Multiple System Folders in Operation! Consolidation Tips?

Question

Hi from a first-wave Mac OS 6 user (Started with a Plus and 20MB External; )
An obviously stupid situation is plaguing my longtime PMac G3/266 running OS 8.6.
(Yes I DO run OSX latest versions on other machines - this is a legacy system i maintain for various reasons incl. access to otherwise orphaned files & apps).
Long story condensed...Have 2 Seagate internal HDs running. Newer one ('07: ) was installed with intent to use for backup and extra storage. Somehow along the line
TWO System Folders became active and over time of course some elements of one System have become intermingled with the other. Goal here is, as sensibly/simply as possible, unify a single system...whether that's back to 8.6, or migrating everything i NEED to an OS 9.2 drive (wiser i suppose). It has been SO long
that I don't even remember the fundamentals of migration from OS 8 to 9...but
complicating matters is this multiple Sys Folder issue.
Don't want to lose currently-active preferences... data-access to stuff like
Filemaker Pro files with time-sensitive current data like invoicing etc.
All this said, any pointers on how to proceed, to effectively keep the current status of everything in current Active use - but eliminate the other System folder wherein some components are affecting apps/docs/files in the OTHER Sys. Folder and..vice versa. This is a fragile process especially when it comes to stuff like email in an old version of Netscape Communicator that I use on this machine. As far as that app., there are multiple User folders but we need to salvage the RIGHT User Profile and Data i.e. i.e., the one that's most current and in-use.
I don't think this is as nightmarish as it might seem on the surface...I'm just looking to map an orderly strategy to approach it. What I really don't want to lose afa the System, is the correct Preferences for the active apps. Again, it seems some apps are drawing info from BOTH System/Pref folders.
BTW DW/DiskWarrior was used for Directory creation on the newer of the drives, in case that's of any relevance.
I was thinking of just picking up another HD, putting it in another, newer desktop (AGP/G4) and then migrating everything from both HDs on the older 8.6 OS machine to the newer machine which would be on 9.2.2...but under the circumstances, not sure that would be simple/straightforward unless I first resolve the duplication thing with what's on the "dueling 8.6 HDs" machine.
Sorry I didn't really shorten a long story after all but thanks and appreciation for any advice if you've read this far.
MikeE

Answer 1

Don Archibald wrote:
Hi, Mike -
…TWO System Folders became active….
Two System Folders may be present on the machine, but only one can be active at any given time.
Are the two System Folders each on a separate drive? Or are both on the same drive?
If each is on its own drive, then the active one can be identified in several ways. The easiest way is to look at the drive icons on the right-hand side of the desktop - the icon for the boot volume (meaning the drive whose OS is in use) will be the one on top. If this is constant through reboots, then there is no change in which OS is being used, and its contents will be the most current.
Many folk have multiple OS's available on their machines. Usually they are segregated by being on different volumes (a volume - an unpartitioned drive, or a partition of a partitioned drive).
For example, I have two hard drives in the G4 I'm using. One drive has been partitoned into four volumes, the other into five volumes; in addition, I have a full-time external firerwire drive. This gives me 10 separate volumes. All could be bootable if I had an OS on each; I do have OS's on 7 of them, so I have 7 bootable volumes. One is a full duplucate (backup) of my primary boot volume, including the OS (OS 9.1); others are of different OS versions or configs, used for testing purposes or for specific needs.
There is no cross-contamination in this arrangement; prefs are updated, etc., only in the System Folder for the active OS, meaning the one then running the machine.
Hi Don, thanks for writing.
+> Are the two System Folders each on a separate drive? Or are both on the same drive?<+
The two System Folders are on each on separate drives.
+> If each is on its own drive, then the active one can be identified in several ways. The easiest way is to look at the drive icons on the right-hand side of the desktop - the icon for the boot volume (meaning the drive whose OS is in use) will be the one on top. If this is constant through reboots, then there is no change in which OS is being used, and its contents will be the most current.+
>
OK, will check that. Trying to get a handle on what is going on here. Several anomalies that i need to identify the cause of. For a simple example - Old "Stickies Notes" will boot up one time and on next restart, a default startup with that app. appearing "as-new" -- i.e. no prefs at all...no database connectivity and specific "stickie-notes" that would otherwise show up under one System's startup.
Honestly it's as if the System will startup randomly from either one Folder or The Other...and/or....choose Prefs from One or The Other each time.
Just trying to get everything to jive under one singular System with no influence from the Other.
Will look at the drive icons on reboots to try and single out the most-current and hopefully can sort things out that way. As I say, I'm willing to simply move the whole "universe" from both Drives up to a single new OS 9 environment, if i can find a way to do it relatively easily.
Thanks again
Mike