Mac OS 9 for Windows
An Android emulator is an Android Virtual Device(AVD) that emulates the Android environment for other devices to run the Android operating system. It is generally used for testing, bug-finding, running various apps on a virtually controlled system on devices other than actual Android phones. Note: For a similar, experimental system that runs System 7.6.1 under the BasiliskII emulator, download System761.zip; the System761 application works in essentially the same way as the Mac OS 9 application described below. If, when you start the application.
Run classic Mac OS apps in Windows | How to use it | What it contains | Acknowledgments | Support
An easy way to run 'classic' Mac OS applications under Windows
Under Windows, software written for the 'classic' Mac OS (i.e. versions 6 through 9) can only be run through software that emulates Macintosh hardware from 1980s and 1990s. The most advanced of these emulator programs is SheepShaver. SheepShaver is no longer supported by its original author, Gwenolé Beauchesne, but minor updates are available from an active support forum at E-Maculation.
This page provides a fully functional SheepShaver system that runs Mac OS 9.0.4 (US English version). Unlike other SheepShaver-based systems, it makes it relatively easy to exchange files between SheepShaver and Windows, and makes it easy to print from Mac OS applications to Windows printers, or to create PDF files on the Windows desktop. The system runs under Windows 7, 8.x and 10; it may work under earlier Windows versions, but I haven't tested it under earlier versions.
To install this system, download and run the MacOS9AppInstaller. (The file is around 400MB in size; it contains a 4GB hard disk image file.) Then launch the MacOS9.exe application, either from its folder or from the desktop shortcut that the installer offers to create.
Note: An improved version posted 24 December 2018 fixes a problem in earlier versions when creating the transfer folder. (Specifically, it fixes a problem that occurred only under 64-bit Windows 7.) A version posted 18 August 2019 includes a 4GB image file, not 1GB as in earlier versions.
The program comes with an uninstaller. Every file installed or used by the program is inside the program's folder. After uninstalling, any files that may be left over will be in that same folder; those files and the folder itself may be safely deleted.
For a similar system that runs Mac OS 9 under OS X/macOS, see another page.
A note on BasiliskII: Because of limitations in Applescript, I have not been able to create a similar Wnidows-based system based on BasiliskII that runs System 7, but you can find a complete, self-contained BasiliskII system, running System 7.6.1 by downloading it from this link. To run it, simply double-click BasiliskII.exe. You may want to mofify the preferences with BasiliskIIGUI.exe.
How to use it
I assume that you know something about Mac OS and don't need any advice from me. A few points are worth mentioning:
Depending on your Windows version, a Computer or This PC icon appears on the MacOS9 desktop. This icon leads to the drives on your host computer.
The File Transfer folder on the desktop is a convenience, to remind you that files found in the Computer or This PC folder should be copied into that folder (or any other folder in the MacOS9 disk image) before being used. They should not be copied merely to the desktop, because they almost certainly won't work until they are actually copied into the MacOS9 virtual disk. (When you copy a file from Windows to the MacOS9 desktop, the file itself is not copied to MacOS9 disk image; that is why you must copy it to a folder inside the disk image itself.)
The MacOS9 system includes a startup script named MacOS9StartUp. This script creates the necessary file-transfer folders for printing and exchanging files, and tests whether they are correct if they already exist. Please let it run without interference.
If you are confident that the file-transfer folders are working correctly, you can move the MacOS9StartUp script from the Startup Items folder in the System Folder to the Startup Items (Disabled) folder. Then move BackgroundScript from the Scripts folder in the System Folder to the Startup Items folder; shut down the MacOS9 app and start it again. If the file-transfer folders stop working, move the BackgroundScript out of the Startup Items folder and restore the MacOS9StartUp script to the Startup Items folder.
To transfer a file from Windows to MacOS9, drop it (in Windows) on MacOS9.exe or on the MacOS9 desktop shortcut. After a long pause, perhaps even longer than 30 seconds, a copy of the file should appear on the desktop of the MacOS9 disk. The original file remains in your Windows system.
To transfer a file to Windows from MacOS9, drop it on the 'Send to Windows' applet on the MacOS9 desktop. The file should be copied almost immediately to the Windows desktop. Or you may double-click on the 'Sent to Windows' applet and select a file to send to the Windows desktop.
To print from MacOS9 to your default Windows printer, simply use the File/Print menu in your MacOS9 application, and print with the default desktop printer, 'Print to Windows.' After a pause, the document should print to your default Windows printer.
