Ask Jacob
Home » Resources » Ask Jacob » Installing Classic on a 17″ iMac
Installing Classic on a 17″ iMac
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 / Mac OS 9 / Classic
Hello, I have an iMac 17” with OS 9 and Tiger. The other day I had to erase my hard drive. I reinstalled Tiger and everything was fine but when I needed something in the classic file I wasn’t able to use it because the system folder could not be found. The question is, do I have to erase the drive again and install OS 9 first and then install Tiger? I’ve been using this iMac for four years and never had a problem. I just cannot remember how do this. I went to the Apple help page and found some info but it didn’t work. Thank you for any help you can give me.
Installing OS 9 can happen a few different ways depending on what version of OS your computer came with. If your computer originally had Mac OS X 10.2 or later on it, then you can Install OS 9 Classic the same as installing an application. It should be included on one of the restore/install DVDs that came with your iMac. Most often it is part of the second DVD or on a CD of its own. Someplace on the disc it will say that it includes Classic or OS 9. You do not need to boot-up the computer from the disc, just put it in and look for the installer. It is often best to install OS 9 after OS X, so you are on the right track. You will have to find the specific version of OS 9 that came with your computer because most retail versions of OS 9 will not install properly on an iMac 17″.
Hope that gets your classic running.

