Where to find legitimate MacOS 9.x licenses for sale

September 16, 2005 11:47 AM

Who sells legitimate, licensed copies of MacOS 9.x anymore?

I have a client with lots of early iMacs (CRT-based) and they want to know how much it will cost to 'modernize' them all with Mac OS 9.2.x, more RAM, and larger hard disks. I'm creating two options for them -- a 'band-aid' solution for the short term and a more-expensive 'real' solution for the long term (new hardware, OS X upgrades for applications and server applications, etc.)

I need a source who sells OS 9 to finish my quote.

posted by Wild_Eep to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

Chances are that these guys have a few copies. Be warned, however, they are crazy overpriced and have made me nuts every time i've walked in their store.

the obvious source is ebay, but the price is going to vary, so I don't know how well it'll work for your quote.
posted by fishfucker at 11:52 AM on September 16, 2005

try lowendmac, and their links.
posted by amberglow at 11:53 AM on September 16, 2005

here you go --if they still have them
posted by amberglow at 11:59 AM on September 16, 2005

Response by poster: What about the licenses? Lots of these places simply want to sell me the disc. Isn't there a paper license that you need to have to show that it's not an illegal copy?
posted by Wild_Eep at 12:03 PM on September 16, 2005

Crap, we actually had two kits floating around the office until recently... I'll see if they're still around.
posted by Specklet at 12:10 PM on September 16, 2005

Does Tiger have a "bundled" OS 9 license for Classic? That's probably your fallback.
posted by mkultra at 12:13 PM on September 16, 2005

each single user disc includes a single-user license, i believe.
posted by amberglow at 1:04 PM on September 16, 2005

Other World Computing is selling "Apple Mac OS 9.1 - OEM CD only, w/license" for $36.99.
posted by D.C. at 2:23 PM on September 16, 2005

Does Tiger have a "bundled" OS 9 license for Classic?

Tiger comes with Classic but not OS 9.
posted by kindall at 3:23 PM on September 16, 2005

I can vouch for Otherworld Computing as a vendor.
posted by spilon at 3:46 PM on September 16, 2005

Response by poster: OWC is selling OEM CDs, but the pictures show a disc which originally came from some iMac. Do I need to have a retail disc if this is for an existing iMac? I read that it's illegal to resell OEM discs.
posted by Wild_Eep at 9:50 PM on September 16, 2005

Back in the day, the Apple Store used to sell OS 9 on a well-buried page. Several minutes of searching didn't turn it up. I would call them and force the phone rep to do a very thorough search indeed. You may have to lie about your machine's model.
posted by joeclark at 5:16 AM on September 17, 2005