Hello!
I've been trying to copy some files to Macintosh Classic via USB Floppy drive under OSX but without any luck. Floppy disk formated under OS 7.1 is "readable only" on OSX. Tried to find some help but seems there is not a simple solution for that. Does anyone managed to figure it out somehow?
I would love to have some MIDI application working on my Classic!
Thanks a lot for any help!
Mac OS X 10.6 rmvd the ability to write onto such file systems.
So there is no other way to copy files on anything above 10.6 ? Downgrading might be a bit problematic.
So there is no other way to copy files on anything above 10.6 ?
They haven't made it easy but its not impossible.
I would look at installing hfsutils via Fink or MacPorts as being one option.
Its also possible to use Terminal in Mac OS X and use "dd", an excellent walk-through here.
Its probably easier still tho', to use DOS formatted floppy media - esp. if your files to transfer are archived as ".sit" or ".hqx" etc - then decompress these and install on the Classic. I'm assuming the Classic has Mac OS 7 or newer and a DOS disk mounting Control Panel installed.
Peoples with knowledge, please tell whether the use of Bas or Sheep would help to write the files onto floppy...
Or take a look at OSXFuse to see if it supports to write onto HFS-formatted floppies.
Two options:
- FuseHFS. Works but it's buggy. When installed some HFS images that previously mounted as read-only suddenly can't be mounted anymore. Some files on HFS systems won't open. Okay to copy some files but not for regular operation with HFS volumes. Install MacFUSE 2.1.7 first (tested and worked on Snow Leopard).
- HFS Utilities (screenshot below). Didn't test too much but seems to work very well. A bit harder to install and use. Seems more reliable for regular operation with HFS volumes. Install it via fink (hfsutils).
I recall using DOS formatted floppies to transfer .sit stuff to my MacII´s SuperDrives.
OSX can still handle FAT disks, funny enough that this was kept in favor of hfs...
(I just tried that, writing to a DOS floppy in a SuperDisk USB with 10.8.2 - works, so far.)
If you have a HD floppy in your Classic it might just work that way with OS7.5.
It escapes me right now, when the foreign file system access (PC-Exchange) was introduced.
I don't think PC floppies could be read with OS7.1.
"PC Exchange" was included in Mac OS 7.5, but has been sold separately before.
"PC Exchange" was included in Mac OS 7.5, but has been sold separately before.
Was a separate product - don't know the requirements - and it could also have been part of Mac OS 7 Pro, an expensive version of Mac OS 7.1 that came with all the extras, like AppleScript, etc.
Edit: Replaced 'xxx 7' by 'Mac OS 7' - IIGS User
it could also have been part of S*** 7 Pro, an expensive version of S*** 7.1 that came with all the extras, like AppleScript, etc.
PC Exchange wasn't included it that OS version, either. I can confirm this as I just completed a fresh full install of 7 Pro yesterday. It was a seperate "payware" from Apple up until SSW 7.5
[Aside] bertyboy: We must refrain from placing a "7" after the word "System" in here for the meantime, because of that nutjob UK based company working for the music industry... 
Found the manual of "PC Exchange", the floppy of the box I bought 20 years ago must be anywhere as well (Non-English, thought) :
Found the manual of "PC Exchange", the floppy of the box I bought 20 years ago must be anywhere as well.
Nice finding!
Maybe the OP can make use of it, in case the floppy is available somewhere. I did not know PC Exchange was already available for OS6 - or even earlier?
I did not know PC Exchange was already available for OS6 - or even earlier?
Not PC Exchange, which worked on SSW 7.0 or newer. There were some 3rd party attempts at a similar INIT that ran on SSW 6, the name of which escapes me.
What the Mac did have prior to PC Exchange and ran on earlier Mac OS's, was Apple File Exchange. AFE was similar in appearance to the Font/DA app while in operation, it had a modal point & click dialog window to transfer files from A to B. It also relied heavily on (3rd party) filters to handle the transfer and interpretation of foreign file types. It was cumbersome & not terribly user friendly.
The OP's Classic (if it is a Mac Classic from the early '90's) will at least have a floppy "super drive", capable of read/writing 1.4 MB floppy media. Hopefully it'll be running SSW 7.0 or newer and have a copy of PC Exchange installed. - I'm using a PC Exchange borrowed from 7.5.3 on a Mac running SSW 7.1.1 and it seems to working OK on that OS - despite it initially nagging me that it wasn't designed to run on earlier versions of the OS and couldn't be made responsible for any dire consequences, heh.
