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# System 5

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( **Predecessor:** [System 4 (1987)](https://github.com/seanpm2001/WacOS/wiki/Apple-System-4/) | **Successor:** [System 6)](https://github.com/seanpm2001/WacOS/wiki/Apple-System-6/) )

Apple System 5 is the fifth major version of the then-to-be classic MacOS series of operating systems produced by Apple Inc.

Towards the end of 1987, Apple introduced a package titled "Apple Macintosh System Software Update 5.0". For the first time, the Macintosh operating system was offered as a distinct retail product that included four 800K disks and three manuals, at a cost of US$49. The software itself was still freely available through user groups and bulletin board services. While the product box presented this update to the operating system as "version 5.0", this number does not appear in the software itself. Three of the four disks (System Tools 1, System Tools 2 and Utilities 1) are all bootable, and the user can boot off of whichever floppy contain the tools the user needs. For instance, System Tools 2 is the only disk with printer drivers, and Utilities 1 is the only disk with Disk First Aid and Apple HD SC Setup. Because the disks are named System Tools, users and the press commonly referred to this version as "System Tools 5.0".

The primary new feature of System 5 is MultiFinder, an extension which lets the system run several programs at once. The system uses a cooperative multitasking model, meaning that time is given to the background applications only when the foreground application yields control. A change in system functions that applications were already calling to handle events make many existing applications share time automatically, as well as being allowed to perform tasks in the background. Users can also choose not to use MultiFinder, thereby using a single application at a time. In 1990 InfoWorld tested four multitasking options for PC and Mac, viewing MultiFinder positively overall, but noting that its presence halved the speed of file transfer and printing compared to the single-tasking System 6 without MultiFinder.
System Software

## Version history

Release 	Release	Date 	System	Version 	Software Version 	Release Information	Finder 	MultiFinder 	LaserWriter

5.0 	October 1987 	4.2 	6.0 	1.0 	5.0 	Initial Release

5.1 	November 1987 	4.3 	5.1 	Updated LaserWriter Driver and new version of Apple HD SC Setup

**This article on classic Mac OS is a stub. You can help by expanding it.**

**This article is a modified copy of the Wikipedia article of the same subject. It needs to be rewritten to be more original.**

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## Sources

[Wikipedia - Classic Mac OS # System Software 5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Mac_OS#System_Software_5)

Other sources are needed, and this article needs LOTS of improvement and original work to prevent it from being a copy and paste from Wikipedia.

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## Article info

**Written on:** `2021 Thursday September 23rd at 2:39 pm`

**Last revised on:** `2021 Thursday September 23rd at 2:39 pm`

**File format** `Markdown document (*.md *.mkd *.markdown)`

**Article version:** `1 (2021 Thursday September 23rd at 2:39 pm)`

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