Classic desktop

C

Cloudane

Guest
Since you can't boot to OS 9 on the newer hardware, I'm just wondering if there's any way to see the actual desktop in Classic mode?

It shows the startup screen and if you're running an app you get to see the menu bar so I can't see why not. Just to get a sense of history I'd quite like to have a poke around with the old desktop and see what it feels like, but can't see how to do it.
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2004
Messages
407
Reaction score
10
Points
18
Location
London, UK
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook | 1.83ghz | 2gb ram
I'd like to see it too, that'd be cool. We use OS 9.2 in college and it would be fun to look at it in more depth at home.
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2004
Messages
4,374
Reaction score
55
Points
48
Location
San Antonio, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G4 Cube 450mhz 832mb
the only way I can imagine is a partitioned drive, one os 9, the other os x, and boot from the os 9 drive, or get a virtual desktop simulator and have one run os 9?
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2002
Messages
2,118
Reaction score
23
Points
38
Location
Sunny So Cal
Your Mac's Specs
G5•2x1.8•1.5•320•8x+/-
the desktop is no different .. hide your dock and in a classic app, click the apple menu, and thats what itd look like (minus vector icons)... but most of the apple menu items are disabled under classic mode, like control panels and such
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
65
Points
48
Location
Luxemburg, Europe
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G5 Dual 2GHz (June 2004), 2.5GB, Airport, black 5G iPod 30GB, white MacBook 2.0 2GB
Macman said:
the only way I can imagine is a partitioned drive, one os 9, the other os x, and boot from the os 9 drive, or get a virtual desktop simulator and have one run os 9?

I think he mentionned newer hardware, which doesn't boot on OS9 anymore, but only runs it in Classic mode...it's not a matter of partitioning, but simply because of the new hardware not being supported by OS9 anymore.
The Classic environment in OS X is like Virtual PC, it creates a "fake" environment for OS 9.

Unfortunately, there's no way to start Classic in OS X, showing the actual OS 9 desktop...as far as I know...
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2003
Messages
654
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
Southern Indiana
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro Quad Xeon 2.66GHz 3GB RAM, G4 Quicksilver w/Sonnet 1GHz Encore ST, 1ghz G4 Powerbook
Classic is an application controlled by OS X just like any other application.

I believe that I have this right…
When your boot system is OS 9 (or any other system prior to OS X) it runs an application that is called the "Finder". The Finder is the application that performs tasks that are executed from the desktop. One of tasks is to display the desktop. Since Classic doesn't run "Finder" as an application (if it even runs Finder at all), you can't have the desktop.

Here is a hack (untested) that claims it will run finder and display the OS 9 desktop. Seems like this is asking for trouble, so back up your HD's.
 
OP
C

Cloudane

Guest
Go ahead and post it :)

I know it's silly, and Apple obviously think so too, but I just want to play with an OS9 environment because I never saw it. I'm strange that way, minor differences between operating systems has always been excitement for me ;) I remember getting thoroughly excited when they released AmigaOS 2.0 and flitting between that and 1.3 going "ooh ahh"...

There are various emulators out there that will run OS 9.0 but of course 9.2/Classic is the only one I have and doubt it'd be legal to use 9.0 even if I could find it for download somewhere.

And yes, it's a newest model Powerbook G4 so it isn't going to boot OS9 itself.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
65
Points
48
Location
Luxemburg, Europe
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G5 Dual 2GHz (June 2004), 2.5GB, Airport, black 5G iPod 30GB, white MacBook 2.0 2GB
Cloudane said:
Go ahead and post it :)

I know it's silly, and Apple obviously think so too, but I just want to play with an OS9 environment because I never saw it. I'm strange that way, minor differences between operating systems has always been excitement for me ;) I remember getting thoroughly excited when they released AmigaOS 2.0 and flitting between that and 1.3 going "ooh ahh"...

There are various emulators out there that will run OS 9.0 but of course 9.2/Classic is the only one I have and doubt it'd be legal to use 9.0 even if I could find it for download somewhere.

And yes, it's a newest model Powerbook G4 so it isn't going to boot OS9 itself.

Another possibility would be to get one of those older PowerMacs (pre-G3) for a few bucks off of eBay, just to play around a little...
I have a PowerMac 7600/200 which I used to play with old systems (7.6.1, 8.5, 8.6, 9.1 and 9.2.1, 9.2.2, both not supported on that machine).
What's amazing is that even what this old Mac is still able to do... :yinyang:
 
OP
J

JRJ26

Guest
exactly what i'm trying to do! I'm just going to purchase an older Mac, mostly b/c i liked the older models, and I can have OS X and OS 9 dual boot.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top