URGENT: Keep OS variants alive!

[onlyonemac]

I have been thinking for a while about the various versions of the Macintosh OS that came on machines such as, for example, the Performas. Remember 7.1P? That's what I mean.

The trouble is, with a lot of 68kMLAers reinstalling their OS on Macs that they "liberate", a lot of these various versions are getting lost. Now I know that they can be "reconstructed" by reinstalling the various extras as they are needed, but I thought it would be nice to keep these "special versions", if you like, alive.

In light of this, when my Perfomra was giving signs of immenent HDD faluire (which it now has, BTW, so I'm glad I did this), I made a full set of 7 (or it might have been 8) disk images of a complete installation of the Performa OS, with the Launcher and Performa control panel and everything. I was wanting to bring this urgent matter to the attention of the community so that other users can do similar things with other "special" OS versions before they're all gone.

(Please add to list) The machines that had special OS versions were:

-Performas, with systems 7.1P1 to 6 (was there also a 7.0P?)

-The Workgroup Servers (can't remember the name of the OS)

-System 7 pro (I think that's the same as 7.1.2, don't know what machines used it)

-The Powerbook OS versions (with the DAs)

 

[tt]

It would be better to have backups of the original install floppies. There is an Apple Legacy Recovery CD that I think has almost every version of OS up to 7 or 8, so they will not be lost. :b&w:

But if there are very special versions that didn't make it, maybe an updated CD is in order.

 

[mcdermd]

I image and archive all of my original install media.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I think it's a great idea, I've got several original OS Packages from which I've misplaced the media. It turned wound up being a happy day when I found my original 7.5 CD in one of the 6100s yesterday . . . and I own THREE, if you count the backup of my "You're Special" Developer CD!

I'll add 6.0.8L (?) to the list, it was for the PowerBook100 and released in England, IIRC.

 

[onlyonemac]

I don't have the original disks for my mac, because it's a Performa (those didn't have disks). So instead, I made a copy of the full thing, as installed, with At Ease, Apple Backup, Mouse Basics and the whole works! Glad I did it now that the drive's gone!

 

[uniserver]

i just installed 6.0.8L on my Classic II yesterday, i must say wow, its so fast now!

not even funny how fast this thing is love it.

tonight i am going to install 6.0.8L on my LC and LC-II!

Makes the 68020 and 68030 scream like one bad monkey!

" this software runs on a limited number of computers. It is primarily intended for the Macintosh Classic II and Macintosh PowerBook 100. However, it also runs on the Macintosh Classic, Macintosh LC, and Macintosh LC II. System software version 6.0.8L does not work on any other Macintosh computers."

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA28558?viewlocale=en_US

Such a difference, i made a graphic!

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Nice linkage, I'd not seen that before. If I can find it, I'll have to load it on my LC, I can never locate my OS media!

I think it's loaded on the original 20MB drive from my remaindered PowerBook 100. I pulled it out of the APS portable HDD case recently, let's see if I can find THAT!

It's amazing, the OS CDs are all over the place, inside Macs and out, I can rarely find the one I need, though the boxes are flattened and stored in ZipLocks along with the manuals and the empty jewel cases . . .

. . . but the DiskWarrior retail package is ALWAYS right where I can find it, stored just like the MIA OS CDs. :

 

[uniserver]

of corse the "macintosh garden" has a healthy selection of juicy items of need.

 

[LCGuy]

I'll add 6.0.8L (?) to the list, it was for the PowerBook100 and released in England, IIRC.

I believe it was also released in Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia...don't quote me on that though.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

System 6.0.8L was a limited maintenance release of system software for markets in Apple Pacific. It was engineered to address some special needs for those markets that did not have access to System 7 at the time.

It looks like oz was on the mainline market for the 6.0.8L release that and it appears that England was sucking hind teat for a change! [] ]'>

Of course it wasn't readily available in the States do to our assimilation by shrink wrapped System 7 raider cubes from the mother ship.

