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[JMK19]

So I'm new to the forum and I got the Mac OS 9 on unsupported G4s ISO image and burned it to a disc.
I can get so far as to select it in the option key boot menu, but then I just see a grey screen, nothing else.
I also tried the Universal Install CD as well just for fun, of course that didn't work.
Last thing i tried is run the System Restore app from the Unsupported G4s iso in Classic, but when I click Restore it can't close some apps and fails.
(I already tried doing the same action in Disk Utility, and no matter what way I tried it, I couldn't get that image to restore to my 30GB partition.)

Does anyone know how I am supposed to do this? I've heard that on the ThinkClassic website there's a Mac OS ROM for the iBook G4, but I can't find that. Still looking though.

[JMK19]

Also, I've seen this post on ThinkClassic and this has to have something to do with it:

From the user ClassicHasClass:
There are a lot of problems with late iBook G4s. It's probably a variant of the known DO-QUIESCE issue, which is not currently well understood.

[JMK19]

After following the instructions here: https://www.thinkclassic.org/viewtopic.php?pid=4889#p4889
I can boot from the Unsupported G4s CD and see more than just a grey screen. Now it starts to boot with the trackpad issues, then loads this
extension with two arrows going back and forth (? what is this) and then the cursor bombs out and the hard disk and CD spin down. Can't get past here, trying Shift for safe mode now.

[JMK19]

Even with Extensions disabled I get stuck at this certain point about one-forth of the way in, then bombs out and spins the disc/disk down. Seems there's nothing I can do.

[darthnVader]

Code: [Select]

dev /pci@F2000000/mac-io/i2s/i2s-a

" screamer" encode-string " compatible" property

device-end

" /" select-dev

0 " graphic-options" get-my-property 2drop !

unselect
It's the sound device stopping boot.

[JMK19]

Thanks  About to try this.

[JMK19]

This might be working! Can't really tell cause I messed it up and had to redo it. By the way, trackpad doesn't work at all under OS 9.
I think this might just be a easy fix cause the same trackpad not working thing happened in 10.4 after a fresh install, then fixed automatically when I updated to 10.4.11.

[JMK19]

Same thing, bombs out at the same point. Should I reset NVRAM and PRAM or whatever, then retry the commands? Or will that mess everything up?

[darthnVader]

Works fine for me Mac OS ROM 10.2.1 (Generic) PowerBook6,7( 12" iBook G4 1.33Ghz ).

The tracpad doesn't work and you need the 'NDRV' I made for the Radeon 9550.

If you're still wanting to get this to work, I'll upload both the ROM and the 'NDRV'?

[darthnVader]

Here are the files needed for the iBook G4 with the Radeon 9550.

You'll also need to set an nvram script....

Code: [Select]

nvedit
dev /pci@F2000000/mac-io/i2s/i2s-a
" screamer" encode-string " compatible" property
device-end
CTRL+C
nvstore
setenv use-nvramrc? true
reset-all

If you want the tracpad to work on the 12" model( 14" untested ), albeit very slow tracking, remove the USB Device Extension as it seems to be what is conflicting with the tracpad, and making it not work.

 

[ahihi]

hi,

i am trying to boot OS9 on one of these iBooks, but am having some trouble. here is what i did:

1. install Mac OS 9.2.2 for Unsupported G4s onto a partition on the iBook

i used Target Disk Mode and another Mac that can boot the installer. the iBook also has Tiger installed onto a second partition.

2. reset NVRAM

3. boot into Tiger

4. install the files from Powerbook6,7.sit

- Mac OS ROM -> System Folder
- ATI R9550 -> System Folder:Extensions

5. remove System Folder:Extensions:Multiprocessing

6. set up nvramrc

Code: [Select]

sudo nvram nvramrc='
dev /cpus/PowerPC,G4@0
80010201 encode-int " cpu-version" property
device-end

dev /pci@F2000000/mac-io/i2s/i2s-a
" screamer" encode-string " compatible" property
device-end

" /" select-dev
0 " graphic-options" get-my-property 2drop !
unselect
'
sudo nvram 'use-nvramrc?=true'

7. try to boot into the OS9 partition via the boot picker

but at this point i only get the floppy icon with question mark inside after ~2 minutes of this, the iBook shuts down. any idea why?

information about the process for this machine seems a bit scattered, so maybe i missed something.

