Anybody know how to setup hardware clock?

quetzalyo, welcome to Apple Discussions.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean as the "hardware clock". Why is it keeping you from upgrading? Are you getting an error message? What upgrade are you trying to do?

Are you refering to the time that is usually displayed in the Menu bar? The time is set using the Date & Time Control Panel. You can access the Date & Time Control Panel by selecting Control Panels under the Apple in the Menu.

 Cheers, Tom

Since your Mac had not been plugged in to AC power, the internal memory battery has died & needs replacement. Check this site for battery part numbers and sources.
Mac PRAM, NVRAM, CUDA/PMU & Battery Tutorial
http://www.geocities.com/texas_macman/pram.html

 Cheers, Tom

Hi, quetzalyo -

...but the last one I tried, the one that you have to send aslm, system, etc to trash to restart it the computer told me that it might not start up again....

It sounds like you may have thrown away files including Finder and System, etc., rather than the preference files named Finder Preferences and System Preferences, etc. The message from the OS indicating that it would not be able to restart would tend to confirm that is what happened.

If that is what happened, and the Trash has not been emptied, you can boot the machine to a CD (or other available drive) and move those files back into the System Folder. Once that is done it should be usable again.

However, if that was what happened and the Trash was emptied, then the only solution would be to re-install the OS.

It is very important to note the exact filenames for files so that the correct ones can be addressed, rather than moving or deleting ones with similar names. Approximate is not good enough; this is one reason most of the regulars in these forums take the time to use the full, exact names for files.

Note - any time you get a message stating something to the effect that "This machine may not be able to start up again because XXXXX exists", do not continue the restart or shutdown. The OS is not lying. Instead, cancel the restart or shutdown, and then undo the situation the OS is complaining about.

quetzalyo,

A word of hope. You cannot delete the system file of the system folder you are using to run the Mac while deleting files from the Mac. So, with that said, you may have a damaged system folder but still have a System and Finder.

Try starting up while holding down the 'shift' key. This will bypass problems that come up from missing extensions.

Another option is to turn on the computer, wait for it to go as far as it can starting up, then hold down the command key (the key just to the left and/or right of the spacebar) AND the control key with your left hand and push the 'soft power' key in the upper right hand corner of most keyboards (or top center of older small keyboards - some iMac keyboards did not have this switch so you may not have this option available to you so use the reset button near the USB port) with your right hand. This is the designated command to tell your computer to restart if the system crashes and the mouse freezes on the screen. The nice thing is that it also works at startup to give you a second chance to hit the C key sooner. It also gets around a dead PRAM battery because capacitors on the motherboard stay loaded long enough to make the motherboard think that it sees a fresh battery.

What you need most is an alternative method of starting your computer. An install CD is the simplest but it could cost you more than you computer. If you know of someone with a system restore CD to allow you to repair the damage done, that would get you going until you can find an install CD of your own. Other alternatives would probably be more expensive.

Good luck with your efforts.

Ji˜m

This is Apple's official site and it is only fitting to advise you to purchase the appropriate CD. When I speak of a burned CD, it is one that is created from a legal installation plus personal applications using Toast to create a bootable disc (startup is with extensions off to avoid issues with extensions that want to write to the boot drive during startup). It constitutes an archive copy. In the event of an emergency, I can be back in business with my customized system folder and core applications in less than five minutes after a crash.

Hi, quetzalyo -

Apple ceased offering OS 9 Install CDs several years ago. However, they are still available from some 3rd-party suppliers, such as these -
http://store.yahoo.com/hardcoremac/index.html - Apple Reseller
http://www.welovemacs.com/software.html

EBay is another possibility.

Regardless of the source, be sure to get a retail OS 9 Install CD - those are white, with a large gold 9 on them; the retail OS 9 Install CD's have a universal installer; model-specific Install CD's do not.