Reinstalling Mac OS 9

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Level 1

35 points

Reinstalling Mac OS 9

I can't believe I'm in this side of the forums, but here goes.

A few months ago there was an apparent power surge at my house in the middle of the night. Because I never turned my Power Mac G4 off during the night (I've since changed that habit), naturally the harddrive was completely fried. We couldn't get anything I'd put on the computer over the past four years recovered. So we got a newer, larger harddrive.

Then as I was starting to work on the computer after I reinstalled Mac OS X, I noticed that it was a bit sluggish, especially since I had gotten both graphics and processor upgrades. It made sense that because everything was wiped off the computer, I'd need to reinstall the software for those two things. I reinstalled graphics card software easily, but the software for my new processor requires OS 9—it won't install in Classic.

So my question is, how do I go about reinstalling OS 9? If I just out the install CD in and installed it, would it overwrite OS X? I've never done this before so any help would be appreciated.

I've putting it off and putting it off due to some issues, but now I need to take care of it.

1.33 GHz Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002), 2.16 GHz 15.4" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

1.33 GHz PowerMac G4 (QuickSilver 2002), 2.16 GHz 15.4" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Jun 14, 2006 12:19 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 14, 2006 2:29 AM in response to Eric Crowell

Hi, Eric -

If your G4 QS '02 came with a separate OS 9.2.2 INstall CD, all you should need to do is boot to it, then do a Clean Install of OS 9.2.2. Note that a Clean Install of OS 9 does not remove or overwrite anything.
Article #58176 - Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9: Performing a Clean Installation

However, if that machine came with a combination set of install CDs, which boot to OSX, then one or more of these Apple KBase articles may help depending upon which version of OSX it originally shipped with -
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61802
Article #106294 - Mac OS X: How to reinstall Mac OS 9
Article #107383 - Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3: How to perform Mac OS 9 clean installation with Restore CDs

***

Note - if your machine came with a separate OS 9.2.2 Install CD, and when you boot to it you can not see the hard drive on the desktop or in the installer -
Article #106849 - Disk Is Available in Mac OS X But Not in Mac OS 9

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Answer 2

Jun 14, 2006 2:47 AM in response to Eric Crowell

Eric,

Installing OS9 will not overwrite anything else on the computer, unless you explicitly tell it to - with the reformat and re-install option. There are three options when installing, each has a clear description.

Note that any existing OS9 installation found, even Classic, will be renamed, to "Previous System Folder", etc.

The only caveat may be that you did not install OS9 disk drivers when formatting the new disk, but I think you probably had the foresight to do this if you installed Classic.

Remember OS9 may need some of it's updates too, once installed, ie. OS9.2.2 and CarbonLib v1.6, to run the processor driver install software.

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Answer 3

Eric Crowell Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 14, 2006 9:55 AM in response to Eric Crowell

Okay, after putting the CD in and clicking on the Mac OS Installer, it started up in Classic, but I got this dialogue box:

"Classic cannot update files in "System Folder" on "Power Mac G4 Install" because the disk is read-only.
To select another system folder, open Classic Preferences.
[Quit] [Open Classic Preferences]

So what do I do?

1.33 GHz PowerMac G4 (QuickSilver 2002), 2.16 GHz 15.4" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

1.33 GHz PowerMac G4 (QuickSilver 2002), 2.16 GHz 15.4" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

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Answer 4

Jun 14, 2006 11:47 AM in response to Eric Crowell

Hi, Eric -

It sounds like you are using a separate OS 9.2.2 Install CD. The messages you are getting indicate you are attempting to run the installer while still booted to OSX on your hard drive - the installers on such a disk will run only when the machine is booted to OS 9. OSX is trying to compy; it is trying to add some files to the OS 9 System Folder on the CD for use as Classic so that it can run the OS 9 installer program - but since that System Folder is on a CD, it can not be written to, hence the operation fails.

That is why I said that if you have a separate OS 9 Install CD you will need to boot to it in order to install the OS. The machine must be booted to OS 9 in order to run the installer; since you do not have Classic installed, the only OS 9 available is the one on the CD.