[ahihi]

progress! my mistake was directly installing OS9 onto a partition created by Tiger's Disk Utility - i needed to initialize the disk using the OS9 installer's Drive Setup. i can now boot into OS9!

the UI did however hang immediately after the desktop came up. i was able to fix this by removing the ATI Video Accelerator extension.

now, my one remaining issue is sound. i understand the built-in sound device is not supported, so i was hoping to use my Griffin iMic USB sound card. usually it is automatically recognized by OS9, but not here. does the situation with the built-in device result in Sound Manager being completely disabled? might there be a way to enable just the iMic?

[Jubadub]

progress! my mistake was directly installing OS9 onto a partition created by Tiger's Disk Utility - i needed to initialize the disk using the OS9 installer's Drive Setup. i can now boot into OS9!

No issues with using Tiger's Disk Utility for that. However, one thing that DOES cause an issue that I was able to confirm is if you try to use the "Restore" function to restore an image onto a partition, and then that fails. If that fails, the partition "looks" fine, but it might be unusable for booting into OS 9 with it (I forgot whether alt-booting still worked or not, though), even if you rewrite all the files.

Another issue I recently discovered with OS 9 bootability is that i.e. with a scenario of 3 partitions like the following:

Disk 1 -   20GB
Disk 2 - 150GB
Disk 3 -   20GB

If installed, OS 9 won't boot from Disk 3, but will boot fine from Disk 1 and 2. However, if you rearrange them in the following way:

Disk 1 -   20GB
Disk 2 -   20GB
Disk 3 - 150GB

Then OS 9 can boot from any of the 3 Disks just fine. (Again, I would have to double-check if alt-booting works regardless).

In my case, this was observed on my Mac mini G4 "64MB VRAM SuperMini" 1.5GHz model, but I suspect this is applicable to all OS 9 machines, official and unofficial. It took me years to realize this was an issue.

[ahihi]

No issues with using Tiger's Disk Utility for that.

i believe the reason it caused an issue is that the Tiger Disk Utility does not offer the option of installing OS 9 disk drivers when running on this hardware (at least unmodified).

Another issue I recently discovered with OS 9 bootability is that i.e. with a scenario of 3 partitions like the following: [...]

yeah, i have heard OS9 can be finicky about partition order, so i have been installing it on the first partition each time. good to have some more detail on this

still open to ideas regarding the audio issue!

[ahihi]

someone on Mastodon suggested disabling the onboard headphone output in OF to get Sound Manager running. i didnt try that yet, however i found this Propagamma USB-ASIO driver (free download for OS9 still available at https://www.usb-audio.com/download/) that supports a number of audio interfaces, including my iMic! of course it only works with apps that speak ASIO but thats enough for me

[viecnha]

Thanks I had the same problem

[pajzd]

i use this script in os X terminal & it works until it gets the bomb sign :-/

case: iBook (PowerBook 6,7) G4 PPC 1.42 Ghz (white plastic snow iBook)

#!/bin/sh
echo Enabling OS 9 booting...
echo "You may have to enter your password"
# Use nvram command to setup nvramrc with script to make open firmware changes
sudo nvram nvramrc='" /" select-dev
" PowerBook4,3" encode-string " model" property
" PowerBook4,3" encode-string " MacRISC" encode-string encode+ " MacRISC2" encode-string encode+ " MacRISC3" encode-string encode+ " Power Macintosh" encode-string encode+ " compatible" property
00000000 " graphic-options" get-my-property 2drop !
unselect

" /cpus/PowerPC,G4@0" find-package if drop " /cpus/PowerPC,G4@0" find-device 80010201 encode-int " cpu-version" property then

device-end \ PLX-OS9-PATCH
'
# Enable use of nvramrc on boot. Change to "false" if you want to disable again. Or just clear/reset nvram.
sudo nvram "use-nvramrc?"=true
echo done.

i figured probably the screamer lines should be integrated, i tried but didn"t work ( i"m not that acquainted with forth language or what the scripting language may be)
can somebody implement it here for me ? i mean in this script ...
not relevant anymore, see hereunder
thnx !

