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`System 7 - Wikipedia
`
`System 7
`
`System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user
`interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS
`series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Computer, Inc.[1] It
`succeeded System 6, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded
`by Mac OS 8 in 1997. Features added with the System 7 release included virtual memory,
`personal file sharing, QuickTime, QuickDraw 3D, and an improved user interface.
`
`With the release of version 7.6 in 1997, Apple officially renamed the operating system "Mac
`OS", a name which had first appeared on System 7.5.1's boot screen. System 7 was developed
`for Macs that used the Motorola 680x0 line of processors, but was ported to the PowerPC
`after Apple adopted the new processor in 1994 with the introduction of the Power
`Macintosh.
`
`Mac OS 7
`A version of the classic Mac OS operating
`system
`
`Contents
`Development
`Pink and Blue
`Software
`Transition to PowerPC
`PC compatibility
`Miscellaneous
`Version history
`System 7.1
`System 7.5
`Mac OS 7.6
`Table of releases
`See also
`References
`Further reading
`External links
`
`Development
`
`Screenshot of Mac OS 7.6.1
`Developer
`Apple Computer, Inc.
`OS family
`Macintosh
`Working state
`Historic, not supported
`Source model
`Closed source
`Initial release
`May 13, 1991
`Latest release
`7.6.1 / April 7, 1997
`Kernel type
`Monolithic for 68k,
`nanokernel for PowerPC
`License
`Proprietary
`Preceded by
`System 6
`Succeeded by Mac OS 8
`Official website Mac OS Releases (https://we
`b.archive.org/web/199704121
`43953/http://macos.apple.co
`m:80/macos/releases.html) at
`the Wayback Machine
`(archived April 12, 1997)
`Support status
`Historical, unsupported as of May 2001
`
`The development of the Macintosh system software up to System 6 followed a fairly smooth
`progression with the addition of new features and relatively small changes and upgrades
`over time. Major additions were fairly limited. Some perspective on the scope of the changes
`can be seen by examining the official system documentation, Inside Macintosh. This initially shipped in three volumes, adding another to
`describe the changes introduced with the Mac Plus,[2] and another for the Mac II and Mac SE.[3]
`
`These limited changes meant that the original Macintosh system remained largely as it was when initially introduced. That is, the machine
`was geared towards a single user and task running on a floppy disk based machine of extremely limited RAM. However, many of the
`assumptions of this model were no longer appropriate. Most notable among these was the single-tasking model, the replacement of which
`had first been examined in 1986's "Switcher" and then replaced outright with MultiFinder in System 5. Running MultiFinder normally
`required a larger amount of RAM and a hard drive, but these became more common by the late 1980s.
`
`While additions had been relatively limited, so had fixes to some of the underlying oddities of the system architecture. For instance, to
`support a limited form of multitasking, the original Mac OS supported small co-resident programs known as desk accessories which had to
`be installed into the system using special tools. If the system were able to support multiple tasks, this one-off solution would no longer be
`needed — desk accessories could simply be small programs, placed anywhere. Yet, as MultiFinder was still optional, such a step had not
`been taken. Numerous examples of this sort of problem could be found throughout the system.
`
`Finally, the widespread adoption of hard drives and local area networks led to any number of new features being requested from users and
`developers. By the late 1980s, the list of new upgrades and suggested changes to the existing model was considerable.
`
`Pink and Blue
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`In March 1988,[N 1] shortly before the release of System 6, technical middle managers at Apple held an offsite meeting to plan the future
`course of Mac OS development.[4] Ideas were written on index cards; features that seemed simple enough to implement in the short term
`(like adding color to the user interface) were written on blue cards, longer-term goals like true multitasking on pink cards, and "far out"
`ideas like an object-oriented file system on red cards.[5][6] Development of the ideas contained on the blue and pink cards was to proceed
`in parallel, and at first the two projects were known simply as "blue" and "pink" (including Taligent).[7] Apple intended to have the "blue"
`team (which came to call themselves the "Blue Meanies" after characters in Yellow Submarine)[8] release an updated version of the
`existing Macintosh operating system in the 1990–1991 time-frame, and the "pink" team to release an entirely new OS around 1993.
