Mac Os 9 booting on: G4 Tower MDD FW800 (Detailed Posts)

[Jakl]

Or would you like a photo of the DVD?

here:

[Jakl]

Not sure about EDU.

[Protools5LEGuy]

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15094917#15094917
Says there is a MDD for education with FW800 that boots OS9

[Jakl]

Anyway I have used the file that I uploaded (OS9Generalfw800.dmg) as a classic environment from within macosx 10.4 and I know it works very well. However I have never tried it to boot up any mac as yet.

So today I gave it a go on a fw400 mdd and it worked very well.
There were a number of issues that I found during the installation of it.
I used macosx 10.4.11 to do the install on another HD in my fw400.
I copied the image to another hard drive then I clicked on the image twice to open it.
The image did not open normally - it did not appear on my desktop. I tried 3 times and still no image on the desktop. So I then opened the Terminal app in Tiger and typed;

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1; killall Finder

to show all invisible files - and sure enough the images were there on my desktop all 3 open. I chucked them all out - then I put the Powermac G4 DVD back in and extracted the image again (OS9General.dmg the fw800) onto the hard drive again then used disk utility to restore the hard drive I wanted macos9 on. Booted from the newly installed disk and it worked well.

I then opened the OS9General.dmg(fw400 one) and took out extensions - I also looked into system folders of other HD's for other drivers. It is a great working system.

[Jakl]

Can you show us these
2003 models EDU MacOS9
Is that "OS9General FW800" the AHT 2.0.1 ? Is the MacOS9 for MDD'03 EDU?

Protools5LEGuy I just found this disk in a pile the AHT 2.0.1 but it's only like 30mb in total for the whole disk, it came with the Powermac G4 Software Install and Restore disk for the Powermac G4 fw800 I had ages ago. They are both dated 2003. The Install Disk is what the OS9Generalfw800 image is taken from. Here's the photos.

[Jakl]

Has anyone got a fw800 mac and want to try the OS9Generalfw800.dmg file to see if they can boot into macos9?

Thanks in advance

[lokki]

according to this post in a google group it should be easy:

A friend of mine has OS9 running native on his G4 FW800, even though, officially, this is not possible.
To run 9.2.2 on MDD and FW800, you need Mac OS ROM version 9.6.1 and Quicktime 5.02. They are in a file called OS9General.dmg, which decompresses to the last release of the System Folder for OS9. You can get it here:

http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/macintosh-system-922-1021-power-macintosh-g4-mirrored-drive-doors-mdd

That page gives these links:

Mac OS ROM 9.6.1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MT4DOQKV
Mac OS 9 MDD DMG: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XIZRTZXW

I sent my friend a CD containing OS9General.dmg. He loaded it into his FW800 and installed OS9 onto his hard drive. Here's the trick: that hard drive already contained an OS9 driver (installed by another G4).

Neither the OS9 or OSX install disks will put an OS9 driver onto a hard drive in a FW800. THAT's why - the only reason - you "cannot" run OS9 native on a FW800.

When running OS9 native on his FW800, my friend reports that his OSX drive does not mount. Equally, when running OSX, the OS9 drive does not show up. With X the default, my friend uses the Option key at startup, to boot into 9.

I'm wondering if someone with a G5 could try out the same method, to see if OS9 will run native on a G5. Please let us all know.

My friend, Howard Miller, is presently a sheep farmer, but he used to be an Apple dealer in the 1990s. He has a hoard of old Macs and Mac parts, printers, scanners etc that he traded in; if anyone is looking for such, please let him know. His address is mailto:[email protected]

Peter

[lokki]

and here is the link to the post:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/macos9/omLso5j1dkU

[Jakl]

I have been going through some of the older norton utility disks that I have and I found a norton utilities 8 which has system folder with 9.5.1 Mac OS ROM which boots the fw400 - may boot fw800? Give it try.
Uploaded to files server - under OS9SystemNortonUtility8.zip
Uploaded AHT 2.0.1 disk image for mdd fw800 to file server.
Uploaded a bootable disk image for Norton utilities 6.0.3 using the 9.5.1 Mac OS ROM above if anyone is interested.

