Mac OS 9 - Mini G4

GlennHalloran

Registered
Hello,

I am sure this question may have been asked before. But I could not locate it.

I have a Mac Mini G4. I was wondering whether it is possible to run Mac OS 9.2.2 (Or whatever the latest version was) natively? (Meaning not under Mac OS X)

I have searched the net and basically been told it can not. There must be a way, as it is a PowerPC chip and architecture. What would I have to do or is it impossible?
 
Impossible. Apple actively changed the ROM etc. to prevent booting from OS 9 on newer Macs way before the Mac mini was released in order to push Mac OS X. All you can do is run OS 9 applications in Classic (i.e. within Mac OS X).
 
Ah ok. No worries. Bit of a shame though, I still like mucking around with classic. But you get alot more speed when it runs native.
 
You could buy an old G3 iMac for that, or an old iBook. Or even an older Mac. OS 9 runs quite fine on those. You can check about older hardware and what OS versions are supported on apple-history.com - and maybe you'll find some decent used hardware on eBay or at a yard-sale or wherever. :)
 
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