Which OS is better? I've noticed that 8.6 starts up a lot faster in SheepShaver than 9.0.4. It is also alot snappier. Which one is better for SheepShaver, and what are the pros and cons of each?

Hi, and welcome!

I would say 8.6 is a bit more stable than 9.0.4. For the rest it depends on what software you need to run. If it requires 9.0.4 then that should be your choice.

Best,
cat_7

Hello,
myself, I can hardly observe any differences between the two.
My benchmarks are quite similar too. (no surprise)

As I already posted in the past, I feel that 7.6 is the fastest and most compatible OS for SheepShaver.
(thinking of Office98 and PopChar, one of my favorite control panels)
On the other hand, Photoshop6 and some others will demand OS9.04 or better.

As it it so simple to restart emulation with a different OS via "Startup Volume" control panel,
it might be wise to have 7.61, 8.6 and 9.04 on different images selected in the GUI and boot from the one you wish.
You will of course need the "old world" ROM for 7.6.
You can boot every SheepShaver OS you have installed, with the "old world" ROM selected,
even if the setup was done with the new world ROM.
I know, it is not recommended using the "old world" ROM with OS9, but I did not encounter any difficulties so far and
I have stopped using the "new world" ROM at all.

Best wishes!

I do not know how this is on other hosts, but in SheepShaver MacOSX the Startup Disk control panel is non-functional and using it may cause SheepShaver to crash. Selecting a different startup disk and restarting will at best result in a long delay before SheepShaver will eventually again startup from the earlier used volume. SheepShaver MacOSX will always startup from the first volume in the volumes list in preferences. The best way to set up SheepShaver MacOSX with different MacOS versions, is to set up different SheepShaver virtual machines as described in this topic: http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5754

Thank you Ronald, for clarifying the "startup volume" issue!
I did not know, there are problems with OSX.
My Linux and XP hosts restart from within the emulation just fine.