Here goes…
Assuming that you now have a suitable Firewire drive to copy/clone your Tiger OS to (with whatever necessary drivers and software that you might have acquired up to this point) …you might want to copy/ clone/ test/ that first. AND check it for bootability before going any further. Once you can boot Tiger from that Firewire drive (“Option key” boot and/or selecting it as startup drive under system prefs beforehand) you’re on your way.
Of course, before doing any of that… you might want to partition your Firewire drive into 2 or 3 partitions, recognizable via OS 9
and Tiger on your PB as it is now. AND I’d do this format/ partitioning using the disk utility available in OS 9.
Once you’ve established that you can boot Tiger from the FW drive copy/clone (as this seems to be your current-use priority) you might then move/clone (in a similar manner) your OS 9 to a second partition on that same FW drive and check it also for bootability. Once these two steps are successful… wipe/ format/ partition/ your Powerbook’s HD
and then move OS 9 and Tiger back to their own separate partitions on what I’ve assumed is now a 120GB HD in your PowerBook.
Note: I just checked my retail version of Tiger (10.4.6 - Apple MA453Z/A) and it is a single disk version (without OS 9 to be found anywhere… not even as a “Classic” type of installation). AND, I do not see the option of installing OS 9 drivers via Tiger’s Disk Utility, under partitioning. Thusly, you may also need to format and partition your PB’s HD with OS 9 first, before then “re-installing” Tiger from your FW drive.
Ideally, most prefer clean installs of both Tiger and OS 9 on their freshly wiped and partitioned PB HD and then simply dragging back those items needed from the backup… BUT nobody knows what software and/or drivers you have and need, so that’s a matter completely of your own personal preference. AND… original software install disc sets for your specific PB are ultimately the best starting point to then build upon, to where you now want to be OS and software-wise. Nothing quite like undertaking such a task, while suffering some other malady?
Hope this helps.
What drivers / software are you currently missing?
And… sorry ‘bout the wrist.
Addendum:After reading back through this entire thread "just a few" more times… if you’ve enough time before your wrist surgery AND if you have installer copies of most of the software packages that you need / want… it seems like the best course might be exactly as GaryN suggested early-on. (See Gary’s first post in this thread.) Back it up, reformat the HD in the PB and begin absolutely fresh… installing OS 9 on one partition and then Tiger on the other. Then, install whatever software you’re going to need the most, first, on whichever OS partition is best-suited.
In your case at present, that would seem to be Word.
Then methodically begin installing other software packages as needed. Photoshop 5 to 7.1, MOTU DP, and then Final Cut 4/5. However, if this PB is also your primary internet terminal, then setting that up might be your absolute first priority. Your machine will run faster and better.
As this PowerBook seems to be your “kitchen sink” workhorse, fresh & clean OS installs are the numero uno route. Definitely a PITA but (surprisingly) will save time and many possible future headaches in the long-long run. [Yes, I’ve been lost “there” (and here) before.]