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Mac OS 9 on OSX Leopard?

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makela - Jul 10, 2008 at 02:48 AM
 JM - Apr 18, 2011 at 09:19 PM
Hello,
Okay so OS X Leopard is the OS 9 killer.
Does anyone know of a work-around to install OS 9. I have the latest iMac with Leopard pre-installed. I tried partitioning the hard drive and then uploading OS 9, didn't work. I guess it would have to be something that overrides the firmware, if that's possible.

In case you are asking why, it's because I have a scanner and a printer which are not made/imported any more, they work perfectly but no OS X Leopard drivers are available, or ever will be.

Thanks.
Related:

4 responses

Answer 1 / 4
Mac tech
Sep 3, 2008 at 12:25 AM
This is a bit complex, but the short answer is, no. The intel based iMacs can't natively run OS9 because it was written for the IBM powerpc processors. It was working in 10.4(tiger) because Tiger had emulation software to run it. Apple took the emulation software out of it for Leopard. There are commercial applications to allow you to run classic in leopard, but you cannot boot to it, and the drivers will not load anyway. Hope this helps.

P.S. apple no longer uses an open firmware interface, instead they now use Intel's EFI interface. A mac nowadays is just a really pretty PC, so you'd have about the same chance of success installing OS9 on your winblows machine.
2
richard
Jan 4, 2009 at 04:06 PM
Hi

I need to find a program that will run os9 on my osx leopard, because I have this outdated programming thing, called chipmunk basic. Although this works fine on leopard, the applications I can make with it are only os9 ones. so, to load my programs as their own self-supported programs without running from chipmunk basic, I have to use them on os9.
0
Dude
Apr 21, 2010 at 01:02 PM
Macs are NOT just pretty PCs. The OS architecture is completely different, with OS X falling in more towards the Linux family.
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blackmac
Nov 24, 2010 at 07:58 AM
Um, yes they are. Linux or Windows, an IBM x86 architecture computer is a PC. Macs are now Intel x86 architecture, they run Windows or Linux or Mac OS. Hey I think it's a PC.
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JM
Apr 18, 2011 at 09:19 PM
Sure they have the same architecture (which is now no longer x86 btw, unless you have a really shitty pc) but by no means does that make a mac computer a "dressed-up Windows computer" (not a pc cuz guess what, all PERSONAL COMPUTERS are PCs) The OS is completely different, on a simple level you can call Windows DOS based and OS X unix based although it runs much deeper than that. You're obviously speaking as a user who has never used a modern mac and to the average user there's literally no difference between the Power PC Leopard and the Intel Leopard. Obviously there are deeply rooted differences but the fact is when you run your Windows 7, it's quite different than your Snow Leopard.
I mean OS X programs and Windows programs are written very differently...
You don't have to like Macintosh computing, but don't make wild, useless statements like, "It's a prettied up PC"
Now log back into your useless HP :P
PS another proof for architecture not really meaning that much on a consumer POV: Windows 8 is to be written for both Intel and ARM processors. Same OS, different architecture
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Answer 2 / 4
SANEuse
Dec 18, 2008 at 08:47 PM
Hi,

I do have a HP scanner that does not have drivers for OSX (and probably Vista as well).

I made it work with OSX via SANE. You'll need to read a bit to discover what device your scanner maps to (mine mapped to a specific chip, just like an "IBM ThinkPad Wireless NIC" will map to an Atheros hardware).

After that, and some trying, I found that I could only scan using "Browse Devices" inside Image Capture.

But it worked nicely, and SANE is the culprit I have not upgraded my HP 2200c scanner :-)
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Answer 3 / 4
betatester
Oct 18, 2009 at 05:34 PM
If you have a PowerPC based Mac, like a G5 or a G4, you can borrow the Kernel and Classic related software from a 10.4 and earlier installation. The kernel is the limiting factor in Classic compatibility in Leopard, 10.5.

As stated above, you can make use of SheepShaver which will run most, but not all Classic software. Make sure you use the latest builds from the www.emaculation.com/ web site. With SheepShaver you can install up to 9.0.4. Another option: you can use Basilisk II which will install up to Mac OS 8.1.

For either SheepShaver or Basilisk II, you must have a boot-ROM from specific Macintosh computers. Again check the forums on emaculation.com
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Answer 4 / 4
Wayne
Nov 27, 2010 at 10:16 PM
I have been running both on a Power PC G4 Tower unit for the past several years. However, I don't remember what I had to do for this, but I don't recall that it was difficult. I still have some old programs that I use that require the Classic operating system.
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