Re: A Question for the Mac G4 Users

In article <xWywk.657$sq3.503@trnddc07>,
Mike Rivers <mrivers@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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.


You aren't going to create a standard Mac floppy that will boot a G4.
Waaay too much data to fit on one.

According to Wikipedia, Apple stopped shipping floppy drives in 1998
with introduction of iMac. G4's started shipping shortly thereafter.

btw I do own a 3rd party USB Mac floppy. It's what Mac folks bought for
access to floppies, as Jobs dumped the floppy drive long before the PC
world did. We had no other choices. It still works years later with the
current version of OS X. Just plug it in.

Heck, my still working 16 year old Apple Personal Laserwriter NTR is
recognized by OS X. Pretty frickin cool!





David Correia
www.Celebrationsound.com
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: A Question for the Mac G4 Users
    ... 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 and then use a Mac disk copy utility to copy it on to a floppy. ... You download an executable file and run it with a floppy in the drive. ...
    (rec.audio.pro)
  • Re: Floppy disk drive not reading disks
    ... I tried every suggestion I could find, including changing floppy drives 3 or ... have faulty floppy drivers, as, some people have no problem with floppies ... > When I try a quick format, message comes back "disk cannot be quick ... > Or, using the option to create a start up disk, message is "an unexpected ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: floppy drive problems
    ... with his floppy drive. ... places in will read as the previous disk. ... Floppy drives were not exactly the most standardized items in those days. ... floppies on a different PC, or even on the same one, but after rebooting. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage)
  • Re: cannot format floppy
    ... >to create a boot disk, ... Track 78 out of 80 won't format properly. ... If it's always at track 78 - then you have a floppy drive that is ... Since you can get brand new floppy drives for $10 put a new one in. ...
    (comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc)
  • Re: System 7.0
    ... started with a 128K Mac and a floppy disk. ... floppy disk had to be inserted to save data. ... Has anybody else ever been in a floppy swap cycle? ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)