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[tyrone shoelaces]

Hey guys,
Per everything I have read the disk has to be partitioned and 9.2.2 installed on one, and 10.4 or whatever on the other...

I have a 1.42 mac mini and I have installed 9.2.2 and 10.4 on the same partition. Everything works fine, except I can't set it to boot back into 9 from X-- my 9.2 system folder does not show up in the X startup disk (everything works as expected when booted into 9). I have to boot off a USB stick with a system folder on it, and then use startup disk to set it back to 9.2.

Is there a workaround to bless the 9.2 system folder while booted into 10.4 and reboot?

Thanks everyone.

[aBc]

Which 9.2.2 installer did you use?

Try restarting holding down the Option key to access the boot picker to see if OS 9.2.2 appears as an option.

If not, then Tiger 10.4 might have allowed you to install OS 9.2.2 as a sort of “Classic” version and thus, not bootable.

[tyrone shoelaces]

it's the Ross image from here. Both OSes will boot, it's just that once you boot into 10.4, you can no longer use startup disk (or OF) to restart into 9. You have to boot into 9 from a different device, then use startup disk from there to select the internal drive. I suppose this is the exact situation that partitioning the drive would avoid.

[laulandn]

Is it possible that your mac is doing that on purpose?  ie it "knows" that it "can't boot into MacOS 9" natively and so is not showing it as an option in the System Preferences?

If anyone is running the Ross image, and DOES see MacOS 9 listed in Startup, then that is not what is going on.

[tyrone shoelaces]

Entirely possible that this is intentional behavior.

Regardless of that, it does seem that the only way to boot back into 9 from 10, when both are installed on the same partition is to boot into an OS9 CD, then use startup disk to select the 9 System Folder hard drive. OF startup menu only sees the 10 install on the drive.

If a partition is used for each, OF startup menu can be used.

In order to easily switch back and forth without partitioning, an OS X tool to select the OS 9 System Folder and reboot would be needed. To my knowledge, that doesn't exist.

[joevt]

What about the bless command in Mac OS X? It has Mac OS 9 boot selection options.
bless can affect the disk and nvram variables.

There's also the nvram command for setting Open Firmware nvram variables if nothing on the disk needs to be changed.

You can check for disk changes using the script at
 https://gist.github.com/joevt/a99e3af71343d8242e0078ab4af39b6c

Run it before and after changing the startup disk to see what gets changed. It shows stuff in the partition map and the volume Master Directory Blocks. Both contain boot related info.

[tyrone shoelaces]

that looks like it would work, and if so could be saved as a shell script for ease of use.  I will give it a try and report back.

[tyrone shoelaces]

Just to follow up .. I played with the bless command, but was not successful using it to boot os 9.

The only way I could find to do it is through OF when restarting from X. Restarting from 9 works fine obv.

[alexshendi]

Hi folks,

So I have bought an iBook G4 from ebay. It came with OS X 10.5 "Leopard".
I would like it to optionally boot MacOS 9.2.2. I have the install disk from this site and I am able to boot it.

So far, so good. But I didn't install anything yet.

My question:
* Do I need a separate partition for MacOS 9, or can I share a  partition with Mac OS X?
* If I need a dedicated partition for OS 9, what would be the way of least hassle to do so? I have iPartition, but don't know if it can shrink the OS X partiton?

Thanks in advance,

Alexander

[aBc]

Don’t quite understand the reason(s) for wanting to dual boot a Mac mini with Tiger, etc. without partitioning it - but perhaps someone might explain the possible net advantages of this approach? Please?

Already it has been proven that installing the OS 9 hack on a partition initialized and formatted from within anything other than Drive Setup 2.1 diminishes the overall performance of OS 9 on a Mac mini. (Compared QuickBench 2.0 results from within OS 9 on a partition created from within Tiger, and with OS 9 Drivers checked and enabled… proved lesser performance than the Drive Setup 2.1 dual-partition route.)

I’m prepared to produce those previous benchmark comparison results - OR run them again against whatever QuickBench 2.0 results you might obtain from this un-partitioned approach. Mind you, I’m not down voting your approach and I am interested in your final results (and again, why?).

Maybe optimum OS 9 performance isn’t your primary goal?😉

AND @alexshendi - your questions (while loosely related) belong elsewhere and you should begin a new topic because the G4 iBook is a completely “different animal” than a G4 Mac mini.

I’ve two of the G4 iBooks and both of them are dual-partitioned in order to run Tiger from one partition and OS 9 from the other. I’d strongly suggest using the Forum’s Search feature, entering “G4 iBook” for possibly related information.

                                     

And if the search doesn’t yield any - or a great amount of results… you might want to temporarily switch your Forum theme to the old “Blu” theme and try your search again.Yes, there is often a difference, especially when searching. You can always switch back afterwards.

Yet please, do continue to monitor progress under this topic - but repost you query elsewhere OR create an entirely new topic. And here’s a somewhat related, 3 page topic for you:

https://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=5851.0

Best of luck and of course, welcome aboard.😉

[IIO]

the general rule with the mini OS9 is that you should avoid all the hassle, disadvantages and required learning steps to have a dual boot situation on the internal HD - and simply use an external disk for OSX.

then holding alt or using the startup disk panel works as they should, and you do not need to turn on brain before sunday morning breakfast.

[tyrone shoelaces]

Because you or someone else installed both OSes on one partition, and it seems easier than starting over?