`
`As Blue was aimed at relatively "simple" upgrades, the feature list reads to some degree as a sort of "System 6, corrected". In the
`underlying OS, a number of formerly optional components were made mandatory:
`
`32-bit QuickDraw, supporting so-called "true color" imaging, was included as standard; it was previously available as a system
`extension.
`A new Sound Manager API, version 2.0, replaced the older ad hoc APIs. The new APIs featured significantly improved hardware
`abstraction, as well as higher-quality playback. Although technically not a new feature for System 7 (as these features were available
`for System 6.0.7), Sound Manager 2.0 was the first widespread implementation of this technology to make it to most Mac users.
`System 7 paved the way for a full 32-bit address space, from the previous 24-bit address space. This process involved making all of
`the routines in OS code use the full 32 bits of a pointer as an address—prior systems used the upper bits as flags. This change was
`known as being "32-bit clean". While System 7 itself was 32-bit clean, many existing machines and thousands of applications were not,
`so it was some time before the process was completed. To ease the transition, the "Memory" control panel contained a switch to
`disable this feature, allowing for compatibility with older applications but rendering any installed RAM over 8 MB unusable.[9]
`System 7 made MultiFinder's cooperative multitasking mandatory.
`
`Furthermore, a number of oddities in the original System, typically included due to limited resources, were finally changed to use basic
`underlying OS features:
`
`Trash was now a normal directory, allowing items to be preserved between reboots and disk eject events instead of being purged.
`"System extensions" (small pieces of INIT code that extended the system's functionality) were relocated to their own subfolder (rather
`than in the root level of the System Folder itself as on earlier versions) and they could be installed or removed at the user's will simply
`by moving these "extensions" to or from the folder and then rebooting the computer. There was an auto-routing feature for extensions,
`control panels, fonts and Desk Accessories where they could simply be dropped onto the System folder. The system would detect the
`type and automatically place the moved files in the appropriate subdirectories. On reboot, the System would read the files and install
`the extensions, without the user having to do anything else. Additionally, all extensions and panels (see below) could be temporarily
`disabled by holding down the shift key when booting up. Later versions of System 7 offered a feature called "Extensions Manager"
`which simplified the process of enabling/disabling individual extensions. Extensions were often a source of instability and these
`changes made them more manageable and assisted trouble-shooting.
`Similarly, the Control Panel desk accessory became the Control Panels folder (found in the System Folder, and accessible to the user
`from an alias in the Apple menu). The control panels themselves became separate files, stored within this directory. Control panels are
`essentially system extensions with a user interface.
`The Apple menu (previously home only to desk accessories pulled from "DRVR" resources in the System file) now listed the contents
`of a folder ("Apple Menu Items"), including aliases (see below). Desk accessories had originally been intended to provide a form of
`multitasking and were no longer necessary now that real multitasking was always enabled. The desk-accessory technology was
`deprecated, with System 7 treating them largely the same as other applications. Desk accessories now ran in their own process rather
`than borrowing that of a host application.
`Under System 6, the Apple Menu contained both a list of desk accessories and a list of running programs under MultiFinder. In System
`7 the list of active programs was relocated to its own Application Menu.
`
`The system also offered a wide variety of new features:
`
`Personal File Sharing. Along with various UI improvements for AppleTalk setup, System 7 also included a basic file sharing server
`allowing any machine to publish folders to the AppleTalk network.
`Aliases. An alias is a small file that represents another object in the file system. A typical alias is small, between 1 and 5 KB. Similar in
`concept to Unix symbolic links and Windows shortcuts, an alias acts as a redirect to any object in the file system, such as a document,
`an application, a folder, a hard disk, a network share or removable medium or a printer. When double-clicked, the computer will act the
`same way as if the original file had been double-clicked. Likewise, choosing an alias file from within an "Open" dialog box would open
`the original file. (Unlike the path-based approach of shortcuts and symbolic links, aliases also store a reference to the file's catalog
`entry, so they continue to work even if the file is moved or renamed. Aliases have features of both hard links and symbolic links found
`on Unix-based systems. All three are supported on macOS.)
