Classic mode on iMac g5: OSX 10.5

[spaceinvader12]

I decided to play around with my g5 iMac (iSight) a bit today, and did some general cleanup before getting sidetracked thinking about file writing. It's honestly the oldest new (post 2000) mac I own, and I was wondering if you can put classic mode on it for OS9 related compatibilty. It's running 10.5, and I've heard that classic mode is unsupported on that version. I would be interested to hear if anyone has compiled a version for 10.5 that essentially has the same functions as it would make file transfers much easier for me to my 5300.

Currently, my solution to dealing with resource fork issues is that I'm using SheepShaver in Linux to expand .sit's and write the files to a .img. Then, I burn the .img periodically to a space CF card (not my Powerbook boot drive.) This is very slow and since I can't network SheepShaver (compiler errors everywhere, but that's for another forum), I'd like to get a simple solution of running OS9 era stuff on the iMac so I can simply use my USB card reader as intended. I would prefer to keep 10.5 installed if at all possible, but if the only solution is to downgrade to 10.4 I might consider it. Does anyone have any experience in this? Also, if this is the wrong subforum, mods, please move it to where it belongs.

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

Classic is 10.4 or lower. I don't think anyone's ever bothered to make it work on 10.5. 

 

[galgot]

Have you tried Sheepshaver on your iMac G5 ?

I think there is a PPC working version here :

http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7360

 

[spaceinvader12]

I guess that's about what I expected, yeah.

Galgot, I haven't used sheep shaver on Mac because I don't see how it'd improve over using it on Linux, since both mount HFS as read-only (at least, in my experience) and I'd have to do the same image writing system I'm currently using.

Without another Mac of the early, is there any way to transfer files? My only other spare CF card is 8MB which limits file sizes a lot since I'm not willing to risk a botched filed write over my boot card. Is getting a bigger card and continuing image writing my best option?

I have wanted an iMac G3 for a long time though, perhaps if I get one I could kill two birds with one stone. But that's a post for another thread, really

 

[bunnspecial]

There's nothing wrong with dual booting 10.4 and 10.5 also, although you would have to partition the drive.

Unfortunately, the only way you really have a chance on the iMac G5 is to run 10.4.

Picking up an older new world ROM Mac-particularly something that can run OS 9 natively-is always a great idea. I'd personally give G4 tower the nod, but for a classic all in one an iMac G3 is a good choice. If you get an iMac G3, I'd STRONGLY encourage you to get a Firewire model as it will open up your I/O options tremendously.

 

[spaceinvader12]

Thanks much for your help; I'll probably just stick with Sheepshaver for now, the G5 served as a daily useachine for years and the hard drive is full of data.

Getting a dedicated OS9 computer would be great; I'd absolutely love a Graphite iMac, but I highly doubt I'll ever find one and I'd have to convince my parents to let me get another computer. If I ever see a good deal on one, I'd definitely snap it up though. For now, sheepshaver seems to work reasonably well, it's just slow.

 

[bunnspecial]

If space is at a premium, you can always go for a laptop.

TiBooks are a perennial favorite of mine, but any G3 PowerBook or iBook would serve you well. Later is better, though, since you get more modern connectivity(i.e. you need a Lombard G3 at a minimum for USB).