9.2.2 on Dual 1.25 Booting Issue

Logan,

The dual MDD needs a special version of OS9.2.2 with the correct Mac OS ROM file. A lot of the other system components have later version numbers than retail OS9.2.1 upgraded to 9.2.2 by the download.

So you really need the original disks that accompanied the MDD. There should be a Mac OSX 10.2 install cd, a special OS9.2.2 install cd and a restore cd (or three). You can either boot from the OS9.2.2 cd (that came with the MDD) or restore just the OS9.2.2 on the restore cds.

What was the model of the earlier G4 the drive came out of ?

If your computer shipped with Mac OS X 10.2 or newer, you won't have a bootable Mac OS 9 CD unless you find and burn the OS9General.dmg file on the Mac OS X restore disks. In this case, you can move the Mac OS 9 install to another partition by rebooting into Mac OS 9, dragging the folders Applications (Mac OS 9) and System Folder to the other partition, followed by opening and closing the newly-created System Folder.

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i was 100% sure my MDD came with a Mac OS9.2.2 install cd,

but when i've gone to look for it, all i can find is 4 restore cd's, 2 Mac OSX install cd's and a hardware test cd.

So using the Mac OSX Software Restore OS9 disk image referred to by Niel is the only way to go.

I have heard of people being able to boot from retail OS9.2.1 cd's, and run the installer, but then not being able to boot from the system it installed. Just a warning in case someone presents this as a possibility.

I'm sure you have your own reasons for running OS9 on a dual processor MDD, but of course, under OS9, only one processor is used. I've spent years moving over to Mac OS X, Both Panther and Tiger (Panther seems to run faster than Jaguar) run like a dream, and the computer now uses both CPUs !! And I still jump into Classic for a bit of Photoshop 5.5 - although all the usual stuff I need to do I can do in GraphicConverter.

Hi, Simon -

... but of course, under OS9, only one processor is used.

OS 9 can use both processors - it depends upon the program being used, whether it was written to make use of two processors if present.

Remember that dual processor G4's first appeared among the G4 Gigabit Ethernet models - before OSX came out.

Hi, RunLogan -

There is no stand-alone OS 9 Install CD suitable for use on your machine - most such, if not all, since thay are model-specific to another model will not be able to boot your model.

All G4 MDD models came with a combination set of install disks - although the disks boot to OSX, you can install/re-install Classic (OS 9) from that disk set. One or more of these articles should help -
Article #106294 - Mac OS X: How to reinstall Mac OS 9
Article #60847 - How to Perform a Multiple Disc Restoration
Article #107383 - Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3: How to perform Mac OS 9 clean installation with Restore CDs
Article #42929 - Using Restore Discs with Mac OS X 10.2 or later

The installer will insist upon placing Classic (OS 9) on the same volume where OSX resides. So be it - do that.

Once the installation is done, boot to the freshly installed OS 9. Then copy the OS 9 System Folder to the volume you want it on - just drag it to that volume and let go, let Finder copy it there. Do the same with the new Applications (Mac OS 9) and Documents folders created by the installation of OS 9.

Once that is done, test boot to that copied OS 9 - use Startup Disk control panel to select it as the boot volume and restart. It should be usable immediately. If so, you can then trash the original installation of OS 9 on the OSX volume.

Note: you may need to fix a few aliases after copying to the OS 9 volume - the alias for Sherlock in the Apple menu (it lives in the Apple Menu Items folder in System Folder), and perhaps a few in the Application Support folder in System Folder.

I have 2 MMD's and just repeating what Don said:

Each MMD has special install disks. You HAVE to have OSX on the same partition as OS 9 in order for the machine to boot into OS 9. In my opinion, the MMD's are not dual boot, but what I like to call "OSX will allow you to still boot OS 9" machines.

My opinion, these machines stink at running OS 9. The fan races and the system always seems unstable.

I too must use OS 9 for the music purposes. I use Studio Vision Pro.

The BEST solution is to have two Macs not a dual boot Mac. You can pick up a Sawtooth G4 on E-bay for about $100 and use it exclusively for OS 9 stuff. That is what I do. I use a KTM switch so I can use the same monitors, keyboard and mouse for both machines. Just 2 clicks on the keyboard switches me from OS 9 on one machine to OSX on the other.

Very nice way to run.

Hi, RunLogan -

Great - glad you got it resolved.

One of the nice things about OS 9 is that it is easily copied from one volume to another using just Finder to do the copying - no need to use a cloning utility, such as OSX needs in order to do the same thing.

Although the combo installer on MDD disks does insist upon installing Classic (OS 9) onto the same volume where OSX resides, I believe Vernon is incorrect when he stated that OS 9 is bootable on MDDs only from a volume shared by OSX.

Hi, RunLogan -

This might sound crazy but how do you use the finder to copy?

I just opened the partition I named OS9 and dragged it over.

That's how.

Finder is the software (program, actually) that is running when nothing else is - it is what handles the moving of folders, renaming files and folders, making duplicates and aliases, and handles copying things to another drive.

When you drag a System Folder (or any other item) from one drive icon to another drive icon (i.e., from one volume to another volume), it is Finder that copies the item to the destination volume. This includes copying an entire drive to another.

Also, I burned the OS on a CD for future issues and when opening to check it, it didnt show the "Trash" folder.

Since a CD is immutable, meaning its contents can not be changed or altered in any way once it has been burned, then there is no point in it having a Trash folder.

Hi, RunLogan -

The MDD has two hard drive buses: one ATA/66 bus and one ATA/100 bus - each bus can handle a max of two drives.

Unlike earlier Macs, which pretty much need to use Master/Slave jumper settings on drives, the G4 MDD models are comfortable using the Cable Select jumper setting for all hard drives.

If you'd rather, you can set the drives to Master and Slave, one of each per each of the two buses. Do not mix a drive set to Master with one set to Cable Select on the same bus.

With regard to the new drives, OS 9 has a limit of being able to access drive volumes no larger than about 200GB. This is a volume limit, not a drive limit, which means that drives larger than 200GB can be partitioned into volumes a bit smaller than 200GB (190GB is a safe size) and thus have the entire drive available to OS 9. This volume limit applies only to OS 9 (and earlier), not to OSX.