[supernova777]

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10342906-263.html

this article talks about this i think?

scroll to: Living in a modern OS world: Booting Mac OS 9 on 2003 (Mac OS X only) Macs

Apple recently posted a new file to its private Apple Service Provider web page (accessible only by account-holding Apple technicians and resellers) titled "MacTest Pro for Power Mac G4 (March 2003) Version 7.8.1 supports all iMac (Flat Panel) 15 inch systems only."

The file is a CD image which can be downloaded and to a disc, then used as a startup disk. Testing on a "Mac OS X-only" flat panel iMac system revealed that the image properly booted Mac OS 9.

Users can then copy a stripped-down Mac OS 9 system folder to their hard drive, and select it with the "Startup Disk" System Preferences pane, delivering a Mac OS 9 bootable internal disk.

It appears that a new MacOS ROM file (ver. 9.8.1) is what enables booting from the image.

Of course, this solution is only readily accessible by Mac service providers, but it shows that Mac OS 9 boots are not impossible on Apple's new machines. Also, please note that Mac OS 9 startup was not tested on any machines other than the 2003 flat-panel iMac. This method has been independently verified.

so hes saying this worked on the the 2003 imac g4..
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_1.0_17_fp.html

which... according to everymac.com...

:    *This model is capable of using Mac OS 9 applications within the Mac OS X "Classic" environment provided with Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" and lower ("Classic" is not supported starting with Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"). It cannot boot into Mac OS 9.

ok so this might only be affecting this model:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_1.0_15_fp.html

[supernova777]

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15094917#15094917

here this guy grant speaks of a special EDUCATION edition - MDD single processor 1GHZ with FW800 port that could boot os9???

When Apple declared the end of OS 9 bootablity, schools all over the country demanded extra time to finish their conversion to Mac OS X, especially the Server infrastructure. They needed new Macs, but could not yet support them on their older Servers, and could not convert to newer Servers without more time. There was ONE model issued later, only for the Education market, with a single 1.0GHz processor AND a FW800 port that could still boot OS 9.

There is thought to be a special version of the Mac OS ROM file (developed for that Mac) and few more additions that may be able to be coaxed to boot OS 9 directly on a FW800 G4. That Mac OS ROM file was also said to be found in an Apple-only diagnostic package that was never released to the outside world.

That is all the info I have. I have never tried to track down the files or verified their existence.

WOW man.. i was just being asked to buy a 1ghz mdd single processor? and i didnt say yes to it because i thought someone had tampered with it. because i couldnt see nay listing of a single processor 1.0ghz mdd...
wow..... i just emailed the guy to see if this mac had a fw800 port..
hope the guy knows what a fw800 port is.. i should have included a picture! LOL

[Jakl]

Chris as I mentioned in your post new Quicksilver I put up photos for a 1ghz fw800 mdd model computer which I paid 0.99c on ebay - however there was no classic system on it - no macos9 ROM.

[supernova777]

Chris as I mentioned in your post new Quicksilver I put up photos for a 1ghz fw800 mdd model computer which I paid 0.99c on ebay - however there was no classic system on it - no macos9 ROM.

ok! i didnt catch that it was a 1ghz mdd (educational fw800 non retail model), i thought u said u got a 1.42ghz mdd fw800 (the retail model). perhaps this is a myth/legend.. or perhaps it was only on some specific educational os install disc??
maybe we will never know - tbh i think its really stupid that they made these computers unable to boot 9.. i really dont understand the logic behind it.. other then they wanted everyone to use X.... and achieved this by force.

[Jakl]

I don't believe that these were educational models only because this had come from a business which
they had stopped using around 2006 - from what I can see.
So I just think these computers were probably the low end at the time the other dual mdd's were selling.

Don't really know - having a guess.

[supernova777]

well if u look up the information, there is no public info on an mdd of that single cpu configuration so..*shrug*
if it didnt have the fw800 port u would think its just an 867mhz with some type of overclock done somehow..
 but with a fw800 port it has to be aspecific model that wasnt publicly advertised

[Jakl]

I do have a mdd dual 1.25 fw400 model mdd that I put a fw800 cpu into - the dual 1.42 - and it works fine in Macos9 - very quick but very hot. Needs extra cooling - have 2 more fans but still I think it would do better with a radiator - just have to alter the heat sink for the cpu that's all.

