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--Info-Mac-Digest
Info-Mac Digest Fri, 26 Jan 96 Volume 14 : Issue 24
Today's Topics:
[A] [Q] File size management corrupt on PPC 8100 ?
[Q]: How to format an IDE drive in a Performa 6200
Crossplatform format issue (Q)
DropStuff for Compact Pro?
File size management corrupt on PPC 8100 ?
Info-Mac Digest V14 #22
Patching MacTCP
PB502 Printer/Modem Port problem
PowerMac 7500, VAL-4 motherboards
putting apple HD into ext case?
Ram Doubler 1.6.1 and PB
Solutions for dead video in Performa 475
Sound problems with SM 3.1
Speaker Noise
System hogging RAM after upgrade
Unstuffing single files of a .sit archive
Warning
Wunderbar
Wunderbar (Help!)
The Info-Mac Network operates by the volunteer efforts of:
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The Info-Mac Archive is available at 50 public and private sites around
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 18:58:35 -0500 (EST)
From: [email protected] (F. Neumann)
Subject: [A] [Q] File size management corrupt on PPC 8100 ?
> Creating a new file with simple text (F1-1.1.1) and saving it without
> any text inside on the internal (1G) hard disk reveals in the get info
> dialog: Size 17 K, 332 bytes. Putting 1 character inside reveals Size
> 33 K, 333 bytes. 2 characters: Size 33 K, 333 bytes. Copying the same
> (empty) file onto a HD flobby disk inside the internal drive reveals:
> 1 K, 332 bytes. This seems ok. There is an apparent problem with the
> file size management on the internal hard disk..
Gerhard,
Your hard disk has no problem and there is no need to initialize it.
You've simply come across the allocation block size problem, an
inheritance from the early days of the Mac, when 20MB hard disks were
too expensive for most users.
A disk formatted to be used by the Mac OS contains on its surface
concentric tracks segmented in 512 bytes sectors. The Mac OS allocates
space on the disk by grouping one or more sectors into allocation
blocks. And here comes the hitch. Irrespective of the size of the
drive, the Mac OS can only address a maximum of 65,535 blocks, and no
more. Consequently a 1 GB drive will have as many allocation blocks as
a 128MB drive, but the blocks on the 1GB drive will be bigger. And
when files are saved on disk they occupy an integer number of
allocation blocks.
What does this mean, in practice? Say you save a small file, which
takes only 1 allocation block on the disk. On a 40MB disk this will be
1K; on a 128MB disk the same file will take 2K; on a 256MB disk it
will be 4K; and on a 1GB disk it will be 16K. The file is the same,
and it occupies only one allocation block, but in each case the block
is larger. That's the explanation for what you observed.
DOS and Windows 3 file systems work in a similar manner; but Windows
NT and Windows 95 can function with a new file system, which uses disk
space more efficiently. Hopefully Copland will do the same for the
Mac.
The only way you can get around it is by using a hard disk utility,
such as Silverlining or Drive7, to partition your drive into several
smaller volumes. These partitions will appear to the Mac OS as
independent disks, and, being smaller, will use disk space more
efficiently. If you're going to store a lot of small files on your
disk, then it's probably worth your while to do that. However, if you
work mostly with images, AV files, or large databases, then le jeux ne
vaut pas la chandelle.
Ca va?
--
Florin Neumann
[email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 96 18:28:57 cst
From: [email protected] (Michael Valentiner)
Subject: [Q]: How to format an IDE drive in a Performa 6200
A client of mine has a Performa 6200 with an IDE drive with severe
file system corruption. I am going to attempt to fix it with Norton
Utilities, but as a last resort I may need to reformat the drive.
What utility can I use to do this?
All of the Apple HD tools I can find (including the Disk First Aid
that comes on the Performa CD) tell me the disk has problems that it
can't fix. All the SCSI tools I have can't see the drive (of course).
