Laurent S. <postel@topo.math.u-psud.fr> wrote:


That's right. To work internally with OS versions older than OS X, the
drive must contain Mac driver partitions, and that requires erasing or
repartitioning the entire drive (once) with Disk Utility. When used as a
FireWire drive, the driver partitions on the disk will be ignored.

*** adaptable backup disk


Dear Hard Disk Gourous,

I am setting up a Mac hard disk (IDE ATA 320 Go)
for backups from various Macs.

I would like it to be *as mobile as possible* in the sense
that it can serve

(A) under OS8.6, OS9, and OSX >= 10.3, AND
(B) as internal IDE, or as FireWire 400 (in external box)

So far, I can achieve (A) or (B). And happily, the whole
disk is visible in either case from all named systems.

BUT I cannot yet achieve (A) AND (B). Suggestions?

Cordially,


Laurent S.

PS. I have access to many Mac OSs and I expect
that recent Apple utilities will help.

*** re: adaptable backup disk



Dear Hard Disk Gourous,

Sorry, I was not very clear. The problem is that
I cannot get the disk to work both
as an internal IDE and as an external FireWire
(without repartitioning and reinitializing).

Cordially,


Laurent S.

PS. I have access to many Mac OSs and I expect
that recent Apple utilities will help.

In article <1hm3748.5n4hdc1470t6aN%massello@newsguy.com>,
massello@newsguy.com (Neill Massello) wrote:


So can't one install the OS 9 disk drivers when first
initializing/partitioning? I have put an IDE drive in a FireWire case,
initialized with Disk Utility in OS X (because Drive Setup in OS 9 can't
see the FireWire bus, as far as I can tell), and then the drive shows up
in both OS 9 and X. If the poster did what I did, would it be possible
to later take the drive out of the FireWire case and mount it on an
internal ATA bus, or would that damage the drive and/or its contents?

--
Nullibicity
http://www.nullibicity.com/

Nullibicity <nullibicity-news@SPAMBLOCKnullibicity.com.invalid> wrote:


For external drives, Disk Utility's default option is to "Install Mac OS
9 Disk Drivers" when partitioning or erasing the drive. (This option is
no longer available for internal drives if Disk Utility is running on a
Mac that cannot start up in OS 9.) Once the drivers have been installed,
the drive should be fully usable when removed from the external
enclosure and installed in a Mac running OS 9.

The drivers are in invisible partitions at the beginning of the disk,
right after the partition map. There's no non-destructive way to install
them, so the OP will have to back up any data he wants to save from the
drive before he erases or repartitions it.

*** Re: adaptable backup disk

Hi All

Universally adaptable Mac backup disks of maximum
capacity are here to stay!!

What Nullibicity
<nullibicity-news@SPAMBLOCKnullibicity.com.invalid>
and then Neill Massello
<1hm4fsk.1q2cir44v4vciN%massello@newsguy.com>
have written about formatting a universally
adaptable backup disk checks out very nicely.
My warm thanks go to both of them.
The problem has haunted me for several years.

However, I meet one additional restriction that
is worth mention. I must format using a version

v 145.7 (from OS 10.4.4)

of "Disk Utility" that comes from OSX.4.4 (tiger).
The version that came with OSX.3.9 (panther)
was inadequate, but the newer version is a drop-in
substitute in my OSX.3.9 on a Pismo Powerbook G3.
Disk utility v 145.7 has an impressive swath
of features; check it out.

I've now used my new universal backup disk of 320 Go
under OS8.6 on beige G3 266 machines (both internally as
IDE ATA and extenrnally as FireWire and USB), but that's
surely not the lower bound... (?)

I've *not* been able to pull this off without help from
OSX. But I see no reason why that should be impossible
and I have a friend who claims it is possible ...

Cheers

Laurent S.