To print from MacOS9 and select a Windows printer for the current print job, use the File/Print menu in your MacOS9 application, choose the desktop printer named 'Select Windows Printer', and print. After a pause, a popup list of Windows printers should appear; choose the one you want.
To create a PDF file in Windows when printing from MacOS9, use the File/Print menu in your MacOS9 application, choose the desktop printer named 'PDF to Windows Desktop', and print. The resulting PDF file on the Windows desktop will have an arbitrary name based on the current date and time.
To create a PDF file on the OS 9 desktop, use the File/Print menu in your MacOS9 application, choose the desktop printer named 'PDF to OS9 Desktop', and print. You will be prompted to enter a filename for the resulting PDF; an arbitrary filename will be offered based on the current date and time, but you can type over it to change it.
To print 'raw' PostScript data from MacOS9 to a PostScript-compatible Windows default printer, follow the printing instructions above, but choose the desktop printer named 'Raw PS to Win PS Printer.' The raw PostScript data will be sent to your Windows default printer; if that printer is not PostScript-compatible, you may waste a lot of paper, so be careful with this option.
If SheepShaver locks up: While the MacOS9 app is running, a small Mac-like icon appears in your Windows system tray. You may click on this to open a menu that includes 'Force Quit.' You may click on this to shut down SheepShaver forcibly; you will be asked to confirm that you intend to do this. (SheepShaver is notably unstable, and liable to crash without warning, so this feature may be useful.)
You may use the supplied SheepShaverGUI app (in the Programs folder inside the MacOS9 folder) to modify the system, but the file transfer and printing features will only work if you launch the MacOS9 app from the MacOS9 desktop icon or the MacOS9.exe program inside the MacOS9 folder! If you launch SheepShaver from the SheepShaverGUI, you may get error messages about the file transfer system; if this occurs, shut down SheepShaver and relaunch the MacOS9 icon or MacOS9.exe program.
To transfer files from a real Mac to SheepShaver, follow the instructions in this post on emaculation.com.
To add additional disk space to MacOS9: This system includes a 4GB disk image. If you need additional disk space, then visit this page at Macintosh Garden and download one of the provided disk images (I recommend the third download, with a 10GB disk image). Then follow these steps:
- Use something like the 7z file manager app to extract the downloaded disk image.
- Rename the extracted disk image to something like Second.dsk (for convenience, use the .dsk extension, whatever the original extension might be).
- Move the renamed disk image into the MacOS9Programs folder.
- Use Notepad or any text editor to edit the SheepShaver_prefs file in the same folder and add this line after the first line: disk Second.dsk (using whatever name you gave the to the disk image file).
- Save the SheepShaver_prefs file and restart MacOS9.
'Cannot map second Kernel Data' error: If, on your system, SheepShaver starts up with the error message 'Cannot map second Kernel Data area: 487', then go to the Programs folder inside the MacOS9 folder, rename SheepShaver.exe to SheepShaver-old.exe and rename SheepShaver-noJIT.exe to SheepShaver.exe. This alternate version will probably be slower, but should at least run. (This error message occurs unpredictably on some systems but not on others.)
Further details may be available later if you ask for them.
What it contains
The MacOS9 application contains a standard US-English Mac OS 9 installation, without features that can't be used in this system, such as file-sharing. It also includes a large number of standard Mac OS applications, plus some Control Panels, Extensions, Scripting Additions, and a gray desktop image that you can easily change if you prefer.
The file transfer system uses two AppleScripts: either the MacOS9StartUp script or the BackgroundScript script described above. The MacOS9AppData folder uses an OS9Action folder action script found in the Scripts:Folder Action Scripts folder.
In the MacOS9 disk image, the Transfer folder alias and From Windows folder are required by the file-transfer system, as are the MacOS9AppData folder and the WinPath.txt file found in the System Folder.
The Transfer folder is an alias of the Windows folder named Transfer (inside the MacOS9 folder, typically in your user folder). In contrast, the File Transfer folder on the MacOS9 desktop is a mere convenience for use when copying files from the Computer or This PC folder.
Acknowledgments
This system is built on software provided by many people who are more expert than I am. The included build of SheepShaver was built by Ronald P. Regensburg and posted at the E-Maculation support forum for SheepShaver. The AppleScripts used in this application could not have been written without the help of many experts at Macscripter.net, and the AutoIt script that provides the launcher application could not have been written without the help of many experts in the forum at AutoItScript.com.
