Re: //GS Hard Drive Question

[nathan@cco.caltech.edu (Nathan Mates)]

In article <19940628113355ZCEL02@TULATCPA.amoco.com>,
Charles Lott <CLOTT@AOL.COM> wrote:
>I can't recall if a hard drive (say a 340 Meg) would have to be
>partitioned when running GS/OS.  Do large hard drives have to be
>partitioned to work on a GS?

   Really short, quck answer: Any HD you want to boot a GS from
will have to be partitioned if >32MB (and don't want to throw away
the rest of the drive.

   More involved explanation: There are 2 main formats for HD
partitions on the GS: ProDOS (including GS/OS) format, and HFS. The
GS can only boot of a ProDOS formatted part, and ProDOS 8 stuff
can only access files on ProDOS formatted partitions. The downsides
to ProDOS partitions are: shorter (15-char) names, and a max of
32 MB _per_partition_.

   HFS, the mac-style paritioning scheme can go to any size up
to either 2 or 4 GB (you don't want to go anywhere near that, though),
and lets you have much looser filenames (31 char + space, etc). The
downside to HFS partitions are: Can't boot off them, ProDOS 8 programs
(Appleworks Classic, ProTerm, etc) can't access HFS volumes, and HFS
partitions are a bit slower in access, especially on a non-accelerated
GS.

   The best bet is a mix of the two. A few 32-MB ProDOS partitions,
and one bigger HFS partition containing the rest. For example, I have
my 235 MB HD split up into the following:
	Size	Format	Contents
	20MB	ProDOS	Boot, ProDOS 8 progs, etc.
	32MB	ProDOS	Development stuff: Orca, GNO, source code, etc
	32MB	ProDOS	Games, Part 1
	32MB	ProDOS	Games, Part 2
	32MB	ProDOS	Sound, Music, etc
	85MB	HFS	GS/OS Apps, MODs, TrueType fonts, graphics, random

   Plus a little space for RamFast/SCSI card support, etc. If you
have a RamFast/SCSI card, you are limited to (in practice) around
10 ProDOS partitions active at once (I only have 4). With the Apple
HS Scsi card, your mileage may vary.

>I'm seriously considering buying one, but wanted to make the
>right choice.

   Buy one, then follow the guide above.


Nathan Mates

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