Can I upgrade my PowerPC Macintosh Performa 6320 to Mac OS 9?

It appears not according to http://compgroups.net/comp.sys.mac.misc/which-os-for-performa-6320/544354

Allan

Hello,

LowEndMac says up to Mac OS 9.1:

http://lowendmac.com/ppc/performa-6320.html

Anyway, with 16 MB of RAM installed, an upgrade to Mac OS 9 would not be possible. With 32 MB of RAM barely possible.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2299

I would even say that you should stay with System 7.5.x (BTW, a free complete 7.5.3 system is available for download from Apple) since this probably is the least slow option for a computer of this type.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA36684

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -British/Macintosh/System/Full_Installs/System_7.5_Version_7.5.3/

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_7.5_Version_7.5.3/

Jan

Hello again,

See About This... under the Apple menu. It is possible to upgrade the RAM (see the LowEndMac web page above).

If necessary, you could find a Performa 6300 user's guide through a Google search.

The downloadable 7.5.3 system software is a bit special. It consists of nineteen (the British and the US versions) .bin files, which once decoded are segments of one large disk image. The first thing to do is to get the nineteen files onto the hard disk of the Performa. This can be done in different ways. If the Performa has an Internet connection, you could download the files directly. If not, you could try to burn an appropriate CD-ROM (at a low speed) on another computer, and then read/copy the contents at the Performa. One can even use 1.44 MB floppies for the transfer. Keep the .bin files as they are during download/transfer, do not try to decode them until on the Performa. At the Performa, the nineteen .bin files must be decoded (use a suitable version, such as 4.x or 5.5, of StuffIt Expander for Macintosh for this). Place the decoded files (one. smi and eighteen .part) in a common folder on the hard disk. Double-click on the first file (the .smi) in order to mount the entire disk image. The installer will be found in the mounted image.

Jan

According to the MacTracker database, the Peforma 6320:

<> had a 160mHz 603e PPC processor

<> could support up to OS 9.1

<> could accomodate up to 136MB RAM, which will run OS9 with careful management. (8MB intergral with the logic board and two slots each handling one module up to 64MB)

The problem is you would need a full retail install version of OS9 becasue the pre-G3 Macs like the 6320 used System Enablers to work proeprly. The retail install disks have enablers for any supported Mac model. A grey system restore/install disk for another Mac model witll not work because it would not have enablers.

Allan: Those specs are for the Performa 6360, which - although having the same desktop case as earlier Performas - had the same improved motherboard as the 6400. The O.P. had the correct specs for a Performa 6320: "1.2 GB HDD, 120 Mhz (603e) Processor, 16 or maybe 32 MB ram and it is 32-bit." The 6320 had the same motherboard as the earlier 6200/5200 and 6300/5300 Performas. This included (2) RAM slots that can each accommodate up to and including a 32 MB (72-pin) SIMM, for a maximum total of 64 MBs of installed memory.

Indeed! 😢 Thanks for teh correction

I'm in the middle of corrective eye surgery--one done two weeks ago and the other won't be until Wednesday. I'm seeing a lot of doubles lately, and wish I were drinking doubles!

One eye still has the old glasses lens with a misfit bifocal and the once-blind eye worked on last month now has 20/20 vision beyond 4 feet, but no close-up capability! Heck of a way to read a computer screen! Oh well, everything is supposed to be wonderful in about 5-6 weeks.

Speaking of the Performa 63xx/62xx, 54xx/53xx those machines couldn't upgrade past 7.5.5 unless their CPU wasn't one of the unfortunate lemon CPUs that Apple had a tester for called the 63xx/62xx, 54xx/43xx tester. Getting that tester is hard, though I think it was on one of the 9 retail installer discs. Here at least is the documentationfor that issue.