Re: A Question for the Mac G4 Users

hank alrich wrote:

Hmmm... If it was to make a Mac-bootable install, maybe so, but I don't
see why it couldn't write the code required to boot something else.
Sometimes (IIRC) whether or not one can get Mac-boot ability depends on
firmware in the outboard drive, and whether or not it's what the Mac
recognizes are a legit source for bootin'.

I was thinking along those lines, that you needed something special to make a floppy that would boot a Mac. The source is an HQX file and according to the instructions you first need to make that into a real file (not difficult) and then use a Mac disk copy utility to copy it on to a floppy. On a PC, it's simple. You download an executable file (a different one from the Mac version) and run it with a floppy in the drive. It writes the bootable image on to the floppy automagically. I've never tried it with a USB floppy though, because when I wrote the book most computers still had floppy drives, and I still have floppys in all of my computers except one laptop.

If I were you I'd seek the answer to this in the DAW-Mac forum. If you
would rather not go there I could take your query there and get back to
you with the replies.

Yeah, ask it there if it's not too dumb of a question. I'd just as soon not go over there as a stranger without a Mac not being able to answer any follow-up questions.

Here's the instructions as written (which presumably work)L

Follow these steps if you are downloading onto a Mac OS(TM) computer:

1) Download the self-extracting file: HDR1_4B420.hqx (3.29MB)

2) To expand the HQX file, you'll need Stuffit Expander(TM)
(http://www.aladdinsys.com). If Stuffit Expander does not launch automatically at
the completion of the download, then drag the HQX file onto the Stuffit Expander(TM)
icon. Stuffit Expander(TM) creates a file called HDR1_4B420.sea,
and a folder titled HDR1_4B420. Drag the SEA file to the trash
can.

3) Launch Apple's Disk Copy utility (you may need to download the Disk Copy
utility from http://www.apple.com. or check the system installations disks that
came with your system).

4) Label one double sided, high density 1.44MB freshly PC formatted floppy disk as
"Disk 1", and a second PC formatted floppy as "Disk 2".

5) Depending on your version of Disk Copy, either click on the "Load Image
File..." button or choose "Make a Floppy" from the Utilities menu.

6) Locate the image folder labeled HDR1_4B420 that was extracted
onto your hard drive, select the HDR420D1.img file, and click
"Choose".

7) Insert Disk 1 into the floppy drive when prompted. With older versions of Disk
Copy you may need to click on the "Make a copy" button first.

8) Disk Copy will eject the floppy when it has finished making the image. Remove
Disk 1, and repeat steps 5 through 7, using HDR420D2.img to create
Disk 2.

There were some alternate instructions at one time that specified the use of a program "Shrinkwrap" to make the bootable copy. But these are all old instructions. I think Apple was around Version 7 at the time, and I don't know how much different OS-X is in regards to floppy disk management or utilities.




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