Tips on 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard(last compatible operating system for G4 867 and above, and G5s), 10.6 Snow Leopard (end of the line for PowerPC applications), 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks,
10.10 Yosemite, and 10.11 El Capitan to 10.14 Mojave.
Mac OS X Sierra was released on September 20, 2016. A few Macs which came with 10.6 can install Sierra.
Officially, the operating system that was available on that Mac at the time that you bought it is the oldest version of macOS that can run on that Mac. It's likely that an older OS won't include. River Raider for Mac OS X is a Games & Entertainment::Arcade software developed by TameStorm Games.After our trial and test, the software was found to be official, secure and free. Here is the official description for River Raider for Mac OS X: This game is remake of old and very popular game - River Raid.
Note this tip, and the series of tips from 10.2 (10.2, and 10.3 not mentioned in above links as people must have 10.4.4 or later on an Intel Mac to get to 10.6) to 10.11 I've written here all refer to Mac OS X Client. Server versions of Mac OS X may have different limitations, and the people visiting the appropriate Server forum may be able to answer your questions better about Mac OS X Server.
When determining your Mac model, see this tip to find its age:
I would not downgrade to Leopard without erasing your data first.
Be sure to backup your data first at least twice before installing any operating system. Shut down, and disconnect any peripherals before continuing with the installation. Read the info below to ensure you are compatible. Finally, you may need to use the Startup Manager to boot the operating system when the 'C' key doesn't work in order to get the installer to work or repair the disk before installation if the initial attempt to install fails. To determine if that repair is necessary, post to the forum, and someone will be able to help you to find out which repairs might be necessary.
Java is outdated in terms of security in Mac OS X 10.6. Backup your data and at least update to 10.6.8 if your Mac says it is Intel in Apple menu -> About this Mac. Read about updating to 10.7, and this tip about how to optimize your Java in 10.6 if you are stuck with 10.6.
10.6 retail is available from the Apple Store on http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard (the /us/ in the link may be changed for the standard two letter country code matching the store link). Note: Macs newer than April 1, 2010 but older than July 20, 2011 must use the original 10.6 installer disc that shipped with them to boot 10.6 from CD. AppleCare may have those discs if you lost or misplaced it. To determine the age of a Mac, plug it in the support status search engine, and use the serial number lookup. Using the model name, find the release date of that model on Wikipedia or Everymac.com, and the followup date.
Leopard (10.5) is not to be confused with Snow Leopard (10.6) which are different paid operating systems.
If you are interested in upgrading to Lion you can read this tip, and Mountain Lion or Mavericks, this tip. Note: Mavericks you can update to
for free, whereas both Lion and Mountain Lionyou can not. Lion requires a minimum of 10.6.6 already be installed, unless you have the USB Flash drive for it, and Mountain Lion and Mavericks requires a minimum of 10.6.8. Lion and Mountain Lion have different hardware requirements, but the Apple hardware requirements for Mavericks are the same Mountain Lion.
If you got a machine that came with Lion or Mountain Lion and wonder if you can install Snow Leopard on it, read the bottom of this tip first.
Snow leopard is available free for a limited time from this link if you have Mobileme and need an upgrade path to Lion that doesn't require erasing your hard drive.
Flashback malware has a patch on 10.6.8. Users of 10.6.7 and earlier are recommended to disable Java. For more info read this tip.
Macs that were released new as of July 20, 2011 (the MacBook Pro for instance had no new release until October 24, 2011, and that model's earlier sold models all work with Snow Leopard) or later, will generally not run Snow Leopard unless you follow this tip for Snow Leopard Server virtualization. Other than that, the following statements are true:
All Mac Pros will work with Snow Leopard (10.6.x), and they look like:
The PowerMac G5 towers which look like:
will not work with Snow Leopard. Neither will the ones that are beige, blue, or graphite colored with plastic cases.
All Apple notebooks labelled MacBook with at least 1 GB of RAM, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air below the screen or will work with Snow Leopard.
Apple notebooks labeled iBook, and Powerbook beneath the screen will not work with Snow Leopard. Note, many of the newer MacBook Airs and MacBook Pro no longer have the label on the bottom of the screen frame, and you have to shut down the Mac, and look under the Mac for its label. Those may only be able to use the aforementioned virtualized Snow Leopard Server.
Mac minis with at least 1 GB of RAM and 4 and 5 USB ports on the rear as shown in the image below:
will work with Snow Leopard.
Those with less than four USB ports will not work with Snow Leopard.
All iMacs that look like:
Will work with Snow Leopard.