`Drag and drop. Document icons could be dragged with the mouse and "dropped" onto application icons to open in the targeted
`application. Under System 6, one either double-clicked on a document icon to open its associated application, or one could open the
`desired application and use its Open dialog box. The development of the drag-and-drop paradigm led to a new concept for some
`applications—such as StuffIt Expander—whose main interactions were intended to be via drag and drop. System 7.5's Drag Manager
`expanded the concept system-wide to include multiple data types such as text or audio data.
`"Stationery", a template feature that allowed users to save often-used document styles in special format. "Stationery-aware"
`applications would create a new, untitled file containing the template data, while non-aware applications would immediately show a
`Save As dialog box asking the user for the file's name.
`Balloon Help, a widget-identification system similar to tooltips.
`AppleScript, a scripting language for automating tasks. While fairly complex for application programmers to implement support for, this
`feature was powerful and popular with users, and it remains supported as part of macOS.
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`AppleEvents. Supporting AppleScript was a new interprocess communication model for "high-level" events to be sent into applications,
`along with support to allow this to take place over an AppleTalk network.
`Publish and Subscribe. This feature permitted data "published" by one application to be imported ("subscribed to") by another, and the
`data could be updated dynamically. Programmers complained that the API was unwieldy, and relatively few applications ended up
`adopting it.
`TrueType outline fonts. Up to this point, all fonts on the Macintosh were bitmapped, or a set of bitmapped screen fonts paired with
`outline PostScript printer fonts; TrueType for the first time offered a single font format that scaled to any size on screen and on paper.
`This technology was recognized as being so important that a TrueType extension for System 6 was also released, along with an
`updated Font/DA Mover capable of installing these new kinds of fonts into the System 6 System file.
`A newly colorized user interface. Although this feature made for a visually appealing interface, it was optional. On machines not
`capable of displaying color, or those with their display preferences set to monochrome, the interface defaulted back to the black-and-
`white look of previous versions. Only some widgets were colorized—scrollbars, for instance, had a new look, but buttons remained in
`black and white.
`System 7.1 marked the advent of System Enablers, small extensions that were loaded at startup to support Macintosh models
`introduced since the last OS revision. Under System 6, Apple had to introduce a number of minor revisions to the OS solely for use
`with new hardware. Apple introduced an unprecedented number of new Macintosh models during the System 7 era, leading to some
`confusion over which System Enabler went with which computer(s).[10]
`
`Software
`
`System 7 was the first Apple operating system to be available on compact disc, although it shipped on a set of 15 floppy disks initially.
`Unlike earlier systems, System 7 did not come bundled with major software packages. Newly purchased Macintosh computers had System
`7 installed and were often bundled with software such as HyperCard, At Ease and Mouse Practice. Later, the Macintosh Performa family
`added various software bundles including ClarisWorks, The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Microsoft Bookshelf, Spectre VR and
`Power Pete. Since System 7 was introduced before the Internet came to popular attention, software such as MacTCP, FreePPP and
`Netscape were not included at first, but was later available on disk from Internet service providers and bundled with books such as Adam
`C. Engst's Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh (https://books.google.com/books?id=5SlNQrQdO0EC). Power Macintosh machines also
`included NuCalc, a graphing calculator. System 7 also includes AppleTalk networking and file sharing software in the form of system
`extensions and control panels.
`
`The basic utilities installed by default with System 7 include TeachText (which was replaced by SimpleText in later versions) for basic text
`editing tasks and reading readme documents. Also available on the additional "Disk Tools" floppy disk are Disk First Aid for disk repair
`and Apple HD SC Setup for initializing and partitioning disks.
`
`Later versions of System 7, specifically System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6, come with dedicated "Utilities" and "Apple Extras" folders including:
`AppleScript, Disk Copy, QuickDraw GX Extras and QuickTime Movie Player. More optional extras and utilities could be manually installed
`from the System CD.
