Are there any third-party programs to run MacOS 9/Classic applications on Intel Macs?

When Apple made the decision to no longer support MacOS 9/Classic applications, EveryMac.com was hopeful that an easy to install and use commercial application would become available and allow use of legacy applications and documents on the Intel-based Macs.

However, as the market for MacOS 9/Classic compatibility solutions is not growing, and as it has been many years since the switch to Intel processors, it is doubtful that a commercial solution will become available.

Nevertheless, where the commercial market has failed, the open-source community has made an effort to respond with the oddly titled "SheepShaver". SheepShaver began life as a MacOS "run-time environment" that made it possible to run MacOS applications within the BeOS. The name itself is a play on "ShapeShifter", a 68k Mac emulator for the AmigaOS.

The hardworking open-source programmers behind the SheepShaver project explain that:

It enables you to run PowerPC Classic MacOS software on your computer, even if you are using a different operating system [like MacOS X for Intel]. However, you still need a copy of MacOS and a Power Macintosh ROM image to use this program. . . SheepShaver provides the first PowerPC G4 emulator, though without MMU, to enable the execution of MacOS Classic. Performance with the current CPU emulator using basic just-in-time (JIT) translation techniques is roughly 1/8-th of native speeds.

Compared to average MacOS X applications, which generally are installed with "drag and drop" simplicity, installing SheepShaver is complicated, as it officially requires one to extract a software ROM. However, Emaculation provides detailed instructions -- complete with screenshots -- that explains the process and includes extracting Mac OS ROM Update 1.0 with TomeViewer as well as installing and configuring SheepShaver with MacOS 9.0.4 (the last supported version of the OS).

Redundant Robot also provides a useful tutorial complete with direct links to ROM files so one will not have to extract them manually.

As first spotted by MacWindows, one helpful SheepShaver user has gone a step further and bundled the latest SheepShaver binaries along with a "ROM file and a preconfigured Mac OS 9.0.1 installation" to make it possible to install SheepShaver with "drag and drop" ease. This convenient bundle (direct file download) is dubbed "Chubby Bunny," and is not connected with the SheepShaver development team.

Although it certainly appears that the user behind Chubby Bunny is well meaning, it nevertheless always is prudent to be careful when downloading any "unofficial" files. Be sure to backup your computer before "fiddling" with any official or unofficial SheepShaver software (or before adding any new software to your Mac, for that matter).

The Apple Blog also has an older walkthrough of the original installation and ROM extraction process that could be of interest as well. This blogger reported that on an unspecified Intel-based Mac, SheepShaver was slow but stable, and MacOS 9 thought that it was running on a vintage Power Macintosh 9500/120.

From hands on experience as well as other websites, blogs, and comments, it is safe to conclude that after overcoming any installation hurdles, SheepShaver allows one to run MacOS 9 slowly, but some also have had trouble with compatibility and stability as well. This is not to denigrate the hard work of the open source community in the slightest as this type of program is extremely complex and the fact it works as well as it does is quite remarkable.

Should you have non-critical needs for running MacOS 9/Classic applications on an Intel-based Mac, such as really old games or potentially even archived document access, SheepShaver might meet your needs. However, those who remain dependent on MacOS 9/Classic software would be best served by continuing to use an existing PowerPC-based Mac or upgrading to a newer one.

Site sponsor Operator Headgap Systems specializes in heavily upgraded Macs capable of running both MacOS X and MacOS 9 applications. PowerMax also sells a variety of used systems capable of running both operating systems.