OS 9.2 on a PowerMac 9600?

Direct installation of Mac OS 9.2.x isn't natively supported on pre-G3 Macs. You can download a third-party patch, "OS 9 Helper," that will enable you to install OS 9.2.1 on your 9600 or 9500. Once installed, you can run the OS 9.2.2 Update. Ryan Rempel's "XPostFacto" is another downloadable workaround, that would enable you to install earlier versions of OS X on your 9600, but for optimal performance, it should have a G3/G4 processor upgrade card and plenty of RAM installed. In spite of processor speed and adequate memory, the 9600's slow 50 MHz system bus speed is a definite bottleneck, affecting overall OS X performance. Because of this, I wouldn't advise spending $$ upgrading it, just to run OS X. The same money could be put toward a newer, faster Mac that natively supports OS X. The 9600s were probably the best tower designed by Apple, in terms of expandability and configuration options. For pre-OS X versions of the Mac OS, it's a good computer. If your 9600 has the "Mach 5" 604ev/300 MHz or 350 MHz processor card, that's the fastest pre-G3 Power Mac made.

What version of Internet Explorer are you running? If you click once on the program icon to highlight it, then look under the "File" drop-down menu at the top-left of the screen, go down to "Get Info." You can also simultaneously press the Apple "Command" key and the "I" key for "Get Info." It should provide the version of the program that you're running. Microsoft has discontinued development and support for the Mac version of Internet Explorer. The final version of IE for pre-OS X Macs was 5.1.7 and the final version of Outlook Express was 5.0.6. With pre-OS X versions of the Mac OS, you can help out programs that tend to run out of memory, by allocating more memory to the program - provided that you have enough installed memory to set aside the specific amount to the program. The "MoviePlayer" plug-in is for QuickTime - Apple's equivalent of Windows Media Player. Internet Explorer is (by default) set with too low a memory setting, that causes freezes/crashes. It needs to have the high end or "Preferred" memory setting increased for trouble-free operation, as does QuickTime.

QuickTime's MoviePlayer shouldn't be needed to run any of the OS 9.2.x Update downloads. If the downloads were compressed file archives, having the ".sit" or ".bin" suffix, you need to download an older version of " Stuffit Expander" (similar to WinZip) for pre-OS X Macs. You may already have it installed in a folder called "Aladdin." Use Stuffit Expander to expand the compressed files that you have downloaded.

If you wanted to obtain a universal installer disk of Mac OS 9 or 9.1 (white disk with large number 9), you might get a better understanding of the older Mac OS, from the ground up. Those discontinued installer CDs aren't inexpensive, so if you don't mind searching eBay, you could probably get a better deal. Avoid model-specific Restore CDs, because they contain a software build that's tailored to the Mac they shipped with, and may be lacking key software components needed by your 9600 or 9500.

If it is opening your file with the wrong program, restart and hold down Command and Option for several minutes. When the Finder starts, it will ask you if you want to rebuild the desktop (comments will be lost).

Say OK, it will crunch away for several more minutes. When it is done, you should have better results opening files with the correct Application.

Old MD,

Do not forget to use that great external SCSI port for alternative boot devices and second hard drives and partitioned drives. You can boot from one hard drive or partition while using the CD to install software to another drive or partition. You do not need the install CD to be your boot device.

Ji˜m