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Michael Valentiner, [email protected]
http://www.winternet.com/~mpv
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 96 00:54:24 -0500
From: [email protected] (Paul Schinder)
Subject: Crossplatform format issue (Q)
} Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 15:29:03 -0500
} From: [email protected] (Graeme Forbes)
} Subject: Crossplatform format issue (Q)
}
} In the near future I'll be uploading a preprint to a server that Mac,
} Windows and Unix users all download from. I intend to upload the file in
} two formats, Acrobat pdf (for those with Reader or Exchange) and rtf (for
} those with wordprocessors that can interpret rtf). I'll be using Fetch to
} upload the files.
}
} My question is how to prepare and upload the files so that they can be
} opened and read on the three platforms with the least hassle.
}
} Should I provide each file in two versions, one compressed for the Mac and
} the other for Windows? If so, what Windows compression scheme (I have
} Stuffit DeLuxe)? I'm hoping that at least as far as the pdf version is
} concerned, only one copy need be stored, and it'll be equally usable on all
} platforms. But what should I tell Fetch to put it as? Text? Raw Data?
If the intent is to put the files on the server in a way so they can
be read by using a Web browser, then you don't want them compressed at
all. If you're just putting them there to be downloaded and viewed
locally, then you probably should compress them, but what format is not
an easy choice. (Personally I'd GNU gzip them, but that's just my Unix
side showing through...). Several formats might be a good idea, and
you might want to point people to places where they can get
decompressors for whatever you use in a README (or make links on an
HTML page). In any event, you tell Fetch to put the pdf and compressed
files as Raw Data. I *think* rtf goes as text, but I'm not very
familiar with it.
}
} In Fetch, should I Binhex all the files, just the Mac ones, or use the Raw
} Data or Text options for Fetch uploading?
Never Binhex a file that's going to used by Unix users, because very
few of them will have the software to unbinhex a file or will
understand the necessity of undoing the double forked nature of Mac
files that Binhex is designed to preserve. (A good rule of thumb is
never Binhex a file unless you know it's only going to be used on
Macs.). You want to send pdf as Raw Data, always, because it's an
8-bit binary language. I'm not sure about rtf; I have a vague
recollection that it's an all text format (in which case you use Text
mode), but I could be wrong.
[Windows question deleted, I've managed to avoid it for years...]
}
} Any advice at all very welcome.
}
} Graeme Forbes
---
-------
Paul J. Schinder
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
[email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 19:27:43 -0400
From: [email protected] (Mustafa Ziyalan)
Subject: DropStuff for Compact Pro?
>I would prefer to use Compact Pro because I can browse the archives
>easily and selectively expand sections of it. With Stuffit (.sit)
>I can't do this.
I think you can. If you double-click the archive in "StuffIt Lite"s
presence and for example a folder is visible in the window you can
double-click on it, open it, hi-lite whatever you want and "unstuff" only
that part.
Mustafa Ziyalan
[email protected]
http://maxwell.njit.edu/merhaba/dir/mziyalan/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 23:39:32 -0600 (CST)
From: Lanny Chambers
Subject: File size management corrupt on PPC 8100 ?
>We have received a new Power Macintosh 8100/100 a few weeks ago.
>
>Creating a new file with simple text (F1-1.1.1) and saving it without any
>text inside on the internal (1G) hard disk reveals in the get info dialog:
Size 17 K,
>332 bytes. Putting 1 character inside reveals Size 33 K, 333 bytes. 2
characters:
>Size 33 K, 333 bytes. Copying the same (empty) file onto a HD flobby disk
>inside the internal drive reveals:
>1 K, 332 bytes. This seems ok. There is an apparent problem with the file
>size management on the internal hard disk..
>Our local University computer service could not fix the problem but thought
>about reformatting the disk with an upgraded (french!) system, which we don't
not
>have available yet. Is there any warranty by Apple for such problems?
