Pro tools 5 System
 

I am putting together a Pro tools 5 System.
Mac OS9 only
What is the best Mac for Mix hardware?
G3?
G4?

Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

G4 will give you more CPU grunt.

Is this an LE or TDM based system?

FYI - the fans in those machines are noisy. I’d highly suggest not having them in the same room you’re tracking in.


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Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

The fastest G4’s were the mirror drive door (MDD) models. They were super loud because they ran so hot. You can modify them with quieter fans, but they are still noisy unless you do some serious hacking. The last mdd I owned I stripped down to the metal frame, and then drilled a ton of 1” holes in it to vent it better. Then I mounted a giant 250mm fan on both sides of the case. This seemed to keep it running much cooler. The 1.42ghz model had a copper heat sink on the cpu which will help the 1.25 or 1.0ghz models run cooler as well.

Not sure how much cpu speed matters with these, but I never bothered with RTAS on those old systems, I think having as many cards as you can fit in your machine and running all tdm plugs is the best way to use a mix system. I don’t remember much difference in using pro tools with the 400mhz g4 vs the dual 1.25ghz. The pt5 software is super stable and easy to use, and there were some great plugins back then if you still have the floppy disks needed to authorize them.

Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

I have a G4, DP 1.25 FW 800
But only boots OS X
Can this be made to boot from OS9?

Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

That must be a MDD model as I believe the later revisions were the only ones that had FW800. My Quicksilver only HD FW400.

You can install Mac OS 9.2.2 on those machines. That was the last Mac OS 9 version they released. That will run Pro Tools 5.

I think the last version released was PT 5.3.2. I don’t think there was a version 5.4 from memory, but were talking 20 odd years here sooooo... =P

You can download Mac OS 9 from here:

http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=2109.0

I think you can still find the old PT updates online, but unsure if they have the full installers or just point updates. Either way, you’ll need a serial to run one of those versions, which might not be that easy to come by. If you have one already, then I guess you’re good to go.

Best of luck!


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Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

Been awhile, but I think the mdd models that had only fw800 ports were only able to boot in OS X. There might have been a mod that allowed them to boot os9, can’t remember.

Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

Actually, I think you’re right. Only the FW400 MDD model boots natively into OS9.

I recall reading people were able to get the later models to install OS9, but they lost the use of the FW and USB ports which I think they overcame by installing PCI cards with those ports.

Good point and thanks for triggering my memory.


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Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

Do you know the process of getting OS 9 on these machines?

Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

No I don’t. I had a Quicksilver back in the day.

There’s probably some info on the site I linked that had the OS9 installer. If not, might be time to flex your Google skills.

Do you actually have a PT5 license/installer?


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Re: Pro tools 5 System
 

Yes, I have tons of old Mix software/ Plug ins.
I had a G3/333 back in the day.
I remember 5.3.1 being very stable on this machine.

Hoping to get this G4 working.

Thanks for the input