Best way to get a "Clean" OS 9?

Question

Hi all,
I have a G3 iBook 366Mhz in a very lovely shade of Key Lime. It's running OS 9.2.
I inherited this from a family member and I am currently in the process of "maxing it out" just to see how good it can be. I've done the firmware update and popped in a 512MB SODIMM. I want to stick with OS 9 as I have a MacBook Pro for day to day use and what would be the point of limping along in Tiger when OS 9 is lovely & quick.
One thing is frustrating me. The previous owner had it from new and over the years tinkered and set things up as she wanted it. Various things pop up on startup, certain programs are broken as she removed key files when deleting her personal data. On a MacBook I would normally just format the drive and do a clean install, or maybe just create a new user account and delete hers.
I have tried to do the latter to no avail. I have played with the multiple users control panel and got myself in there as an owner. It's just me and the guest account in there. I am confused now though as I tried to set a password but the machine logs in without asking for one still...some other changes I made don't seem to be taking affect either...am I logged in as the guest? Does anyone know how to achieve what I am trying to do here or if it's possible?
I have retail discs for Jaguar and Tiger but I really don't want to use them. I go have a G4 Mac Mini with OS9.2 and Panther 10.3.7 restore discs and I have successfully used them to restore a G3 iMac with a blank hard drive - I just attached the iMac in target disk mode and selected it's drive as the install destination from the Mac Mini. I am worried this won't work here though as there is portable hardware such as the trackpad to consider...does anyone know if all OS9 builds are equal - ie will the iBook work with the version of OS9 contained on the Mac Mini install DVDs? Even if it doesn't work fully will updating it to 9.2.2 through software update restore full function?
Also is there any program like Carbon Copy Cloner for OS 9? I have a 120GB hard drive to install and it would be relly handy to be able to just copy the current install to it before I start messing about...then if it breaks I just put this drive in as I am going to eventually anyway....
Any and all guidance gratefully received!
Dan

Answer 1

...does anyone know if all OS9 builds are equal...
They are not.
Unless extra effort is taken during an OS 9 install (to make a Universal installation), all OS 9 installs are tailored to the hardware on the machine doing the install.
Typically, the disks that come with a machine (which usually have a gray or gray-blue label and a model name stated on the label) are model-specific to it. Sometimes serendipity intrudes, and an OEM disk will work on another model; about the only way to know if this will work in any given instance is to give it a try. Risk - that the install will take (most of the time the installer will refuse to run), but will not have the correct files for some of the hardware peculiar to the recipient model.
If you are going to try to use the Mac Mini's disk to install OS 9 on the iBook, the first thing to determine is whether the iBook can boot to the CD. If it can, chances are you will be able to use it for installing OS 9.
The trick to do then is to see if the installer on the Mac Mini's disk can do a Universal install. If it can, it will include components needed by hardware peculiar to the iBook which are not present on a Mac Mini.
To perform a Universal install (using a CD which can do that) -
1) Boot the machine to the CD if necessary, then run the installer. Step through the pages in the installer (choosing the correct destination volume in the process) until you get to the "Install Software" page, the page with the "Start" button on it. Don't click that button.
2) Click the "Customize" button at the bottom left of the page.
3) On the new page, click the pulldown menu to the right of "Mac OS 9.2.1", and select "Customized Installation..." from the list offered.
4) On the next new page, at the top is another pulldown menu labelled "Selection:" - click that menu and select "Universal Installation".
5) OK that page, then click the "Start" button.
Also is there any program like Carbon Copy Cloner for OS 9?
No, becuase none has been necessary.
Unlike OS X, OS 9 can be copied directly via a Finder drag-and-drop action and work just fine, provided the OS 9 install being copied is compatible with the machine with which it is to be used.
Staying on the same machine, the simplest way to replicate a drive's contents in OS 9 is to just drag the source drive's icon to the icon of the target drive and drop it in. Everyhting that is on the source drive, including everything on the desktop and in the Trash, will be copied to the target drive and placed into a folder on that drive (this folder will be named the same as the source drive). All that one needs to then do is move the System Folder, Documents folder, and Applications (Mac OS 9) folder out of the enclosing folder so they are at the root level of the drive. Best practice is to test boot to that second drive to verify the copy is valid.
Notes re doing the preceding -
(1) Aliases will be broken. This can include an alias to Sherlock in the Apple Menu Items folder; any in the Application Support folder in System Folder; and any created by the user. Aliases can be fixed - do a Get Info on an alias, and there's a button to be clicked which allows reconnecting the alias to the item it should be representing.
(2) It may be necessary to re-bless the copied System Folder. An OS 9 System Folder must be 'blessed' in order for it to be recognized as a bootable OS; this status is indicated by the folder icon for System Folder displaying an added glyph of the Mac OS logo. Reblessing a System Folder is easy to do - open it, drag the files Finder and System out of the System Folder. Close the System Folder. Drop those two files back into the closed System Folder. It should then display the glyph indicating it is blessed.
(3) If both drives are going to be available at the same time, it's not a bad idea to set a different desktop background for the copied OS 9, as a subtle indicator as to which one has been booted to.