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Mannezman

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Upgrade os 9.1 to 9.2.1

We inherited an old imac 500mhz m5521 with os 9.1 that we want to use only for internet access. Problem is, we can't get the thing to connect by tcp/ip. the option is unavailable and airport and extensions don't work. I put 256Mb into it and gave it lots of temp mem. It sems like some of the files are missing or corrupted. So - I figured I'd try to upgrade to os 9.2.1. Since I can't connect by internet, I downloaded the os 9.2.1 bin file on my pc and burned it to a cd, restarted the imac with the cd in it holding down the c key but nothing ever happened to start the install, only the 9.1 reloaded. WHat am I doing wrong? What can I do?
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MiniDevo
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It sounds as though the 9.2.1 disk isn't bootable. What did you burn it with?
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Mannezman

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That makes sense.  I used win xp built in burner. can I burn a mac bootable cd from a windows machine?
Don't think so. You'll have to burn it off a Mac somewhere.
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I haven't played too much with the old Mac OS, but I don't think you can use the .bin file as it was downloaded.  I believe that you have to "Unpack" it with stuffit so that you end up with a usable file.  Here's a quote from a apple discussion : "When you download the OS 9.2.1 update, you will probably see that download also in the .smi.bin format - Mac_OS_9.2.1_Update.smi.bin

A download in that format needs to be decompressed to the .smi format before it can be used. If double-clicking it does not decompress it, then try dropping that file onto the icon for Stuffit Expander."

I think that there is a trial version of stuffit for Windows available from http://my.smithmicro.com/downloads/index.html

Is there something else I can do to fix the internet connection? I suspect that either something is turned of in extensions but I get an error level 2 wich is supposed to be a memory problem. so I upped the memory. One time I was able to open it part way before it froze. Any ideas as to how to get things working?
I'm going to fire up my old iMac and see if I can't see what the problem is.

While I'm doing that...something to think about.  You say that all you want this for is to access the Internet.  Remember that 9.2.1 is a pretty old OS and you are not going to be able to update it with any significantly new apps like the newest Safari or Firefox or anything like that.  This means that you also will probably not be able to take advantage of any of the newer technology that more and more web sites are making use of.  
That's OK
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jhyiesla
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Yes I tried to run them but still can't get online. I have stuffit and unpacked the bin file. I am trying an instal after restartig with the shift key held down to turn off extensions.
Now that you've run stuffit against the bin file have your tried holding down the C key when booting until you see the CD in the background?
Unpacking and installing did it. Thanks, I didn't know a bin file was a ziped file. Once I had 9.2.1 installed and went through the set ups, I was able to go online to get further updates. Thanks for giving me the info to get this going.
My pleasure...I learned some stuff as well...I'm getting pretty familiar with OS X, but the older Mac OS is somewhat of a mystery...good surfing.