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My signature shows Mac OS 10.3.9 I am in 10.3.
Previously I wanted to know how to boot from my LaCie external HDD. I went to system preference to see if the XHDD was shown.
It wasn't. Accidentally I hit Mac OS 9.2. Later opening up it opened in OS 9.2…whatever I did I couldn't get out of it. I downloaded from my CD 10.3.Everything thing seemed alright except I couldn't open mail, address book, calculator. From here I tried to download combo update to OS 10.3.9…would not install. Any advice?

As additional background, readers will find Stan's other thread here.

• When you say "downloaded from my CD 10.3" is it correct to assume you reinstalled OS X 10.3?
• Did you do an Upgrade install, Archive and Install, or Erase and Install? (If you do not know then as best you can remember exactly what steps did you go through?
• Specifically what happens when you try to open Mail, AddressBook, and Calculator?
• When you say the 10.3.9 combo update will not install, specifically what messages do you get from the installer?

FYI in the future in OS 9.2.1 and OS 9.2.2 there is a Startup Disk control panel that, like the Startup Disk preference pane in OS X, will allow you to boot back into OS X from OS 9.

I reinstalled 10.3…upgrade install…application not responding.

It's not a message. A window opened called INSTALLER.It is blank except for the big X. Two eliptical buttons on the lower right where usually you click Agree or Disagree.

StartUp Disk did give me the choice of booting back up in OS 10.3.9,
I highlighted it as my selection and shut down. When I opened later it opened in 9.2.2.

Appreciate your responding to this mess.

-Stan

Upgrade installs have been by far the most troublesome. At this point I suggest starting over with your Panther install and this time try an archive and install.

The 10.3 disks of which there are 3. I did not download the 3rd disk last time.

joemikeb-

Do you think that the trouble I'm having with MAIL, ADDRESS BOOK,
CALCULATOR and now ACTIVITY MONITOR is because these are native to OS 10.3.9, which I am having a problem in upgrading to COMBO OS 10.3.9?

Stan you are confusing me when you say...
Correct terminology is important to understanding what you are doing. Are you actually downloading the disc images from an internet site or are you using the term downloading meaning installed?

• If you are actually downloading the disc images from the internet then you are on your own because AFIK Apple has never made their install disc images available for download. So there is no way of telling what you are actually installing.
• If you mean you are not downloading and instead are installing from the physical discs that came with your Mac, whether or not the third disc is used in the install depends on the install options chosen and I would not concern myself that the third disc was not used.

As to the version of
When you performed the upgrade install of OS X 10.3 those applications are included in the standard installation and would have overwritten other versions unless you have moved the applications out of the /Applications folder or placed them in another folder in the /Applications folder. In that case you would have two copies of the applications on your system.

Your deteriorating situation does concern me. At this point, and assuming you have the original discs that came with your mac and are not using disc images downloaded from the internet, I suggest you...

1. Boot from the Install Disk 1 that came with your Mac
2. Select your language preference and continue with the Install process until you see the menu bar at the top of your screen
3. When you see the menu bar go to Utilities > Disk Utility
4. Select your hard drive and then click on Disk Repair
5. If errors are found re-run Disk Repair until no errors are found or irreparable errors are found. If no errors are found skip to step 7
6. If irreparable errors have been found you have essentially two options. The first is to obtain and use an industrial strength disk repair utility such as DiskWarrior, Drive Genius, or TechTool Pro and see if they can make the necessary repairs. The second alternative is to backup as much of your system as you can to the external hard drive and then perform an Erase & Install of OS X 10.3.
7. Quite Disk Utility and continue the installation, but this time choose the Archive Install option. That will yeld a clean system to run from. Skip the remaining steps

Two disks came with Mac...both are version 9.0.4.
One disk says Software Install the other Software Restore
Which one should I use.
Do you think all these problems are because I have both OS 10.3.9 and OS 9.2.2

Intalling NOT downloading sorry about that.

Having both OS 9 and OS X on the same volume should not be a problem unless you go rummaging around the OS X system in OS 9. OS X has many mechanisms to protect itself from inadvertent damage, none of which are recognized by OS 9.

Please excuse my confusion. From your previous posts you apparently do have a set of OS X 10.3 Install CDs. I rashly assumed those came with your Mac. In any case follow my instructions using the OS X 10.3 install disc 1 that you have. It will work the same way.