In case you're not familiar with booting to a CD, with the CD in the drive, restart - immediately press the C key, keep it held down until you get the OS 9 welcome screen.

Once the machine has booted to the CD (it takes noticeably longer to boot to a CD than it does to boot to an OS on a hard drive), double-click the program named "Mac OS Install" and do a Clean Install of the OS.

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Answer 5

Eric Crowell Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 15, 2006 12:13 AM in response to Eric Crowell

I did a clean install of Mac OS 9, so then I rebooted into Mac OS X so I could eject the disk. Then I booted back into OS 9, but then a "Mac OS Setup Assistant" window popped up, saying, "One moment please...gathering system information." Instead of the cursor I had the watch, but it wasn't "ticking" so apparently nothing was being done. I couldn't click anywhere else on the screen (it seemed to have just frozen up), so I manually rebooted the computer by holding down the power button and pressing it again, but after the computer started over, the same thing happened and nothing has changed. I can't click anywhere, so I can't install the software I need to. I can't reboot into OS X, which I obviously want to do when I'm done. What do I do?

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Answer 6

Jun 15, 2006 12:26 AM in response to Eric Crowell

Hi, Eric -

Boot to your OS 9 Install CD. Then open the System Folder on the hard drive, open the Startup Items folder in there - you'll probably find an alias to a program named Mac OS Setup Assistant. If so, throw it away. Then try booting into OS 9 again - it should do so without having the setup assistant kick in.

To force a boot into OSX, upon restarting or booting immediately press the X key, keep it held down until the machine starts to boot to OSX.

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Answer 7

Eric Crowell Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 17, 2006 6:46 PM in response to Eric Crowell

Okay, it worked out alright, but now I can't switch back to OS X. None of the buttons are clickable in OS 9, so I can't change the startup disk. I tried starting up in OS X by holding down the x key, but all I get is a disk image with a flashing question mark, which I know is not good.

1.33 GHz PowerMac G4 (QuickSilver 2002), 2.16 GHz 15.4" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

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Answer 8

Jun 17, 2006 9:14 PM in response to Eric Crowell

Hi, Eric -

Did you re-install the software for the processor upgrade?

Sometimes zapping the PRAM and rebuilding the desktop can fix issues related to freshly installed software or new hardware.

You can do it all in a single pass. Restart - immediately hold down the Command-Option-P-R keys until you've heard three additional sets of startup chimes; release, hold down Shift until you get the "Extensions Off" message; release, hold down Command and Option until you get the splash screen asking if you want to rebuild the desktop; click yes (or okay). Once that's done, restart to turn your extensions back on.

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Answer 9

Eric Crowell Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 17, 2006 10:02 PM in response to Eric Crowell

I knew from previously installing the software (prior to the crash) that the software on the CD wasn't the right one; the company emailed me the right stuff. So I emailed them again asking for the right software, but they told me that the software I had installed actually went into the processor itself (the logic board), not the Mac itself.

So now I'm just trying to get out of OS 9 and back to OS X. I've zapped the PRAM before, but it's pretty hard on this particular computer since I haven't heard the startup chime in ages (I've checked the volume).

1.33 GHz PowerMac G4 (QuickSilver 2002), 2.16 GHz 15.4" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

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Answer 10

Eric Crowell Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 18, 2006 5:42 PM in response to Eric Crowell

Update: Wow, things have really changed for the better. I tried to use Startup Manager by holding down the option key at startup, but the disk I selected gave me the same disk with a question mark image. So then I inserted the Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger installation DVD (held down x at startup) and opened Disk Utility and scanned it to see if it needed repairing. Everything checked out all right, so I restarted the computer after selecting Mac OS X from the Startup Disk. OS X started up fine and my computer is back to normal.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I appreciate it (especially since I'm going on vacation Wednesday). Thanks again!

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Answer 11

Jul 14, 2006 3:30 PM in response to Simon Teale

I've recently found I can't reboot in OS 9.2 any more, though Classic under OS X is still functioning.

I suspect that a recent OS X "Security Update", ho ho, may be the culprit, although i suppose corruption happens and it may be a coincidence.

Is it worth trying a re-installation of 9.2, do you think?

Thanks, - Angus

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