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A Beginner's Guide for Uploading Stuff to Macintosh Garden
Table of Contents
Is it abandonware?
That's the question you should ask yourself before doing anything. If it's not abandonware, you shouldn't upload it no matter how good it is. That raises another question, what's abandonware? There's no official definition, so let's try to answer that question by telling you what can be considered abandonware.
- Software from companies that no longer exist such as Silicon Beach, Epic Banana and the original MacPlay
- Software from companies that are still in business but that's no longer sold by them and that have not received updates in years
- Previous versions of commercial software (for example, if a program is now on version 10 then version 5 can be considered abandonware)
- Abandoned Mac versions of Windows software (to make it clear, the Windows version is still being sold and supported while the Mac version has not been for a very long time)
- Classic versions of Mac software that has been ported to newer platforms (like a 68k game that now has an iPhone version. The iPhone version is commercial software but the original 68k is abandonware, unless the developer still sells that too)
When in doubt, ask in the forum first. Because if you upload something that cannot be considered abandonware, the link will be taken down. There'll be no exceptions. If that happens to you, don't worry. You won't be banned. But to avoid trouble, again, ask in the forum first.
OK I think it's abandonware. What's Next?
If you have a real Mac, and the software is on floppy disks, it's best to use DiskCopy 4.2 to create a DiskCopy disk image. Be sure to use DiskCopy 4.2 and not a later version, since newer versions ignore certain information on the disk.
Otherwise, setup an emulator. Doing that is way beyond the scope of this guide, so please refer to the main guides section for more information. Once you got it up and running, your first task is to use it to create a virtual disc image. This guide will assume you're using either Basilisk II or SheepShaver.
The emulator's ready. How do I create a disc image?
Depending on what Mac OS version the software is designed for, there are two methods for doing it.
If it's for Mac OS 6 and below
You have to create a DiskDup+ image with the help of ShrinkWrap. (ShrinkWrap can create DiskDup+ images, but vMac sometimes have problems reading them. Images created with the method described above always work, so stick to it.)
- Place the software and its related files on a folder. If the folder's size exceeds 1.4 MB you must move files to another folder until it goes below that limit.
- Once everything's ready, open ShrinkWrap
- Go to the Image menu
- Select New Image From Folder
- Navigate to the location of the folder and select it
- Press the Choose button
- A dialog pops up
- Make sure the size is no bigger than High Density Disk and that the format is Mac OS Standard and press the Create button
- Another dialog pops up
- Select DiskCopy 4.x as the File Format
- Press the Save button (you may have to change the file extension to .image)
- Repeat these steps with any additional folder if necessary and then quit ShrinkWrap. You're done with it.
- Open DiskDup+ and open with it the image you just created
- Once the program have finished doing its thing, save the image in DiskDup+ format (you'll have to change the file extension to .dsk)
- Repeat these steps with any additional image if necessary and you're done
If it's for Mac OS 7 and up
You have two options: create a Disk Copy 6.x image or a Toast image. If the game or application is compatible with Mac OS 7.0 up to 7.5.5, use Disk Copy. (Both Toast applications available here don't work with anything below Mac OS 8.6 and Virtual DVD-ROM/CD Utility don't work with anything below Mac OS 7.6.) If you don't know the system requirements, use Disk Copy. For every other case, use Toast.
To create a Disk Copy image
- Place the software and all its related files on a folder with a short but descriptive name. If the image is going to double as a CD then use exactly the same name as the CD.
- Fire up Disk Copy
- Drop the folder onto the Disk Copy window
- A save dialog pops up
- Choose Read-Only as the format. This is mandatory because emulators can't mount images in Read-Only Compressed format.
- Press the Save button and you're done.
To create a Toast image
You can use Virtual DVD-ROM/CD Utility, Toast Deluxe 4 or Toast 5 Titanium. Let's use Toast 4. But first: If you're going to create an image from a folder, turn it into a Disk Copy image and then mount it. And if you're going to create an image from a CD, insert it in the corresponding drive.
