OSX is corrupted on my wife's eMac. It will boot into os9, but not OSX

[alfredo]

How do I get files off the OSX filesystem through os9? They seem hidden. I haven't used os9 since 10.1.

[struggle4progress]

1. I dunno, but something like this might work ,if you've got more than one Mac in the house

How to use .. FireWire target disk mode
FireWire target disk mode allows a Macintosh computer with a FireWire port (the target computer) to be used as an external hard disk connected to another computer (the host) ...
Host computers must meet these requirements:
Built-in FireWire port or a FireWire port on a PC card
FireWire 2.3.3 or later
Mac OS 8.6 or later
Target computers
These models can be used as target computers:
...
eMac (all models)
...
To use FireWire target disk mode
...
Start up the target computer and immediately press and hold down the T key until the FireWire icon appears. The hard disk of the target computer should become available to the host computer and will likely appear on desktop ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661

You need to get a firewire cable to do this. The times I've used it, it's worked pretty well: the primary drive on the target machine shows up on the host machine and you just drop and drag files as expected to copy. How long it takes depends on the amount of data you're trying to transfer, of course

[alfredo]

2. Target mode is on the agenda if I can't find a different way.

Tks

[struggle4progress]

3. Here's another idea that might work, if you have the OSX installation disks:

plug in a (say) 16 gb usb flash drive, and use the installation disks to install OSX on the flash drive. Then boot the machine from the flash drive

Be sure you're really installing OSX on the flash drive

I hope my memory isn't misleading me, but I'm sure I did this successfully about 18 months ago on my Mac: IIRC, it worked but running off the USB stick was very slow

[alfredo]

5. Target Disk is probably the best route. I can use my Mini

for the task. I can then use our TV for the monitor.

[struggle4progress]

4. Here's a third idea:

Download and burn to disk an appropriate Ubuntu LiveCD and boot your emac from it, if you can

HOWTO: Mount an OS X Hard Drive from a Ubuntu LiveCD
http://jclark.org/weblog/2005/05/24/ubuntumount/

<edit:> I haven't checked these instructions

[alfredo]

6. I had Ubuntu running on Virtualbox for a while. Nice.

[struggle4progress]

7. It may not be a good idea. Lots of folk on the web claim it works,

but I couldn't get either Ubuntu or Mint livecds to boot and my Macbook is now giving me a broken folder icon

[alfredo]

8. On virtual box you can either download the disc image or

access it from the disc. I accessed it from the disc.