OS 9 Booting Opinion and Discussion - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

OS 9 Booting Opinion and Discussion

With a trickle of rumors and tidbits flowing in, it's easy to make assumptions and leap to conclusions. Frequently, the rumor community takes on certain opinions that are repeated and are assumed to be true.

Apple's announcement that Mac OS 9 will no longer boot on new machines after Jan 2003 has led many people to jump to the conclusion that there must be some sort of major hardware shift necessitating dropping OS 9 support. While this is possible, Apple dropping OS 9 in favor of OS X exclusively is likely a strategic move rather than a technical requirement.

Other assumptions floating around include that in order for OS 9 not to boot on the new systems, Apple would have to invest a fair amount of effort to not allow such a thing... when in fact, all new Mac systems have traditionally required "enablers" to allow the new Macs to boot the current OS. Historically, OS Releases would only install/boot on all Macs that existed up until the day of that OS's Release. Subsequent hardware that was introduced would come bundled with a later build of the operating system.

Popular Stories

iOS 27 on iPhone 17 1

iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday May 2, 2026 8:43 am PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and there are already many rumored features and changes for iPhones. The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Apple Announces 2026 Pride Band Watch Face and iPhone Wallpaper Article 2

iOS 26.5 Coming Soon With These New Features

Monday May 4, 2026 8:40 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 is expected to be released next week, following more than a month of beta testing. The update is relatively minor, but there are a couple of new features and changes across the operating system that we have recapped below. iOS 26.5 lays the groundwork for end-to-end encryption for RCS in the Messages app and ads in the Apple Maps app, and it will include a new Pride wallpaper and a...
Related Apple News: Local News | Entertainment | Mac | Iphone | South Africa