I don't know where to post this, so I'm going to here. I have several questions!
1. I have some files of the "img" variety, but OS9 reads them as documents. How do I make these usable? I'd really like to.
sounds like your files may have been corrupted? u can try to drag the file to an appropriate software that handles that filetype and hope it just works... .img can be opened (and optionally converted to .dmg) in ppc versions of osx by Disk utility or in os9 by disk copy i think? its a very standardized file format if its an NDIF .img file; basically osx disk utility is a combination of software originating in os9, combining drive setup with disk copy!
https://fileinfo.com/extension/ndif
"An NDIF file is a disk image saved in Apple's New Disk Image Format (NDIF), which was introduced with Disk Copy 6.0, an older Mac Classic application. It compresses data in a dual-fork format, which is comprised of metadata in the resource fork and data in the data fork. NDIF files were used as an older format for mounting file systems on Mac computers."
2. I have used Classilla, which is fantastic. However, I moved some files by accident. I moved them back, but now Classilla displays as a document only. Is there a way to get this executable again? I've tried re-downloading--same result.
just erase the classilla directory entirely and reinstall. easy fix.
3. This is really reaching, but I wanted to try to install osx on a second drive as an alternative OS. I can't get any install CD to work...at all. I can get tiger to boot to an apple symbol, but it hangs there. Using a 450 G3 B/W with 1G ram.
this could be due to the cd/dvd rom drive that you have installed in the B+W g3.. my machine was incredibly buggy/wierd and i find the blue + white g3s to be kinda wacky to deal with, (moreso then even the pci graphics yikes! g4) due to the early open firmware implementation
my suggestion: replace the optical drive with a more modern one that will more easily read modern CD/DVD media; there have been numerous subtle changes in optical media since 1999, alot of the rom drives from that time period will have difficulty reading optical media that can be purchased today (and from the last 10 years or so since around 2008 time period)
if replacing the optical drive is not an option at this time, u can try to make sure u are using DVD-R media (as opposed to DVD+R) this can make all the difference in being able to read the disc properly
lastly; ensure that u are using the right disc! for PPC (not Intel)
also to avoid buggyness i suggest u use matching ram sticks
that are all in the original spec for the machine
(for the B+W G3, that means PC100 SDRAM, either 128MB or 256MB size -- i dont think it supports 512mb sticks) if your ram is a "variety pack" there can be subtle differences that make the computer prone to behaving badly with strange + hard to analyze issues
also some pc133 ram can have problems with downward compatibility to pc100
although some pc133 can work just perfectly
good luck!