Making a Workable System ISO

About Qemu-system-ppc, a PPC Mac emulator for Windows, macOS and Linux that can run Mac OS 9.0 up to Mac OS X 10.5

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J. Gryphon
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Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:52 pm

Making a Workable System ISO

Post by J. Gryphon »

I've been trying in vain to set up Qemu for the past few days -- an extremely painful experience riddled with 'no valid state's, indefinite hanging on 'trying hd:suchandsuch', and for a few magical moments, getting as far as the Blinking Floppy of Doom.

Finally, something snapped and I picked up one of the dsk packages someone else made probably less than legally, just to see if Qemu could boot anything at all. And of course, that loaded just beautifully. :roll:

So, there must be something wrong with every single one of the images I've attempted to use to boot. That leaves the question of how I'm supposed to make one -- assuming that Qemu can't boot directly from a physical CD, which I have available. hdiutil seems to be less than helpful.

Incidentally here's what the present qemu.command file is like:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
cd "$(dirname "$0")"

./qemu-system-ppc -L pc-bios -M mac99 -m 512 -boot d -prom-env 'auto-boot?=true' -prom-env 'boot-args=-v' -prom-env 'vga-ndrv?=true' -drive file=~/Disks/outfile.iso,format=raw,media=cdrom -netdev user,id=network01 -device sungem,netdev=network01
This is all under OS X El Capitan, Qemu 3.0pre-Screamer-26062018.

There's a G4 tower sitting next to me, so if it would be helpful to use it for some step in this process, I have that option.
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Cat_7
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Location: Sittard, The Netherlands

Re: Making a Workable System ISO

Post by Cat_7 »

Hi,

Which Mac OS version are you trying to install?
I would suggest you do not start with the screamer build to try to install Mac OS with Qemu.
Rather use the first one from viewtopic.php?f=34&t=8848
You can always use the screamer build later after installation.

I have been trying to create a working cd image with disk utility in Sierra, but failed...

About booting real CDs: it can be done. You need to insert the CD and unmount it using e.g., Diskutility.
Next, need to run Qemu as root. So add sudo in front of ./qemu-system-ppc.
And change the -drive file=..... entry to -cdrom /dev/cdrom

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
cd "$(dirname "$0")"

sudo ./qemu-system-ppc -L pc-bios -M mac99 -m 512 -boot d -prom-env 'auto-boot?=true' -prom-env 'boot-args=-v' -prom-env 'vga-ndrv?=true' -cdrom /dev/cdrom -netdev user,id=network01 -device sungem,netdev=network01
If the CD is not unmounted correctly, Qemu will tell you the commands you need to give (in e.g., another terminal window) to unmount the CD.

For example:
qemu-system-ppc: -cdrom /dev/cdrom: If device /dev/disk5 is mounted on the desktop, unmount it first before using it in QEMU
qemu-system-ppc: -cdrom /dev/cdrom: Command to unmount device: diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk5
qemu-system-ppc: -cdrom /dev/cdrom: Command to mount device: diskutil mountDisk /dev/disk5
qemu-system-ppc: -cdrom /dev/cdrom: Failed to find a working partition on disc
logout
The CD might stay unmounted after you stop Qemu. You can use diskutility to mount it again and eject it. Or use the terminal command Qemu suggests for mounting the CD.

To install on an actual hard disk image, you obviously also need an entry for a disk in the command line.

Best,
Cat_7
J. Gryphon
Student Driver
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:52 pm

Re: Making a Workable System ISO

Post by J. Gryphon »

Grats to me for remembering the other versions and things but forgetting maybe the most important part! The disc I have handy is for 9.1.

I followed the advice and general procedure you recommended, using the different version of Qemu and the steps you recommended, and it worked well. You have my great gratitude for ending several days' worth of obsessed frustration. There's still a ways to go before it'll be set up to be able to do anything that I might like to do on it, but it's visible progress and that's more than enough for me!
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adespoton
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Re: Making a Workable System ISO

Post by adespoton »

If you're working with Mac OS 9.1, you could try this: https://github.com/adespoton/macosemush ... 9.1.app.7z

I've already created a working configuration; the binary uses the screamer build.

[edit] I *think* this version will run under El Cap, but it may not... it's not the latest build that definitely won't, but was from sometime around when El Cap support went away.
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