At the time, I was huddled in a 6.0.8x fallout shelter until the Tuneup Floppy for the bugfix rev. for (the Public Beta) 7.0 release made its way into my grubby little paws . . . kinda like I'm living in an OS9 bubble these past years.

< furtively sticks his head out of the bubble and peeks outside >

Is it safe to trust OSX yet? [)] ]'>

 

[onlyonemac]

This is getting a bit off-topic. What I'm actually wanting here is:

1-A petition to "Keep OS variants alive".

2-A complete list of such variants.

3-All users who can to please put ------------------------------------------

This is an important matter-I feel strongly about it, so let's get together and save the OS variants for future versions (besides-I know 7.5 had a Launcher, but if I remember correctly from a screenshot I saw it didn't have the tab buttons at the top like the Peforma Launcher).

 

[markyb86]

That launcher you are speaking of is called "At ease"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Ease

http://toastytech.com/guis/atease.html

I remember using that back in middle school, and wondering why other macs I got to use didn't have it.

 

[directive0]

Ah yes... "at ease". A system of control I hated only slightly less than "Foolproof".

 

[LCGuy]

I didn't mind At Ease...mostly because I ended up having to live with the alternatives instead - Kid Desk in Grade 7, and then I went to a high school with no Macs...just an entire sea of Ipex 486's netbooting Windows 3.11 off a Novell server. (VERY slow at the beginning and end of classes when the entire school is logging on and logging off, and hammering the one server, a Pentium II) Give me Performas with At Ease any day!

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

In response to your wanting to get back on topic, you've just stepped a bit out of bounds.

The good . . . to a limited extent . . .

1-A petition to "Keep OS variants alive".

The great . . .

2-A complete list of such variants.

The padlock-o-matic button . . .

3-All users who can to please put . . .

.TXT excised, no padlock issued, but we don't go that far . . . ever. Please refer to the forum rules regarding copyrighted materials and unauthorized re-distribution of even the OS versions that were free of charge.

Be that as it may . . .

How the heck was System 7.5.1 distributed? I've got 7.5.0 for a specific Mac, but no 7.5.1 updater.

I've got the "You're Special" Developer CD with 7.5.3 and all upgrades from there on up.

What the heck is a System 7.5.2? I've never seen or heard of it other than the fact that it's specifically listed as being incompatible with my Radius 81/110, where 7.5.1 and 7.5.3 up to OS9 are just fine.

 

[24bit]

7.5.2 shipped with the PPC7200. I ownwed one of those and still have D-7.5.2 somewhere.

Edit: 7.5.1 should have come with a PPC 6200 and yes, OSX 10.5 or 10.6 should be safe enough for you now.

 

[onlyonemac]

That launcher you are speaking of is called "At ease" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Ease

http://toastytech.com/guis/atease.html

I remember using that back in middle school, and wondering why other macs I got to use didn't have it.

I've got that too, but that's not what I mean. It was identical apart from the lack of small grey button-like tab thingys at the top, not the Windows-style tabs!

I might post a picture of them side by side so you can see what I mean.

 

[Cory5412]

As JT said,

It's fine if you want to create and collaborate on a list of machine-specific versions of Mac OS, and it's also fine if you want to image them and preserve them within your own environment in case the original media (or other backup media you create) fails. Most of that is supported by and allowed by original licensing agreements -- and is generally considered fine.

However, this isn't the place to create and host a publically accessible archive of Apple's software. We're not licensed for that, you're not licensed for that, and the plain and simple truth is that this is almost certainly not going to happen.

At this point, Apple has posted stuff online (and most people have their own copies of the Apple downloads area) to make every system from 1986 to 1996 or so work. Any newer than that, and you're on your own in terms of finding the software for it.

The final word: This isn't a piracy web site.

 

[markyb86]

small grey button-like tab thingys at the top, not the Windows-style tabs!.

Then you are talking about the launcher?