It would also be nice to get a copy of IIGS_User's PC Exchange, plus the manual if its not too large a scan job.
Floppy? I must look for it in my collection.
The printed manual I own is in German language, and if I can locate the floppy, it must be localized to the same language.
The printed manual I own is in German language, and if I can locate the floppy, it must be localized to the same language.
Dang (as some might say). That cuts me out. Possibly (time permitting), archive it here for the German language speakers, if needs be?
Thanks MikeTomTom, you've changed the 'xxx 7' in the quote in #14,
which I've edited now. 
Thanks a lot for help! I was trying to use Terminal on Mac OSX 10.8 and dd command but after making image seem that this floppy disk are not recognised later by Macintosh Classic (OS 6.03). I'm just getting a message "This is not a Macintosh Disk". Hmmm not sure what have I done wrong.
I'm just getting a message "This is not a Macintosh Disk".
I think Mac OS X 10.8 just won't.
Ahhh that's really pit! Another time it seems that upgrading to 10.8 was a bad idea!
The disk image complaining "This is not a Macintosh disk" may runs fine within Mac emulators running on Mac OS X 10.8.
I'm also running Mac OS X 10.8 currently, but I've detected now that the Kore Player 2 VST Plug-in (discontinued) is no longer working with Cubase 7, but still runs fine with Cubase 6, even on 10.8.
I use 10.6, and what I've done is use Basilisk II as a workaround to write HFS. Kludgy, but it works.
What about my proposal #7? Can´t you use FAT floppies with your Classic?
You will have to initialize your floppies with DU in 10.8.X to MS-DOS-Filesystem (FAT) of course, before copying your .sit or .img files onto it. You may have to restore resource forks on the target drive though.
Proceed like MikeTomTom pointed out above and install PC Exchange from OS7.5 on your Classic...
If you like to plunge into virtualisation, Leopard could still write HFS.
There is/was a prebuilt 10.5 VMWare machine floating around too.
FAT floppies sounds like a good idea. But on Classic I have system OS6.8 and I believe it's not possible to oped MS-DOS files on it. I would try to find it and install but just can't copy anything.
I will also try to look into Basilisk II. Hopefully it recognises floppy drive and have ability to write HFS files stright on the disk. Thanks for a tip!
But on Classic I have system OS6.8 and I believe it's not possible to oped MS-DOS files on it. I would try to find it and install but just can't copy anything.
I'm really hoping that you mean that you have a Mac model "Macintosh Classic" here. The way you are writing "on Classic" has entirely different connotations.
If you have a Mac, model "Macintosh Classic" running 6.0.8, then it IS possible for that Mac to read/write to DOS formatted media. System 6.x used a program called "Apple File Exchange" (AFE) to do it. However, like some other Mac utilities, it does not get installed by default. You need to locate AFE on one of the System 6 install disks. Its on the "Utilities" disk (I think).
Unfortunately, it is an awful program to use and has a learning curve to master (its actually simple to use but it has a lot of "gotchas").
If your Macintosh Classic has a full 4 MB of RAM. Consider running SSW 7.x on it and using "PC Exchange" borrowed from SSW 7.5.x to help. On a Mac Classic, SSW 7.1 is stable and a good OS choice for this Mac.
There is here at the Garden, a Control Panel called "DOS Mounter 4+. It supposedly works on System 6. I have never used it, so I cannot vouch for it. But it looks like it might be useful if it does. Catch-22 tho', you need to get it onto your Classic somehow.
This is an image of original "Macintosh PC Exchange" floppy,
created as Disk Copy 4.2 (using Disk Copy 6.3), stuffed with Stuffit 4:
Sendspace/Macintosh_PC_Exchange.img.sit (German version)
Requires Mac OS 7.0 minimum
We should have a page for this.
Thanks for mentioning, i'll create the page.
Done.
I'm not 100% sure if this has been solved, but I believe linux and hfsprogs/hfsutils should be able to get the data off the floppy. I mention this because linux can easily be booted from a USB stick/CD/DVD, so no need to create a whole new environment for a seemingly simple task.
Alternative method:
Mount the disk in BasiliskII or Sheepshaver.
In terminal, run "diskutil list" and find the "/dev/disk..." name for the floppy disk. Put that in your config file for the emulator as a disk line. Start the emulator and see if it mounts the floppy disk.
I have used this method to mount and write to HFS Zip disks in OS X 10.6, so I think it should work for other HFS media as well.
