OK to install 6.08 with existing 7.1, then System Picker?

[Byrd]

Hi,

I'm fixing up a nice SE for my brother, loaded to the hilt with games. It's running a 500MB SCSI HD with System 7.1 installed, but I've found most B&W games we used to play are incompatible and need System 6. I've forgotten how to use System Picker; can I install System 6.08 (eg. in separate folder called "System 6" on the existing 500MB HD, and use this utility to switch between the two?

Thanks

JB

 

[Mk.558]

Yes.

Rename the System 7.1 folder to something else, like "System 7.1" or the like. Then boot up from the 6.0.8 install disks and install as usual.

 

[volvo242gt]

The only issue that you will run into is that System 7 doesn't like the old System 6 Desktop file. Keeps trying to rebuild it and will hang about 1/8 of the way into the process. I ran into this problem when I ran my IIsi as a dual-boot machine back in '04 and '05. There used to be an INIT for System 6 that would allow it to use the newer Desktop DB/DF files. Think it was called Desktop MGR or Desktop Manager. May've come on one of the Appleshare disks.

-J

 

[cb88]

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA46441?viewlocale=en_US

It says it was on the appleshare admin disk.

I want to say it is in this .sit which you could get from apple's servers except they are flakey these days http://files.oldos.org/files/macdl/AppleshareFileServer2.sit

Note that you might prefer AppleShare 3+ ... since that works better with OS X but maybe that doesn't have anything to do with the desktop manager!

 

[volvo242gt]

Yup, it is. Thanks! Been looking for that for a long time. Lost it many years ago, after I'd passed all my 68k stuff to other people.

-J

 

[Byrd]

Thanks all for your help - thought I'd post an update on how it went.

I couldn't "downgrade" to System 6 with the System (7) Folder already present (renamed to System Folder 7). The System 6.08 Installer disk would keep choosing it and wanted to overwrite files. So I moved the folder, installed System 6.08, then dragged back the System 7 folder - System Picker now dual boots the two nicely.

The "Desktop Manager" INIT as unusually found on the AppleShare Admin image definately does work, neither OS complains about having to rebuild the desktop switching between the two. One quirk is that somehow Multifinder is enabled by default when you switch over to System 6.08, which I tend to never use and most games don't like it.

My only issue is that the SE seems a bit crash prone - not many older games work, and I'm sure they were fine when we had a Mac Plus with 6.08 - I appreciate there may be some slight incompatibilities but it does crash at strange times. The caps are original - sound etc is all good, PSU fine, RAM seems fine - does replacing the caps improve stability of the machine?

Thanks

JB

 

[Mk.558]

Try testing them in Mini vMac.

Some *really* old apps and games won't even run on a Plus, let alone a SE.

You can start up without MultiFinder. Go to the Special menu and choose Set Startup...

In that DLOG, you can have the Finder alone, or MultiFinder. Originally it was meant to start up with a specific app/game with no Finder at all (for low memory purposes). When you quit said program, the Finder would then load. IIRC there was a Quit feature you can have in 7.0/7.1/probably 7.5 that let you quit the finder, but not the same thing as not loading it in the first place unless you used something like NoFinder or putting something else named Finder in the System Folder. Also -- the MiniFinder app found in pre-System 6 (pluck it out of System 5.1, you'll use the Set Startup feature, which will "enable it", then go to the full finder and extract it from the System Folder) will work with System 6.

To restore MultiFinder if it was not loaded up on startup, simply Cmd+Opt+double-click the MultiFinder icon in the System Folder.

 

[volvo242gt]

I've noticed that some games, like Arkanoid, can be tempermental as to which computer they run on. Case in point, Arkanoid 1.1 worked great on my SE/30, while running 7.5.5 in 24-bit mode. Would hang on the IIci, and pop up an error message on both the IIfx (both of which also run 7.5.5) and the 800K 4MB RAM SE with 6.0.8 that I tried to run it on. Will try it on the Plus after I go down to pick up said computer from Dylan (yes, I guess he had an extra Plus left over that we made arragements on).

-J