Running Linux, Windows or applications like Firefox, Thunderbird, and AbiWord from a USB flash memory device is old hat. How about a Mac 128K or Plus on a USB key? You may think of it as a curiosity, but a “portable” Mac system has a few practical uses:

• Play with old system software and applications without dusting off your old Mac.
• Impress your friends, or show others what the older Mac system looks like.
• Use Mac on Windows and Linux.

Figure 1: It’s a Mac-on-Stick!

For this project, let’s call it Mac-on-Stick, you need the following components:

• The Mini vMac emulator. The emulator is available for both Mac OS (Classic and OS X), Windows, Linux, and even Pocket PC.
• A ROM image. If you own Macintosh Plus, 128K, or SE, you can copy the ROM using the CopyRoms utility. Alternatively, you can download a ROM image from http://www.rolli.ch/MacPlus/welcome.html.
• A blank disk image that acts as the emulator’s hard disk (available from http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/extras/blanks.html).
• System software. Luckily, Apple offers older versions of its software, including Mac OS up to version 7.5.5, at the Older Software Downloads page. This project uses System 7.0.1
• Macintosh software to play with. For starters, you might want to check out a list of older Mac software at Mini vMac's website.
• A USB key (even an older 32MB USB key will do the job).

With all the ingredients in place, you are ready to start. The following description assumes that you are using Mac OS X, but for the most part the described procedure will work on Windows as well.

1. Create a new folder called Mac-on-Stick.
2. Unpack the Mini vMac archive and the vmac.rom file, and copy them into the Mac-on-Stick folder.
3. Unpack the blanks-x.x.x.zip archive and unzip the disk image you want. To be on the safe side, you might want to choose the largest disk image, which is in the hfs24M.zip archive.
4. Copy the hfs24M.DSK file into the Mac-on-Stick folder.
5. Unpack the System_7.0.1.smi.bin archive and move the image files into the Mac-on-Stick folder.
6. Drag the Install 1.image onto the Mini vMac icon. This launches Mini vMac and starts the installation procedure.
7. When the Installer asks you to choose a destination disk, drag the hfs24M.DSK disk onto the emulator’s windows.
8. Proceed with the installation as normal, and drag the appropriate disk images onto the emulator’s window when the Installer asks for them.
9. When the installation is finished, press the Restart button, and drag the hfs24M.DSK disk onto the emulator.
10. Once everything works properly, copy the Mac-on-Stick folder onto the USB key.

Figure 2: Mini vMac is up and running

To install additional software on your “Mac”, you must make the disk image mountable. To do this, you need the SetFType utility. Unpack it, and drag the hfs24M.DSK image onto the SetFType.dmg icon (make sure that Mini vMac is not running). Once you see the confirmation message, double-click on the hfs24M.DSK image. This mounts it on the Desktop, and you can copy the software you want onto it. While you are at it, you might want to rename the disk to something meaningful like ‘Mini vMac’. Unmount the disk by throwing it into the Trash. Restart Mini vMac by dragging the hfs24M.DSK disk onto the Mini vMac icon. Now you can use the copied applications.

Figure 3: Running Nisus Compact

If you need a larger disk image for use with Mini vMac, you can create your own using the terminal of Mac OS X or Linux with the following command:

dd if=/dev/zero of=hfs52M.dsk count=106496

This creates a 52MB disk image, named hfs52M.dsk, in the current directory (count is the number of 512 byte blocks). Before you can mount it using the SetFType utility, you must format it in Mini vMac. Launch Mini vMac, drag the new disk image onto it, press the Initialize button when prompted, and give the new disk a name. Now you can mount the disk image.

If you don’t feel like creating your own Mac-on-Stick from scratch, you can download a prebuild package via BitTorrent: http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/3908521/mac-on-stick_0.2.zip.3908521.TPB.torrent The package comes with the following bundled applications: