Classic mode or PPC emulation

I've been searching the internet and have not found a clear answer to my question.
I have a Mac Pro using OSX Snow Leopard. I have been using Mac's since the old Mac SE and progressed through the years of System 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, X.
I have a lot of old software that I used to be able to run in Classic under OSX Panther. I want to run those programs again, but alas there is no Classic for OSX Snow Leopard.
Is there some kind of emulation software that I can download that will let me run these old 68k & PPC apps on my Mac Pro?
Thanks!
Casey

How about this...is it possible to install a second OS on my Mac Pro of OSX Panther that I can install Classic with?
No. For one, you can't install an older system than what shipped on your Mac:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2186
For two, the only machines Apple has sold the last few years have Intel processors and thus cannot run Classic in any form regardless of the version of the OS that is installed.
Maybe it'd be easier to get an old Mac to work....
Yup, that's what you're going to want to do.

Similar Messages

How can you FORCE Classic mode to run on an Intel Mac? OS 9 emulation Rosetta Software Design

Hello everyone, I had a few thoughts on running Classic mode on intel macs which I wanted to share.
Now I know little about software design, but maybe someone who does could tell me if these ideas I had are at all feasible:
Now in the first place I now that, technically, "Classic" mode went out back with Tiger because of the switch to Intel chips. Switching to Intel, Rosetta was required to "translate" pre and non-intel OSX applications, with the exception of Classic since Rosetta does not translate deep enough into the system to do that. As a substitute to Classic, SheepShaver, Basilisk II, etc. can be used to emulate OS 9, but these are very lousy applications compared to Classic mode.
Is there ANY way whatsoever Rosetta could be edited, or Classic itself so that it will work on intel macs?
(that is, with the exception of 10.7+ systems since these don't even use Rosetta)
I know if Classic was placed on an intel mac, it would tell you to download Rosetta, but from there will crashes because frameworks in the system's library does not support (or was not designed for) Classic...
So what I wanted to know:
What if an old, Classic supporting PowerPC system's library folder was added to an Intel computer in a location other then that computers real system folder (as not to confuse the real, current system) and Classic manually edited so that it would search for the needed frameworks/etc files in the new location? Would it work?
Since, after all, it now has the correct "system" to run on (which before Rosetta could not convert), do you think there's any chance it would work and function properly?
Now beyond that, I wouldn't know the actual results (or consequences). I suppose the main problem to consider would be that the the PPC's system frameworks/etc wouldn't work at all on an Intel (which leads us back to Rosetta lacking in this area), and since those frameworks will be searching for other files in the system library (which would bring them to the current, Intel system) the same results would happen: crash! Or maybe sensing the system was mixed up, one or more files would try to "fix" themselves, and in turn destroy the computer's real system.
So, would it be worth a try?
I'd love to hear any other thoughts on running Classic on Intel...

There is an "easier" way to acquire SheepShaver called Chubby Bunny and I have put together a post with some safe links that are relevant to this topic. I see that emaculation is one of them.
Why do you need OS 9 greater than 9.04?
Feel free to let me know if you need any more help.
With the newer Intel Macs, you have to run a Classic emulator such as SheepShaver, which requires you to extract the Mac ROMs from your older Classic Mac and then install Mac OS 9.
A related program is Chubby Bunny, which comes bundled with all of that included.
More information on SheepShaver:
http://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/sheepshaver_mac_os_x_setup
and
http://www.everymac.com/mac-answers/mac-os-9-classic-support-faq/run-macos-9-on- intel-macs.html
and more information about Chubby Bunny:
http://www.macwindows.com/OS9_on_Intel_Mac.html#092408b
and
http://hackthemac.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/chubby-bunny-old-virtual-machine.html
[click on image to enlarge]

Can I use my Mac OS 9 emulator (classic mode) with OS 10.5 Leopard?

