Importing Old Mac Software

[marksmithhfx]

Hi, I started this topic in *NIX by accident. Forthwith, I will copy the conversation here and continue...

"I was wondering if anyone could help me load Double Helix (Motorola 68k version) downloaded from the Macintosh Archive into Mini vMac version 36.04. I have tried a couple of things but so far no luck. Part of the challenge seems to be the size of the file which is around 1MB. Thanks"

"Just to provide a bit more detail, I have Mini vMac v36.04 running fine on my laptop running Mojave (10.14.6). I have installed System Software 6.0.8 and ImportFl-1.2.1 all working fine. I dloaded the Double Helix.sit file from the repository (https://www.macintoshrepository.org/7324-double-helix) but when I launch ImportFl and copy the .sit file to it I get a "Disk full" error message. Wondering what I can try next."

olePigeon: "You might want to try using Basilisk because it has a built-in Shared Folder feature that shows up as a hard drive in the VM.  You can then readily transfer files back and forth between the host computer and the VM just by dropping files into the shared folder."

"Thanks, I will give this a try and let you know how I make out. Cheers!!"

So, tried to get Basilisk going but no luck. I followed the Youtube example exactly, made sure all of the files are in the right place, but when I fire it up i get this message: BasiliskII error: Could not start BasiliskII: (no such file or directory). So, a path problem somewhere but I've been unable to track it down. And the message seems to suggest the it can't find BasiliskII which is in fact in the same folder as this "launcher" program (its called BasiliskGUI, and it doesn't let you configure where BasiliskII is (an oversight in my view) but it is in the same folder so should be findable. Anyway, my setup looks identical to the one being demo'ed on Youtube so still a bit of work to sort this one out.

In the meantime I also posted a message to Paul Pratt (in Gryphel Project Mail) ... Paul currently maintains Mini vMac and he responded very promptly with the solution. Basically, using the "blanks" disk archive you can add more disk space to Mini vMac (he suggested 3 MB, I ended up going with 4 because of needing room to unzip and install Stuffit Expander). Once I followed his advice I was able to launch Double Helix. Really, it feels like a small miracle when you can run a '91 68020 (or thereabouts) piece of software on a 2017 Intel Core i5 processor. Very nice stuff indeed, and my hats off to Paul and the many others who have continued to develop Mini vMac. 

I'm hoping to get back to Basilisk later in the week, there is a program in my directory called BasiliskII Disk Image Chooser which, when launched, offers a number of possibilities. This might be the solution. If I get it sorted I will let you know.

Tip of the hat to olePigeon as well for responding and getting me started down one path, that may yet prove fruitful. 

Mark

 

[cheesestraws]

One of the really useful things about Mini vMac is that the "floppy disc images" aren't actually restricted to being floppy disc sized, so you can have basically arbitrarily large "floppy discs" (until the guest OS complains).  Which is kind of cool.

BII is very cool but does require more mucking about with than Mini vMac, in general...

 

[marksmithhfx]

One of the really useful things about Mini vMac is that the "floppy disc images" aren't actually restricted to being floppy disc sized, so you can have basically arbitrarily large "floppy discs" (until the guest OS complains).  Which is kind of cool.

Yes, I've still got a few things to sort out with MvM but it is definitely very cool. Current challenge: DH is a development environment so if I start a project I am going to need some way to save it. The ability to copy files back and forth to the host system that olePigeon mentioned is probably what I'll need to preserve any work I do between emulation sessions (everything in the emulator seems to be lost once you shut it down). For MvM there might be something similar using ExportFL (I've been using its companion, ImportFL, to move things in) but all of this has a learning curve and I've not gone down the path of trying ExportFL yet. It's probably the next thing I'll explore before getting back to trying to figure out the BII problem. Thanks for your support and advice as well, Mr CheeseStraws  What part of the UK are you from? I've recently landed in Greenwich having immigrated from Canada in Sept '19.

Mark

 

[cheesestraws]

everything in the emulator seems to be lost once you shut it down

This certainly shouldn't be the case: check that the disc image isn't locked or isn't open on the host at the same time?

Thanks for your support and advice as well, Mr CheeseStraws  What part of the UK are you from? I've recently landed in Greenwich having immigrated from Canada in Sept '19. 

You are very welcome!  I mostly live in Salisbury, which is about an hour and a half southwest of London on the train, but I also spend a lot of time in South Wales (which is why my location says England and Wales—it's not parochial anti-Scottish sentiment!)

 

[marksmithhfx]

This certainly shouldn't be the case: check that the disc image isn't locked or isn't open on the host at the same time?

You know your stuff. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everything stored on the emulator drives is mirrored in the real files as well. Dragging a modified disk back into the emulator restores all of the previous work. HOW brilliant is that!! What a dream. So yes, no more hunting around, I have all that I need for the moment. 

Google Maps says you are about 2 1/4 hours south west of me by car (SE10 9FR). And not far from Stonehenge I take it. I've been meaning to get out that way sometime. The M3 looks like the road to take. I may venture out. Will let you know if I do. Cheers,

Mark

 

[cheesestraws]

And not far from Stonehenge I take it. I've been meaning to get out that way sometime. The M3 looks like the road to take. I may venture out. Will let you know if I do

Yup, in fact my local railway station is the nearest one to Stonehenge.  So everything here is either called 'stonehenge x' or 'spire x', depending on whether the business in question feels more affiliated with the Henge or the Cathedral (which is also worth a visit).  Do let me know if you're in the area.  Maybe we should have a UK meetup at some point .

 

[marksmithhfx]

Yup, in fact my local railway station is the nearest one to Stonehenge.  So everything here is either called 'stonehenge x' or 'spire x', depending on whether the business in question feels more affiliated with the Henge or the Cathedral (which is also worth a visit).  Do let me know if you're in the area.  Maybe we should have a UK meetup at some point .

Sounds like a plan!!

 

[BadGoldEagle]

I know I'm late to the party, but have you tried HFS Disk Maker?

That's what I use when I want to transfer plain files between macOS (Catalina on host machine) and Mac OS (any version really, on mini vMac). 

Basically, you just need to select a folder containing the files you want to transfer and then save your new disk image (e.g. on your desktop). It can be anywhere really, just be careful not to save it inside the folder where the stuff you want to transfer is stored.... this happened to me more than once as it sometimes defaults to that folder and that creates a 'bad' image.

Just drag your new image to your mini vMac once booted and you're done. 

 

[marksmithhfx]

I know I'm late to the party, but have you tried HFS Disk Maker?

That's what I use when I want to transfer plain files between macOS (Catalina on host machine) and Mac OS (any version really, on mini vMac). 

Hey BadGoldEagle, thanks for this. I was not aware of HFS Disk Maker but have d/loaded a copy for future use. My primary interest / need at the moment is running DH on the mini v Mac and saving out my work and having it avail between sessions. All of that has been nicely handled by the "blanks" archive and the ability to assign multi-megabyte floppy disks to the source (hey, wish I had that capability back when I had a real Mac 512k.) Totally, totally with you on your wish list of missing stuff, particularly the Lisa. Hey, I bought a 1974 MG Midget in 2012 (we are talking a 64 HP rocket of a car). If I could acquire a working Lisa complete with all the software I would die. Cheers, and thanks for your post.