Please help an OSX Dummy

[Al Poulin]

"Richard A. Northouse" <RNORTHOUSE at wi.rr.com> wrote:

> A) I have a Power Mac G4 (currently using OS9.2.2, 733Mhz, 1.12Gb RAM,
> CD-RW, 38Gb ATA, 27Gb available).  Should I create a new partition for OSX?

A separate partition gives you greater flexibility later on for maintenance,
upgrade, or replacement of either OS.

> And then what data or files do I need to copy or transfer over to this new
> volume?

Only that data which you want to access when running OS X.

> Do I need to install OS9.2 also on this new partition?

No.  But depending on what version of OS X you are getting, you may need to
do some preparation for OS X while running OS 9.2.2.  Just verify carefully
in your readme documents.  OS X should be able to use OS 9 for Classic Mode
and you should be able to see the other volume from whatever volume you are
using.  You should also be able to restart from one volume to the other.

> How about all the internet stuff?  Do I just move my apps or do I need to
re-install on the OSX partition?

Is your hard drive already formatted by a third party utility so that you
can create a new partition without wiping out your OS 9?  If you are using
Apple's Drive Setup to create the OS X partition, you cannot "move" the
apps; you will need to reinstall.  Where?  Depends, if you have a new
application that can run under OS 9 and OS X, go ahead and re-install on the
OS X partition.  Most OS 8 and OS 9 applications will not run under OS X.

For good housekeeping, you may want to consider creating two or three more
partitions.  One for all your applications, including the internet stuff,
one for your data, and possibly a third for scratch space if you need that
for something like Photoshop.  Your data is the part of the hard drive that
changes the most, your applications probably change the least.  So with
separate partitions, you can choose when to run file maintenance utilities
on the more dynamic parts of the hard drive without having to spend time and
wear on the parts that you know are OK.  The extra partitions can also
simplify you backup routine, depending on how you do that.

-- 
Al Poulin
Anger, hate, and revenge are for the devil, forgiveness is for God,
proactive self-defense is for the rest of us.