Hello,
This was the closest forum I could find to ask this question so please forgive me if it's not categorized properly.
I'm currently running OS 10.4 Tiger on my Mac and my OS 9 emulator works great. I've heard rumors that if I upgrade to OS 10.5 Leopard I can no longer use the OS 9 emulator and/or it will be eliminated all together. Can anyone clarify this for me?
I still use quite a few OS 9 applications, much less some older games which I really enjoy and do not want to lose the use of 'classic mode'. I would actually reconsider upgrading if I were to lose the use of it.
I've heard there's a workaround by using SheepShaver, but I've read a lot of mixed reviews on it so I'm hesitant to go that route should I decide to upgrade since everything is working so well with my current configuration. I'd like to take advantage of the new features in Leopard, but I don't think it's worth the sacrifice if I lose 'classic mode' by upgrading.
Any information/clarification would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, lancisti -
Welcome to Apple's Discussions.
First, a point of clarification - OS 9 used as Classic is not an emulator program. SheepShaver is an emulator, but Classic is not. When OS 9 is used as an Operating System, it is referred to as OS 9; when used as a program under OSX to provide an environment in which many OS 9 programs can be run, it is referred to as Classic.
Unfortunately, Leopard (OSX 10.5) does not support OS 9 in any form, including Classic. There is no workaround supported by Apple for this.
As far as non-Apple workarounds go, SheepShaver is one approach, as you are aware. And, as you note, whether it works well, at all, or not seems a bit whimsical based on some users' reports. This may have something to do with SheepShaver not yet being ready for Leopard - that's purely a guess on my part.
Another solution would be to partition your hard drive, or add a second one, so that you can have a volume dedicated to OSX 10.4.x, which does support Classic and would allow you to continue using it. Or, since your machine is OS 9 bootable (using the model-specific version of OS 9.2.2 that came with it, and is installable from the machine's original disk set), set that additional volume up as an OS 9 boot volume.

IMac G5 PPC Using OS X 10.4.10 & OS X Classic Mode--Can They Work Together?

I do not have a system folder for OS 9 on my hard drive and an Apple technician said I cannot run OS 9 Classic mode on my computer. However, David Pogue's book "Mac OS X Tiger Edition, The Missing Manual" and many of these Apple discussion posts seem to indicate that running Mac OS 9 on my iMac G5 PPC with OS X 10.4.10 should be possible. Would someone be able to help me? Can I run the Classic mode and, if so, how would I get the necessary stuff into my computer? I still have my original Mac OS X Tiger (includes Xcode 2) Install DVD version 10.4. Thanks!

Hi, Mark. You may have misunderstood the Apple technician. I hope so, because if he said what you thought he said, he was dead wrong. You can indeed run old OS 9-based applications in Classic mode on your G5, if you use the Classic-support installer you'll find on one of the discs that came with the computer to install a suitable OS 9 System Folder on your hard drive. What you can't do on the G5 is run OS 9 *as an operating system*, without OS X running at all. Classic mode uses a slightly modified version of OS 9 as a sort of super-application or "shell" within which older, non-OSX-native applications can run under OS X.
Check the "Read before you install" file(s) on your original iMac OS Installer Disc 1 for instructions on installing Classic support from that disc or set of discs.

Installing Classic Mode on Tiger, DVDs, emulators

I want to install classic mode on a Mac running OS 10.4 (Power PC processor). We have DVDs for three different kinds of Mac of the same generation, but none of them come with the extra tools CD/DVD that is mentioned in Apple's instructions and in other posts as containing OS 9. The install DVDs are the Swiss (German) version. Is the third DVD only in the US version?
We have 9.0 CDs for two Power Mac G4s, plus one G4 computer that's broken, and one that's alive and well, running 9.2. Is there a way I could lift the system folder from this computer, copy it onto the hard disk on the 10.4 computer, and "bless" it, or is more required than the system fold for classic mode to run under Tiger? I'm wondering whether it's possible to install an emulator like Sheepshaver, since I could start with 9.0 and upgrade that to 9.2, and then transfer the necessary files (system folder plus ...?) to use the built-in classic environment.
Any help would be much appreciated.

