Upgrading from OS9.2 on partitioned hard drive

Question

I want to upgrade my Mac G4 from OS 9.2.2 to Tiger OS X v.10.4.6. My G4 has 8 GB, so I got an iomega 400 GB external hard drive.
1) my hard drive is currently partitioned. how do I go about un-partitioning it?
2) All my files are in Classic OS 9.2.2 -- Photohop, QuarkXpress, or Illustrator, and i've heard I can retain them on my hard drive while I gain profficiency with the CS2 versions. How do you suggest I do this?
• Is the 8 GB drive on my computer sufficient for Tiger?
• can I put the Classic OS on the external drive along with my data files in just a separate folder?

Answer 1

Jan,
My assumption here is that your Iomega external drive is currently empty. Correct me if I'm mistaken.
1) If it is empty, go ahead with zeroing and reformatting it. Zeroing will indeed fill all available space with zeros, but the reformatting (erasing or partitioning) part of the process will erase the drive's old directory, which will then free up the space on the drive and allow the zeros to be overwritten by new data. Whenever a drive is erased, only its old directory is erased; the data on it remains there, inaccessible to the user and categorized as available space. The new directory "resets" everything as if it were empty and allows new data to overwrite the old data on the drive as time goes on. That is why zeroing is often used as a security precaution before selling or other disposing of a drive - it completely overwrites any data present, replacing it with zeros.
To zero the drive, load the Tiger install disc in the optical drive and boot to it (depress and hold the "c" key at startup. When the disc finishes loading, select your language as it requests you do, which will take you to the Installer screen. From the Installer screen menubar, select Utilities>Disk Utility to launch Disk Utility. Click on the Iomega drive on the left side of the window to highlight it. On the right side of the window, click the Erase tab to access the Erase option. Name the drive, select Mac OS Extended (with or without journaling - your option) as the Volume Format, check the box to install the OS 9 drivers, then click the "Security options..." button, select "Zero Out Data", and click "Okay". Click "Erase" and the long process will begin... When it's finished, your drive and named volume will appear on the left side of the window.
You can then click on the Partition tab to Partition the drive into multiple volumes (which is a quick process, BTW). When you do, the drive will reformat again, so be sure to check the box to load the OS 9 drivers, use the Mac OS Extended format , and name your individual volumes. Use the Volume Scheme arrows to choose the number of partitions you desire, then adjust the sizes appropriately. Click the "Partition" button to execute.
Quit Disc Utility and use the Installer to proceed with the OS X install on the partition of choice. When done, update your software as may be necessary, and test the system to insure that all went well.
2) You may simply copy the contents of your internal drive volumes by dragging the folders over to a volume on the new drive. Afterwards, boot to and test OS 9 on the new drive. (You might have to fix/redo some OS 9 aliases on the new drive.) You can use Startup Disk on either OS X (in System Preferences) or in OS 9 to switch between startup systems. Alternately, you may use the Startup manager, by holding down the "option key" at startup to select the system you desire.
Once you're satisfied that both systems are up and running well on the Iomega, you can then deal with the partitions on the internal drive. I would simply erase it and zero it (to map out any bad sectors), using Disk Utility while booted from the Iomega. This will restore it to a single volume. Afterwards, you can copy OS 9 back to the single volume there, if you desire, check it to insure it boots and runs properly, then trash OS 9 from your Iomega. (Note that the OS 9 folder may simply be copied to another volume, but OS X system files cannot. OS X has to be "cloned" to be moved. ...more on this later, if you need info.)
You have 192MB RAM. I would definitely add at least one 512MB module now. You need a minimum of 256MB RAM for Tiger, and it will likely be disappointingly slow with the 256MB minimum amount.
Firmware... You must use OS 9 to do the firmware update, before installing OS X. I don't know which Mac model you have, but here's the link to the firmware page, from where you may download it, if it's not already up-to-date, per your System Profiler.
I have no idea why the System profiler reports the monitor as "Apple". It likely has nothing to do with the video card, though. I will say that System Profiler sometimes reports various things in strange ways... I really suspect that you'll be okay with the monitor, although I obviously can't guarantee it.
OS 9 drivers... OS 9 and Classic under OS X can't be loaded and run from a drive that does not have these drivers installed. Moreover, if they're not installed when a drive is formatted, the only way to install them later on is to erase the drive and install them, which will erase any data you may have on the drive. Thus, it's best to routinely install the drivers on each and every drive you have, then always having the option to load and run OS 9 from them. These drivers take up very little space; and the space that they do take up is not space that would otherwise be user accessible anyway. Thus, you never lose out by installing them, but you might lose out if you don't...
Is there anything else you can think of that I'm forgetting?
Once you load Tiger, use only the Tiger version of Disk Utility to run Repair Disk on the Tiger drive. Don't use the OS 9 version or you'll get errors.
OS 9 has a max volume size limit of 200GB; that is, the max volume size it can address is about 200GB, meaning that you can't install and run it from a volume larger than 200GB. You might keep this in mind should you later decide to load it onto a partition on the Iomega.
Save your pennies for another internal drive. You will then have the flexibility to do easy, complete backups of your external volumes and will have redundant operating systems on both drives, being able to boot externally or internally, should you encounter a problem with one volume or another, or should a drive fail completely. "Life" becomes so much easier and nothing gets lost this way...
Personally, with a large, 400GB drive, and no other suitably-sized internal drive, I'd probably just split it in half so I would have more flexibility in what I might place there down the line (which might even be a clone of my entire OS X volume). I'd maintain the OS 9 installation on the small internal drive as well, so I had another bootable "emergency" drive.
Gary
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