- Fire up Toast
- Drag the icon of the mounted Disk Copy image or icon of the mounted CD onto the Toast window
- Select Save as Disc Image on the File menu
- Remove the bullet from the file name and replace it with a .toast extension
- Once the file's saved, select it on the Finder
- Select Get Info on the File menu (You can do the same by pressing Command-I)
- On the lower part of the resulting window there's a checkbox that says Locked
- Check it
- A small lock will appear on the file's icon (That's okay)
- Close the window. You're done.
If it's for both Mac OS 6 and 7 (or up)
Most people will want to use it with Mac OS 7 (or up), so you're better off doing a Disk Copy image.
The image's ready. Is that all?
Nope. You have to compress it before you can upload it. Compress DiskDup+ and Toast images with MacZip, but for Disk Copy images use DropStuff 5.x.
Can I compress DiskCopy, DiskDup+ and Toast images with DropStuff?
Yes, but zips are more compatible with all of Macintosh Garden's target platforms (Mac OS 6-9, Mac OS X PPC and Intel, and Windows) and hence, less troublesome. Besides, StuffIt Expander doesn't run well under emulation. And before you ask, neither rar or 7-zip can't be decompressed in Mac OS 6-9 so please use zip.
However, The Unarchiver has good support for Stuffit, and there is an experimental Windows version available.
Then why can't I zip Disk Copy images?
This is the case only with Disk Copy 6.x images. DiskCopy 4.2 images won't be recognized if the type and creator codes are missing, but all the data remains intact.
Disk Copy 6.x images, on the other hand, generally depend on something called resource fork to work and only sit archives preserve it safely. On the same note, only Mac OS can handle resource forks so always decompress stuffed Disk Copy images on this operative system or they will be corrupted beyond repair and you won't be able to recover anything. No kidding.
A read-write Disk Copy 6.x image basically has a raw image in the data fork, though this format is not recommended because of the lack of checksum. However, it's useful for emulation (mini vMac can access a read-write Disk Copy 6.x image directly).
The image's compressed. Is there anything else I should do?
Run a test. Decompress the archive, mount the disc image or images, play the game or if it's an application, create a document with it. You'll be surprised how many defective files have been uploaded here because people don't test them first.
Done. Am I ready to upload the file?
Yes and no. The maximum file size allowed here is 1 GB. If the file's bigger than that, you won't be able to upload it. But there's a workaround: upload it to a file hosting service such as Minus, Rapidshare, 4shared, MEGA.co.nz, or Mediafire and then provide the link. In fact, even if the file is smaller than 1 GB it's good idea to upload it to a file hosting service first and then upload it later to Macintosh Garden, because there's a bandwidth problem and that's not going to change anytime soon.
The file's up at my favorite file hosting service
Great!
- Become a member
- Once you are logged-in, click on either the add game or add apps link on top of the page
- You'll go to a new page that start with a notice in a blue background (You may want to read it)
- Below the notice is a text field that says either Game name or Application's name (This field is mandatory.)
- Below is a field that let you upload screenshots
- Below is another field where you can upload the compressed file (As I said, you can upload the file later but if you want to do it now, more power to you)
- Below you'll find the Description field. Here you should write a few lines about what the software does, and it's also the place to post the link to the file if it's on a file hosting service.
- Below is the Compatibility field. You should add the system requirements here if you know them.
- Below is the Category field. Depending if you're adding a game or an application, this field might or might not be mandatory, but in any case is important that you make the right choice because it determines how the file will be grouped.
- There are more fields below that you should know by now how to fill
- And finally, near the bottom of the page, if you're uploading a game, there's a field called Link to game instead? This is the place to post the link to the file if it's on a file hosting service, but there's a bug so don't use it (Use the Description field. Read above.)
- Press the Preview button, review what you have done, and when you're through press the Save button
- Congratulations! Remember that you can always go back and change things by clicking on the Edit this page link, above the ratings.
For a in-depth uploading guide, see Uploading games to this website.
Comments
How can I play some Mac games on my Windows 7 laptop?
