Right. just got Mac OS 9.0.4 installed from the iMac software CDRom. this was done with the help of Basilisk II running MacOS 7.5.3, a linux box (my workstation) and some cat5 cable! the mac seen the BasiliskII Emulated mac and then seen the CDROM. i copied the contents of the cdrom to the mac’s desktop and installed it from there. all worked well. so, im going to get my copy of OSX soon (not sure when) and try a simular install method. should work, hopefully!