That is a good point, although the manual that came with it ("Macintosh User's Guide for Macintosh Performa computers") seems to corroborate that "Hard Disk" was likely the original name on many Performas:
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The "Macintosh HD" name
- Thread starter blindowl
- Start date
I think it's pretty clear at this point that they named it differently on different models 
Unfortunately I can't find manuals for all of them, and a lot of the manuals are just the text without pictures, but there's still a lot of useful info on Apple's site if you can find the right links. Here are a few examples I dug up:
[*]Performa 600 user's guide screenshots have it named Hard Disk:
[*]Centris 610 Getting Started refers to Macintosh HD on page 9:
[*]LC 550 Getting Started screenshots say Macintosh HD and the manual refers to it too:
[*]Performa 500 series user's guide (different from the physical one that I depicted above) names it Hard Disk:
[*]Quadra 800 setup manual refers to Macintosh HD on page 7:
Unfortunately I can't find manuals for all of them, and a lot of the manuals are just the text without pictures, but there's still a lot of useful info on Apple's site if you can find the right links. Here are a few examples I dug up:- Mac Classic user manual...you can see it refers to Macintosh HD on page 6:
https://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/desktops/UsingYourMacClassic.pdf
[*]Performa 600 user's guide screenshots have it named Hard Disk:
[*]Centris 610 Getting Started refers to Macintosh HD on page 9:
[*]LC 550 Getting Started screenshots say Macintosh HD and the manual refers to it too:
[*]Performa 500 series user's guide (different from the physical one that I depicted above) names it Hard Disk:
[*]Quadra 800 setup manual refers to Macintosh HD on page 7:
beachycove
Well-known member
Clearly, they should have called it OCD(isk)!
Scott Baret
Well-known member
Having been around when these Macs were new, here are a few things I can tell you for certain:
--Macs in the System 6 era used Macintosh HD as their internal hard drive name. The SE/30 on eBay right now provides proof of that, although I can also say with 100% certainty all Macs with internal hard drives had this as their disk name. This has continued ever since with one exception.
--Performas had Hard Disk as the name. I think part of it was to make it easier for new users, part of it was to separate it from regular Macs.
--Don't forget there are regional differences. Macintosh HD was the default in the United States, but it may have been different in other countries, as we've seen pointed out here.
--Macs in the System 6 era used Macintosh HD as their internal hard drive name. The SE/30 on eBay right now provides proof of that, although I can also say with 100% certainty all Macs with internal hard drives had this as their disk name. This has continued ever since with one exception.
--Performas had Hard Disk as the name. I think part of it was to make it easier for new users, part of it was to separate it from regular Macs.
--Don't forget there are regional differences. Macintosh HD was the default in the United States, but it may have been different in other countries, as we've seen pointed out here.
blindowl
Well-known member
I find it strange that they'd use "Hard Disk", like in the 1988 SE/30 Owner's Guide, if all Macs with internal drive had "Macintosh HD" as their name.
But maybe it's time to end this quest now. I think I've received an answer to my original question. There never were a definitive switch from "Hard Disk" to "Macintosh HD" as I originally thought.
From now on I will name my drives:
System 6-7: Hårddisk
System 7.1-: Macintosh HD
Which was the whole point of the question. I want to name the drives with their default, time accurate names.
blindowl
Well-known member
Plus in the "About Finder" box:
But I just discovered that the Swedish translator preferred "Mac" over "Macintosh"
:
AlpineRaven
Well-known member
Correct me wrong - I am pretty sure I've seen PowerBook HD years ago. I've always called main HDD "Macintosh HD" to today.
Cheers
AP
Cheers
AP
sstaylor
Well-known member
I took a look through some of my old Apple users guides. I didn't scour them, but here is what I found:
In my copy of "Macintosh II Owner's Guide" copyright 1988 one screenshot shows "Hard Disk" but that seems to be all.
In my "Macintosh System Software User's Guide, Version 6.0" copyright 1988 it mostly has screenshots with "HD20" but has one named "Macintosh" in a screenshot on the cover and another shot with "Craig's Hard Disk".
In my "Macintosh User's Guide" copyright 1992, it very consistently uses "Macintosh HD", though there is one instance of "Hummer" as a hard drive name. This user's guide is designed to be pretty general, and it mentions the Mac Plus, the LC, the IIci and the IIfx by name.
My overall impression is that while hard drives were an optional accessory the naming conventions were all over the map, but once they started shipping systems with built-in hard drives, they came up with Macintosh HD as a consistent name fairly quickly, which seems like a very Jobs thing to do.
In my copy of "Macintosh II Owner's Guide" copyright 1988 one screenshot shows "Hard Disk" but that seems to be all.
In my "Macintosh System Software User's Guide, Version 6.0" copyright 1988 it mostly has screenshots with "HD20" but has one named "Macintosh" in a screenshot on the cover and another shot with "Craig's Hard Disk".
In my "Macintosh User's Guide" copyright 1992, it very consistently uses "Macintosh HD", though there is one instance of "Hummer" as a hard drive name. This user's guide is designed to be pretty general, and it mentions the Mac Plus, the LC, the IIci and the IIfx by name.
My overall impression is that while hard drives were an optional accessory the naming conventions were all over the map, but once they started shipping systems with built-in hard drives, they came up with Macintosh HD as a consistent name fairly quickly, which seems like a very Jobs thing to do.
CC_333
Well-known member
Except Jobs wasn't at Apple from 85-97, pretty much in the middle of which is the period wherein the "Macintosh HD" moniker came into common usage.
I agree, though, that in a more general sense, it is a detail that he would've obsessed over.
My observations have been that this is still more or less true to this day on PCs. I have yet to see any consistent label for the C: drive (I guess nobody cares, as we all simply refer to it as the C: Drive or Drive C).
c
Scott Baret
Well-known member
Regarding the C drive, I've seen some computers that have left it unnamed, but my IBM PS/1 shipped with a C drive called "MAIN FOLDER". Keep in mind the PS/1 was supposed to be the more user-friendly IBM, almost equal to the Performa line in a sense, so it could be they did that to help users know what the drive (or even root directory) was for.
Regarding "Macintosh", I remember a few years back, Apple used to write "Macintosh" and "Think Different" on the label on the iMac box. It seems they're keeping "Macintosh" alive and well...what about the "Think Different" trademark?
Regarding "Macintosh", I remember a few years back, Apple used to write "Macintosh" and "Think Different" on the label on the iMac box. It seems they're keeping "Macintosh" alive and well...what about the "Think Different" trademark?
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