Free Download of OS 9?

Hi, James -

Your G5 is not OS 9 bootable, hence any stand-alone OS 9 Install CD will not be uasble.

The only source for a 'real' install of Classic is from the original disks which came with your machine. It is a good idea to have such a set available as long as you have the machine; if nothing else they are a perfect start when it is needful to do some trouble-shooting with a hard drive.

Apple's Customer Support sometimes has replacement original disks available; the newer the machine, the more likely they will. You can contact them via the applicable phone number in this article -
http://www.apple.com/contact/phone_contacts.html

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Since your G5 is not OS 9 bootable, you do not need a bootable OS 9 install in order to use Classic. Also, unlike OSX, OS 9 is Finder-copyable (drag-and-drop copy) - it will retain its functionality.

This means you can copy a working OS 9.2.x install from another machine, and use it as Classic.

You can also copy a System Folder from an OS 9.2.1 Install CD; such should work, but in a very limited way - the System Folders on OS 9 Install CD's have a very limited assortment of extensions and control panels, and as a result many services would not be available.

Although OS 9.1 is the minimum usable OS 9 version for Classic, it may not work with the recennt version of OSX you are using; OS 9.2.x would be a much better choice. Relatedly, an install of Classic on your model is not upgradeable - the OS 9 download updates run only when the machine is booted to OS 9.

Your best choice would be to get a replacement original set of disks, and use those.

Not that I know of - and it wouldn't be legal in any case. I knew somewhere online that sold OS 9 install discs, but I can't seem to find it anymore.... It may have been OWC (macsales.com), but they don't seem to have any more.

If you know someone who has the same model computer, you might be able to use their classic install disc for that. I don't know if the disc from another model will work properly, but It's worth a shot.

Heck, I got Tiger to install on my iMac from the Tiger upgrade disk that came with my Powerbook - after leaving my Tiger retail disk at school over thanksgiving break! Of course, then I used the retail disk to become "legal" after bringing it home and re-installing. 🙂

Good luck,

-Dan

Don's correct, you can't boot OS 9, but I didn't know that you had to use the classic disk itself. I know my G4 will try to use it's boot version of OS 9.2.2 when running classic under OS X, so I didn't think about that. Good tips!

If your programs won't run properly under classic, and some won't, you CAN pick up and old, OS 9 bootable Mac (Such as an iMac G3) pretty cheaply online. I've seen such iMac G3s for around $50 on eBay. Just note that at 30 something pounds for the G3s, shipping won't be cheap! 🙂 If you go this route, try to find an iMac DVSE or newer - since the built in FW port is WAY faster than the USB 1.1 ports on the tray-load (and low-end slot load) iMacs - and these old/low end iMacs don't have FW ports...

-Dan

Hi, Tony -

Since James (the original poster) has a G5, even a retail (universal install) OS 9 Install CD is not suitable - his machine is not OS 9 bootable, and the installers on all stand-alone OS 9 install CDs run only when the machine is booted to OS 9.

Not free but try; www.applerescue.com

Be sure it's a universal install - gold 9 on white. NOT a grey model specific CD.