More FAQ material for Rubywand (Re: Desktop Icons)

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Rich Hare <rhare@mich.com> wrote:

>Supertimer wrote:
>> 
>> Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:
>> 
>> >Rich Hare writes ...
>> >>
>> >> I've got a new small problem with my IIGS.
>> >> I have a Bluedisk card which has worked very well for years, and still
>> >> does.  I changed a few things around last month, and now have a new
>> >> problem.  Previously, when I put a MSDOS disk in the drive, and pushed
>> >> "Control" to poll the drive, the disk would appear on the desktop and I
>> >> could "drag and drop" to copy from the icon.  (The MSDOS FST is read
>> >> only)
>> >>
>> >> Now, the icon doesn't appear on the desktop.  The Watson utilities (and
>> >> others as well, such as Utilityworks, find the disk just fine; it just
>> >> doesn't appear on the desktop.
>> >
>> >     You can always try scrapping the file named "Desktop" in the ICONS/
>> folder (on
>> >the boot partition and/or other partitions).  Desktop gets changed from
time
>> to
>> >time by programs which want to install their icon(s). Sometimes the result
is
>> to
>> >corrupt Desktop.
>> >
>> >     A corrupted Desktop file is a fairly common problem for System 6 users
>> >routinely add new applications and start them directly from the Finder.
It's
>> >effects can range from undetectable (almost) up through missing icons
>> >the system. (Really, the Finder should have some way of validating an icon
>> >Desktop from an application. Either it doesn't or the check is inadequate.)
>> 
>> Good advice if it were the Desktop file, but that's not his problem.
>> ProDOS, HFS, and MS-DOS disks use the same icon.  The
>> icon shows up when a ProDOS or HFS disk is inserted but not
>> an MS-DOS disk.  Therefore, the problem is not with the Desktop
>> file.
>> 
>> The problem is the MS-DOS FST not being able to deal with
>> Windows 95 (and Windows 98) long file names.  Whenever
>> this feature is used on ANY file on the disk, the disk will
>> become invisible to the MS-DOS FST (or rather invisible to
>> the Finder for purposes of mounting an icon when it polls
>> the MS-DOS FST).  Even if you later delete all the files with
>> long file names, it will NOT fix the disappearing icon problem.
>> 
>> So use Windows 95 or Windows 98 features when saving
>> to a floppy means the floppy will only be accessable using
>> MUG!
>
>Thank you!
>I will test this theory a couple of ways and report back to the group:
>1) I will format a MSDOS 1.44 disk and put one short filename on it,
>2) I will format a 1.44 disk with ProDOS and try it in the drive.
>
>ALL RIGHT!
>Here is the definitive answer:
>It is clearly something with a disk written to by Win95 MSDOS.
>If I format a 1.44 disk with Prodos, the finder will show the icon.
>If I format a 1.44 disk with MSDOS from WINDOWS 95, the finder will show
>the blank disk.
>BUT
>If I format a 1.44 disk with MSDOS and write ANY FILE, even one with a
>short file name (AE.shk), the finder will not show the icon.
>
>OK,
>Two final reports!
>If I rename the file in Capital Letters, the Finder will read the disk!
>If I name the disk, the Finder will read the disk.
>
>The final mysteries of Windows 95 resolved!
>I think I now know how to make it bend to my will!

Hey Rubywand, this should go into the FAQ I think.  Thanks!

Also, I think I've figured out a way to allow MUG! to read a PC
Zip disk in the Finder.  Since when you label a floppy disk, it
causes even a disk touched by Windows 95 to show up in
the Finder, if you delete the label from an MS-DOS Zip disk
and then store a file created by Windows 95 with mixed
upper and lower case on the Zip disk, I think the IIGS Finder
will not try to mount it at all so it will not try to format or
eject the disk and let you access it with MUG! without
leaving the Finder.  I haven't tested this theory out yet, but
it seems to fit with the reports of Zip disks that could be
read with MUG! in the Finder without problems.