From the iMacs which look like:
If they are iMac Intelthey can upgraded to Snow Leopard. To tell if they are Intel, they will have an EMC# on the base which is enumerated 2104, 2105, 2110, 2114, 2118, 2111, 2133, or 2134. All others were iMac G5 and can only be upgraded to 10.5.8. Another distinction is that iMac G5's had mini-VGA ports that looked like:
Whereas White iMac Intels had mini-DVI which looked like:
You can also tell if it is an iMac Intel by selecting Apple menu -> About This Mac. Core Duo and Core2Duo are Intel, whereas the G5 are not.
Notes: G5 refers to the CPU made by IBM for Apple before the migration to Intel CPU in 2006. It was found on iMacs, and PowerMacs. Powerbooks and iBooks maxed out using the Motorola G4 CPU, only to be replaced by MacBook Pros and MacBooks in 2006.. Intel made the CPU found in 2006 and newer Macs, and these are referred to as CoreSolo, CoreDuo, Core2Duo, i3, i5, i7, and Xeon. Don't confuse a G5 for an Intel CPU Mac. They are not the same except in exterior design when it comes to the iMac, and the means to tell them apart is stated above. In 2006, the Mac Mini changed from G4 to Intel CoreSolo CPU. In 2006 the iMac changed from G5 to Intel CoreDuo CPU.
All Intel Macs with sufficient RAM older than March 29, 2010 can take the retail 10.6.3 installer disc. All Intel Macs with sufficient RAM older than August 28, 2009 can take the 10.6.0 retail installer disc. This disc must look like and can't say Upgrade, Dropin, or OEM on it.
It is recommended those upgrading from PowerPC follow this tip:
It is recommended you backup your data at least twice before upgrading any software.
It is recommended you check these listings for compatible 10.6 software from:
C!Net, Snow Leopard Wiki,Macintouch, and Apple's listing of compatible printers and scanners
and Apple supplied updates for printers and scanners:
HP, Ricoh,Canon, Epson, Brother,Lexmark, Samsung, and Fuji/Xerox
Additionally, some Ricoh printers that do not have official drivers have been found to have the resolution documented by this thread:
And Apple's phone support with iSync:
For digital cameras, these RAW formats are supported on 10.6. Note the most recent Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook Pros
have SD card slots for reading camera media. For all other camera media, Express/34 on 17' MacBook Pro and pre-June 8 2009 MacBook Pros, PCI for Mac Pro, USB, and Firewire card readers exist for all Intel Mac models. Additionally, many multifunction printers have card readers that will work on the Mac. JPEG, TIFF, PNG
are all common formats supported by cameras outside of RAW, though RAW enables you to post process many more features of digital images than the other formats.
To be compatible with the Mac App Store, the Lion updater from the USB Flash drive or App Store, and the Facetime video software in Standard Definition minimum, you'll need the 10.6.6 combo, 10.6.7 combo, 10.6.7 combo with the font update, or the 10.6.8 combo followed by the Thunderbolt update if applicable.
10.6.8 has the following security updates: 10.6.8 2013 Security Update 004, 2013-005 Java update (note Java is not current until Mac OS X 10.7.3 from Java.com)
Sometimes when 10.6 is installed, Rosetta, the application that allows PowerPC programs to run will not automatically install. In those situations, you can manually install Rosetta from the 10.6 installer disc. The following quote explains how to install it manually:
Insert the Mac OS 10.6 installation DVD When the DVD is mounted, select “Optional Installs” then “Optional Installs.mpkg”
Follow the onscreen instructions for agreeing to the software license and selecting the hard drive for installation.
In the “Installation Type” step, select the box next to Rosetta from the list of applications presented. Continue the installation process.
After successful installation, a confirmation message will appear.
These instructions appeared on http://forums.printable.com/showthread.php?t=1110 .
As 10.6 is the last operating system that shipped on prebundled discs that come with Macs, it also is the last one that shipped with a prebundled set of iLife applications. To learn which version of iLife may have come on your computer, see this tip. 10.7 and later prebundled Macs did not ship with iDVD, but will have shipped with iPhoto, iTunes, Garageband, and iMovie. If you still desire iDVD, consult with AppleCare.
10.6 has these updates available depending on what you have on your Mac (Combo updates can be applied to any of the preceding versions, where Delta can only be applied to the immediately preceding version):
10.6.1 | 10.6.3 v1.1 Delta and 10.6.3 v1.1 Combo | 10.6.4 Combo, 10.6.4 Delta, 10.6.4 Mac Mini Mid 2010 | 10.6.6 Delta, 10.6.6 Combo | 10.6.7 for early 2011 MacBook Pro, 10.6.7 Combo, 10.6.7 Delta, 10.6.7 font update to all previous updates | 10.6.8 delta v1.1 (7/25/2011) and Combo v1.1 (7/25/2011), and the followup Thunderbolt update for 2011 iMacs and MacBook Pros for installation after 10.6.8 |
Which Macs can have Snow Leopard installed, and which can only have Lion installed based on Machine ID (also known as Model Identifier)?