You don't say exactly what computers are involved which places us at a disadvantage in helping you.
If you have a copy of OS 9.1 or greater on a computer you can simply copy the whole System Folder to a PPC running Tiger and set it up to be Classic. Put it at the root level next to OSX's "System". If you actually want to boot to OS9, that's where knowing the details of the computers and operating systems involved is essential.
Technically, system installations can be machine specific, but I think for OS9, and especially when used as Classic, this isn't as much an issue. Classic isn't in charge of any hardware anyway. Some people may post saying, "Oh, it absolutely must be installed correctly," but frankly I have copied OS9.2.2 from computer to computer as I worked my way through models and had it work on any model that supports OS9, and that was for booting.
If all you have are installer versions of OS9 on optical that is where you may run into trouble and may ultimately end up needing copies of the original discs (which likely are no longer available). You will have to get the computer to boot to the installer disc in order to get it to actually put a usuable copy of OS9 on the computer. Again, this is where knowing the exact disc versions and exact computer specifications is important.
Message was edited by: Limnos

I have an eMac that shipped with 10.4 and want to set it up so that it will run in Classic mode?

I have an eMac that shipped with 10.4 and want to set it up so that it will run in Classic mode? However, when I launch System Restore it asks me to load the disc marked with teh sinfgle dot but then doesn't seem to run it?

Follow up. I went to the site at the link I refered to and downloaded the recomended
"NetBoot for Mac OS 9." http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1192
The netbook9.dmg needs to be mounted on a PPC Mac as it would not open on a the intel Mac I used for downloading. (Reason - legacy image should be converted.) I copied to a G4 iBook and mounted it then saved the english folder conaining the NetBook.pkg. From there follow the attached picture using Pacifist to extract the NetBook HD folder which contains an OS 9.2.2 System folder.

Boot into classic mode

hey all
I have iBook G4, OS 10.3.9 with classic 9 install in the system. My daughter wants to play her game JS Advanced 3rd grade in it, but every time she tries to run the program it says "low disc space please free up some memory and restart the system" but in my system I have 6.68 GB available, according to the software tec support I have to "BOOT INTO CLASSIC MODE FIRST, THEN RUN THE INSTALLATION WIZARD OF THE PROGRAM" can any one tell me how do I have to boot into classic mode first, then run the install and run the application, they said "DO NOT TRY TO RUN THROUGH CLASSIC MODE WHILE IN OSX" please guide me through in steps as I am not good in mac OS...
THANKS IN ADVANCE

Hi faisalzia,
open system preferences and click "Classic". Select the OS 9 system folder and click "Start". Now quit system preferences and follow the directions.
The second message seems to contradict the first one. It is known that there are many games that are not compatible with MacOS X and that also require to boot into OS 9 natively and cannot run in Classic mode (Classic mode is sort of an emulation of OS 9 within MacOS X). To do that open system preferences again, select "Startup disk" and select the OS 9 system folder as boot-system. Now restart and you should boot into OS 9.

How do you install "Classic Mode"? The online guide doesn't match what I have?

HI -- I have a MacBook Pro and need to install Classic Mode so my kids can play some of their games ... I looked online, got instructions to go to the disks that came with my computer and that Classic Mode would be there. But it isn't. What am I missing???

There might be a terminology issue here.
Classic is the ability to run OS 9 programs on PPC-based OSX computers. It would not have been included with a MacBook Pro which runs an Intel processor.
Rosetta allows an Intel-based computer to run PPC based *OSX* programs. It will not allow you to run programs that required OS9. This *is* included with your MacBook Pro.
Are these OS9 (or below) games or PPC games for OSX?

Utilizing Multiple-Processors in Classic Mode?

I have four PPC based scientific programs that will only run in classic mode. They take hours to run each, and so I am considering purchasing a Power Mac G5 Quad (2.5 GHz) to do so. Question: Can I run the 4 programs simultaneously, and can I ensure that each one runs on a different processor so that I will get the desired performance increase? (I currently run the programs on an iMac G5, OS X 10.4.11, and can run them all together if I want - but that doesn't improve performance...).
thanks,
Photonic

