Booting with Just a System File and an Application - Quick Guide

[Phipli]

Someone on Macintosh Garden was surprised when I mentioned that you could boot a Mac with just a System File and an Application, so I made a quick video showing the simplest (crudest) way of doing it.

There are several better ways, including my preference, using the Norton "Startup Disk Builder" tool, which lets you use much newer System files (I've used it with 7.5.3, but I think it will do 8, if not 9). The Norton tool strips out loads of nonsense to make the System file fit on a floppy disk and also produces a disk that when you quit the program, shuts down instead of relaunching the program.

Here is the rough around the edges way :

 

[David Cook]

Nice video. I'll have to keep this in mind.

 

[slomacuser]

Interesting didn't know that..

 

[Phipli]

Nice video.

Thank you

Here are a couple more System related oddities from the depth of time. Both based around a thing that you can Cmd+opt+double-click a Finder in a System Folder you aren't booted from in System 6.x and older, and the computer switches to that System Folder! Even if it is in a different disk.

System versions must be  similar though.

Cool use is booting from a disk with a load of drivers that fill the 800k disk, then once they're loaded up and in RAM, hot switching to another system with a load of control panels (not the type that have drivers, more settings and utility type ones).

I found out about this trick from the Mac II user guide! It was actually mentioned as something you could do!

Interesting thing, I tried it in System 7, and the functionality is still there... Except it fails with an error every time. I think they broke it but didn't notice.

 

[Phipli]

Oh, and booting with no finder in 7.5.3 (System file cut down (including "Mac OS" boot splash screen) for size). Ignore the error, it's because I was in an emulator, it decided the image wasn't a floppy disk :

This was made with Norton Startup Disk Builder.
I'll stop rummaging through my old videos now