If there are serious network problems on a Classic OS Mac, one possible resolution is to reinstall Open Transport, the software that makes up the network backbone of the computer.
To do this, firstly insert the OS CD. For OS 9.x machines, the contents of the CD should look the same as the window shown below. Double-click Mac OS Install to begin the process.
Choose the country of origin...
The installer advises you of the general steps ahead...
Select a destination disk (this is usually selected automatically as the boot partition) then click Select.
Some general information and advice is then displayed...
The Software License Agreement is displayed...
Click Agree to proceed...
The Easy Install process is then ready to begin. Since we only want to install Open Transport, click the Customize button.
Deselect all the ticked boxes apart from the Mac OS component, then from the drop-down menu on the right, select Customized Installation...
Deselect all the ticked boxes (a quick way to do this is to set the Selection drop-down box to None) and expand the section labelled Network & Connectivity by clicking its disclosure triangle.
Scroll down the list and tick the box labelled Open Transport then click OK.
The previous installation window should appear to confirm that we are now making a customised installation of the Mac OS. Click Start to begin the installation.
Installation of Open Transport changes system files that are in use, so the Mac will need to restart after the installation is complete. Click Continue to start the installation.
A standard progress bar shows the installation, which is followed by the reboot. The installation should complete within five minutes and after the Mac has restarted, no further action should be required. The user can try to connect to the Internet again to see if their problem has been resolved.