`Transition to PowerPC
`
`System 7.1.2 is the first version of the Macintosh System Software to support Apple's new PowerPC-based computers. 68k applications
`which had not yet been updated to run natively on these systems were emulated transparently (without the user having to intervene) by a
`built-in 68k processor emulator. Fat binaries, which contained the code necessary to run natively on both PowerPC and 68k systems,
`became common during this time. This process was similar to the distribution of universal binaries during the Mac transition to Intel
`processors in 2006, as well as the Mac transition to Apple silicon beginning in 2020.
`
`System 7.1.2 is the only release of the Macintosh operating system that boots stating "Welcome to Power Macintosh." This despite the OS
`being designed to run on 68k Macintoshes that were upgraded to PowerPC, but without Power Macintosh branding. Subsequent System 7
`release 7.1.2P reverted this.[11]
`PC compatibility
`
`System 7.0 and 7.1 offered a utility called Apple File Exchange, which could access the contents of FAT- and Apple II-formatted floppy
`disks. System 7 Pro, System 7.5 and up shipped with PC Exchange, previously a separate product, which allowed the system to mount FAT-
`formatted floppy disks on the desktop in the same manner as regular Macintosh disks.
`
`OS/2 disks were read as PC DOS disks, due to fact that OS/2 used the FAT file system. At this time, Macs could also read and write UNIX
`file systems with the help of extra software.
`
`System 7 allowed users to access PC networks and allowed communication via TCP/IP and other compatible networking stacks. Actual PC
`software compatibility, however, required third-party software such as SoftPC, which allowed some MS-DOS and early Microsoft Windows
`programs to run, or Connectix Virtual PC, which allowed the Mac to run Windows via full PC emulation.
`
`Other PC compatibility solutions took a more native approach by running Windows and MS-DOS by using x86 expansion cards with an
`x86 chip on the card. Apple offered some systems configured this way, marketed as "DOS Compatible"—a card with dedicated x86 CPU
`and RAM was used, while the Mac hard drive, sound subsystem, networking and input provided services to the PC. The PC could run
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`simultaneously with the Mac, and the user could switch between the two in a fashion similar to a KVM switch. The earliest of these systems
`were 680x0 based systems running System 7. System 7 provided the support for accessing the PC volume from the Mac through its own PC
`Exchange software, and actual control of the PC hardware was accomplished by way of control panels.
`Miscellaneous
`
`At the time of its release, many users noticed that performance suffered as a result of upgrading from System 6 to System 7, though newer
`hardware soon made up for the speed difference. Another problem was System 7's large "memory footprint": System 6 could boot the
`system from a single 800k floppy disk and took up about 600 KB of RAM, whereas System 7 used well over a megabyte. It was some time
`before the average Mac shipped with enough RAM built in for System 7 to be truly comfortable. System 7 was the first system release that
`could no longer be usefully run on floppy-only systems. Although most Macintosh models sold at the time included a hard disk as standard
`equipment, owners of older models were required to upgrade their hardware by buying either a new Mac or an external SCSI hard disk
`drive if they wished to run System 7.
`
`In order to take advantage of System 7's virtual memory feature, a Macintosh equipped with a paged memory management unit (PMMU)
`is required. The Motorola 68030 CPU has one built-in, and one can be added to the motherboard of the Motorola 68020-equipped
`Macintosh II. The other Macintosh model using an 68020, the Macintosh LC, cannot use virtual memory. Apple introduced the 68030-
`equipped Macintosh LC II shortly after System 7's introduction. Despite the newer processor, the LCII retained the earlier model's 16-bit
`bus and did not perform any faster than the LC it replaced.
`
`Despite these setbacks, System 7.0 was adopted quite rapidly by Mac users, and quickly became one of the base requirements for new
`software.
`
`The engineering group within Apple responsible for System 7 came to be known as the "Blue Meanies", named after the blue index cards
`on which were written the features that could be implemented in a relatively short time as part of Apple's operating system strategy. In
`comparison, the pink index card features were handled by the Pink group, later becoming the ill-fated Taligent project.
`
`System 7.0 was the last version of the Macintosh operating system that was available at no charge and could be freely redistributed.
