Note: OS 9-booting utility disks and new Macs

It is worth noting for buyers of Macs introduced in 2003 - which no longer have the ability to boot in to Mac OS 9 - that some disk utilities reliant on an OS 9-booting scheme will be largely non-functional with the new systems.

The problem is that most utilities will scan the active system volume and perform "minor" repairs, but in order to perform major repair, packages like Norton Utilities require that they are booted from their own CD. Unfortunately, the only System Folder included with Norton Utilities is Mac OS 9.

One poster in the MacFixIt Forums notes that Alsoft's DiskWarrior is also incompatible in the same vein:

"I just bought one of the new Power Mac G4M DD desktops. I also bought Diskwarrior 2.1. I read Alsoft's site and there is no indication that this product does not work with the new MDD's or for that matter the new Powerbooks. Well guess what it doesn't work with any of the new Macs. After going round and round with people from Alsoft on the phone I was told that I could either return it or wait for the OS X version."

One potential workaround is to set your new 2003 Mac as a standalone volume using the target disk mode function (accessible by connecting two Macs with a FireWire cable, and holding down the "T" key on the target Mac), then booting the Mac OS 9 utility disk - Norton or DiskWarrior- on a system capable of doing so, and simply repairing the target volume from the other machine.

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