Preparing for OS X final

[berglua]

OK, my new G4/667 will be here as soon as Motorola can spit out enough chips, and it will be time to load all my stuff from scratch, using 9.1. I know that sometime soon (pending carbon or cocoa versions of my favorite apps) I will go to OS X. What should I do to prepare my new machine for the conversion? Should I set aside a small partition for the future use of OS X? Would doing so prevent me from having to rebuild the whole system when I make the change? Any other thoughts on what I might do to the new machine ahead of time to make the conversion more painless?

[zaustin]

Since you are already using OS 9.1, and even if you weren't using OS 9.1, you will be able to install OS X Final right on top of it. For me, it is much more convenient to have a second partition to install OS X on. That way, when I'm booted into 9.1, I don't have to look at all of the (normally hidden) files that OS X uses. I have my normal looking OS 9 Partition and my OS X partition. Also, you can avoid having to reinstall BOTH OSes if you go with a second partition. If OS X screws up and you need to reinstall it, you don't have to worry about not being able to access your OS 9 partition, and you can clean-install OS X.

My 2 cents...

[Hobeaux]

But then, the question begs: How large should each partition be? a straight 50/50? Maybe in thirds (os 9, os x, data/scratch)? What kind of VM will X require? should one set up a special scratch disk partition for it or photoshop?

etc. etc.

[zaustin]

Right now there are far more apps available (and worth installing) for Mac OS 9 than OSX. The majority of OS9 apps take up more space than the ported *NIX apps. I would say at least 50/50 or wieghed more in the direction of OS9. Then again, if you don't like having to hose your drive to resize partitions later (when you have more OSX data) you could just give most of to OSX in preparation. Personally, I am 50/50. X *requires* about the same amount of VM as OS9...maybe a little more. But, it will *USE* a shitload since it is a much more full-featured (and faster) VM system than 9 has. If you install X on a small partition you better have AT LEAST 128MB on your system.