========

apparently in Open Firmware i could check the properties for the sound device in it

name: i2s-a
device-type: soundbus
compatible: screamer

so i have to leave the screamer part out of the script, due to redundancy

====

i can boot with the ibook mac os 9 hdd in target mode connectec to my powerbook !
but i cannot boot with the internal ibook mac os 9 hdd on my iBook ??!!!
fckn crazy ! everything works perfectly, graphics, sound tested, works, about this computer gives
mac os rom 10.2.1v1 !!!
so system folder & files are 'blessed' ...
=> so same install works on powerbook, but not on iBook

++++

apparently due to the terrible do-quienscence firmware block by _apple

 

What Is the "DO‑QUIESCE" Issue?

    When an iBook G4 boots, Open Firmware reports the message "DO-QUIESCE Finished" just before handing control over to the OS.

    If boot fails right after that—without showing Mac OS 9 UI or throwing a bomb—this is the “DO-QUIESCE issue.”

    It means the firmware performed its low‑level power-down steps (QUIESCE), then the OS loader fails to take over.

MorphOS and vintage Mac forums confirm this as a hardware/firmware-level incompatibility—not a disk or extension problem:

    "It stopped booting after 'DO‑QUIESCE Finished', no more loading."
    TinkerDifferent+11morph.zone+11yaronet.com+11

That matches your symptom: boots partway (sometimes), then stops or bombs.
🧠 Why This Happens on iBook G4 (PowerBook6,7)

    iBook G4 models were never certified by Apple to boot Mac OS 9 natively. They lack required ROM-level support.

    The DO‑QUIESCE bug is tied to how the firmware handles low-level hardware state just before OS 9 loader starts.

    Even patched Mac OS 9 images that include boot ROM and CPU-version patches may still hang here—because the firmware does not fully support the OS 9 boot sequence.
    Wikipedia

⚠️ Why It Matters

Because your system stops at or just after “DO‑QUIESCE Finished”, here’s what that implies:

    Your partition, System Folder, and blessing are likely correct.

    The CPU version patch might be present, but it doesn’t address firm-level incompatibility fully.

    As a result, Mac OS 9’s loader never fully starts—hence, flashing question mark or bomb.

🛠 What You Can Try (Best Approach)
Step   Action
1   Reboot into Open Firmware (⌘ + ⌥ + O + F)
2   Attempt a manual boot: boot hd:9,\System\Library\CoreServices\BootX (adjust partition number if needed)
3   If it hangs at DO-QUIESCE → likely firmware incompatibility
4   Try a USB boot of the OS 9 installer image (some users report bypassing the problem this way)
5   Last resort: Use Classic Mode under OS X or emulate OS 9 (SheepShaver / QEMU)
🗣️ Community Confirmation

From a user on MorphZone:

    “iBook G4 (PowerBook6,5... with differents CPU)… all with different CPU: 1 GHz or 1.2 GHz… boot stopped after 'DO-QUIESCE Finished'…”
    TinkerDifferent
    morph.zone+2mac-classic.com+2
    Wikipedia

And from Mac‑Classic.com:

    “Most G4 Macs made prior to 2003 had both operating systems... Later G4 models never had their Mac OS ROM updated to allow OS 9 boot.”
    Apple Support Community+12mac-classic.com+12Wikipedia+12

✅ Bottom Line

    The DO‑QUIESCE issue is a firmware-level block on iBook G4 that often prevents Mac OS 9 boot—even from patched installers.

    If the system stops after “DO‑QUIESCE Finished,” you're running into hardware limitations Apple never addressed.

    There's no completely reliable workaround other than using Classic Mode under OS X or switching to emulation, unless you find a rare workaround that bypasses firmware behavior (very few exist, often unstable).