[JkooXL]

I live in Tokyo and bought my G4 tower just a few weeks ago. After a quick setup with my Japanese wife`s help, we were up and running and had the OS switched into english in no time. Unfortunately, not ALL menus and folders actually make it into english, not a huge problem but OS9 is ALL japanese, and that just dont fly.

SO my question is, could I easily install an english version of Jaguar OVER my Japanese Jaguar without any major headaches? Could I keep all my settings and iTunes folders/MP3`s etc?

Wanna be sure before I make this leap...

[Nobody]

JkooXL,

OS X is a multilingual system, so actually there is no "English" or "Japanese" Jaguar. As you did already, you can easily switch X (in this case Jaguar) from one language to another, but I wonder why not all menus changed to Japanese (we are talking about System menues, not about menues in a Japanese programme/ application, right?).

Saying this, OS 9 (or Classic in this case) as a System is not multilingual, which means if you buy a Japanese system it will always be in Japanese; X does not change or influence the language of Classic.

Also, folder names will not change. Once you named a folder, of course it will keep its name, because it is a "given name".

Hope this helps,

arne

[JkooXL]

Arne,

Yes the system menus, only a handful of them , but still enough to be a hassle, are left in Japanese even once its changed to English. When I bought the machine brand new and brought it home and set it up, the entire set-up was by default in Japanese, probably much like the default setup in the U.S. is in English.

I understand that OSX is multilingual, but my biggest problem is OS9, which is naturally all Japanese, and that is why if it is not too big of an undertaking I would like to re-install an English version of OSX over my current.

[Nobody]

JkooXL,

Installing OS X new with English settings will for sure help you get your menues fixed, but only for the menues in OS X. OS 9 (Classic) will not change but stay Japanese.

To bring your setting/ MP3s over to the new installation, just safe your user folder and copy it back after the installation.

To change your OS 9 into English you need to buy an English version and install it over your existing one.

arne

[JkooXL]

Arne,

I`m not on my Mac now so I can`t look but does the user folder hold all my pictures and mp3 files? Hmm thats an awful lot of data, I have l o a d s of digital pictures and MP3`s.. But I guess that its better to do it now before too much time passes and my data grows! Thanks for all your help! I appreciate it.

[Nobody]

I have gone back and forth between Japanese and English in OS X for quite some time, and nothing ever remains in Japanese after changing the settings (and restarting the computer). What precisely is still in Japanese?

If your problem is classic displaying things in Japanese then installing an "English version" of Jaguar will do nothing. As has already been pointed out, the Jaguar sold in Japan is the same exact piece of software sold in the US. Classic is not a part of Jaguar per se, but rather a separate operating system. If it bothers you would have to find a copy of English OS 9. Keep in mind too that it would have to be a very recent version since you generally can't install a OS that is older than the system.

[ 12-03-2002: Message edited by: icruise ]

[JkooXL]

The system folder, the boot up dialog, and the two folders below system (I can read system in katakana but not the kanji folders below it).

I don`t think the OS sold in Japan is the exact same, otherwise it wouldnt boot up into Japanese the first time you boot up your new out-of-the-box system and register and all that. I registered in Japanese, that was the problem, my root user name and all is in Katakana, guess I screwed myself there.

I have it successfully MOSTLY in english now but my OS9 and all its folders are ALL in Japanese, no matter what I do. Thats where I am in the most trouble, there has to be a way out of this mess. Perhaps a backup followed by a format and then a re-install of english jaguar?

[ptervin]

I too use both Japanese and English on my machines and the transfer between them is, on the whole, very smooth. I have some users who log in using English and other who log in in Japanese. There is very little trouble between them.

As mentioned above, OS 9 is a completely different affair. You will need to get an English version of that in order to get the menus in English.

That said, there is one set of programs in particular (and only one, I might add) that does not honor the bilingual OS X system. I'm not going to mention any names, but the makers name begins with an 'M', has an 'S' in the middle, and ends in 'T'.

Cheers,
ptervin...happily switching between several languages

[Nobody]

I think the reason new machines boot into Japanese is because they are set to -- doesn't mean that the system is any different. It's just a preference that is set at the factory. It may also be that there is a ROM file of some sort in the Japanese machines that causes the OS to default to Japanese (meaning that an "English" copy of Jaguar would probably default to Japanese on your machine as well). But the OS itself is the same. Really.

I'm surprised that folder names remain in Japanese. My copy switches the names as I switch languages (after a reboot or relogin).
I don't see any kanji folder names -- they are all in katakana as far as I can tell. Does your screen look something blank>like this? Where are the kanji?

The boot-up dialog language can be changed using Tinker-tool (download from versiontracker.com).

[ 12-03-2002: Message edited by: icruise ]

[Nobody]

This is a useful language site http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/