Support
If your anti-virus program warns you that this system contains malware, then don't take my word for it that this is the result of a false positive. Upload the software to a site like VirusTotal.com for testing. Absolutely do not waste your extremely valuable time writing me an e-mail asking if the software is safe. If you do not trust my software, do not use my software.
Please do not ask me to help you customize the 'classic' Mac OS or advise you about any applications. Please ask for support in the E-Maculation support forum for SheepShaver. If you want to get in touch with me about the AppleScript and AutoIt used in this system, then please visit this page.
Edward Mendelson (em thirty-six [at] columbia [dot] edu, but with two initials and two numerals before the [at] sign, not spelled out as shown here).
< QEMU
This page applies to version 2.8 of QEMU.
This page applies to version 9.2.1 of Mac OS, an obsolete version.
- You will want to refer to the wiki's PowerPC information as it contains potentially newer information beyond this article.
Before macOS, Apple sold Macintoshes with an operating system called System Software throughout its early lifespan, but the name only changed to Mac OS until version 8 in 1997. These operating systems are collectively referred to as Classic Mac OS. It was succeeded by Mac OS X, which targeted PowerPC Macs until the rollover to x86 in 2006, in which releases were shortened to OS X. Today, the modern incarnation is known as macOS. The design of the Macintosh computers changed throughout its life; the first Macintoshes were built with Motorola 68k processors but by version 9, PowerPC Macs were commonplace. This happened again with x86.
Mac emulation became possible in 1998 starting with the release of SheepShaver and its competitor PearPC in 2004, cross-platform emulators aiming to emulate PowerPC on x86 specifically. Development on PearPC paused between 2005 and 2011 while it encountered controversy with CherryOS, and the latest release was in 2015. But major efforts in a Google-sponsored Summer of Code event from 2015 brought QEMU's own PowerPC support even further. At the time of writing, Mac OS 9.0 to 10.4 boots and installs,[note 1] but versions before and after do not work (like 10.5 and 8.5).
Note that virtualization has always been a gray area for Apple. Until Mac OS X Lion, Apple licensed the software so that it was only permitted to be used with Mac hardware. They've since loosened up a bit to allow virtualization of macOS on Mac hardware, but anything else muddys the water.
Preparing the machine[edit]
You will need to get a copy of the Mac OS 9 installation CD. Booting the setup will go straight to a live environment with the option to install Mac OS 9.
It's recommended to rip the CD to the computer as an ISO. The -cdrom flag may not support hardware devices on platforms other than Linux.
You will need to create a hard disk image so that Mac OS 9 can be installed. 1 GB is recommended though it can be larger if desired. To set it as one gigabyte, use
1G
. QEMU will then create a new hard disk image.Starting up[edit]
- Note: If your version of QEMU only compiled the i386 and x86_64 programs, you will need to recompile.
OpenBIOS may not be included, so you'll need that too.
Go to the terminal and type:
256 MB of memory is recommended. Press enter and Mac OS 9 will boot from the disk.
The installer does not automatically format the drive for installation (commonly referred to as initialization). We'll need to do it ourselves instead. Open the Utilities folder on the disc, and open 'Drive Setup'. In the program, click the drive that says <not initialized> and then click 'Initialize...'. By default, the installer is set to create one partition. You can choose 'Custom Setup...' if you want something different, but because this guide is focused on purely installing Mac OS 9, we'll choose Initialize. Quit the program by going to File > Quit. Close the Utilities folder (the left-most button at the top) and then open Mac OS Install.
Press Continue on the Welcome screen, and then press Select on the Destination screen (you can go back and set 'Perform Clean Installation' in the Options if you want). Press Continue on the Important Information screen, and then Continue and Agree on the License Agreement. On the next screen, you'll be given the chance to set some options (like creating a report of the install) as well as customizing which programs get added and which don't. After that, the install will begin.
Once it completes, you can press Quit and then shut down. From that point on, you can use this command to get the VM running:
Notes[edit]
- ↑According to this spreadsheet, some versions still have issues; for one, 9.0 requires specific versions of the installation media, and movement from the mouse to boot from the hard drive, and second, 10.2 has graphical issues opening the hard drive on the desktop.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=QEMU/Mac_OS_9&oldid=3361051'