Mac OS 9.2.2

Mac OS 9.2.2 was released on December 5, 2001. This was the final release of Mac OS 9 and classic Mac OS. It was a bug fix release for the Classic environment in Mac OS X, and contains no new features over Mac OS 9.2.

Description
The Mac OS 9.2.2 Update improves Classic application compatibility in Mac OS X and delivers improved stability for Macintosh computers that are based on the PowerPC G3 and G4 microprocessors. Mac OS 9.2.2 is compatible with the Classic environment of Mac OS X 10.1 to 10.4.11.

Discontinuation
After the mock "funeral" for Mac OS 9 hosted by CEO Steve Jobs on May 6 at WWDC 2002, Apple began shipping Macs that could no longer boot into any version of classic Mac OS by default. However, it was later discovered this removal of support was arbitrary and that a few more G4-based systems that shipped after the "funeral" could still boot into Mac OS 9.2.2, if properly configured.

Support for previously unsupported systems
In 2014, the Classic Mac community successfully extended Mac OS 9.2.2 support to G4 Macs that had shipped from Apple with support for booting Mac OS X only. This was accomplished by upgrading the installer Mac OS ROM file version to 10.2.1, Mac OS CPU Software to 5.9, adding the Graphics Card Updates from October 2002, and then modifying the New World ROM image to include recognizers for G4 hardware that didn't have Mac OS 9 boot capability built-in.

These changes initially supported virtually all G4 Macs with USB 1.1 logic boards, leaving out the Mac mini G4 and Aluminum PowerBook G4 models shipped after August 2003. Following four more years of ROM hacking, the community at Mac OS 9 Lives released its first bootable installer for the Mac mini G4 in 2018. This release was created for G4-based Mac minis only (all clock speeds) and involved further modifications to the New World ROM file version 9.6.1, CPU Software 5.4, along with patched ATI system extensions to provide GPU support and St. Clair Software's Sleeper for power management, to replace Mac OS 9 Energy Saver control panel features not compatible with Mac mini G4 hardware. However, AirPort is non-functional and USB is limited to 1.1 speed (12 Mbps) as USB 2.0 drivers were never written for classic Mac OS. Bluetooth and FireWire 800 are also not supported in Mac OS 9.2.2 or earlier.


 * Power Mac G4 (mirror drive doors) — no FireWire 800 or Bluetooth support in 9.2.2
 * PowerBook G4 (12-inch aluminum), 867 MHz only — no speaker or Bluetooth support in 9.2.2
 * PowerBook G4 (17-inch aluminum), 1 GHz only — no FireWire 800 or Bluetooth support in 9.2.2
 * Mac mini, G4 models only — no AirPort or Bluetooth support, USB limited to 1.1 speed in 9.2.2


 * (later models can be made to boot in Mac OS 9, but with limited usability due to lack of GPU support, etc.)