Re: Help with Zip Drive and the IIgs

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

EDavis write ...
> 
> I have just purchased a Zip drive to attach to my IIgs.
> (SCSI External Zip with Mac=formatted disks)
> 
> Could anyone walk me through the steps to format the zip disk to
> 6.01?
> 
> I currently have a Syquest 45 meg HD attached through the SCSI card,
> and 1-3.25" drive.  Do I need to boot the floppy, and initialize the
> disk from the Install Disk?  Does it get partitioned before or after
> being initialized?  I remember some issue about a max of 32 Meg per
> partition, but was that just with ProDos?
>


     If you want to be able to boot System 6.0.1 from the Zip drive
and/or launch applications stored on a Zip disk, then you will need at
least one ProDOS partition. The max size of a ProDOS partition is 32MB.
There is room on a Zip disk for nearly 3 max-size ProDOS partitions.

     You should not need to format a new Zip disk because they are
already formatted. So, for example, there is not much point in letting
the Sys 6 Finder do a format. (It can produce a single large HFS volume;
but, this is no help if you want full Sys 6 use of the Zip disk.) 
Specifically, if there is a new "blank" Zip disk in the drive when you
start Sys 6 and you are told the format is not recognized and asked if
you want to format the disk, the answer is "No". Eject the disk if
necessary.

     Mainly, it sounds like the main barrier to using your Zip drive is
getting a disk partitioned. You do need to do this before any files can
be stored on a Zip disk.

     If your SCSI card is a RamFAST, try using the utilities accessed
via Ramfast.system. Once you're in the utils under ProDOS-8 (e.g. you
have the typical 80-col text screen), you should be able to insert the
Zip disk without being pestered about unrecognized formats.

     If you have some other kind of SCSI interface, try starting the GS
Advanced Disk Utilities. Insert a Zip disk and try creating three ProDOS
partitions. (You can get two max-size ProDOS partitions and one more
which is a smidgen less than max size.)

     Once you have a Zip disk with, say, three ProDOS partitions, it
should show up on the Finder as three volumes.


     Originally, you asked about 'formatting a Zip disk to System
6.0.1'. If you mean just having Zip disk space which is fully accessible
and useful under Sys 6, then, once your new Zip disk ProDOS partitions
show up on the Finder, you're probably 'home free'. There is nothing
special to install on the partitions.

     If you want to be able to boot Sys 6 from a Zip disk, then you will
need to install System 6.0.1 onto the first partition of your Zip disk.
You can install System 6.0.1 using the INSTALL diskette and feeding-in
diskettes as requested or you can just copy all of the Sys 6 stuff from
your current Sys 6 hard drive boot volume. (If you are using some Easy
Launch, etc. Finder add-on, you will have to change volume name
references for programs you want to launch from the Zip disk.)

     Probably, it will be necessary to swap the SCSI ID numbers of the
hard disk and Zip drive in order to have the Zip recognized as the first
device to try upon power-up. (Do this after shutting down and turning
OFF power to the computer and Zip drive.) With Sys 6 on the first ProDOS
partition of a Zip disk, you should be able to boot Sys 6 from the Zip
drive when you next power-up the GS. 



Rubywand