Only a few weeks ago, the CHRP variants of Mac OS 7.6 and 8 were discovered and uploaded to the internet for posterity, but we’re already seeing the positive results of this event unfold: Mac OS 7.x can now run on the Mac Mini G4 – natively.
The very short of it is as follows. First, the CHRP release of Mac OS 8 contains a ROM file that allows Mac OS 8 to boot on the G4 Mac Mini. Second, the CHRP release of 7.6 contains a System Enabler that allows 7.6 earlier versions to run by using the aforementioned ROM file. Third, the ROM has been modified to add compatibility with as many Mac models as possible. There’s a lot more to it, of course, but the end result is that quite a few more older, pre-9.x versions of Mac OS can now run on G4 and G3 Macs, which is quite cool.
Of course, there are limitations.
Note that, although I describe many of these as “stable”, I mean you can use much of it normally (sound/video/networking aside) without it crashing or misbehaving, at least not too hard, but that is not to say everything works, because that is just not the case. For example, when present, avoid opening the Apple System Profiler, unless you want a massive crash as it struggles trying to profile and gather all the information about your system. Some other apps or Control Panels might either not work, or work up to a certain point, after which they might freeze, requiring you to Force Quit the Finder to keep on going. And so on.
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Issues or no, this is amazing news, and great work by all involved.
What timing. Now I really have motivation to verify my suspicion that, when my Mac Mini G4 races its fan instead of powering on, it’s temperature-dependent and then look for cracked solder joints and bad capacitors.
As-is, I’m stuck with just the Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 2002 that will remain louder until I can find time to clamp some temperature probes onto things without software-readable temperatures, and then experiment with stress testing and lower-CFM Noctua fans.
(As with the hand-me-down Alenware triangle hooked up to the TV where I was able to replace the wind-tunnel intake fans, I suspect Apple spec’d the fans for the dual 1.25GHz loadout, but I’m running a single 933MHz loadout.)