When started up from Mac OS 9, however, Power Mac G5 systems do not take advantage of the G5 processor’s native 64-bit mode: Apple would need to rewrite Mac OS 9 for 64-bit compatibility, and it goes without saying that Apple is expending virtually no development resources on Mac OS 9 these days. According to CountDown G5’s lead developer, in the handful of instances where incompatibilities were found, working around them was only a small portion of the engineering effort.
Although Apple did not perform extensive compatibility testing of the Power Mac G5 hardware from Mac OS 9 – since they anticipated all access would be moderated by Mac OS X – Freedom Technologies engineers reported discovering no significant problems accessing all the Power Mac’s features from Mac OS 9, in part because many of the new technologies (including FireWire 800 and USB 2.0) are based on open standards for which complete technical specifications are available. Using careful black-box reverse engineering, they were able to determine which portions of the Power Mac G5 firmware needed to be changed to provide Mac OS 9 compatibility, and exactly what those changes should be. CountDown G5’s method of updating the Power Mac G5’s firmware is exactly the same as that which Apple would use if a flaw or incompatibility necessitated a change (such as the firmware updates issued for early iMacs, without which installing Mac OS X 10.2 or higher can render a machine inoperable).ĭespite all the new subsystems and processor technologies in the Power Mac G5s, Freedom Technologies learned that the systems’ firmware packages aren’t terribly different from firmware shipped in Mac OS 9-compatible machines. How CountDown G5 Works - CountDown G5 updates the Power Mac G5 firmware to allow the machine to start up using Mac OS 9 as well as Mac OS X – following the update, the Power Mac G5 will recognize bootable Mac OS 9.2.2 volumes as viable startup volumes, as well as volumes with Mac OS X 10.2.7 or newer installed. However, if you simply must have G5 power within Mac OS 9 – and if the Mac OS X Classic environment doesn’t cut the mustard – then CountDown G5 is your only option. CountDown G5’s methods are not subtle, and using CountDown G5 to create a Mac OS 9-bootable system could leave you with an unsupported hybrid machine, jeopardize your warranty, or create unexpected problems with future operating system updates. But now, Mac OS 9 users can enjoy the performance and raw power of the Power Mac G5 system if they do not want to use Mac OS X, or are still among those users for whom Mac OS X versions of needed software are not yet available.
The French start-up software company Freedom Technologies today announced the immediate availability of CountDown G5, a controversial firmware update which enables users to start up Apple’s Power Mac G5 systems using either Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X.Īs shipped by Apple, Power Mac G5 systems can start up using only Mac OS X (although they can run older software in the Classic environment). What?! Does something about this article seem odd, not as you remember, or too good to be true? Check the date it was published! #1621: Apple Q3 2022 financials, Slack's new free plan restrictions, which OS features do you use?ĬountDown G5 Enables Mac OS 9 Booting for Power Mac G5s.#1622: OS feature survey results, Continuity Camera webcam preview, OWC miniStack STX.
#1623: How to turn off YouTube's PiP, use AirPlay to Mac, and securely erase Mac drives.#1624: Important OS security updates, rescuing QuickTake 150 photos, AirTag alerts while traveling.#1625: Apple's "Far Out" event, the future of FileMaker, free NMUG membership, Quick Note and tags in Notes, Plex suffers data breach.