`Although System 7 could be purchased from Apple, the cost was nominal and considered to only cover duplication and media. It was
`common for Macintosh dealers to allow customers to use the store's demo machines to copy System 7 install disks for the cost of a box of
`floppies.[12] CD-ROM magazines such as Nautilus included System 7 on their disks. After Mac users downloaded thousands of copies of
`System 7 from the online services (AOL, CompuServe and GEnie), Apple surveyed the services and based on this popularity started selling
`the Mac OS as a retail product with System 7.1. Apple continued charging for major operating system upgrades until the release of OS X
`Mavericks in 2013.
`Version history
`
`Soon after the initial release of System 7, the 7.0.1 minor update was released in October 1991 which updated the Portable and Brightness
`control panels, added the Caps Lock extension, which showed an up-pointing arrow onscreen if the Caps Lock key was depressed on
`PowerBooks, and added the Cache Switch control panel in additional to RAM disk and sound management optimizations for 68040
`systems. Three small patches called "System 7 Tune-Up" also followed, which initially added an extension "System 7 Tuner" that improves
`memory management by quitting unused items, like apps and AppleTalk, and added "minimum" and "preferred" memory allotments to an
`application's Get Info box in its 1.0 version.[13] This would be followed by version 1.1 which updated the "System 7 Tuner" extension to 1.1,
`included LaserWriter driver version 7.1.1 and added a hidden extension called "Tuna Helper", intended to fix the "disappearing files" bug
`in which the system would lose files.[14] The final release, 1.1.1, would include every thing 1.1 included but also add the StyleWriter 7.2.2
`printer drivers, Chooser 7.1. and a minor update to Tuna Helper.[15][16]
`
`System 7.1
`
`In August 1992, the 7.1 update was released. This was the first version of the system software that Apple charged money for. Of this change,
`David Pogue wrote:
`
`System 7.1 was remarkable for another reason, too: It was the first system software update Apple didn’t give away. You had to
`buy it, much to the fury of user groups and online services that had gotten used to making each new system release available to
`everybody. Backing down in the face of the protests, Apple eventually offered the System 7.1 upgrade kit to user-group and
`online service members for less than $30. But the writing was on the wall: Apple was jealous of Microsoft, system-software
`superstore to the world. Many wondered if the upgrade was even worth it. System 7.1 incorporated a huge number of changes,
`but the vast majority were deep-seated, core-level rewrites that added no usefulness to standard American Mac users.
`
`— David Pogue, MacWorld Macintosh Secrets, 4th edition
`
`New to 7.1 is the Fonts folder.[17] This replaced the often time-consuming method of dragging fonts to and from the System file, introduced
`in System 7.0; it also replaced the Font/DA Mover application from System 6, which could also be used with 7.0. System 7.1 also included a
`lot of internal changes to support internationalization of dates, time, and numbers. It was also the first version to support "Enablers",
`which removed the requirement to release a new version of the system software every time new hardware was released.
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`A set of specialized versions of 7.1, ranging from 7.1P1 to 7.1P6 (excluding 7.1P4) were created and included with various Performa models
`that were already available or were released after 7.1. These specialized versions included At Ease, Launcher, and some other changes that
`were integrated into later versions of the system software.
`
`The first major upgrade was System 7.1.1, also known as "System 7 Pro". This release was a bundle of 7.1 with AppleScript tools, QuickTime
`and Apple Open Collaboration Environment (AOCE). While System 7 had some trouble running on slightly older machines due to its
`memory footprint, System 7 Pro barely fit into any Macintosh computers of the time. It was most commonly used for its minor bug fixes
`rather than its new functionality.
`
`Apple joined the AIM alliance (Apple, IBM and Motorola) shortly after the release of System 7 in 1991, and started work on PowerPC-based
`machines that later became the Power Macintosh family. Support for these machines resulted in System 7.1.2.
`
`System 7.1.2 was never offered for retail sale; it shipped with the first batches of the PowerPC Macs and a 68k version shipped with a small
`number of Quadra 600 series systems. Later shipments shipped with System 7.5 instead.
`
`System 7.1.2P was the same as 7.1.2, and shipped with the Performa 630, LC 630 and Quadra 630 models that were released between July
`and November 1994.
