Re: Help w/IIgs to Mac file sharing

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

In article <D7224H.8Js@cs.bsu.edu>, Matt Crouch <mjcrouch@cs.bsu.edu> wrote:
> I'm trying to set up my IIgs to share files on my Mac.  Here's what i
> got:
> 
> 1. A rom03 GS with 1.2MB RAM, no hard drive.  A System 6 disk.
> 2. A Mac Centris 610, System 7.1
> 3. LocalTalk cables
> (Getting an HD and SCSI card for the GS is out of the question, so this
> is my vision to get this thing to work).
> 
> I've tried to start the ChooserII program.  I get a message saying i
> need AppleTalk installed.  I have a file in the Drivers folder (in
> GS/OS) that is titled "AppleTalk".  I'm guessing i'm needing something
> else.  What??

You have to boot GS/OS with the AppleShare software installed.  You
cannot boot ProDOS-8 on a IIgs and get access to a server.

I've posted detailed descriptions of how to set up a IIgs to work as
an AppleShare/File Sharing client before.

You need the minimal set of three installation disks (Install,
SystemTools1, SystemTools2) to set up a system disk with AppleShare
support.  The resulting disk will not have enough space for Finder, so
you'll need a simple program selector (you might be able to run Finder
as an application from another disk or from the server after logging
on). 

> I've tried "turning on" AppleTalk using the Control Panel (by pressing
> Cntl-OpenApple-Esc) but this doesn't help.

That is a necessary first step, but you also have to have the
AppleShare support software installed on your system disk.

On the ROM 3, you can set either the Printer port (slot 1) or Modem
port (slot 2) to "AppleTalk".  You should not set slot 7 to
"AppleTalk" unless you need to run rather old software that has
built-in assumptions about slot 7 being the AppleTalk slot on a IIgs.
Setting slot 7 to AppleTalk will waste a slot.

> Another question:  When (if) i get this set up, would i have to somehow
> partition the Mac's HD for ProDOS?

No.  When accessing files on the server, the access is at the file
level, not the disk block level, so the client computer doesn't care
what file system is used on the server.  Normal practise is to use an
HFS disk on the server and limit the filenames used to match ProDOS
conventions (particularly the volume name and any directory names that
will be accessed from ProDOS-8).

> Can i run GS/OS programs that reside on the Mac's HD?

Yes.  (Also ProDOS-8 programs.)  There may be a few exceptions -
programs which are not "network aware" or try to do silly things like
direct block reads and writes.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand