Want to play pre-intel game, got a PowerPC iMac and want to install OS 9, anything I need to know before hitting ebay?

Question

Found the pre-intel machine, but unfortunately (in this case) it is running OS 10.4.11. Want to make sure before I buy from ebay that I am getting the OS 9 I can use on this computer. Saw a reboot set for OS 9, will that work? Or do I need to already have 9 installed, which I don't. Does it matter which OS 9 version I get, or if advertised as for another model of computer will it translate to mine? Thanks ahead of time!

Answer 1

yayamaui wrote:
hmmm, ok, need some clarification, please bear with me, not very techie, but love learning.
So I have a 2003 iMac PowerPC G4 (PowerMac6,1 768 MB 1 GHz) currently running OS 10.4.11. NO DISKS whatsoever- someone gave me the computer, it was about to go in the "recycling". (which is such a shame- WHAT A COOL LOOKING COMPUTER!!!) I also have this year's model of MacBookPro and have had many macs, so I am not trying to be an apple rip off- just trying to play a game they have made obsolete. Wish I had kept a few of my older ones... 
When I try to play this really cool game it says it that the classic environment is no longer supported. So question time: can I purchase a copy of the tiger os and reload it? I understand that the disks are extremely model specific and apple info says my model originally shipped with 10.2.3 installed, but what about the black retail copies verses the grey lables? And would this theoretical re-install of tiger then automatically include the classic mode, or is that a seperate disk? And if one purchaces this retail install disk, are codes necessary?  I have the overall user password from the original owner, but alas she tossed the disks... 
the cool game is Alice: an Interactive Museum and is worth all this trouble...  it will play on os 9. The sheepshaver, looks way too complicated for my level of computer knowledge, but thanks for the suggestions.
"The transcendant world of Alice was created through the cooperation of artists in three fields - the painter Kuniyoshi Kaneko, the musician Kazuhiko Kato and the computer-graphics artist Haruhiko Shono. The theme of this unusual collaborative effort derives from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Kaneko provided numerous of those of his pictures that have been influenced by Alice's world and Kato contributed the music. With these as his material, Shono has created an elaborate interactive environment. The stage upon which this drama unfolds is a house of twelve rooms that include a gallery, an atelier, a wine cellar and a photo studio, each connected to others by corridors, doors, and even secret passageways. The persistent player will find as well a single exit that opens to the outside world. There is also hidden throughout the twelve rooms a deck of playing cards. On each card is a message that will enable you to unlock the mysteries of Alice's world. A wonderland of striking works of art, interactivity and compelling adventure game is waiting to be explored by YOU."
Your iMac G4 is one of the following three:
                              [click on image to enlarge]
Accordingly, the earliest operating system that will boot your computer is either OS X 10.2.3 or 10.2.7 depending on which specific Mac.  Since you say your label says it shipped with OS X 10.2.3, it must be the first one listed.  Hence you cannot boot OS 9 on this computer, but you can install OS 9 into the Classic Environment on it.
Reading these Apple Support documents will help clarify what you need to purchase:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA21153?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1585?viewlocale=en_US
So while it would be helpful to have a set of OS X Jaguar install Disks in your library, it does not look like it is essential; you just need to have OS 9 to install into it.
I think I made this offer once before...
Let me know if the set you purchase works for you.  Contact me by email; screenname at AmericaOnLine
Is that the "Luxo" iMac G4?  I still have the one my daughter purchased years ago.  The original disk set must be around here somewhere...
If not, I have quite an extensive OS Library from those days.  I'll swap you!