CD Installation Notes

Macs Only!'s Hands-On: Mac OS 8.1 Installation and Use Page is based on the Mac OS 8.1 Updater that was available for download beginning January 19th. Our office site-license copy of the CD arrived on February 3rd and my personal CD copy arrived on February 11th. This page will just cover the installation from the CD. Information about Mac OS 8.1, HFS+ and other observations of features, fixes and problems are carried here.

As I noted on February 4th, the 8.1 CD looks very much like the 8.0 CD--a new color would have helped distinguish the two. Some of the features included on the CD in addition to those that came with the downloadable updater are:

• Disk Copy v6.2
• DiskTools Diskette Image
• Netscape v4.04
• Internet Explorer 3.01, not the latest 4.0
• MacroMedia Shockwave
• PointCast Network
• MacLinkPlus 9.0.2
• Mac OS Runtime Java 2.0
• PC card drivers for Dayna, Farallon and Global Village cards
• Location Manager
• 22 additional desktop pictures
• More desktop patterns

If you have the CD you know this but I posted it for those who haven't bought the CD and are deciding whether to or not. The CD includes a full installer for 8.1 so one doesn't have to install 8.0 and then run the 8.1 updater when re-installing the system, a real convenience especially if one converts from Apple's old HFS hard drive format to the new HFS+ as I have.

Installation

First follow Macs Only!'s pre-installation tips:

Pre-Installation Tip #1: Run Disk First Aid or Norton Disk Doctor [Unless it has been already converted to HFS+ as NDD may destroy data] on the target hard drive to avoid installation glitches and error messages.

Pre-Installation Tip #2: Make sure the old Apple System Profiler is in the Apple Menu Items folder in the System Folder or it won't get replaced with v1.3.2.

Pre-Installation Tip #3: As a precaution, make the 8.1 Disk Tools emergency startup disk from Disk Tools disk image on the CD.

Pre-Installation Tip #4: If you have a non-Apple CD ROM drive and are using the Apple CD ROM v5.3.1 extension to drive it, copy v5.3.1 to a diskette so that it can be re-installed after Mac OS 8.1 which will install v5.4.2. Like all versions since v5.3.1, v5.4.2 does not work with non-Apple CD ROM drives.

Pre-Installation Tip #5: Save yourself a lot of anxiety. If you have a top level folder named "Utilities" like I did, rename it something else because the installer creates a folder named "Utilities" and hides your folder away in another folder. Think of my panic when I looked in what I thought was my "Utilities" folder and found everything gone except Disk First Aid and Drive Setup!

1. Force the computer to start up from the CD by holding down the "C" key just after turning on the computer. These instructions are on the CD itself. You can also startup from the Disk Tools diskette--see tip #3. This will allow Drive Setup 1.4 to update the driver on the hard drive where you keep the system folder, i.e. your Startup Disk. If you don't have an Apple hard drive, then Drive Setup probably can't update the driver so just startup from the usual hard drive and load the CD after the desktop is complete. One can always update the hard disk driver later with Drive Setup on the Disk Tools diskette after starting up from the diskette.

2. Read the Read Me files.

3. There are two Mac OS 8.1 installers on the CD, a full install (Install Mac OS 8.1) and an update install (Update to Mac OS 8.1). I recommend the full install with a clean install. However, one can use the Update Install just like the downloadable updater if one has a clean installation of Mac OS 8.0 already.

4. Clicked on the Install Mac OS 8.1 to get the Welcome screen which lists four steps to follow.

5. Clicked "Continue" to get the Select Destination screen. Selected the hard drive from the pop up menu. Checked "Clean install".

6. Clicked "Select" to get the Important Information screen--read it!

7. Clicked "Continue" to get the License screen--read it. Clicked "Continue".

8. Clicked "Agree" to get the Install Software screen. Check the optional software that you want to install. I unchecked everything except MacOS Runtime for Java (MRJ) and Apple Location Manager.

9. Clicked the "Customize" button. Uncheck the software that you do not want installed. I unchecked everything but Mac OS 8.1, Open Transport PPP, Mac OS Runtime for Java and Location Manager.

10. Clicked the "Options" button. I unchecked Update Apple HD Drivers since my 9600 has a third-party non-Apple internal hard drive for the Startup Disk. If you have an Apple drive, leave the update checked. Click "OK"

11. Clicked "Start" to start the installation of the software selected.

12. First the installer checked my hard drive and when finished stated that it was okay. Getting past this step is the reason for Pre-Installation Tip #1.

13. Then came the Install System Software screen. Clicked "Clean Install" and the installer in succession installed Mac OS 8, Mac OS 8.1 update, Laserwriter software and Open Transport software.

14. Then came the Info Center Installer screen. Clicked "Install". After doing so, I clicked "Quit" because I didn't want the Mac OS Info Center nor Internet Access. I unchecked them but not Mac OS Runtime for Java (MRJ) and Location Manager which I wanted. Clicked "Install" and it checked my hard drive again and said it was OK.

15. Then came the MRJ Installer and clicked "Install".

16. Then came the Install Location Manager screen. Clicked "Install" and got a freeze--cripes! I had to reboot. If you don't get a freeze the installation process should just continue until you have to restart so skip down to paragraph 19.

17. After rebooting, I clicked "Install Mac OS 8.1" from the CD, clicked "Continue" and clicked "Add/Remove" and got the Custom Installation and Removal screen. Checked Apple Location Manager and clicked "Start". It checked my hard drive again and said it was OK.

18. The came the Install Location Manager screen. Clicked "Install" and this time it worked fine.

19. Got the Installation Process Finished dialog box and clicked "Quit".

If you didn't follow Tip #5 your folder named "Utilities" has been hidden in another folder and replaced with the installer's own "Utilities" folder. Who was the blockhead that thought this up? "MacOS 8.1 Utilities" would have been a lot smarter and saved me from a lot of anxiety.

20. Restarted. Got the Sleep Setting window. I don't use it so I clicked "Close Message".

21. Then came the MacOS Setup Assistant. This is a straight forward set of dialog boxes that help with the OS settings. At the end click "Go Ahead" then "Quit".

22. That's it!

Happy computing with the new Mac OS 8.1. Visit Macs Only!'s Hands-On: Mac OS 8.1 Installation and Use Page for further tip on use, problems and what's new.

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Copyright © 1998 by Bill Fox.
All rights reserved--no commercial use permitted without attribution.

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