IP pane that should launch Network Diagnostics, a cross between a diagnostic and a setup wizard.

Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

thank you for that information Grant

Actually - I forget to mention, that prior to upgrading to 10.5.8 from Tiger, all was happy on the network - the g5-workstation saw the scanning station OS9. All machines are currently logging onto to the internet (though I need to download a better browser for the OS9 machine -old MS Explorer - yuck-other issue)

Therefore, all clients had an IP address and were on the ethernet, connected via the router, and to the internet via DSL modem.

Only after the upgrade install did I later notice the scanning workstation was not loading/reading. I suppose this could be a coincidence - as it had been a bit over a month since since I used the scanner, the install in between somewhere.

I will sift through your procedures once less tired as well - thanks again...

bennetthall-

A lightly-used older Mac can also suffer from a failing backup battery. Since some of the default settings for networking are kept in parameter RAM, this can make network startup more difficult.

MIKEinMICH wrote:

Something fundamental seems wrong on the OS 9 machine though. (For starters I have to find a copy of "FileSharingLib" to put back in the System Folder'cause it's missing).

It may just be that a system extension was disabled. In Extensions Manager, make sure all the items related to sharing are active.