Apple made G4/500DP, 533DP, 800DP etc. And there are still cpu upgrades for pre-MDD models. The 1.42DP was the fastest made at the time, but not the only one, and not without some heat and noise issues.
http://www.welovemacs.com/appoma.html
http://www.welovemacs.com/g5machines.html
http://www.welovemacs.com/m96.html
http://www.welovemacs.com/g41gh80gb.html
One report showed Classic running on G5.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/G5/g5firstimpressions.html
And for some applications, they aren't written to, or benefit from running on multiple cores. And Classic is probably just such an application. OS 9 was not known for being efficient at giving foreground and background apps more cpu cycles.
Comparing cpu performance:
Finding a way to run Classic efficiently on a current 2.8GHz 8-core Mac Pro?
http://www.geekpatrol.ca/2006/08/mac-pro-3ghz-benchmarked/
http://www.geekpatrol.ca/2006/12/eight-core-mac-pro-benchmarks/
You said that right now it takes hours to run currently on your iMac G5. Your Intel iMac running @ 3GHz might be able to run SheepShaver, but the more I looked into it, the more iffy it seemed. But that would answer the question of whether you need to look at a new $1500 Quad G5, or invest in something else. or use your new iMac.
http://www.barefeats.com/imp02.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/133467/2008/05/imaccomparison.html
SheepShaver - Although it took me a few days to get it up and running, in hindsight, SheepShaver was the easiest of the three to install and configure. This is due to the fact that, while it requires a ROM file like the others, this ROM file can be obtained from Apple installation CDs or update disk images available from their Web site. http://www.atpm.com/12.09/classic.shtml
http://gwenole.beauchesne.info/en/projects/sheepshaver

I NEED CLASSIC MODE AND I CANT UPGRADE!! HELP!!

So i just bought a new mac mini about a week ago and I am very excited to start using my copy of adobe photoshop cs2 again, but i have a copy of adobe photoshop 6.0 and i use and upgrade to go to photoshop cs2. I just found out that i cant install photoshop 6 because mac no longer supports classic mode! so how do i get classic mode with out having to downgrade to mac OS 9? is there another way around this?? I don't want to have to buy a 600 dollar copy of photoshop just to use the copy's i already have!

jflanders128 wrote:
...I don't want to have to buy a 600 dollar copy of photoshop just to use the copy's i already have!
You may want to learn about upgrade pricing. It is unlikely that you paid $600 to upgrade Photoshop 6 to CS2.
Beware that CS2 was written for PPC processors. You have an Intel processor and Apple hints that a coming Lion may not support PPC apps. You might want to upgrade to CS5 while you have the opportunity before you fall out of the upgrade window (when CS6 arrives). CS5 is written for Intel.

Possible to install MacOS 9 on imac G5? (Need to use Classic mode)

I need to run old apps in Classic mode on an iMac G5 that has OSX 10.4 factory-installed. I have an OS9.2 installer CD. Is it possible to install an OS9 system folder and run OS9 apps in Classic mode without disturbing the OSX installation?
Also, is it possible to actually boot OS9 in this configuration? I might need to do that, in order to install some of my old OS9 apps.
I can't find anything but very skimpy instructions from Apple on this topic. Mac connection told me that it was NOT possible to have Classic mode on an iMac G5, but I don't necc. believe them.
Any help or pointers to documentation would be welcome.

Its perfectly possible to use Classic on an iMac G5, jduesenb (though not on the new intel based models).
If it did not come installed you will find it on your 2nd iMac G5 DVD (mine is called "MacOSX Install Disc 2). You don't need to use your OS9.2 CD. Insert the DVD and click on the "Install Mac OS 9 System Support" package.
Installing it won't affect your OS X installation.
You won't be able to actually "boot" from it, though. It runs only as an "emulator", while booted from OSX , on all recent G4 and G5 macs. Despite this, you should be able to install and run most OS9 apps.
Cheers
Rod

Can you still install OS 9 (for classic mode) on Leopard?

I have Tiger running on one of my PPC G5 machines. My son has the They Might Be Giants "No" CD that has an interactive game. I believe I can install OS 9 so that it sees it when running the game in classic mode. We are thinking of upgrading that mac to Leopard. Once I do that, will classic mode still work. I realize with Intel, OS 9 is dead, but since we still have the old PPC mac, I would like to be able to use it. If there is a better spot to ask this question, please let me know.
Thanks

You can't run Classic on Leopard even on a PPC Mac, but what you could do is create and maintain a bootable clone of your current Tiger system on a FireWire external drive. You could then boot the G5 from the Tiger clone when you wanted to run a Classic app.

