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Mac Daniel's Advice

OS 8 or 9 for My Clone

- 2001.02.08

Q: I have been having all sorts of problems with my Umax SuperMac C600/240. I was told to use only System 8.1. C500 & C600 Then someone told me to use System 9.0. Can you please tell me who's correct and what should I be looking for when potential problems crop up?

A: It could happen that your Mac wouldn't like Mac OS 8.1 as it is. Before you go anywhere, you may want to make software and hardware checks, just to be sure that your problems are not coming from there.

First, do the usual troubleshooting. Turn all extensions off and see if your Mac is stable. If it isn't, then reinstall Mac OS 8.1. If that doesn't work, you need to check your hardware. TechTool Pro does a great job at checking every part of your Mac. You never know if failing hardware - especially faulty RAM - is your problem.

Then, if you wish to explore a Mac OS 9 upgrade (since you could not point to 8.1 or your hardware for problems), the switch is doable. For this, you should read Upgrade a SuperMac to Mac OS 9.

[Editor's note: We have SuperMac C600, J700, and S900 computers at home. All have run Mac OS 8.1 through 8.6 flawlessly, despite the fact that neither Apple nor Umax makes any claims of compatibility. Both the J700 and S900 have been upgraded to Mac OS 9.0 and 9.1 - and also performed as they should. We haven't tried OS 9 on the C600 yet, but since it contains an Apple-approved motherboard, it shouldn't be a problem. Members of the Power Computing, StarMax, and SuperMacs lists are all reporting excellent compatibility with everything this side of OS X.]

Michael Munger is a French Canadian living in Montreal. He discovered the Mac in 1994 while studying journalism, the profession he loves and practices. He also studied history and communications. He currently writes iBasics and Macinthoughts for Low End Mac. He wrote On the Flip Side for The Mac Observer and co-founded MacSoldiers in 1998. You can learn more about him on his personal website.

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

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Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
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