`
`System 7.5
`
`The next major release was System 7.5, which included bug fixes from previous updates and added several new features, including:
`
`An updated startup screen featuring a progress bar
`A new interactive help system called Apple Guide
`A clock in the menu bar (based on the free "SuperClock" control panel by Steve Christensen)
`An Apple menu item called Stickies (formerly a third-party application called "PasteIt Notes") which provided virtual Post-It Notes
`WindowShade, another former shareware control panel, provided the ability to condense a window down to its title bar. Introduced as a
`"minimize" feature to compete with Windows 95 as Mac OS had no taskbar or dock.
`MacTCP was bundled, enabling any Macintosh to connect to the Internet out of the box for the first time.
`The Control Strip (a fast way to change the system volume, control the playback of audio CDs, manage file sharing and printers and
`change the monitor resolution and color depth) was enabled on desktop Macintosh models for the first time. It had previously only
`been included with the PowerBook series.
`A new Desktop Patterns control panel allowed for tiled patterns up to 128x128 pixels with 8-bit color; previous versions were limited to
`8x8 pixel tiles with a maximum of eight possible colors. Similar functionality was found on earlier system versions exclusive to
`Performa models and was housed in the General Controls panel.
`The Extensions Manager (enabling the user to turn extensions and control panels on and off; also based on a formerly third-party
`control panel)
`PowerTalk, a system-level email handling service and the originator of the Keychain system.
`The Launcher, a control panel containing shortcut buttons for frequently used programs (in a manner akin to the macOS Dock)
`A hierarchical Apple menu (folders within the Apple Menu Items folder would expand into submenus showing their contents. Again,
`based on a third party control panel; HAM by Microseeds publishing[18])
`System-wide drag & drop for text and other data (selections can be simply dragged with the mouse and dropped to their new
`destination, bypassing the clipboard)
`A scriptable Finder
`QuickDraw GX, a 2-D graphics rendering and geometry engine
`For the PowerPC only, an advanced, 3d Graphing Calculator, secretly developed at Apple by a former third party contractor[19]
`Support for OpenDoc
`
`System 7.5 was codenamed "Capone", a reference to Al Capone and "Chicago", which was the code name for Microsoft's Windows 95, and
`was also the name of the default system font used in Mac OS until version 8.[20]
`
`System 7.5.1 was primarily a bug fix of 7.5, but also introduced a new "Mac OS" startup screen in preparation for Mac clones.
`
`System 7.5.2, released only for the first PCI-based Power Macs, was notable for introducing Apple's new networking architecture, Open
`Transport.
`
`System 7.5.3, a major bug-fix update that also included Open Transport for other PowerPC-based machines as well as some 68k-based
`machines. 7.5.3 also made several improvements to the 68k emulator, and added translucent dragging support to the Drag Manager. It
`also included the first version of Control Strip to be compatible with all Macs. This was also the first version of Mac OS to support SMP.
`(9500/MP)
`
`System 7.5.3 Revision 2 included: performance enhancements; better reliability for PowerBooks using the third-party RAM Doubler
`program; improved reliability for PowerBook 500, 2300, and 5300 series computers with the PowerPC Upgrade Card; improved reliability
`when using the Startup Disk control panel; and improved reliability when copying files to 1 GB hard disks.
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`System 7.5.3 Revision 2.1 was shipped with the Performa 6400/180 and 6400/200; this particular release was specific to these machines
`as there were stability problems with System 7.5.3 Release 2 on the new hardware, especially with the video card and transferring files over
`LocalTalk.[21]
`
`System 7.5.4 was pulled due to a mistake at Apple, in which some components were not included in the installer.
