New Mac Mini Server, has two Hard drives, could I install an older Mac OS on the second drive and switch start up disks to run PowerPc applications?
Yes, but you should be using that drive as a RAID 1 for you server just it case you have an issues with a hard drive.
I say no.
If your new Mac Mini came with Lion in all likelihood it will not boot from an older version of OS X.
Allan
Thanks Eric for your quick reply!
I have three external drives and was planning to use the server not as a server but as a working Mac to try and solve the problem of a PPC application that was not upgraded to Intel Macs by the developer. With this in mind I could use all Intel based applications on one drive and PPC based applications on the second drive. Apple will not continue to support PPC with Rosetta and with OS Lion will no longer support PowerPC. The application is CanvasX an all in one application and I can't find a replacement that even comes close to what CanvasX can do. Canvas was originally developed for the Mac by Deneba and was later bought out by ACD which is basically a Windoz developer who then deserted the Mac platform.
Dick Deaton
Old PPC Mac Minis can be had for next to nothing. Why compromise your brand new machine?
I haven't purchased a Mac Mini at this time and I may not if I can't use it as a non server. I need to update my system I would be better off buying a new Mac with Snow Leopard the last app that will run Rosetta. The Mac Mini Server has a quad 2.0 processor and 4 GB RAM and two internal hard drives and should out perform my dual 1.25 G4. I can run PPC apps on my G4 but it is 8+ years old and seems to be getting noisy. I don't want to tie myself to another old machine. I want a machine that will work with Intel Apps I was hoping that the two hard drives would allow me to boot from the second with Snow Leopard and use Lion on the first drive to be able to keep up to date with all my other universal apps and Mac OS up grades. The application I use the most is my CanvasX app with drawing & vector effects, text & typography, sprite technology, painting, image editing, and multimedia tools are all in this one app but will not be updated to run Intel apps. I am frozen in time because my most valuable Application won't be updated and Apple has cut me off by not supporting PPC in Lion and onward; Apple used to backward support but I guess that they are no longer as user friendly and concerned with a happy user. I have always been a loyal Mac user and I will not migrate to Windows under any circumstance; I hate windows!
Thanks for your prompt response,
Dick Deaton
Seems to me the real issue is that Canvas 12 is windoz only. Your vendor abandoned you, not Apple.
It seems like everyone here is talking around the real answer: You cannot run an older Mac OS on a new Mac, it does not contain the drivers for the new hardware. Unlike Windows, which is certainly not a "doz-ing" off OS, you cannot install drivers into an older Mac OS to support new hardware. I can install Windows XP onto any new Windows 7 PC with the proper XP drivers if they exist (which of course they may not).
That said, there is a lengthy thread on here on installing Mac OS 10.6.8 onto the new Mac Mini. Snow Leapard 10.6.8 contains drivers for the new Mac Mini hardware because it was previously used on MacBook Pro's which contained the same hardware as the Mac Mini. However, it's not for the faint of heart, and involves using a target MacBook Pro and several Snow Leopard disks. Even then, it didn't work for some people. So your Rosetta applications will probably require a separate Mac, e.g. a refurbished 2010 Mac Mini for example.
New Mac Mini Server, two Hard drives, Can I install an older Mac OS on the second drive and switch start up disks to run PowerPc applications?
