System migration?

I'm replacing a dead G3 with a live G4. I have several "classic" apps which I can't afford to update, so I need a bootable classic system.
I need to move my old system to a newer (PPC) Mac. If I create a disc image of my old system will that work? I have no viable OS9 install discs.

Just to confirm - you plan to run those apps in Classic mode within OS X - not boot into OS 9? There's a difference, especially that you need to "install OS 9 disk drivers" before installing OS X on a new hard drive that will also boot OS 9. This is done before installing - I'm not sure a disk image will transfer that, too.

Otherwise, if you just want to use Classic, then just copying the "System Folder" (with a 9 in the folder icon) over to the new OS X drive is the easiest way to enable Classic mode. And of course the OS X version has to be 10.4 or older.

If I didn't answer your question, ask again (with all the details).

(just to clarify my terminology - OS 9 is different than Classic, which is OS 9 emulation within OS X)

Thanks.
I usually boot in OS 9 in order to use my classic apps. I put the classic system on a separate volume. It's less confusing that way (to me and to the computer.)
Thanks, I'll just clone my OS 9 volume and all should be well.

When you installed OS X on the G4 it was necessary to tick the 'Install Classic Drivers'. Can't be done afterwards.


http://www.cnet.com/news/tutorial-installing-classic-over-a-current-mac-os-x-installation/

I bought the G4 with 10.4.11 installed, can't say whether the former owner installed the Classic drivers. All I did was add myself as administrative user and deleted "NewUser." Former owner got rid of everything else but the bare installation.
As I said, I never use Classic mode, I restart using the OS 9 volume when I wish to use my old apps. Can't afford to replace all my graphics apps. Another reason all my Macs are still PPC, too much expensive audio and graphics software to "upgrade." If something works, I don't fix it.
Heck, I still have SCSI drives full of audio files.

Don't forget that not all G4 Macs are even dual bootable and hence why Apple reneged a bit and released the 1.25GHz dual boot MDD Mac, and the last model to do so, and I still have our's sitting under my wife's desk but not in use at present.

I'd clone your old G3 to a non-USB external and see if the G4 will system boot from it. PPC Macs can't normally boot from a external USB drive, but some will.

I can't recall if PPC Macs could boot or use Target Disk Mode, which would be another option if they can.

Good Luck.

Here's some additional info for you and hopefully it may help:
"Mac models capable of dual-booting into 10.5 and Mac OS 9"
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1757

Some applicable 10.4.x stuff also applies.

I think it best I not say anything but "good luck."

LOL chas the 'thought police' got you rattled old mate?

Good luck, indeed. That will be needed.
I put the drive from the G3 in today as a slave. It has two partitions, Larry and Curly (Moe and Shemp are still in the G3.) On boot Larry mounted, Curly didn't. Disc Utility couldn't repair or mount Curly, so I re-started using the 10.3.9 system on Larry. Curly mounted, but still couldn't be repaired or imaged. Carbon Copy Cloner locked up trying to back up Curly. The disc itself reports as good, but something is wrong with the catalog tree for Curly.
The good news is that I have an OS 9.2 system folder on an external, and preferences offers the system on Curly as a startup volume. I think this G4 will boot into OS 9 if a I can get a viable system on it.
FWIW: This is a dual 800MHz Quick Silver.

All is explained. Your Quicksilver can only handle OS 9.2.2, the final Classic version. Have a read of this from Wikipedia:-


Power Mac G4 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

9.2.2 is the system on Curly. It would also be the system folder on the external drive.
BTW: For some reason Disc Utility was able to verify Curly late last night, no repairs were necessary.
I might try starting from that system with extensions off as a test.

BTW2: Is there any problem booting into OS 9 from a slave drive? Larry/Curly was always the master in my G3. I'm an old hand at SCSI, but ATA has always seemed a bit stupid to me.

Luckily for the OP, as he says he has the dual 800MHz Quick Silver Power Mac G4 2001 model which was a dual-boot model: Power Macintosh G4 800 DP (Quicksilver) Specs (Quicksilver, M8361LL/A, PowerMac3,5, M8493, 1896) @ EveryMac.com
unlike the Apple Power Macintosh G4 800 (QS 2002) model which was not, and his required System 9 extensions wouldn't work:
"This Power Macintosh G4 model is capable of booting Mac OS 9 and using Mac OS 9 applications within the Mac OS X "Classic" environment." :
Power Macintosh G4 800 (QS 2002) Specs (Quicksilver 2002, M8705LL/A, PowerMac3,5, M8493, 1896) @ EveryMac.com

And it and the later models were "dual-boot less" until Apple finally released the last Apple Power Macintosh G4 1.25 (MDD 2003) that could that was finally released due to all the screaming and p'd off users.

And the OP may need to "Bless" the System if the normal install doesn't do so on its own.

SCSI, PATA, SATA, IDE etc., internal, external, partition or whatever, it doesn't matter as long as they are compatible with a valid OS installed. Apple was good and quite clever designing it all that way.

What a long, strange trip it's been.
I originally thought that the old drive was corrupt. But Disk Utility kept acting goofy with the other drives as well. Turns out the previous owner had both drives jumpered as cable select. Even had the drive cable reversed. I'm surprised the thing started at all, and it kept giving me the bomb when trying to start in OS 9.
In any case, I put the jumpers correct and connected properly. Then I partitioned the second drive, 10GB for the system and apps, 70GB for storage and Photo Shop scratch disc. I copied the System Folder from my external backup. It starts just fine in OS 9.
Happy Mac, thanks folks.

Congratulations and good sleuthing!!

One tends to forget to various cable connections and jumper settings needed for the older PATA IDE drives.

They are also getting harder to find for replacements as well, but you can possibly add a different BUS card for USB dives if ever needed depending on the G4 model you have.

Thanks,
I have a USB card which I used with the G3's. I also have a USB/FW400 card from the dead G4.
The next step is to add a SCSI drive. System Profiler 'sees' the card I installed, so that should work. I have tons of stuff on SCSI externals.

I haven't used or heard the name SCSI for a while, but as you mentioned it, do any SCSI users recall having any SCSI drive failures or anywhere near as many as the newer SATA drives seem to do???

Or does it just seem that way in my now senior years??

pm-r said:

I haven't used or heard the name SCSI for a while, but as you mentioned it, do any SCSI users recall having any SCSI drive failures or anywhere near as many as the newer SATA drives seem to do???

Or does it just seem that way in my now senior years??

Click to expand...

SCSI drives were great drives. I remember picking up an Adaptec SCSI card with built in BIOS and using that on a Win box. Lots of fun booting off the card and playing around with the options. Never had a chance to use a SCSI drive on a Mac though. Macs were the "bad guys" in those days.

I still have some full-height SCSI drives around, maybe 25 years old, and they still work. All these years, and I think I've had one come up bad. I have run across a few old drives which quit spinning, though, most likely from rough treatment or poor storage.
SCSI drives always seem to fail physically, where IDE drives just disappear, the system no longer sees them.
It might also be a size issue, I have one internal which is 75GB, but most of my SCSI drives are 9GB and under.
It might also be just a matter of declining quality standards in the industry. I worked for a time refurbishing cable TV boxes, some of which came with internal SATA drives. Too many of the new drives were DOA straight out of the box.