It's not a bug, it's a feature, and your school's computer service should
know better. Let me explain:
Every file on your hard disk occupies space, which is allocated in
increments of whole blocks. Since you have have only one partition
(volume) on your 1 GB drive, the block size is 17 K. Therefore, each file
will occupy some multiple of 17 K. A file that is 17.5 K in size will
occupy two blocks, or 34 K, and so on.
Why is this so? If the block size were much smaller--say, 1 K as it is on
floppies--the disk would take significantly longer (up to 17 times?) to
locate and read your data. So, all disk formatting software assigns block
size proportionately to volume size; this is one of the best reasons to
partition a large hard disk into several volumes. For example, the
largest volume on my own 1 GB disk is about 550 MB, and has 9 K blocks. I
don't know if your version of Apple's formatter can make multiple
volumes, but all commercial formatters can. I recommend APS PowerTools,
which offers some important advantages on Power Macs.
Of course, if you actually store such huge files that smaller partitions
are impractical, then you are unlikely to be much affected by a large
block size, since there will be only a few files that are capable of
wasting any space, and you would be better off with a single partition.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 03:31:01 -0700
From: [email protected] (Neil Fiertel)
Subject: Info-Mac Digest V14 #22
Regarding my request for an avi to quicktime application. I found the
perfect answer whilst waiting for the info- mac membership to answer. I
also recieved very good help from several individuals who had solved this
conundrum before me. In any case, thanks for being there! Here is the
site http://www.intel.com/pc-supp/multimed/i ... rtvid.html
The application has all sorts of nice compression codecs and does a
perfect conversion job to quicktime. Go the non-default route in using the
program otherwise you end up with an avi file dependent form which is
awkward (two files rather than one). It is fast, efficient and well
thought out with an init that locks onto the avi file during the download
and brings up its applic screen as soon as it is safe inside the hide of
your Mac...So now you can check out the Nasa Mars multimedia material...it
is worth it! Neil Fiertel
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 21:52:27 -0400
From: [email protected] (Mustafa Ziyalan)
Subject: Patching MacTCP
>1) I am trying to patch the MacTCP 2.0.4 I got with the second edition of
>the Internet Starter Kit to a 2.0.6 version but I get an
>error message (unrecoverable error while verifying DRVR 22 (".ipp") This
>resource needs to be patched, but its attributes aren't what was
>expected).
This is a real problem. I had MacTCP 2.0.4 and could **not** upgrade it.
Whatever I did -trashing every related file, etc.- did not help the patcher
to see the copy on my HD as a virgin copy of MacTCP. I ultimately copied
the MacTCP 2.0.6 from another machine. Good Luck!
Mustafa Ziyalan
[email protected]
http://maxwell.njit.edu/merhaba/dir/mziyalan/
------------------------------
Date: 25 Jan 1996 13:16:01 -0700
From: [email protected] (Andy Dannelley)
Subject: PB502 Printer/Modem Port problem
Hello to all,
I have a disturbing problem with my serial port on my PB520. The other
day I downloaded some news, went off-line to read, them tried to go back
on-line and nothing, (messages are "Checking for Modem", and then "PPP
timeout"). I then tried to print to my Stylewriter, still nothing, (error
meaasge, "can't find printer"). The Modem and printer still work fine
with my Performa 631, so I *know* it is the PB520. Any ideas? What other
checks can I make before I take it into the shop?
Also, the right hand bottom of the frame holding the display is separating
around the hinge area. Anyone seen this before?
TIA
Andy Dannelley [email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 96 13:52:18 -0800
From: Donald Coleman
Subject: PowerMac 7500, VAL-4 motherboards
Hello! I am a technical support representative from a memory resale
company, and I have been receiving a number of calls from our customers
about cache dimms not functioning properly in PowerMac 7500's. A customer
referred me to your web site, so I took this step in helping our
customers. Apparently, customers and I are unaware of a so-called VAL-4
motherboard in some 7500's. How can I tell if I have a VAL-4 motherboard
in my 7500? Also, what types (brand if any) of cache dimms work? We
became more aware of a problem when our return department received cache
dimms from customers that we tested good.
