Is there a Gigabit Ethernet card that works with MacOS 9?

There are any number of PCI cards that make it easy to add Gigabit Ethernet capabilities to non-Gigabit equipped Power Macintosh G3 or Power Macintosh G4 models capable of running MacOS X 10.2 "Jaguar" or higher.

Tracking down a Gigabit Ethernet card with MacOS 9 drivers is a bit more of a challenge. However, as first discovered by the always excellent XLR8YourMac, a reader noted that cards based on the Realtek 8169S 1000 MB (Gigabit) chipset would work with MacOS 9 drivers provided by Realtek (although the company actually selling the card would not mention that the card was compatible with MacOS 9 or provide drivers by default).

Realtek once required those interested in MacOS 9 to request drivers by e-mail, but later made the drivers available for direct download from the company website before pulling them entirely. EveryMac.com has saved a copy for your convenience, but has not tested the software and cannot promise that it will function as intended.

Although other cards that use the same Realtek chipset should work, the same reader reported that the TRENDnet TEG-PCITXR Gigabit PCI card worked "perfectly" in MacOS 9 with the Realtek MacOS 9 drivers.

As TRENDnet does not distribute the MacOS 9 drivers, the company only lists the card as compatible with "Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP, Linux Kernel 2.2.x/2.4.x, [and] Netware 5.x/6.x."

Site sponsor Operator Headgap Systems offers another Gigabit Ethernet card that is guaranteed to work in MacOS 8.6, MacOS 9, and MacOS X 10.2 -- complete with drivers included on CD from OHS. This Gigabit Ethernet card works with MacOS X 10.4 "Tiger" and MacOS X 10.5 "Leopard" as well and is available for less than US$25 including shipping in the domestic US.

Is there a way to use a third-party "AirPort" (802.11b) PC card with a Mac notebook running MacOS 9?

Certainly. Although some third-party wireless cards may have their own MacOS 9 drivers, IOXperts sells a driver that makes it possible to use dozens of third-party wireless (802.11b) cards with a PowerBook 2400, PowerBook 3400, PowerBook G3, or PowerBook G4 capable of booting MacOS 9. The Mac notebook must have PC card slots, so MacOS 9 capable iBook models are not compatible.

The driver costs US$19.95 and a free trial is available to ensure that the driver works properly with your PC card prior to purchase. A MacOS X driver also is available to expand the number of available wireless options for MacOS X capable systems.