Just to see if it will work? (kind of, but not well).

etc

Don’t quite understand the reason(s) for wanting to dual boot a Mac mini with Tiger, etc. without partitioning it - but perhaps someone might explain the possible net advantages of this approach? Please?

Already it has been proven that installing the OS 9 hack on a partition initialized and formatted from within anything other than Drive Setup 2.1 diminishes the overall performance of OS 9 on a Mac mini. (Compared QuickBench 2.0 results from within OS 9 on a partition created from within Tiger, and with OS 9 Drivers checked and enabled… proved lesser performance than the Drive Setup 2.1 dual-partition route.)

I’m prepared to produce those previous benchmark comparison results - OR run them again against whatever QuickBench 2.0 results you might obtain from this un-partitioned approach. Mind you, I’m not down voting your approach and I am interested in your final results (and again, why?).

Maybe optimum OS 9 performance isn’t your primary goal?😉

AND @alexshendi - your questions (while loosely related) belong elsewhere and you should begin a new topic because the G4 iBook is a completely “different animal” than a G4 Mac mini.

I’ve two of the G4 iBooks and both of them are dual-partitioned in order to run Tiger from one partition and OS 9 from the other. I’d strongly suggest using the Forum’s Search feature, entering “G4 iBook” for possibly related information.

                                     

And if the search doesn’t yield any - or a great amount of results… you might want to temporarily switch your Forum theme to the old “Blu” theme and try your search again.Yes, there is often a difference, especially when searching. You can always switch back afterwards.

Yet please, do continue to monitor progress under this topic - but repost you query elsewhere OR create an entirely new topic. And here’s a somewhat related, 3 page topic for you:

https://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=5851.0

Best of luck and of course, welcome aboard.😉

[aBc]

Because you or someone else installed both OSes on one partition, and it seems easier than starting over?

Just to see if it will work? (kind of, but not well). etc. 

Thank you very much for the explanation! Stopped me from running yet another series of tests here to examine if maybe there were some advantage(s) to doing this. Always on the lookout here for workarounds, modifications and things we might not have thought of before, especially with the (little monsters) G4 Mac minis. 

the general rule with the mini OS9 is that you should avoid all the hassle, disadvantages and required learning steps to have a dual boot situation on the internal HD - and simply use an external disk for OSX.

then holding alt or using the startup disk panel works as they should, and you do not need to turn on brain before sunday morning breakfast.

Well, I’ve had my Sunday morning breakfast and I should know the answer to this, but… is it necessary to first “Safe Boot” any external Tiger (or Leopard) install in order to prevent Spotlight and /or Time Machine from interfering with the internal OS 9 installation?

You know, the usual BTree errors? 

https://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=5108.msg36796#msg36796

[IIO]

i already forgot what is better; having OS9 external or having OSX external.

however, the threadstarter should understand that it is hardly feasible on a mac mini to boot both systems (while alternating between the two on a daily basis), from the internal disk because of the way how OS9 boots on this unsupported machine.

when you need that for some reason one should exchange the CD driver for a little SSD for the second OS (and use external CD drives)

if i am a bit off with that "information", somebody please correct me.

[tyrone shoelaces]

seems to dual boot ok using the OF startup (option at as startup). am i missing something?

[ssp3]

seems to dual boot ok using the OF startup (option at as startup). am i missing something?

Take the external OS9 drive, boot from it, run the DiskWarrior or Norton Disk Doctor maintenance utilities and see for yourself

[IIO]

seems to dual boot ok using the OF startup (option at as startup). am i missing something?

if you are brave enough for OF (i am not), OF is surely an option.

but if you have an old firewire case around (and an available SSD/HD) this might be the more convenient option for the future.

(the already existing OS9 folder on your mini can simply be copied to the external drive in that case... opening the system folder once usually should bless it.)

[GaryN]

I've stayed out of this discussion because I don't own a Mini. I DO however have a dual-boot G4 MDD. Few subjects have received as extensive, circular and frustrating discourse on this Forum as have all of the trials and tribulations of dual-booting OS9 and OSX-whatever on one Mac model or another not originally built to allow this.

If there is one constant that constantly reappears as that major part of the solution, it is the one you are clearly aware of and you yourself quoted in your original post:

Hey guys,
Per everything I have read the disk has to be partitioned and 9.2.2 installed on one, and 10.4 or whatever on the other...

Please understand that a LOT of people have spent a LOT of time trial-and-erroring and otherwise testing every possible alternative they could think of to find the solution to allow two essentially incompatible OS'es and their really incompatible filesystems to coexist and operate where they were never intended to by Apple.

This is just one more of many, many issues that have occurred in this situation.
The solution that you are evidently to stubborn to embrace is the one you're well aware of:

Initialize the disk and install OS9 drivers, then:
Partition the disk and reinstall the OS'es then:
Enjoy your now dual-booting-without-issues Mini.

It's like a NIKE thing…… Just Do It

[tyrone shoelaces]

this thread is showing its age already... my findings.

if one is stubborn enough to dual boot a mini from one, non-partitioned disk, you can, but it's not fun and not ideal. a couple of weeks ago I partitioned the drive and installed the OSes on their own partitions. That works better, but you still can't use startup disk in OS X to select an older system, whether on a different partition, or not. have to hold down ALT at startup and use the OF startup screen to select OS 9.

In any case, the entire point of this exercise, for me, is nostalgia and tinkering. i have no production uses for my macs, it'ts just for fun and experimentation. I am enjoying all of it, even if i have to wipe a drive and start over. it's all in fun.

enjoy