Anyway, I would appreciate any information about this problem A.S.A.P.
Thanks,
Paul Bowden or Donald
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 13:03:35 -0800
From: [email protected] (kee nethery)
Subject: putting apple HD into ext case?
Are there adapter cables available to plug into the very tiny pins for SCSI
and LED on the internal drives that Apple uses in PowerMac 6100's?
I have an Apple internal 350Mb hard drive that I have removed from a
PowerMac 6100. I have an external case to put it in but the Apple internal
drive has some very unusual connectors for the LED and the SCSI selector.
In the past the external case connectors have always been roughly the same
and it's been fairly obvious what goes where. This Quantum ProDrive LT has
two small white connectors, one with two pins that I assume is for LEDs and
one with five pins that I assume is for SCSI ID but they are very small
with a very tight spacing, the connectors are white and do not accept the
connectors I am used to. Any ideas how I find out how to connect LED and
SCSI ID into this Quantum ProDrive LT?
Kee Nethery
------------------------------
Date: 25 Jan 1996 15:56:43 U
From: "Rob Westergaard"
Subject: Ram Doubler 1.6.1 and PB
Subject: RE>Ram Doubler 1.6.1 and PB5300
>Although he has 16Mb of REAL ram and 32MB using RAM Doubler, he gets >"out of
system memory" errors all the time.
Neither of the specific examples you list are RAM Doubler bugs.
Example 1:
>A typical example - on reboot, freePPP 1.0.4 doesn't load because of
>an out-of-memory condition (I forget the exact error right now).
>From the FreePPP 1.0.4 Read Me file:
>%FreePPP and Virtual Memory/RAM Doubler%
>
>On some systems FreePPP does not function well if Virtual Memory (and >RAM
Doubler is just another form of VM) is turned on.
Example 2:
>Then, try running an application (such as Microsoft Word 5.1) which
>has a RAM requirement of 4096k... and while launching, "out of system
>memory" is guaranteed to show up.
If Word 5.1 is the first application you launch after booting up under System
7.5.x or on a Power Mac, you can get an insufficient memory message no matter
how much memory you have, if extended memory is active (RAM Doubler and Apple's
virtual memory are two examples of extended memory). Microsoft's suggestion is
to use Word 6. A work-around is to launch any other application before
launching
Word 5.1.
Rob Westergaard
Connectix
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 96 13:53:13 +0100
From: [email protected] (David Steiner)
Subject: Solutions for dead video in Performa 475
Hello, all.
The video chip in a Performa 475 that we have has bit the dust. The local
Mac shops tell us the only way to deal with it is to replace the mother
board at a cost (depending on who you ask) of somewhere between
1000-2000 DM ($700-1400 US). Since this is not all that much more than
a new low-end PPC, the owner has decided to go for it. As a result, we
have a fully functional machine with a permanent screen saver
(which makes working with it a bit difficult
.I, being the ecologically-minded tightwad that I am, really hate the
thought of simply chucking the thing in the scrap bin (there is little
in it that we can use with our other machines with the exception of the
fan and HD).
Someone suggested that we could perhaps buy a 3-party graphics board and
run it with that. Since I have no experience with add-on graphics boards
for Macs, I am turning to the collective wisdom:
- Is there a moderately priced graphics board for the 475 out there that
anyone can recommend?
- Will this even work? I have the sinking feeling that one needs to be able
to see the Monitors CP to set the default screen...is that right?
- Finally, does anyone have any other ideas for a cheap fix to this problem?
TIA,
-David-
David R. Steiner - Research Assoc.
-- ISPA -- University of Vechta -- Germany ---
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Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 13:06:46 +0000
From: [email protected] (Pascal Gaulin 2335)
Message-Id:
To: [email protected]
Subject: French Minitel Emulation Software
X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII
Content-Length: 231
Hi everybody,
Any idea where I could find a Minitel emulation software for a PowerBook 520c
with System 7.5 and Global Village Mercury PowerPort internal modem (V23
compatible) ?