Also the ati graphics card that came with the dual 1.42 mdd - the 9700pro OEM is a fast card in macosX but also runs very hot in a mdd. Have had to change the fans twice on it don't know what happened to the fans. Works in macos9 after sorting out extensions that just do not work with it.(ATI accelerator & ATI 3d accelerator if I can remember) Not a good macos9 card - no support for 3d and other accelerators but a great macosx card - I changed it with the 9000 pro which works very well with os9.

[supernova777]

according to this post in a google group it should be easy:

Neither the OS9 or OSX install disks will put an OS9 driver onto a hard drive in a FW800. THAT's why - the only reason - you "cannot" run OS9 native on a FW800.

When running OS9 native on his FW800, my friend reports that his OSX drive does not mount. Equally, when running OSX, the OS9 drive does not show up. With X the default, my friend uses the Option key at startup, to boot into 9.

I'm wondering if someone with a G5 could try out the same method, to see if OS9 will run native on a G5. Please let us all know.

megaupload is long gone.. so we cant get that macos9rom but
i was thinking similar thoughts last nite..  i was talking to diehard about the  "software restore" 5 disk set that i received with my 933 qs....he was saying that the 9.2.2 on the cds wouldnt allow me to 'boot os9' he meant to install JUST os 9.2.2 without installing X at all.. as u have to isntall both im sure to get anything off the software restore discs..

but having had to just do some carbon copy cloning MAGIC just to get my 'os9 driver" onto the disk.... this was the exact thign i was thinking about re people saying os 9 wouldnt boot etc.. well perhaps these installs just lacked the process of adding that mac os 9 driver to the hard drive in the first place.. and what if u had the right rom for the machine.. as well as the os9 drivers on the disk.. but that was my thoguht exacltly.. what if the installers dont put this os9 driver on the disk.. because i couldnt figure out how.. the lady who sold me her 933 was able to install osx 10.1 fresh install without adding the "os9 drivers" to either hardrive on the system???
and as u know this "os9 driver" we speak of.. can only be added to a drive when its completely EMPTY and being formatted + partitioned initially... if this crucial step is missing it will never boot. u can install 400 times in a row and the machine will never boot 9 untill it has the drive prepared for 9 properly before even installing....

[MacTron]

...put your FW800 into Disk Target Mode, connect it to a Mac Os 9 Mac, and reformat its HD  with Mac Os 9 drivers as you'll do whith a normal FW external enclosure.
Then you can drag-install a valid system folder on the FW800 HD (still in DTM mode) and restart your Mac os 9 machine whith the HD of the FW800 (still in DTM mode) to test this HD boot.
Shut down both computers, unplug FW cable, cross your fingers and start the FW800.
Good luck.

I think that Mac Os ROM 10.2.1 will do the trick. But I never tried to boot a FW800 with Mac Os 9...
If you need another ROM version, just ask, I have an almost complete colecction
I'll hope to have explained it well...

[supernova777]

...put your FW800 into Disk Target Mode, connect it to a Mac Os 9 Mac, and reformat its HD  with Mac Os 9 drivers as you'll do whith a normal FW external enclosure.
Then you can drag-install a valid system folder on the FW800 HD (still in DTM mode) and restart your Mac os 9 machine whith the HD of the FW800 (still in DTM mode) to test this HD boot.
Shut down both computers, unplug FW cable, cross your fingers and start the FW800.
Good luck.

I think that Mac Os ROM 10.2.1 will do the trick. But I never tried to boot a FW800 with Mac Os 9...
If you need another ROM version, just ask, I have an almost complete colecction
I'll hope to have explained it well...

Jakl! its up to you to test this!! i want to know all the results:D ASAP! get to work!  LOL

[Jakl]

I will, I will Chris...:-) - its early morning will do when I get back this afternoon.

Mactron the ones I tried are 9.5.1 and 9.7.1 also 10.2.1 - I read that 9.6.1 and 9.8.1 have been shown to work, but I don't have these ROMs.