You can find out which gray installer disc came with Macs that can install Snow Leopard newer than March 15, 2010 by reading: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1159. Machine ID is in Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More info (on 10.7 and later the About Window has System Information instead of More info to access the System Profiler) under the hardware section. The 'x' value below can be any number. Older Macs indicated below can use the 10.6.3 retail installer, if not the 10.6 retail installer, if they are older than August 28, 2009. Together with partitioning, the Core2Duo (not CoreDuo, not CoreSolo), Xeon, Core i3, i5, i7 Macs which are Snow Leopard compatible can run both Snow Leopard and Lion, provided they have at least 2 GB of RAM. Partitioning requires an erase of the hard drive. A second internal or external hard drive can boot into a separate operating system on the same Macs. The Macs below which can only run Lion and later, are also known as Lion prebundled Macs. Lion prebundled Macs thankfully can run Windows in virtualization, which would allow them to use the Windows version of software that may only run in Snow Leopard and earlier on Mac OS X. The Macs listed here that won't run Snow Leopard also are not able to use the retail Lion installer USB Flash drive, and must use the instructions onMacworld to create a specialty Flash drive or be cloned onto another hard drive before their prebundled hard drive dies, to be able to restore Lion. Macs below that can't install Snow Leopard directly may be able to do so via virtualization, as described by this tip.
Mac Mini 5,x and later only run Lion and later. Mac Mini 4,x and earlier can run Snow Leopard with at least 1 GB of RAM (that's greater than 768MB of RAM).
MacBook Pro 8,x with EMC#s 2355, 2563, 2564 can only run 10.7 or later, all other 8,x EMC#s can run 10.6.3 or later, and all 7,x can.
MacBook Pro 9,x and higher can only run 10.7 and later.
Mac Pro 5,1 that are not EMC 2629 and earlier can run Snow Leopard. EMC 2629, and Mac Pro 6,x and later can only 10.7 and later.
The 10.6.3 retail installer will only work on Mac Pro 4,x and earlier.
MacBook with no Air and no Pro on the screen as of 11/30/2011 can all run Snow Leopard with at least 1 GB of RAM.
MacBook Air 4,x and later can't run Snow Leopard, while 3,x and earlier with at least 1 GB of RAM can run Snow Leopard.
iMac 12,1 i3 (EMC 2496 on foot, MC978LL/A) can't run Snow Leopard, while the 12,x i5 and i7 can run Snow Leopard, and the iMac 1,1 through 11,x can run Snow Leopard with at least 1 GB of RAM. iMac 13,1 and later can't run Snow Leopard natively.
Lastly, here the Macs that are compatible with 10.6.3 retail avialable from the Apple Store based on Model Identifier:
iMac 11,1 and older
Mac Mini 3,x and older
MacBook 6,1 and older
MacBook Pro 5,x and older
MacPro 4,x and older
MacBook Air 2,x and older
Macs that fall between those criteria must use the 10.6 installer that shipped with them to install 10.6.
* The release names Early and Late can be gotten by plugging the serial number of the machine in
Run classic Mac OS apps in Windows A similar app that runs System 7 How to use MacOS9 What the MacOS9 app contains Acknowledgments Support
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: Updated 10 February 2021 with a new version of SheepShaver.
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.
I have created a similar system that runs Mac System 7.6.1 under BasiliskII. You may download its MacSys761Installer here. Run the installer and then launch the MacSys761.exe application, either from its folder or from a desktop shortcut that the installer offers to create.
The System 7 app works mostly in the same way that the MacOS9App works. You may copy files to System 7 desktop by dropping them on to the MacSys761.exe icon. And you may copy files to the Windows desktop by selecting them with the Copy to Host application or dropping them in to Send to Windows folder (both on the System 7 desktop).
Note: Updated 23 January 2021 with QuickTime Player added to the system.
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.
Troubleshooting: If the SheepShaverGUI app produces an error message when you first run it, double-click on GTKLocalInstaller.exe in the same folder. You will not see any feeback from the GTKLocalInstaller.exe program, but the SheepShaverGUI should now run. (Or you may need to logout and login again.)
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:
'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.
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.
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.
Because part of this system is written in the AutoIt scripting language, some anti-virus programs will flag it as malware. Absolutely do not waste your extremely valuable time alerting me to this; do not waste your extremely valuable time writing me an e-mail asking if the software is safe. Do not take my word for it that this is all the result of a false positive. Upload the software to a site like VirusTotal.com for testing. 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).