Original install disks - machine specific?

[Syntho]

I read somewhere that the restore/recovery CDs that you got when buying a system back then were pretty much machine-specific. What would the real difference be between using the original System Software disk that came with your system compared to using some type of 'universal' install disk?

I have a 9600 and I'd like to put 7.6.1 on it. There are multiple CDs that I see on Ebay like a plain 7.6.1 install CD, an 8600/9600 CD, plus a 7300/8600/9600 CD. I don't know which one to get. I read a forum post the other day saying that as soon as this guy got the actual original System Software CD for his machine that everything started running better compared to when he used a more universal install CD.

Speaking of that, I'd also like to put OS8.6 on my 9600. I can get by with 7.6.1 with one of the above-mentioned CDs, but as far as putting OS8.6 on it, I don't know what to get since they never made an OS8.6 install CD specifically for the 9600.

 

[Gorgonops]

Speaking of that, I'd also like to put OS8.6 on my 9600. I can get by with 7.6.1 with one of the above-mentioned CDs, but as far as putting OS8.6 on it, I don't know what to get since they never made an OS8.6 install CD specifically for the 9600.

Why is there any question? The 9600 was discontinued well before OS 8.6 came out so obviously there won't be a machine-specific installer for it (those are only for new machines) and a machine-specific installer for another machine won't want to run on it. So clearly you need the retail disk.

As to the first part, machine-specific install CDs exist for three reasons:

#1: For brand-new machines released between official OS updates the build of the OS on the CD, while claiming to have the same version number as the current retail version of the OS, might have some machine-specific drivers or other support added to it that's necessary to support the new hardware, essentially making the OS on it a "pre-release" version.

#2: The machine-check is just there to prevent someone from using the disk included with a new computer to upgrade all his old computers; the OS on the CD may be completely bog-standard otherwise, the check is just in the installer.

#3: The "install" CD is actually a "recovery" CD that installs additional programs not included with retail versions of the OS and the machine check is likewise there to prevent someone from getting this software for free on computers not "entitled" to it.

Honestly I'm sure wherever you end up getting 7.6.1 it's going to be pretty much the same, but since the 9600 did technically debut in-between 7.6.0 and 7.6.1 it's *possible* the version off its restore CD has some special tweaks missing from the retail box version of the OS, so... go with that?

(Truth be told, of course, the machine will almost certainly work far better under 8.1 or later, as every version of System 7 suffers from most of the OS running in emulation. But I'll grant there might be historical value to having a 7.x install around.)

 

[Syntho]

So basically, get a retail OS8.6 disk then and that's all I can do.

I'm probably going to get the 8600/9600 CD and see what happens.

 

[Paralel]

Just "locate" the "Legacy Recovery" CD, it should have whatever version you are looking for, even system specific, but it only goes up to MacOS 8.1

 

[CC_333]

Well, that's fine for everything older than the Beige G3, right?

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