How do you get Classics working after you've got OS X working ?

Z

zzbuckley

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As a new Mac user this is driving me crazy ! I've got an iMac with OS X installed but I can't get Classic applications working. Logically I know I have to reinstall OS9 from disk (which I have) but how do I acually do it without overwriting OS X ?
 
This is one of the weirdnesses of the OS 9 install disk. It will insist that it has to perform a clean install, and I would take that to mean it's going to wipe the disk and start from scratch, right?

Wrong.

If you perform a "Clean Install" from the Classic disc over X, it leaves the X system in place. Or it did for me. I'd suggest you back up your documents and settings in entirety just to be sure, though.
 
os 9 will not 'overwrite' os x. the only reason you would need to reformat is if you currently don't have os 9 drivers installed. then you are going to have to start from scratch. other wise, like symphonix said, just do a clean install and you're in buisiness. and unlike os x, you can actually have multiple copies of os 9 on a drive and just choose which one to use ( i always keep a copy of the previous version just to be sure an update didn't screw up more than it fixed. however 9.2.2 is as good as it's ever going to get so that's not really an issue anymore).
 
Thanks guys.

So I get it ! No matter what I think I've probably got both OSX and Classic (at least once !) on my machine? So how do I find it and ensure that when I launch a classic app from OSX it finds it ?

Anyone recommend a good book on OSX for beginners ?:)
 
Go to the Classic pane in System prefs. You should see a System folder for use by Classic, this pane should find the System Folder automatically. If there is more than one, choose the one that you want Classic to use, and try to start Classic from this pane, should work :)
 
or you can first just launch a classic app. classic should start automatically. if it doesn't, then you need to do what deltamac described.
 
Did that but it didn't work. The message says "There is no volume with a systems folder that supports starting Classic" What do I do next ? Does this mean I have to reinstall OS9 ? If so how ?
 
ok, there's no os 9 in your classic pref pane like deltamac stated? then you need to install os 9. just put in the install disk and follow the instructions. a 'clean install' is ok. an install that reformats is NOT what you want. when you are done, follow delta's instructions. oh, you probably also want to be booted from os 9 and run all the system updates to get up to 9.2.2. you'll need to configure all your isp info in os 9 to do that. you can't update os 9 directly from os x.
 
Sorry for the delay I've been travelling. So I booted up from the OS9 disk and then did a clean install. It failed with the message "problems were found with mac HD that cannot be fixed by this program. See your installation manual for instructions".

I found the installation log and didn't provide any more information. What next ?
 
Actually, I was wondering about the clean install I have to do.

I installed OS X alone on my computer, then upgraded to Jaguar. The iBook that I use is a French Canadian version, therefore the OS 9 I received is french. However, the OS X install was made in English.

When I boot from the OS 9 cd to install OS 9 onto the drive that has OS X, it tells me in french that it cannot install on the drive. The only way that I can continue is to choose 'Effectuer une installation spéciale' which is the first button on the left at the bottom. A special installation to me means that it is simply overwriting an older version. I was wondering if this would actually allow me to install OS 9.

Can anyone confirm? I don't wanna try without certainty because I hate having residues of other operating systems on my drive.
 
If you don't have OS 9 already installed, then the only installation will be a Clean Install, I guess that is what your choice is. If OS 9 was previously installed (should have shipped that way, Have you reformatted so that OS X is the only operating system installed?), then the clean install will leave the previous OS 9 mostly intact, but disabled, so you can transfer old settings, etc. Once you have OS 9 the way you want, then you can delete the Previous System Folder
 
That's exactly it, I reinstalled OS X myself because I wanted the OS to be completely in English whereas the restore CD's installs everything in French. I know you can very easily just change the behavior of the system to be English, but the startup sequence is still in French and it annoys me.

OS 9 though is in French only. I personally don't mind or anything though. I just need to make sure it works .. Blah I'll try it out right now and see what happens.
 
Thanks mate !

You don't understand the pressure you are under if all you've ever used in Windows and your 11 year old thinks you are computer whizz ! You logically know how to do things but physically you can't get things to run because everything is different in the Mac World. I willing to put the time into learn but some advice on where to start would be helpful. My copy of Mac for Dummies is well thumbed but doesn't help in the OSX world.:)

So I'll start from the beginning. Is Classic really OSX emulating OS9 or is it a seperate physical copy of OS9 (as implied above) ?
 
First of all, you should pick up Mac OS X For Dummies because it covers the new OS (it has to!).

Second, Classic is really using a physical (digitally speaking) copy of Mac OS 9.2 that is actually located on your hard drive. The way it works is that it emulates the running of said system, much like Virtual PC runs Windows. To emulate an OS, you have to have the OS on your hard drive and your emulator has to be compatible with it (in this case, Mac OS X is compatible with 9.2.X). You can't emulate something you don't have. It's like remixing a song: you get a new sound, but you have to have something to work with in the first place.

So, to answer your question, Classic is a combination of OS X emulating a physical copy of 9.2 on your machine. Does this clear it up? Because if it doesn't, the aforementioned book undoubtedly will.
 
Actually there is another good book for beginners with OS X.
Mac OS X, The missing Manual by David Pogue

Steve,
Do one thing to check something out. Double click on the Hard Drive. Do you have a:
System folder with a 9 on the folder icon
Applications (Mac os 9)

Then you already have classic installed. You probably should run Disk Utility (Utility folder in the OS X CD ) .
 
Cheryl,

I don't have a system folder with a 9 on. I have a "System" with an X on and a system folder. I have desktop and Applications with (Mac OS 9).

Run the utility or not ?
 
A good way to see if you have Classic or not is to open up your System Preferences (in the Dock or under the Apple menu) and to click on "Startup Disk." If there is a folder that says "Mac OS 9.2" (or "9.2.1" or "9.2.2"), then you have Classic and you should run Disk Utility. If there is no such folder, then you do not have Classic and you should reinstall it. Don't worry, it won't wipe out your hard drive.
 
Well, I bought the Missing Manual and realised that the problem was that you need to ensure that your version of OS9 has to be updated to 9.2 before you can get Classic working in OSX. Did that and now its working. Thanks for your help.
 
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