on 01/10/10 23:42, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Just wondering if anyone has advice about which MacOS to use on the > StarMax with the 604e. I don't want to upgrade this machine to a G3. > So I want the latest, best version of MacOS that is still going to run > fast and reliably on the 604e. Anyone experimented and have some tips > on this? > Hi there. I've tried all the OSs up to 9.2 and here's my survey: OS 8.0 won't recognize HFS+ drive formatting which you'll pretty well need for a drive bigger than 4 or 5 gig. The OS 8.1 update does recognize HFS+. I found 8.1 very fast, but unstable: lots of freezes and crashes. (All updates mentioned here are free Apple downloads, but are huge for a 56k modem.) OS 8.5 ran like a Beta: update to 8.5.1 right away. A lot of newer software is backward compatible to 8.5, and it was very solid and stable for me, and almost as fast as 8.1. The next update is 8.6 which adds bells and whistles like platinum sounds. It runs yet a little slower, although again very stable. And (I think) it also used the most RAM of any OS. StarMaxes and 9.04 don't get along well. The Startup Disk control panel crashed. ATI extensions crashed. Open Transport crashed. Open GL crashed. Before you even try to boot 9.04, update to 9.1 for a very stable OS that's compatible with all the new stuff. The new AppleShare panel is nice. So is the StartUp Disk panel. Internet setup is so much simpler. You get multiple user boot if you want. And there's lots more. But: you lose things. Older monitors and modems get one or two generic driver settings. Non-USB peripherals may not have drivers for 9.1 at all, or you use a generic one and lose features. Also without a G3 board it's going to be slow. iTunes will play but won't burn CDs on StarMaxes; you'll need SoundJam and Toast. 9.2 wouldn't boot on my 603e; it might boot on your 604. Summary: I've run 9.1 for about a year now: I'm going to set up an 8.5.1 partition and see if I might not go back there to stay. Special note: keep or get a CD-ROM driver off an original StarMax system disk: the newer ones do not work; and, if you have StarMax (ZNYX) ethernet, keep that driver too. Lou
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