Upgrading OS 9.2.2 to OS X

jarrod · 09-24-2005, 01:33 AM

A friend of mine has an old iMac G3 running 9.2.2, and I tried to install Panther on it... but somehow when I put the CD in and looked at it in Finder, the Install file was just an alias, and it said it couldn't locate the original file. I'm not sure what the problem is. Is there something different you have to do to upgrade from OS 9 to OS X?

hayne · 09-24-2005, 03:11 AM

1) You need to read the instructions that are provided with the CD. Usually these are provided on paper but also on the CD itself - e.g. as a README file.

2) Make sure it is a retail copy of the Panther CD, not just an "upgrade" or a "restore" disk that came with some Mac.

3) Make sure that the iMac's firmware is updated before installing OS X. Some older iMac models suffer catastrophic failure if the firmware is not up to date when you install OS X.

JDV · 09-24-2005, 09:38 AM

You have to actually BOOT from the CD to do the installation. It cannot be run from Finder as an application. If it won't boot from the CD, then you know you have some problems with the CD. Generally speaking, it should warn you if the hardware on the machine requires updating, but--as Hayne says--firmware often does have to be updated on older machines.

Joe VanZandt

jarrod · 09-24-2005, 01:29 PM

Ok that makes sense. I didn't think to try to boot from the CD. Though its just a restore cd that came with my Powermac G4, so I'm not sure it would have worked anyway. I'll have to find a retail copy.

Thanks.

09-24-2005, 01:33 AM	#1
jarrod Prospect Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 30	Upgrading OS 9.2.2 to OS X A friend of mine has an old iMac G3 running 9.2.2, and I tried to install Panther on it... but somehow when I put the CD in and looked at it in Finder, the Install file was just an alias, and it said it couldn't locate the original file. I'm not sure what the problem is. Is there something different you have to do to upgrade from OS 9 to OS X?

09-24-2005, 09:38 AM	#3
JDV Hall of Famer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, Illinois Posts: 3,191	And assuming all is in order.... You have to actually BOOT from the CD to do the installation. It cannot be run from Finder as an application. If it won't boot from the CD, then you know you have some problems with the CD. Generally speaking, it should warn you if the hardware on the machine requires updating, but--as Hayne says--firmware often does have to be updated on older machines. Joe VanZandt

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09-24-2005, 03:11 AM	#2
hayne Site Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 31,941	1) You need to read the instructions that are provided with the CD. Usually these are provided on paper but also on the CD itself - e.g. as a README file. 2) Make sure it is a retail copy of the Panther CD, not just an "upgrade" or a "restore" disk that came with some Mac. 3) Make sure that the iMac's firmware is updated before installing OS X. Some older iMac models suffer catastrophic failure if the firmware is not up to date when you install OS X.

09-24-2005, 01:29 PM	#4
jarrod Prospect Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 30	Ok that makes sense. I didn't think to try to boot from the CD. Though its just a restore cd that came with my Powermac G4, so I'm not sure it would have worked anyway. I'll have to find a retail copy. Thanks.