Cheers,
Pascal.
BTW, I live in Cambridge (UK).
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 19:01:14 +0100
From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?J=F6rg_van_der_Linde?=
Subject: Sound problems with SM 3.1
Every time I start or restart my Mac the sound-output is set to 22.5 khz
instead of 44.1 khz and the sound-volume is on half level.
I zapped the p-ram but it doesnt helped me.
Any idea ??
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 16:52:32 -0800
From: [email protected] (Dale Goodvin)
Subject: Speaker Noise
Hi,
I saw my message as follows in the Info-Mac digest (no email address: my
fault), so I'll try again:
I have a Performa 460 with Koss external speakers. When the hard drive
chugs away, I sometimes hear noise coming through the speakers, both when
the speaker controls are set for playing audio CD's and when they are set
for transmitting sounds from the computer itself or CD-ROMS. Any ideas for
a solution would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dale ([email protected])
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 23:09:29 -0600 (CST)
From: Lanny Chambers
Subject: System hogging RAM after upgrade
>i recently upgraded my iisi from 5 to 17 megs of RAM. the system file has
>now decided that it gets to gobble up over 10 megs of this! in the past,
>it was content to run in about 1.7 megs. do i need to reinstall the
>system?
No, you just need to turn on 32-bit addressing in the Memory control
panel.
Lanny Chambers ([email protected])
Creative Services, St. Louis, USA
Visit the Hummingbird Page:
http://www.inlink.com/~creative/hummers/welcome.html
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 08:47:50 +0100
From: [email protected] (Magnus Hoek)
Subject: Unstuffing single files of a .sit archive
>Can anyone out there tell me where to find a drag-and-drop program that
>will use Bill Goodman's Compact Pro program to create a .cpt archive?
>
>If it doesn't exist, could someone out there write one?
>
>I would prefer to use Compact Pro because I can browse the archives
>easily and selectively expand sections of it. With Stuffit (.sit)
>I can't do this.
Ohhhh, yes you can... if you browse your archive with Greg's Browser.
Double click on a file in a .sit archive and the file (not the complete
archive) will expand. You also need "Stuffit expander"...
"Greg's Browser" and "Stuffit Expander" is PD.
Ciaooo
Magnus Hoek
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 18:46:07 -0500
From: Mark Aran Aiken
Subject: Warning
>There is a file on Info-Mac named WindowMenu. It looked like
>something interesting (it would give you a controllable pop-up menu to
>list all open windows within an application, allowing you to switch
>without going to the menu bar). However, when I loaded it, my Quadra
>630 consistently crashed evrytime I tried to start up, so I have
>removed it. Obviously there is a major bug in it. Don't waste your
>time downloading it.
Oops. The package I sent to the Info-Mac archive mistakenly
included a version of the Control Panel that causes crashes on 68K
machines under certain circumstances. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I have re-sent the correct package and it should appear in this
digest. My thanks to the poster for pointing out the problem.
v1.0s are never easy...
Mark Aiken
[email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 19:27:40 -0400
From: [email protected] (Mustafa Ziyalan)
Subject: Wunderbar
I think it's not available from Info-Mac.
It may be available as one of the previous "Utility of The Month"
selections of MacUser from their Homepage/FTP site. It may not be
accessible via Internet, however. Good luck!
Mustafa Ziyalan
[email protected]
http://maxwell.njit.edu/merhaba/dir/mziyalan/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 01:00:45 -0800
From: [email protected] (Christine A. Fraser)
Subject: Wunderbar (Help!)
Many thanks to all who responded to my request for help on information
about this "gem".
Your immediate response was most gratifying.
Take care all,
Christine A. Fraser
Greetings from Sunny Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
or
--------------------------------
--Info-Mac-Digest--
End of Info-Mac Digest
******************************