6.3. Restarting in Mac OS 9

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Unfortunately, Classic can get you only so far. Sure enough, it fakes out your older software fairly wellbut your Mac is not actually running Mac OS 9. Anytime a piece of software tries to communicate with some physical component of your Mac, such as the SCSI, USB, FireWire, or serial ports, it will bruise its knuckles on the stainless- steel dome of Mac OS X, which is really in charge of your ports. That's why a lot of older add-on equipment, including USB-to-serial adapters, certain printers, SCSI cards, scanners , and so on may not run properly in the Classic environment.

What this kind of equipment really needs, of course, is Mac OS Xspecific driver software. If drivers exist (check the manufacturer's Web site), you can once again use your gear.

Otherwise, you have only one alternative when you want your external gadgets to work properly with your Mac, just the way they did when it ran Mac OS 9: Restart the Mac in Mac OS 9.

At that point, you've returned to complete compatibility with all your old gadgets and all your old programs. When you're finished, you can restart the Mac again, this time with Mac OS X in charge. This ability to switch back and forth between two radically different operating systems on the same computer is called dual booting .

WORKAROUND WORKSHOP
Two Systems, One Preference

Having to live in two worlds Mac OS 9 and Mac OS Xis not an especially popular situation. In fact, it can be a real pain.

Fortunately, Mac OS X takes a baby step toward simplifying things. Now, at least, programs that run in both Mac OS X and Classic can maintain a single set of preference files. Now your serial numbers , window positions , palette setups, and other settings are remembered as you move between worlds.

To view this option, open the Classic panel of System Preferences. Click the Advanced tab, and then turn on "Use Mac OS 9 preferences from your home folder."

From now on, any programs that can run in either 9 or X use a consistent set of preference filesthe ones in your Home Library Preferences folder, rather than the Preferences folder in your Classic System Folder. (Such programs include Photoshop 7, AppleWorks, and so on, along with system-wide features like QuickTime preferences, Internet preferences, modem preferences, and so on.)

None of this means that these programs use the same preference files when you restart in Mac OS 9only when you run them in the Classic environment.


The chief caveat here is that only Mac models introduced before January 2003 even offer this feature. Subsequent modelsthe 12-, 15-, and 17-inch PowerBook G4, the Power Mac G5, Mac Mini, and so oncan't dual boot; they're all Mac OS X, all the time. That's Apple's way of encouraging hardware and software makers to hurry up and develop X-compatible gadgets.

6.3.1. Dual Booting the Long Way

The key to switching back and forth between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X is the Startup Disk control panel (or System Preferences pane).

6.3.1.1. Switching from X to 9

Suppose you're running Mac OS X, and you need to duck back into Mac OS 9 to use, say, your scanner. The routine goes like this.

  1. Open System Preferences. Click Startup Disk .

    You now see the pane shown at top in Figure 6-7. The icons here represent the various System folders, both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X flavors, that your Mac has found on all disks currently attached to your Mac.

    Figure 6-7. If you're running Mac OS X, you can indicate that you'd like Mac OS 9 to seize control at the next startup by using the Startup Disk system preference panel. If you're having trouble telling the System folders apart (because, after all, System Preferences reveals only their System versions and disk names, not their folder names ), point to the folder icon until the identifying yellow balloon appears. Bottom: If you're running Mac OS 9, use the Startup Disk control panel to specify that you want Mac OS X to be in charge at the next startup.


  2. Click the Mac OS 9 System Folder you want to be in charge; click Restart .

    The Mac asks you: "Are you sure you want to set the Startup disk and restart the computer?"

  3. Click "Save and Restart" (or press Enter) .

    When your Mac restarts, you'll feel like it's 1999 all over again. There go the parade of extension icons, the Mac OS 9 logo, and all the other trappings of the traditional, preMac OS X startup process. You're now fully back in Mac OS 9, ready to use all your old add-on equipment and software (but without the benefit of Mac OS X's stability, good looks, and other features).

6.3.1.2. Switching from 9 to X: the long way

The officially prescribed method of returning to Mac OS X is very similar.

  1. Choose Control Panels Startup Disk .

    The Startup Disk control panel appears, as shown at bottom in Figure 6-7. Click the flippy triangle next to a disk's name , if necessary, to see the list of System folders on it.

  2. Click the specific Mac OS X System folder you want to be in charge, and then click Restart .

    Mac OS X starts up.

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Mac OS X. The Missing Manual
Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)
ISBN: 0596153287
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 506
Authors: David Pogue

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