`
`System 7.5.5 included significant performance improvements for virtual memory and memory management on PowerPC-based Macs,
`including the elimination of one type 11 error. Also included were a number of reliability improvements, such as fixes for Macs using floppy
`disks equipped with a DOS compatibility card, improved hard disk access for PowerPC PowerBooks and Performa 5400 through 9500
`computers, fixes for Macs that included an Apple TV Tuner or Macintosh TV Remote Control, improvements to LocalTalk and networking
`(especially for the Performa 5400 and 6400), fixes to system startup for the faster 180 MHz Macs (which included PowerPC 604 or 604e
`processors), improved reliability when using sound-intensive applications on Quadra or Centris computers that contained the PowerPC
`upgrade card, and improved stability when using multiple background applications and shared printers on a network. System 7.5.5 is also
`the last System 7 release that can run on 68000-based Macs such as the Macintosh Plus and Macs with ROMs that lack support for 32-bit
`addressing such as Macintosh IIcx. 7.6 and later required a 68030 processor and 32-bit-addressing-capable ROM and will automatically
`turn on 32-bit addressing on boot.[22]
`
`Mac OS 7.6
`
`Mac OS 7.6 (codenamed "Harmony") was the last major update, released in 1997. With 7.6, the operating system was officially called "Mac
`OS" instead of "System". New features include a revamped Extensions Manager, more native PowerPC code for Power Macs, more bundled
`Internet tools and utilities, and a more stable Finder with increased memory allocation.[23] In this version, the PowerTalk feature added in
`7.5 was removed due to poor application support, and support for a large number of older Macintosh models was dropped.
`
`The minor update to Mac OS 7.6.1 finally ported the 68k exception handling routines to PowerPC, turning type 11 errors into less harmful
`errors (type 1, 2 or 3, usually) as crashing applications would more often terminate safely instead of crashing the operating system.[24]
`
`Through this period, Apple had been attempting to release a completely new "modern" operating system, named Copland. When the
`Copland project was abandoned in 1996, Apple announced plans to release an OS update every six months until Rhapsody (which would
`by 2001 evolve into what was released as Mac OS X) shipped.[25] Two more releases were shipped, now officially branded as "Mac OS" —
`Mac OS 7.6 and the minor bug fix 7.6.1. Future versions were released as Mac OS 8–8.6 and Mac OS 9–9.2.
`
`Likely due to coming out during a troubled time in Apple's history, 7.6 is known for having a number of bugs, most notably the inability to
`customize what components are installed during installation[26] and its tendency to crash on some systems when they are shutdown whilst
`a RAM disk is in use.[27]
`
`Table of releases
`
`https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_7
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`6/8
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`6/20/22, 12:43 PM
`
`Version number
`7.0
`7.0.1
`
`Release date
`May 13, 1991
`October 21, 1991
`
`System 7 - Wikipedia
`
`Computer
`
`Macintosh Quadra 700/900/950, PowerBook 100/140/170 and some others
`Macintosh IIvx
`
`7.1
`
`August 28, 1992
`
`PowerBook 180 Macintosh IIvi
`
`September 14, 1992 Macintosh Performa 200/400
`October 19, 1992
`Macintosh Performa 600
`April 12, 1993
`Macintosh Performa 405/430/450
`October 18, 1993
`Macintosh Performa 410/460/475/550
`
`October 21, 1993
`
`PowerBook Duo 250/270c, PowerBook 520/540
`Macintosh Performa 560
`December 1, 1993
`Macintosh Performa 575
`February 1, 1994
`Power Macintosh 6100/7100/8100
`March 14, 1994
`Quadra 630
`July 1, 1994
`September 12, 1994 Macintosh LC 580
`March 23, 1995
`Power Macintosh 6200
`June 19, 1995
`Power Macintosh 9500
`January 1, 1996
`Power Macintosh 5400
`May 1, 1996
`
`August 7, 1996
`
`Performa 6400
`Power Macintosh 9500/200, Performa 6360
`September 27, 1996 Power Macintosh 5500
`January 7, 1997
`PowerBook 3400c
`April 7, 1997
`PowerBook 2400c Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
`
`7.0.1P
`7.1P
`7.1P2
`7.1P3
`7.1.1 (Pro)
`7.1.1
`7.1P5
`7.1P6
`7.1.2
`7.1.2P
`7.5
`7.5.1
`7.5.2
`7.5.3
`7.5.3 Revision 2
`7.5.3 Revision 2.1
`7.5.3 Revision 2.2
`7.5.5
`7.6
`7.6.1
`
`See also
`
`Lis