Dani5161

Q: Running snow leopard alongside OS X El Capitan to run PPC games?

I'm looking for a way to install and play a game that needs PowerPC and was wondering whether it would be possible to run an older version of Mac alongside the latest version on a disk partition or something (I've never done anything like it before!) I've got a Macbook air 2014 (8GB RAM) running OS X El Capitan. I've seen you can buy Snow Leopard for £14.99 but no idea how to install this without replacing the current OS, which I don't want to do.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Dec 5, 2015 3:45 AM

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Q: Running snow leopard alongside OS X El Capitan to run PPC games?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Dec 5, 2015 7:01 AM in response to Dani5161
    Level 10 (313,545 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 5, 2015 7:01 AM in response to Dani5161

    Phone the online Apple Store, order Mac OS X 10.6 Server, and run it inside a product such as VirtualBox or Parallels Desktop.

     

    (136884)

  • by kahjot,Apple recommended

    kahjot kahjot Dec 5, 2015 10:35 AM in response to Dani5161
    Level 4 (1,352 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 5, 2015 10:35 AM in response to Dani5161

    Snow Leopard can't be installed on that machine in the normal way. You would need to create a virtual machine using one of the applications mentioned above, or VMware Fusion, which I like better than Parallels. The server version of Snow Leopard can be installed in a virtual machine. You can find step by step insturctions for doing this by doing a bit of searching. You would not set up any of the server functions, but rather just use the basic OS. Keep in mind that this may not work out well if you don't have much RAM. For the VM's performance to be acceptably responsive, I think you will need more than 4GB of RAM.

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Dec 5, 2015 10:35 AM in response to Dani5161
    Level 9 (72,619 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 5, 2015 10:35 AM in response to Dani5161

    Parallels

     

    VirtualBox

     

    VM Fusion

     

    Snow Leopard server for use with the above. Call 1-800-692-7753 and order part number MC588Z/A. Cost is $19.99 + sales tax and shipping. You may be told it is no longer available, depending on who you talk to. Ask to talk to someone else or call back.

     

    Virtual Machine for 10.7/10.8

  • by Dani5161,

    Dani5161 Dani5161 Dec 5, 2015 10:35 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Dec 5, 2015 10:35 AM in response to Eric Root

    VirtualBox is the only software that's free, is it any good? Or is it worth paying extra for the other two? Is there a way of just buying Snow Leopard to download straight away rather than having it shipped? I live in the UK (hence my use of the £) so I reckon calling and shipping would be more expensive. Is this all fairly simple to do or could a lot go wrong if I were to give it a go? I don't have a time machine or anything so wonder how risky it would be.

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Dec 5, 2015 10:41 AM in response to Dani5161
    Level 10 (313,545 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 5, 2015 10:41 AM in response to Dani5161

    1. Yes, it is, but it doesn’t have as many features as the commercial products. Try it first.

    2. No.

    3. Back up your entire system before proceeding. Regardless of how risky something is, the computer’s internal drive will eventually fail.

     

    (136894)

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Dec 5, 2015 10:45 AM in response to Dani5161
    Level 9 (72,619 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 5, 2015 10:45 AM in response to Dani5161

    You need to start making backups. The only one I have used is Parallels and that was many years ago. Try Virtual Box. If it doesn't work well, then you can consider the others. There may be a UK number you can call to order the disk. Try calling Customer Service for help.

  • by Balwick,

    Balwick Balwick Dec 5, 2015 12:08 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 5, 2015 12:08 PM in response to Eric Root

    I agree that you should start making a backup a.s.a.p.

     

    There are also a couple of emulators (SheepShaver = PPC) (Basillisk II = 68K computer)

    that you could install on your system.

     

    The Official SheepShaver Home Page

    The Official Basilisk II Home Page

     

    The one that you would need is SheepShaver.

    Read the tutorial at http://www.redundantrobot.com/sheepshaver-tutorial/

  • by MlchaelLAX,

    MlchaelLAX MlchaelLAX Dec 14, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Balwick
    Level 4 (2,256 points)
    Dec 14, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Balwick

    Balwick wrote:

     

    I agree that you should start making a backup a.s.a.p.

     

    There are also a couple of emulators (SheepShaver = PPC) (Basillisk II = 68K computer)

    that you could install on your system.

     

    The Official SheepShaver Home Page

    The Official Basilisk II Home Page

     

    The one that you would need is SheepShaver.

    Read the tutorial at http://www.redundantrobot.com/sheepshaver-tutorial/

     

    Well intentioned but incorrect advice:

     

    SheepShaver will emulate the Classic Mac apps from the period BEFORE Apple started using the PowerPC CPU (that is, prior to the mid 1990s).

     

    According to the OP, he has a PowerPC application, which requires Rosetta to run on a post-2006 Intel Mac.  As noted earlier, Rosetta is no longer provided with OS X since the release in 2011 of OS X Lion 10.7 and the best way to obtain it is to run Snow Leopard Server in virtualization.

     

    However note that some games DO NOT function very well in virtualization, especially those with complex graphics.

     

    The OP never named the PowerPC game that he was interested in using.

     

    AFAIK: Snow Leopard Server is available for purchase from calling the Apple Store in the UK.  There are no legitimate download versions available.

     

    If it is helpful: Installing Snow Leopard Server into Parallels for DUMMIES:

     

    http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/installing-snow-leopard-and-rosetta-into-par allels-7-in-lion.1365439/page-23#post-17285039