Mac OS 9 booting on: Mac mini G4 (Detailed Posts)

[IIO]

• OS X does not recognize OS 9 as a startup disk option. However, this is only a minor issue, because holding down the option key at startup works fine, and I can still set OS 9 as the default boot option from within OS 9 itself.

yes, this is known. we generally recommend to use either this or that OS on a mini. but like you said it works via bootmanager.

https://www.delock.de/produkt/

has anyone here tried cheaper (7-12 euro) unbranded 40-pin to msata converters already?

in case it is too high, will it be safe to mount the card in a mini without the plastic case?

[drzeissler]

I have installed OS9 on my G4 1,25 right now and it works really good. The sound is no real issue if you connect a monitor with built in speakers and volumecontrol like my L367 eizo
One thing is not so good. I do not have control over the GPU. I can not activate vsync and no 16xAF so that the games really shine on this very fast OS9 machine.

Any chance of getting control over the GPU?

Thx
Doc

[IIO]

make sure it works on supported machines (GF2, GF4 AGP) for the same game first.

vsync on mac is a long story and it is still beeing written - it still doesnt work on 10.14

[darthnVader]

Here are some of my experiences setting up OS 9 on the G4 Mac mini. I bought a G4 mini a while ago, for this exact purpose

My machine is a Late 2005 model, 1.5 GHz, with SuperDrive, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It came with 512MB of RAM (I recently upgraded this to 1GB), and a 120GB hard drive with OS X 10.5.8 installed (no original install discs though).
I went for a dual boot set-up, with separate drive partitions for OS 9 and OS X 10.4.

Booting from the OS 9 ISO unfortunately did not work. The boot sequence stalled at the Happy Mac stage, at which point the disc drive would make noises and spin up and down in an endless loop. I tried redownloading the ISO a few times (figuring that I might be suffering from this issue), but I kept running into the same problem and I eventually gave up.

I ended up installing Mac OS X 10.4 first. Lacking the original OS install discs (10.4.2), I used a retail 10.4 disc. While trying to install OS X I ran into an issue with the DVI connection to my monitor, which I guess is related to this. I got around this by switching to another monitor which had a VGA input, and connecting to that using a DVI to VGA adapter. (After installing Mac OS X, updating the software to 10.4.11 resolved the DVI issue, at least on the OS X side of things.)

I partitioned the hard drive for a dual boot set-up (from the Terminal, within the Mac OS X installer environment). The commands I used were (approximately):

Code: [Select]

diskutil list
diskutil partitionDisk /dev/disk1 2 OS9Drivers HFS+ MacHD 60G JHFS+ OSXHD 60G
After some trial and error, I managed to install OS 9 from within Mac OS X, using the drag and drop approach. (Basically, mount the Mac mini OS 9 CD, mount the "Configurations/Macintosh HD" image, copy everything inside onto the OS 9 partition, and copy the "CD Extras" folder as well.)
This was the command I needed to run to "bless" the OS 9 system folder, from within OS X:

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sudo bless -folder9 "/Volumes/MacHD/System Folder" -use9 -bootBlockFile "/usr/share/misc/bootblockdata"
At this point, I could boot successfully into OS 9.

Regarding some of the "known issues":

• Mouse cursor freezing: I only experienced this once, so far.
• Audio volume: The volume is stuck at an impractically low level. I did end up buying an M-Audio Transit USB interface and using that as the audio output, this has resolved the issue for me, for now.
• OS X does not recognize OS 9 as a startup disk option. However, this is only a minor issue, because holding down the option key at startup works fine, and I can still set OS 9 as the default boot option from within OS 9 itself.
• The DVI connection issue is still unresolved for me on OS 9, so I am still using a VGA monitor as a workaround. (So far, these alternative drivers haven't worked for me; they cause the screen to turn black, after which nothing seems to happen.)
• Bluetooth: If I pair with a wireless keyboard from within Mac OS X, then the keyboard still works correctly within OS 9.

Aside from the above inconveniences, OS 9 runs quite flawlessly.

More recently, I replaced the hard drive with a 240GB mSATA SSD (using an mSATA to IDE converter). As a result, the Mac mini now runs more quietly and feels faster and more responsive.

It could be the "Silent Upgrade" 1.5Ghz Mini uses an 'NDRV' for the 64Mb Nvram Radeon 9200 that is not the same as the 32Mb VRam 'NDRV' I built for OS 9.

The trouble is, if your Mini shipped with 10.4.2 as minimal install, I was unable to use an 'NDRV' later than the version from 10.3.7.

Boot into Open Firmware and do:

Code: [Select]

dev agp/@0/@A .properties

[Falcury]

Boot into Open Firmware and do:

Code: [Select]

dev agp/@0/@A .properties

This gives the following output:

Code: [Select]

can't find device agp/@0/@A

no active package

[ELN]

Mouse cursor freezing: I only experienced this once, so far.

