Does FW Target Disk Mode (TDM) work in OS 9? I've never used it in OS 9, so I don't know-but good suggestion. I think it should work.
Did you try going to Apple's OS9 discussion forums and check to see if there's a a remedy there? It would certainly be better/faster than soliciting advice here.
Booting from the CD/DVD and running First Aid won't fix the missing disk? YOu should be able to mount it using the Check Missing Disks soption, then repairing it. If not, then you may have ot resort to an older version of Norton Utilities or TechTool Pro to resolve the issue.
It's been awhile since I used OS 9, so I'm trying to do this from memory.
Originally Posted by murphy
Do you have another Mac? If so, boot the crippled mac in firewire target disk mode (hold down T while starting the machine) and connect it via firewire to a second Mac. The second machine will see the drive of the first machine, and you should be able to save your data. You can then format and install on the first Mac.
Good luck!