Wiping a Mac os 9.1 Power Macintosh G3

You can't use Mac OS 9 from another system than it shipped with.

You must get the retail version of Mac OS 9 to install on a PowerMac G3.

The disk must look like above and not say Dropin, OEM, or Upgrade.

Jan is correct. Read my earlier post. Get the white 9 CD with the orange 9 logo, and it does not say update, dropin, or OEM.

It will say in fine print in black whether it is 9.0, 9.0.2, 9.0.4, 9.1, 9.2.1. 9.2.1 can be used on any PowerMac G3 except the so-called Kanga Powerbook G3/250 Mhz with the drop down rear feet.

Option key booting works on any Mac with built-in USB. If you have a beige G3, that will require the 'C' key to boot.

Make sure your PRAM battery is not over 5 years old, as it may not support any booting without the PRAM battery being new.

Alternatively, if your desire is just to erase the hard drive and reuse it, you can pull out the hard drive and connect to a USB adapter of the appropriate kind, and connect to another Mac and use Disk Utility to reformat the drive.

That is a 7.5.3 system CD for a Performa 6320CD. It can not be used with a Power Macintosh G3 (will most likely not even start up).

There may be other ways. Please let us know which exact computer model you have. There were beige and blue & white G3 machines, in addition to PowerBook and iBook computers. See, for example, everymac.com for all variants.

Hi,

According to the specifications, the original system software for a Performa 6320CD was 7.5.1 with a System Enabler 406. So, a Performa CD for this machine should contain a System 7.5.x version.

Macintosh Performa 6320CD:Technical Specifications

http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/desktops/0308236APRF626300CDUG.PDF

However, this machine has a 603e processor. It is not a G3 computer.

So, please double-check the exact model for the computer that you actually are using, and the exact installed operating system.

No G3 can run system software from any Performa.

Macs can only run the system that shipped with them and newer retail release. G3s all shipped with 9.0 or some version of Mac OS 8.

7.6.1 and earlier discs will not run on any G3.

Note, I am not even broaching the subject of processor card upgraded machines. If you think your machine is a Performa with a G3 processor card, that's a different story. You may need to ensure only the original hardware is installed when using the system discs for the Performa.