I'm working on this problem. Frustratingly, it is very difficult to reproduce.

[ELN]

Only happens on cold start. Fixed by subsequent warm restart.

Turns out that we actually have the source for the mouse and keyboard class drivers. It was included in the USB DDK. This bug is going to get squashed...

[DieHard]

This bug is going to get squashed...

The exterminator is on the way...lol

[Custos]

I've got a very similar problem. Not sure if usb overdrive is the culprit or pro tools. Doesn't happen often. Zero mouse functionality and fully working keyboard. I cringe every time i got to pull the plug on the box to restart. Can't force quit with just the keyboard to see if it's PT. 

EDIT: Just dawned on me this is non supported machine thread. Wasn't trying to be off topic

[Custos]

I got 2 grab some xlr cables and mics from my brother today. He has my Mac mini so i will 100% be grabbing that to join in on testing os9 out. 

[ELN]

Custos, you’re describing similar behaviour! I dimly remember seeing this bug on my PMG4.

Can you please help me out? I want to know the exact hardware setup, and approximately what percentage of cold starts result in a frozen mouse.

Also, are you still able to open the Apple menu by clicking with a frozen cursor?

[ximiimx]

Today I remembered that I have an iSub 2000 somewhere, and think I’m going dig it out and see if I can get it to work on this....
What do you think the chances are?

[Philgood]

The iSub 2000 works really well under OS9.2

[Jubadub]

It's rare, but sometimes the mouse cursor freezes even when it's not a cold start. And the cursor may still remain frozen upon restarting, although, again, this has been rare for me. The worst that I ever had happen, I think, was the cursor remaining frozen after 3 consecutive restarts or so. (Happened, like, once in an entire year of using the mini.)

Normally, I don't have to restart at all. And if I do, the problem usually goes away after the first restart. To make the experience even smoother, like many here, I assigned a restart script to one of the keyboard's function buttons. So even when it freezes, it's just a tiny inconvenience.

On another note, has anyone been able to get File Sharing to be on? On my mini under OS 9, it's stuck on "starting up", even after waiting for 1 entire hour (note: TCP/IP enabled). Not sure if it's an issue with my OS 9 configuration, or a Mac mini OS 9 issue.

[DieHard]

On another note, has anyone been able to get File Sharing to be on? On my mini under OS 9, it's stuck on "starting up", even after waiting for 1 entire hour (note: TCP/IP enabled). Not sure if it's an issue with my OS 9 configuration, or a Mac mini OS 9 issue.

It's NOT the mini, first time is a charm with file sharing, I have seen it take 2 hours

https://happymacs.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/will-file-sharing-ever-start/

[darthnVader]

We ran into the mouse stuck on the Apple logo, but it did register clicks, on the emulated Rage 128 Pro in Qemu, after we got the 'NDRV' working for the  Mac OS.

Zoltan made a patch, and that fixed the issue with OS 9, but broke OS X booting with the 'NDRV'.

As I took the 'NDRV' we use from 10.3.7, I wouldn't rule out the 'NDRV' as the root of the mouse freeze issue.......

[Jubadub]

It's NOT the mini, first time is a charm with file sharing, I have seen it take 2 hours

https://happymacs.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/will-file-sharing-ever-start/

Oh, that's great to know. "2 hours", huh? I'm not sure if I waited that long. I'll leave the mini on doing that for 24 hours now. Hopefully it will start up by then.

On another note:

This was the command I needed to run to "bless" the OS 9 system folder, from within OS X:

Code: [Select]

sudo bless -folder9 "/Volumes/MacHD/System Folder" -use9 -bootBlockFile "/usr/share/misc/bootblockdata"
At this point, I could boot successfully into OS 9.

This didn't work for me, no matter what I try. The mini would always boot back to OS X.

[Jubadub]

It took forever, but now File Sharing is really on! Thanks, DieHard!

[macarone]

> This didn't work for me, no matter what I try. The mini would always boot back to OS X

When all other methods (for eg. putting Finder on the Desktop, and then dropping it on System Folder) did not work, I found that running DiskWarrior on the OS 9 partition while booted into OS X, DID produce a blessed OS 9 System Folder.

[Jubadub]

> This didn't work for me, no matter what I try. The mini would always boot back to OS X

When all other methods (for eg. putting Finder on the Desktop, and then dropping it on System Folder) did not work, I found that running DiskWarrior on the OS 9 partition while booted into OS X, DID produce a blessed OS 9 System Folder.

... Wait, my bad, I just realized I made a mistake. Somehow I was thinking this command would select my OS 9 partition as the Startup Disk (by blessing it), but that's a separate issue, and somehow I mixed the 2 things together in my head. lol

In that case, nevermind that statement I made.