[Mac] can't install on iMac OS X 10.7.3 PowerPC no longer supported | Forums

[fwhankey]

Just got an iMac, running OS X 10.7.3. When I try to install I get "PowerPC applications are no longer supported".
I was able to run this on my Windows 7 PC, but it ran poorly. I was rather hoping it would work on a Mac. Any tricks for getting this installed?
I checked a few threads in the forum, but didn't find an answer that would work yet. Thanks.

[Ubi-Mush]

Hi, Myst V is supported for Windows 2000/XP (ONLY) you may be able to dual boot your iMac.

[wstrohm]

fwhankey,

Myst V was released in 2005, long before Apple switched from the PowerPC (IBM) to the Intel CPU. The instruction sets are different, and in order for a Mac to run an app (i.e. play a game) on both types of hardware, the application has to be written in "Universal Binary." In addition, the change from Mac OS X Tiger (versions 10.4.x) to the later versions is very significant.

Whereas Microsoft has always tried to provide backward compatibility from its latest OS using their "Program Compatibility" feature, Apple has never done this. The one exception was providing their sub-operating system "Classic" which would run old Mac programs under as late a Mac OS as 10.4.11, but was dropped with v 10.5 (Leopard).

Your best bet to run Myst V would be to try and run "Boot Camp" or "Parallels" plus a Windows OS in emulation mode (if 10.7.3 even supports that!).

[fwhankey]

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into one of those emulations. I've been running MS OSs since my first PC in 88, in no small part because of the backwards compatibility. They've strayed from that with Win7, at least that's been my experience. I tried going the emulation route on Win7 which was a painful exercise in futility. Which is why I'm giving Apple a try.

[bruman54]

Just to be fair, Apple has provided backwards compatibility for PowerPC programs up to OS X 10.6.8 (through its Rosetta emulation software), but only for programs that are Mac OS X compatible (which is pretty much everything since 2001!).

The Mac version of Myst V will run perfectly well on any Intel Mac running OS X 10.6.8 or earlier.

As an alternative to getting a Windows emulator, why don't you just get a copy of Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6)?
It's still available from the online Apple Store (NOT the Mac App Store!).

All you need to do then is create another partition on your iMac (using Disk Utility), install Snow Leopard on that partition, then install Myst V there.

You'll need help installing the game, but my Myst V Mac Installer can help you there.

[wstrohm]

Just to be fair, Apple has provided backwards compatibility for PowerPC programs up to OS X 10.6.8 (through its Rosetta emulation software),

Forgot that... no expert here! Apparently Rosetta was introduced at v 10.4.4 of Mac OS X; I have never seen this even after updating v 10.4 to v 10.4.11 using Apple's "Combo Update," but then I don't have an Intel Mac.

[bruman54]

Hey, no problem!... Rosetta only applies to Intel Mac versions of Mac OS X (sadly, discontinued from 10.7). It was never included (or needed) in PowerPC versions.