Mac OS 9 will NOT install on 350MHz iMac

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Mac OS 9 will NOT install on 350MHz iMac

recently i acquired an old imac g three, and it has 256mb of ram and it had a password set on it so i decided to format the disk and installed 10.2 on it. turns out in order to install panther i need to install the firmware update so i have to make a partition of os 9 and install it. problem is the computer will NOT RECOGNIZE THE DISC. i have tried holding c, holding option, and formatting at least three times (while checking install mac os 9 drivers) to install the outdated abandonware and IT DOES NOT WORK.

could it have to do with the pram battery being out? i know some people who have this problem however. it's very annoyig and i just want to get this thing back on its feet.

thank you if you can help.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.2.x) , 350mhz 10gb 256mb 8mb ati

Posted on Oct 29, 2012 10:26 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 29, 2012 11:56 PM in response to CrazyFreak

The 350 MHz iMacs built between Oct. 1999 and July 2000 (model identifier PowerMac2,1) originally shipped with OS 8.6. These came in six colors: Blueberry, Grape, Strawberry, Tangerine, Lime, and Graphite. You need a full retail copy of OS 9 to install on this iMac.

The 350 MHz iMacs built between July 2000 and Feb. 2001 (model identifier PowerMac2,2) did ship with OS 9.0.4. These came five colors: Indigo, Ruby, Sage, Snow, and Graphite. You'd need an OS 9 original disk for these machines or a full retail copy of OS 9 to install on it.

Apple made hardware specific original OS install disks for each model of iMac that shipped. If you put these original disks in a machine that didn't have the correct hardware, they wouldn't work. So you may have a copy of OS 9 that was shipped with a different version of the iMac you have.

You can check eBay for retail copies of OS 9.

All that being said, it might just be the PRAM battery.

Good luck.

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