Will your Mac run our OS-9 Software?

We’ll try to answer that question here.

There are a lot of ways to run OS-9 Software on any Mac, and it depends on what Mac you have and which OS it runs automatically.

Start up your Mac and go to the Apple Menu and click “About This Mac” You’ll see a screen that tells you the OS, the version number, processor type, memory, and startup disk.

Now if you see OS-X, and version numbers beneath it, it doesn’t mean that your computer doesn’t have OS-9. It just means that your start up OS is OS-X .

PowerPC versions of Mac OS X prior to 10.5 include a compatibility layer called Classic, enabling users to run applications and hardware requiring Mac OS 9 from within Mac OS X. This is achieved through booting a full Mac OS 9 system. As a result, Mac OS 9 must be installed on the computer for Classic to function. Most Mac OS 9 applications run well in Classic. So if you have OS X 10.4 or earlier, you indeed have Classic on your Mac.

However, if you have a newer OS X 10.5 or later, the news is good: Mac OS 9 can be emulated by using SheepShaver, a PowerPC emulator. SheepShaver is a free download that will add Classic to your Intel Mac: Learn more at this site here, but download here.

There are some interesting Youtube videos showing how to run Mac OS-9 on your Intel Mac. Start looking here.

Another option is to use the Boot Camp utility that’s included with Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. With Boot Camp, you can add OS-9 (or any other OS) and you’ve got a second PC/Mac.

There are several other articles that will inform you about several options for running OS-9 on your OS X Mac.

“How to run almost any OS on your Mac”.

“Run Classic from a disk image in 10.2”.

Site that provides OS compatibility information

Wiki

Got the install disks for OS-9 and OS X? set your computer up to dual boot and have 9 and X on different parts of the drive.

“Dual-Booting OS X: The Safe Way to Explore the Future”

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