Re: System 6 disks on Apple FTP toasted...

[dempson@atlantis.actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

In article <44nbl6$qiv@news.indy.net>, Cold Fusion <minuet@indy.net> wrote:
> 
> [C] Download one of those System 6 images and try to run Shrinkit on it 
> (they say that's what you need in the welcome message!!). It's a
> BXY file, right? Wrong. See for yourself, it chokes every time. Tell me
> Apple is not aware of this. (yeah right)

There are two versions of the System 6.0.1 files on ftp.support.apple.com.

One set _requires_ a Mac to extract.  The original disks have been
turned into DiskCopy disk images, that has been compressed as a Mac
self-extracting archive, and the result has been BinHexed.

While it is possible to undo the first and third steps on a IIgs with
appropriate software, you need a Mac to extract the SEA.

(Some people have said that the disk image is actually a compressed
DiskDoubler image, but I have not confirmed this.)


The other set can be extracted on a IIgs, with some difficulty.  They
consist of a ShrinkIt disk image with a Binary II header (.bxy), with a
512-byte MacBinary II header (I think) in front of that.

All you have to do is get rid of the first 512 bytes and the result is
a valid .bxy file, containing a shrunk disk image which can be
extracted using GSHK or ShrinkIt for the IIe.


I just tried downloading one of the disks (Fonts - the smallest) using
Spectrum, which will automatically deal with a MacBinary header.  It
didn't recognise this header, possibly because it only supports the
original 128 byte header (MacBinary 1?)

I was able to get at the .bxy file after I removed the first 512 bytes
(using an ORCA/Shell "binary file split" utility I wrote a while ago).

> Sorry about ranting (felt good though). I have yet to fully remove the knife 
> Apple stuck in my back. Et tu, Scully?

He's gone as well.  :-)
-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand