iBook G3 Mac OS 9 Problems

It's been a long time since I booted into OS 9, but check the display resolution setting. If I remember correctly the setting is done in one of the Control Panels.

Mac OS 9.x

• From the Apple Menu pull down to "Control Panels"
• From with the "Control Panels" window double click on "Monitors"
• When the "Monitors" control panel opens it will open in the default "Monitor" view (the other option is the "Color" view). In this view the bottom half of the window is split into two panes, the right pane is named "Resolution".
  In this pane is listed the recommended resolutions that your monitor can support.
• Select a resolution at or higher than 800 x 600.

Your Mac will apply the change, then will display an option to change your mind if you don't like it or if it doesn't work on your monitor.

Sometimes you have to re-center the image using your monitor's "Size" and "Center" controls.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

The black area is simply an indication that your screen resolution isn't set properly. You can change that in Preferences; It should be 800x600 or maybe slightly larger (I don't have an iBook to test that).

You can't install Mac OS 9.2.2 on that using a white CD or even that PowerMac G4 CD; they aren't compatible with that machine. You need to use the original installation discs that came with that machine, which are no longer available from Apple. So you'll have to buy them on the secondary market.

To find out which ones you need, we need to know the exact model number of that iBook, which is on the original box (if you got that), or you can find out by using System Profiler and posting that information, up to but not including the serial number.

With OS 9, when the screen image is smaller than the screen itself it usua;;y indicates the machine has been booted to an OS 9 install from another machine, one which is a different model than the one trying to run it. The direct cause in that case is that the graphic support software that was installed does not match with the hardware on the machine it is being used on. Note that unless specific steps are taken during an install of OS 9, the installation will be specific to the model on which it is installed, rather than being a universal install.

Every machine has a minimum OS which it can use; typically this is the OS version that originally shipped with the machine.

What specific iBook G3 model do you have? There were many; if you don't know the Apple designation for your model, this article can help you identify it -

iBook: How to Identify iBook Models

Okay. The "A1005" model is designated by Apple as the iBook (32 VRAM) model. It originally came with OS X 10.2.1 and OS 9.2.2, the latter being a model-specific version as all OS 9.2.2 installs were.

The install disks for this model were a combo set - the disk set boots to OS X, and after OS X was installed it was then possible to install a bootable OS 9.2.2 from the same disk set and installer; it did not come with a separate OS 9.2.2 Software Install CD. If one wished to have only OS 9.2.2 installed on a model like that, it was necessary to first install OS X, then install OS 9.2.2, then remove OS X.

Finding an original disk set for that specific model may be difficult. One possible source would be an Apple User Group near you. Most large cities and universities have one -

Apple - User Groups

...for a 9.2.2 CD that is gray and says eMac Mac OS 9 Install but the seller describes it as not being compatib. with iBook G3 16V RAM or later. 200722397183. So that must not be it correct?

That is not it. The OS 9 (and maybe OS X) install disks that come with a machine are usually specific to that model, meaning the necessary files for models with different hardware are not available to the installer.

...is advertised as Mac OS X 10.1.2 & 9.2.2 together. Item #: 160749654458. Is that it?

No.

Your iBook originally came with OS X 10.2.1 and OS 9.2.2.

A disk set with OS X 10.1.2 is for either an iMac (Flat Panel) (the original model in that series) or a G4 QuickSilver (the original model in the QS series).

It looks to me like you will need two different items: the OS 9.2.2 CDs, and the 10.2.1 CD(s). These have part numbers of 691-4001-A, and 691-4178-A, respectively. So, whether you get them from that seller, eBay, or Craigslist, that's what you're looking for.

I should note that your iBook Install/Restore discs were actually for Mac OS X 10.1.4 and Mac OS 9.2.2, even though at the time of sale Apple installed 10.2.1 on your system. So you could actually use the set of discs that Apple shipped with all G3/G4 Macs of that generation, and the Apple Part Number for the set is 603-0798-A.

The complete set is 9 discs, including one for an optional software install. The only difference between discs is that the name of each model generation was printed on the sets they came with; there is no difference in the actual software.

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