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Having trouble with a .smi file - advice?

I am having a heck of a time - I have the OS 8.1 update as an .smi file, but I cannot get it to open or expand in OS 8. I have Stuffit Expander on the machine. I tried downloading Disk Copy, but I cannot get that to open properly - it wants all image files removed before it can open. Anyone have any advice to offer? I'd like to get this PB1400 to 8.1 if possible. I always get quite confused with .bin, .hex and all of the compressed mac file "flavors" since I don't work with them all that often.

J

 
First off, '.smi' stands for Self-Mounting Image file. It requires Disk Copy 6.x.x or higher to open up, which System 7.5.x or higher should be able to handle. If Disk Copy is having trouble trying to open, try increasing the memory allocated for it by selecting Disk Copy and 'Get Info'; then type in a larger number under Minimum Size and Preferred Size. Be sure to close the window to save those changes. I doubt the .smi file is corrupt, but it could very well be; you never know.

What version of Stuffit Expander are you using? If it's below version 3.51, try upgrading to 3.x or 4.x, since they seem to handle much better under System 7, OS 8 and OS 9.

'.bin' stands for Binary file. This is a common file format for multiple OS platforms, although it doesn't necessarily indicate being a compressed file format. '.hqx' stands for BinHex or Binary Hexadecimal file. That file format will require Stuffit Expander to open it. '.hqx' files were more popular when the user was dealing with Internet connections via telephone dial-up modems; they were handy in being able to send compressed files across the Net without corrupting the files in the process. Personally, they're not my favorite. I prefer using '.sea' files.

'.sea' stands for Self-Extracting Archive file(s). In a nutshell, the data within is already compressed and there is 100 kilobytes extra added to each '.sea' file so it can be opened up without the need of Stuffit Expander. Just double-click the file, follow the instructions and in no time you have what you want without the hastle of decoding .hqx, .sit or .bin data.

73s de Phreakout. :rambo:

 
Thanks, PB. I will try a higher version of Stuffit (I think the app on that 'book is 3.x) and see if I can get it to go. I know I did this successfully once, because one of my 1400s is running 8.1. But I just can't remember what I did (exactly) to get there. I'll also try the changes on disk copy you mentioned. I know that is working OK because I used it to unpack some 68k programs I had from an archive, and those launched successfully.

This is one aspect of Mac life where OS X seems to me to be an improvement...most downloads are a bit easier...!)

 
There have been times when I needed to ignore the self-mounting and treat smi as a regular archive. Assuming it is not corrupt, just try opening with Stuffit Expander. Failing that, try renaming it to a .sit file extension. If that doesn't work, use resedit to change the type/creator codes to that of a stuffit archive. Lastly, try a few different versions of Stuffit. Good luck!

 
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