Many people are still running Mac OS 8.6. And why not? It's one of the most stable systems to ever come out of Cupertino and it still allows the use of most software.
One of the most desirable features that Mac OS 8.6 did not include is definitely OpenGL support. And that means you can't install an ATI RADEON 7000 PCI card either - the 2nd most popular item for older systems.
Why not install OpenGL manually? Follow these directions and have the best of both worlds - a stable OS for your older system and a fast video card! :>)
Test System Specs:
Power Macintosh 7300/200
RAM:
Processor:
PCI Cards:
Hard Disk:
CD-ROM:
1. Download the above listed software.
2. Once downloaded, start by installing the ATI Retail Update software. It will give you a dialog box warning that this software was not designed for systems older than Mac OS 9.1, but conveniently allows you to continue. Once the software has installed, select the quit option the installer offers instead of restarting.
3. Double click on the Apple OpenGL 1.2.1.smi image to mount it on your desktop. Drag the OpenGL Tome file from that mounted disk image onto the TomeViewer application to extract the following files.
Shift-Click on the highlighted items and then click the blue button at the top of the window to extract the files to your hard drive. I suggest creating a new folder to save to, and then click the "All" button in the save dialog box to batch extract all files.
4. Drag the 9 extracted files to you extensions folder (or onto your closed system folder, it will place them in the folder for you).
5. Restart
6. Install an application that uses OpenGL and verify it is functioning properly. I installed Quake2 and was pleased to see that the once unsupported game using that system is functioning very nicely, even getting 30fps at 1024x768 on this older system. :>) That's all there is to it! Have fun!
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