I'm not sure where in the general forum space this might belong but here it goes:
As both an emulator user on a modern system and a user of "vintage" (hate that word) hardware, I've been torn between whether a repository like Macintosh Garden should cater to the vintage hardware users or the modern hardware users. I imagine this site would look like a smashed plate of spaghetti in Mosaic / Netscape 3.0 or the like.
I'm guessing MG is geared toward emulator users on modern systems, which I don't mind at all. May I propose that we add one allowance for uploaders? 7-Zip (7z) files. As a Classic environment user, 7z files are inaccessible for now. But as a Linux user, 7z files are perfectly usable and they're much smaller. Windows and Mac OS X users can also use 7-Zip, which is open-source (I like that). Any takers?
You can also find GUI programs based on cdrdao. So you can get a bin/toc without hitting up the terminal. SimplyBurns is one. Then just use toc2cue to convert the toc file to a cue. I'd include both toc and cue with the archive.
I covered it in this post a few years back. But I've always tended to do my imaging in Windows.
The cue/bin method at http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Cuesheet#Mac_OS_X is better for CDs that might be multisession. I suggest getting cdrdao from Homebrew though.
If you're using an external drive, here is how to get it to recognize the drive: https://discussions.apple.com/message/19155733#19155733
Thanks! Is Toast Titanium 11 ok for making copies of CDs?
@mathieudel asks:
For about 6 months now, I've been using the free Windows program "ImgBurn" to make .ISO images of my Classic Mac CDs, including Mac-PC hybrids and bootable Mac OS install CDs. Very quick and brain-dead simple to use - It hasn't made a coaster yet
Also, I tried from SheepShaver to create a DiskCopy v6.3.3 image using the option "Create image from disk" but it did not work, reporting a -50 error.
I had to create a toast image of the disc, mount it and then create an image of this mounted image using disk copy ...
Can you confirm that doesn't hurt ?
And, what about hybrid CD images ? Can it be done from SheepShaver / Basilisk II, or do I have to use disk utils under OS X to produce a .cdr file (or equivalnt software on windows for .iso file) ?
It is very easy once you get the hang of it , but for a beginner , you should learn the common file extensions that are allowed so you will not have any problems uploading.
Please go in Stuffit's preferences window to the tab 'Stuffing' and select Archive type 'Stuffit', not 'Stuffit X'.
This would users of older versions of Stuffit enable to unstuff it.
it is very appreciated to upload toasted images (or even Disk Copy images created inside of the emulated Mac system), because such disk image files are easier to handle than getting a collection of floating game files after downloading.
Can you simply change the sitx tag to sit?
So I want to upload a few Mac ppc games. They are all educational, and I thought some one who gave their old ppc to their kids would like copies of them. Here is what I did:
Using eMac G4
1) Toast 2009 to create .toast image
2) Stuffit Deluxe 2010 to "Stuff" them (.sitx)
Will these work?
Can you be more specific paulpeckham?
i uploaded a game but it won't let me play it what do i do?
Bolkonskij,
MacZip can open Mac OS X zip files. And you can still run Classic applications on Leopard with SheepShaver.
Attila,
I know StuffIt is the prefered file format for Macintosh Garden, but for non-PPC users zip is more convenient--for files that doesn't rely on the resource fork, that is.
For OSX, download StuffIt Standard Edition from this site or elsewhere; it's free. Since OSX itself won't damage resource forks, you can stuff things fairly easily for upload. Just be sure to use the old .sit format, and not .sitx.
Thanks a lot for the guide MacWise. One question: What are you supposed to do if you're on a OS X only machine (Leopard, no OS 9 support any longer) and want to compress a file for upload? The built-in .zip function isn't probably a good idea, since no one with Mac OS 7 will be able to open it... any suggestions?
Edit: Replaced 'xxx7' with 'Mac OS 7' - IIGS User
Maedi and Euryale, you're both welcome.
Yes, Thank you for your work on this Guide,
It's been helpful with some doubts regarding System 6 software.
Hi MacWise, Just wanted to say thank you for this guide. I'm a bit of a beginner when it comes to packaging these old games up, so I'll be referring to this guide frequently.