Want to play pre-intel game, got a PowerPC iMac and want to install OS 9, anything I need to know before hitting ebay?

If the machine in question is the iMac G4 PowerMac4,2 you list in your forum specs, it can boot OS 9 using only the model-specific version of OS 9.2.2 that originally shipped with it. There are no retail (white label) OS 9 install CDs which are usable on that model.

In case your hardware solution fails you, consider SheepShaver the Mac OS 9 (and 8 and some versions of 7) emulator that runs on Intel Macs.

Check out my listing of sources for SheepShaver and Chubby Bunny at this thread:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14927170#post14927170

Let me know if the set you purchase works for you. Contact me by email; screenname at AmericaOnLine

Is that the "Luxo" iMac G4? I still have the one my daughter purchased years ago. The original disk set must be around here somewhere...

If not, I have quite an extensive OS Library from those days. I'll swap you!

yayamaui wrote:

hmmm, ok, need some clarification, please bear with me, not very techie, but love learning.

So I have a 2003 iMac PowerPC G4 (PowerMac6,1 768 MB 1 GHz) currently running OS 10.4.11. NO DISKS whatsoever- someone gave me the computer, it was about to go in the "recycling". (which is such a shame- WHAT A COOL LOOKING COMPUTER!!!) I also have this year's model of MacBookPro and have had many macs, so I am not trying to be an apple rip off- just trying to play a game they have made obsolete. Wish I had kept a few of my older ones...

When I try to play this really cool game it says it that the classic environment is no longer supported. So question time: can I purchase a copy of the tiger os and reload it? I understand that the disks are extremely model specific and apple info says my model originally shipped with 10.2.3 installed, but what about the black retail copies verses the grey lables? And would this theoretical re-install of tiger then automatically include the classic mode, or is that a seperate disk? And if one purchaces this retail install disk, are codes necessary? I have the overall user password from the original owner, but alas she tossed the disks...

the cool game is Alice: an Interactive Museum and is worth all this trouble... it will play on os 9. The sheepshaver, looks way too complicated for my level of computer knowledge, but thanks for the suggestions.

"The transcendant world of Alice was created through the cooperation of artists in three fields - the painter Kuniyoshi Kaneko, the musician Kazuhiko Kato and the computer-graphics artist Haruhiko Shono. The theme of this unusual collaborative effort derives from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Kaneko provided numerous of those of his pictures that have been influenced by Alice's world and Kato contributed the music. With these as his material, Shono has created an elaborate interactive environment. The stage upon which this drama unfolds is a house of twelve rooms that include a gallery, an atelier, a wine cellar and a photo studio, each connected to others by corridors, doors, and even secret passageways. The persistent player will find as well a single exit that opens to the outside world. There is also hidden throughout the twelve rooms a deck of playing cards. On each card is a message that will enable you to unlock the mysteries of Alice's world. A wonderland of striking works of art, interactivity and compelling adventure game is waiting to be explored by YOU."

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Your iMac G4 is one of the following three:

[click on image to enlarge]

Accordingly, the earliest operating system that will boot your computer is either OS X 10.2.3 or 10.2.7 depending on which specific Mac. Since you say your label says it shipped with OS X 10.2.3, it must be the first one listed. Hence you cannot boot OS 9 on this computer, but you can install OS 9 into the Classic Environment on it.

Reading these Apple Support documents will help clarify what you need to purchase:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA21153?viewlocale=en_US

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1585?viewlocale=en_US

So while it would be helpful to have a set of OS X Jaguar install Disks in your library, it does not look like it is essential; you just need to have OS 9 to install into it.

I think I made this offer once before...

Let me know if the set you purchase works for you. Contact me by email; screenname at AmericaOnLine

Is that the "Luxo" iMac G4? I still have the one my daughter purchased years ago. The original disk set must be around here somewhere...

If not, I have quite an extensive OS Library from those days. I'll swap you!

yayamaui wrote:

it looks like tiger doesn't contain classic. So how do I get classic onto my iMac w/o the orginal disks? What do I buy?

Looks like this auction has what you need (OS 9.04):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mac-OS-9-featuring-iTools-software-w-original-box-and-ma nual-ver-9-0-4-/261103184983?pt=US_Operating_Systems_Software&hash=item3ccaf66c5 7

If you just want to run classic mode, copy the System Folder from another Mac that has OS 9.1 (or better with 9.2.1 or 9.2.2) installed. A USB thumb dive works great for this. Transfer the folder to your iMac. It won't interfere with your OS X system which is in a folder titled System.

However, some games don't work properly in classic mode.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

Unfortunately the OP has indicated above that he does not have a copy of OS 9:

Or do I need to already have 9 installed, which I don't. Does it matter which OS 9 version I get...

Some helpful information for the OP would be: after he comes over to your house with a thumb drive and copies the OS 9 System folder from one of your Macs, when he goes home, where does he copy the OS 9 System Folder to on his OS X Tiger Mac (it has been WAY too long since I ran OS X Tiger PPC for me to remember)?

Sorry you missed that auction; how much did OS 9 sell for?

Luxo, Jr. was an short film produced by Pixar in its early development days, 1986. It is the source of the small hopping desk lamp included in Pixar's corporate logo.

Given Steve Jobs' influence in both companies many thought that the design of the iMac G4 was an upside Luxo:

You need to understand that your computer will NOT boot OS 9 directly. The earliest version of OS X that it will boot & run is OS X Jaguar 10.2.7 and the latest version it will boot & run is OS X Leopard 10.5.8.

However, PPC versions of Jaguar and Tiger (OS X 10.4.x) incorporate the Classic Environment, which when initiated will give you emulation of older Classic applications, including Alice.

If the "load-when-needed" option is selected, double clicking a "classic" application first launches Classic, which can be configured to appear in a window resembling the display of a computer booting into Mac OS 9. When Classic is finished loading, the application launches. When a "classic" application is in the foreground, the menu bar at the top of the screen changes to look like the older Mac OS system menu. Dialog boxes and other user-interface elements retain their traditional appearance.

As Tom suggested, my recollection is that an OS 9 System Folder was created somewhere on the Mac. In my collection of Operating Systems, I have my old Classic Environment version of OS 9 saved to a CD-R. I remember using that CD to just copy over OS 9 to my other new PPC Mac at that time.

Let us know how you fare and post your questions and successes!

Here is a CNET tutorial about installing OS 9 into the Classic Environment:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10331436-263.html