Classic mode.

I want my Mac Pro to run Mac OS 9 Applications.
in System preferences/ Startup disk, I have only Mac OS X available.
I am told I need to install Mac OS 9 From my disks i got when I purchased the machine.
I have scanned these disks and can not find Mac OS 9 anywhere.
Please help I would like my machine to run in classic mode as well.
Thanks.
John.

I want my Mac Pro to run Mac OS 9 Applications.
Can't be done with a Mac Pro unless you go with 3rd-party hacks such as Sheepshaver. <http://sheepshaver.cebix.net/> Note that Sheepshaver has problems with some versions of the Mac OS, and that some applications have problems with Sheepshaver. What apps do you need to run in OS 9?
in System preferences/ Startup disk, I have only Mac
OS X available.
I am told I need to install Mac OS 9 From my disks i
got when I purchased the machine.
That used to be the case, with PPC Macs. It is no longer the case with Intel Macs because Classic doesn't run on Intel Macs and Apple therefore didn't bother shipping OS 9. Even if you get Sheepshaver you'll need to get a copy of some version of the Mac OS between 7.5 and 9.0.4 from somewhere.
I have scanned these disks and can not find Mac OS 9
anywhere.
Please help I would like my machine to run in classic
mode as well.
Thanks.
John.

Can't run software in Classic mode

Boy, I've tried to fix this myself and just can't. I have a new out-of-the-box Mac Mini with a generic USB keyboard. I've got some old Mac software (really old) which is really a main reason I bought the mini. I can't get Classic to run because it's not already installed. I have the OS9.2.1 disc, but I can't boot from the CD (I tried pressing C on bootup -- either my Mac can't boot from CD or my keyboard doesn't communicate properly). When I try to run the OS9 installer to get Classic to work, I get the hair-pulling error message that I need to run the installer in Classic
mode.
A friend said I need the discs which came with the Mini, but I don't think there are any. Can the software which should have come with it be downloaded and burned on to a new CD in order to create a bootable CD?
Argh!!! Please help!
Warren

Thanks -- I did try that, just forgot to mention it. the CD isn't one of the options in startup disk. It says I can choose the hard drive or the network, and I've tried both. A friend said that Mac Minis can't boot from CD -- don't know if that's correct or not, but I can't seem to get it as an option.
I've tried to find any CD that may have come with the Mac Mini -- my friend said to look for one called "additional software and apple hardware test CD that came with the Mac Mini" but that is nowhere to be found. Either it didn't actually come with it (my hunch) or the staff in the receiving department took them out for safekeeping and hid them in a drawer somewhere and have forgotten. (Also possible.)
I can't imagine that I'm the only person in the world with this problem, but my tech support staff warned me in the first place. I wanted to try using some macs mixed in with our PC setup (because they can run this software, and because it seemed easy) and they said that they wouldn't be able to provide much support, since they're all PC people. I figured "how much support can it need? They're designed to be easy to use!" Oh well.
I'd really be keen to get any more suggestions from anyone who can help!!
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Running under classic mode - Standard Options

In WLS 5.1 server, there was an option to run under classic mode in a UNIX environment.
We just upgraded to WLS 6.1 and in the docs, http://e-docs.bea.com/wls/docs61/perform/JVMTuning.html
it mentions classic mode available in NT but not in UNIX.
Does anyone know if the java option -classic will work under 6.1 and if not, what
the new option is.
Elizabeth

-classic asks the JVM to use the old non-HotSpot JVM. First off, why do
you want to use it? It's most likely slower.
-- Rob
E Johnson wrote:
In WLS 5.1 server, there was an option to run under classic mode in a UNIX environment.
We just upgraded to WLS 6.1 and in the docs, http://e-docs.bea.com/wls/docs61/perform/JVMTuning.html
it mentions classic mode available in NT but not in UNIX.
Does anyone know if the java option -classic will work under 6.1 and if not, what
the new option is.
Elizabeth

Classic mode or PPC emulation

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