• Updated 2023-07-12: Hello, Guest! Welcome back, and be sure to check out this follow-up post about our outage a week or so ago.

Power Macintosh 4400/200 Clean Reinstall

Which OS?

  • Mac OS 7.6.1

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Mac OS 8.1

    Votes: 2 100.0%

  • Total voters
    2

MacTCP

Well-known member
After not doing a clean reinstall for 3 years, my 4400 now takes 10 minutes to start up. I guess it's time for a clean reinstall. ;D But which OS will I use? :?: 7.6.1 is fast. 8.1 is newer. But which shall I install?

 
Mac OS 7.6.1, due to the fact that it only has 32 MB of RAM. Mac OS 8.1 would be cramped in 32 MB. (This is assuming that you don't run any Virtual Memory which would slow it down.)

 

bluekatt

Well-known member
8.1 if only because i hate 7

8 is never more modern with better file and drive support

it also supports hfs+

 

MacTCP

Well-known member
I only have Mac OS 8.0 full install, so I wouldn't be able to format as HFS+. Mac OS 7.6.1 was fast when I had it installed, so I think I'll install that. Since I have just one license, I'll have to delete it from my LC III. It shouldn't matter because it was incredibly slow anyway.

 

MacTCP

Well-known member
I don't have a retail copy of that. At one time it was installed on it though, and it was faster than 8.1 is right now…with the 32mb RAM. I think I'll save the 8.1 for if I ever get something like a 9600.

 

MacTCP

Well-known member
Terrible terrible mistake? What makes 7.6 so bad? I don't want to make a terrible terrible mistake. :-x

 

bluekatt

Well-known member
Terrible terrible mistake? What makes 7.6 so bad? I don't want to make a terrible terrible mistake. :-x
i just never cared for 7 its form factor the apperance

when 7.6 was released 7 was dragging on for 6 years its odl out date dugly and unstable you have to add more extensions then worth it to get it up to os 8 level

off course i loath the whole classic mac os im soley a os X user

 

The Macster

Well-known member
Terrible terrible mistake? What makes 7.6 so bad? I don't want to make a terrible terrible mistake. :-x
7.x is not a good choice for a PPC in my view - it's very old compared with what they are capable of running, and it contains a lot more 68k code than the later releases. OS9 is abandonware nowadays, you shouldn't feel bad about acquiring a copy ;)

 

LSD

Well-known member
I don't mind System 7 myself, it will always define the Classic OS to me. It was how I first saw the Mac OS in magazine screenshots and was on the first Mac I ever bought, an LC475. OS 8 and 9 always seem like half-assed efforts to me. Where MS were at least trying to drag Windows out of the 16 bit 3.1 doldrums, Mac OS just kind of stagnated after version 7 (At least until OS X that is ;) )

Given the choices, 7.6.1 would be the sensible choice since even though 8.1 would be more optimised, it would probably choke in 32MB of RAM.

 

MacMan

Well-known member
I'd say 8.1, mainly because that's what I installed on my 4400! However it has 64MB of RAM which makes a big difference.

 

Quadraman

Well-known member
I'd install 7.6.1 just to get a running system and then get a memory upgrade and boost it up to 8.1. The difference in overhead between 7.6.1 and 8.1 is not huge and the 4400 is fast enough that 8.1 won't make it snail slow. It's not until you start getting into 8.5 or higher that overhead starts to become a problem on older machines with limited resources.

 

MacTCP

Well-known member
I'm going to go install 8.1 and see if it's fast enough. If not, I'll install 7.6. If you believe this is a bad idea, speak now or forever hold your piece.

EDIT: I used the wrong piece! Ironically, I was eating cake while I posted that. :p

 
Last edited by a moderator:

paws

Well-known member
Since I have just one license, I'll have to delete it from my LC III.
Not true, regardless of what EULAs say. It's just not true:

In the United States, once you own a copy of a program, you can back it up, compile it, run it, and even modify it as necessary, without permission from the copyright holder. See 17 USC 117.For example, after purchasing a copy of Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation---which is a poorly tuned version of NT 4.0 Server, minus a few utilities---you can back it up, apply a small patch that fixes the tuning, and run the result.

Microsoft hates this. Of course, Microsoft could restrict your rights by demanding that you sign a contract before you get a copy of Windows NT, but this would not do wonders for Windows sales.

So Microsoft puts a ``license'' on all of its software and pretends that you don't have the right to use the software unless you agree to the ``license.'' You can't patch Windows without their permission, according to the license; you can't use NT Workstation for more than 10 simultaneous connections; you must give Microsoft your first-born son. (Or something like that.)

The problem with Microsoft's license is that it's unenforceable. You can simply ignore it. Microsoft can't win a copyright infringement lawsuit: you own the software that Microsoft sold you, and Congress gave you the right to use it.
http://cr.yp.to/softwarelaw.html

Listen to Daniel!

 

MacTCP

Well-known member
I've decided on 8, because I just had a pretty bothersome time with 7 on my LC III, which made me not be able to do the install today.

I will install 8, and upgrade the RAM eventually.

 

LCGuy

LC Doctor/Hot Rodder
Go with 8.1, it has a bit more PPC native code than 7.6.1, can run more software, and shouldn't have any problems at all running under 32MB of RAM. My LC475 has OS 8.1 running under 36 and it flies like a bird.

 
Top