MFS on OS X

[Mac128]

JDW discovered my use of MFS under OS X on my site and posted his findings here: http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=26059#26059

Since MFSLives has nothing to do with MacServe, I thought it deserved its own thread for those of you who have not yet discovered it for yourselves.

I first read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_File_System which also contains the following link to Apple's Developer Connection site: http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/MFSLives/

The instructions are relatively easy to follow, though somewhat complex. However, should someone want to volunteer a step by step tutorial with pictures, that should make it fool-proof (not that any of you are fools).

The end result after installing it, is that OS X (10.4 ONLY) will mount and read MFS disk images. You CANNOT write to MFS files under OS X (yet), but you can read any old 400K MFS disk image files and copy the files onto other disks.

This is invaluable for managing old Macintosh files under OS X and extremely helpful for my MacTerminal file transfer method to eliminate as much data corruption as possible by going directly from an MFS disk image into MacTerminal and transfer to an MFS Mac, rather than transferring it to an HFS disk image under OS X first.

 

[MultiFinder]

Ooooo, that's really nifty

Last time, I just tried to mount a MFS disk image in Tiger. That was my first-ever KP

 

[Mac128]

Oops. I guess once someone submits to the poll, I can no longer edit it.

There should have been a 4th option:

"No, what's the point? HFS Rules!"

I think it goes without saying anyone taking the poll uses MFS and knows why. But, if you don't, that's actually the more interesting answer and is deserving of an explanation. Let us know if you really feel this way.

 

[Mac128]

MFSLives may have an unintended side effect for those older MFS disk images, I've discovered and would like some corroboration from those of you who are using MFSLives.

Maybe ...

This assumes you have been able to make a disk image of a copy protected disk with something like DiskDup+ in the first place.

All of the procedures below are performed with the Mini vMac emulator and have not been transfered back to a real Mac for testing, yet.

Using OS X 10.4.10 and MFSLives, I can mount a copy protected disk on the OS X desktop. Then I can copy the files using the Finder onto an new HFS disk image (MFSLives ONLY allows Read-only access to MFS volumes, so the files have to be copied to an HFS disk image). FYI the HFS disk image is created from Mini vMac blanks or known good disk images used with Mini vMac which have been erased by it as well. The OS X Finder has no problem reading these. I had to use an 800K disk image as the differences in formatting would not allow the 400K MFS contents to fit on a 400K HFS disk.

Now, my new HFS disk would not startup Mini vMac, but it would mount and I was easily able to copy the contents to a new 400K MFS image with the Finder. Surprisingly that new MFS image would startup Mini vMac. I don't know why this is, but I see it all the time when copying MFS boot files via HFS under OS X.

It would seem that OS X or MFSLives somehow defeats the copy protection of the original disk image. Which means that Disk Copy 4.2 should now work with the image. Worth checking out. I'll let you know if I am able to transfer my copy back to a real Mac and create a disk. Obviously if I can defeat the copy protection, that opens up reduced compatibility issues for others to transfer, create disks and use this old software, which otherwise has little or no commercial value. This may also be a helpful way to resurrect MFS disk images that do not format properly onto real disks.

I have not tired this with all of the copy protected software I have. It does not work with a disk that requires a master diskette, but anything that prevents normal Finder duplication works so far.

Please give it a try and report back with any successes or failures.

 

[Scott Baret]

I'm going to say "no" on the MFS issue. I rarely if ever see a 400K disk (the only one I can think of that I've used lately is my MacWrite/MacPaint master and I think I only own about a dozen disks formatted as 400K). I think the last program I ran from one was Millionaire, which I last played on my Lisa under MacWorks. Just saw that disk along with MacVegas in among my master disk collection the other day.