iBook 500MHz

[Christopher]

Mac OS 9 is bootable via USB, correct? I swear I remember hearing you could do it. Can someone help me through this? I'm trying to install OS 9 back onto my iBook, I do not have any cash for blanks disks and my OS 9 disk gives me an error I cannot conquer!

 

[Devon]

i forget the key combination but i think it was apple t at startup and you got firewire disk mode and can install the osx directly to your harddrive from another mac.

 

[Christopher]

i forget the key combination but i think it was apple t at startup and you got firewire disk mode and can install the osx directly to your harddrive from another mac.

I don't want OS X, I want OS 9 from a USB hard drive since my OS 9 disk is screwed up. I did manage to make a backup before the disk got messed up.

 

[macintoshme]

yeah, just hold the option key. I have done it on G3 iMacs (SL) so should work. IIRC os X works too, albeit slowly. I think I did that once with an iPod Shuffle.

 

[Quadraman]

What computer are you trying to boot from? A B&W can't boot from external drives and I don't think a Yikes! can either since the motherboard and ROM are so similar. Anything in a beige case with a USB card I doubt would be bootable either.

 

[tomlee59]

What computer are you trying to boot from?

Perhaps the subject line conveys this information?

 

[Cory5412]

Specifically, you can boot a dual-usb iBook from USB. I've done it on my pismo. Just boot it up, plug in the usb drive, and select it in startup disk CP, that or I think you can hold down option to select your boot device. Biggest thing is to make sure the drive has the OS 9 driver installed, ahs OS9 on it, and has a properly blessed system folder.

 

[Christopher]

yeah, just hold the option key. I have done it on G3 iMacs (SL) so should work. IIRC os X works too, albeit slowly. I think I did that once with an iPod Shuffle.

Tried that and it shows the happy mac, then goes to a floppy question mark. sits there, then puts the happy mac over the floppy disk icon. and it just sits. i left it for an hour or so.

I did manage to make sure the OS 9 drivers are on the drive(leopard still has that option for some reason). But I had the image of my 9.1 disk restored using my intel mac, so i think it was formatted to the GUID instead of the older format.

EDIT. FUDGE!!!!!! Forgot to add OS 9 drivers to the whole external drive, which has a back up of a lot of my files. I will check back once I get this sorted out.

 

[benjgvps]

You have to do it before you hear the tone and keep holding. Then select the drive you want to boot from.

 

[Christopher]

You have to do it before you hear the tone and keep holding. Then select the drive you want to boot from.

I'm rather knowledgeable in computers, I know this stuff rather well [] ]'>

 

[benjgvps]

Ok, Just making sure!

 

[Christopher]

Well, I burned my backed up image and I still get the floppy disk ?. What's going on?

 

[coius]

you need the original OS 9 discs. i.e. restore discs. It's the ONLY way to get OS 9 on it. Sorry, you will need to source the recovery discs for it :-/

 

[Christopher]

So retail versions will not work? How lame.

 

[Temetka]

you need the original OS 9 discs. i.e. restore discs. It's the ONLY way to get OS 9 on it. Sorry, you will need to source the recovery discs for it :-/

That's some good crack you are on.

A retail OS 9.1 CD will boot, format and install just fine on that iBook.

I have done this to about 12 of them to know.

Works great.

 

[Christopher]

Then why does mine give me a floppy disk with a question mark.

 

[equill]

Quizzical Floppy has occupied plenty of space in these forums. The resulting mounds should be visible from afar. If an intended startup volume causes the system's Start Manager to return a Quizzical Floppy, it means that valid boot blocks could not be found on that volume. That the boot blocks are not there should not be possible on a full install CD, nor should a valid System Finder, which is the next requirement, be missing. That the CD is damaged enough (optically) for the boot blocks not to be findable is a different matter. Cleaning the CD may overcome the problem, but if surface damage to the CD is not removable, cleaning will not do anything useful for you.

... I don't want OS X, I want OS 9 from a USB hard drive since my OS 9 disk is screwed up. I did manage to make a backup before the disk got messed up.

Target disk mode will allow installation of OS 9. It is not tied to installation of OS X. If your CD cannot be persuaded or browbeaten into the install directly, copy a working OS 9 installation from another Mac, or use the CD from another Mac through TDM to the iBook. The only danger in either of these latter suggestions is that TDM will convert the iBook into a witless appendage of the host Mac, and iBook-specific software may not be installed because its HDD will, temporarily, not 'belong' to it but to the host Mac. Don't forget to (re)install OS 9 HDD drivers for the iBook, or it will not be accessible to the OS 9 install CD or to a host Mac running OS 9.

If you review the problem to date, is it possible that absence of OS 9 drivers from the iBook is the root cause of all your present troubles?

de

 

[Christopher]

If you review the problem to date, is it possible that absence of OS 9 drivers from the iBook is the root cause of all your present troubles

Well considering the disk was worked fine with my 266MHz grape iMac and PowerMac G4 in the past(haven't touched the disk since I posted this thread), I just can't see why it won't boot or anything. I installed Classic Support and I can boot off of that, its just stripped down to nothing So I basically have nothing but an OS 9 UI to work with.

 

[Christopher]

Well, I am torrenting OS 9 to see if I can actually get a working version to boot from.