OS 9 doesn't recognize .bin file

Hi, Bob -

When you downloaded that file, did you do so onto a Mac running some version of OS 9 (rather than OSX)? If so, how did you transport the file to his machine - specifically, was the medium (CD, Zip disk, etc.) formatted as a Mac volume?

A .bin type file is a Stuffit archive - the original file has been compressed into that archive in order that it not be damaged during transport across the web.

In order to decode/decompress that file, your friend will need to have Stuffit Expander, Stuffit Deluxe, or another program capable of processing a Stuffit archive. Since Stuffit Expander is free and is included as part of all stabdard OS 9 installs, I'll focus on it.

Assuming the file has not been altered by the machine it was downloaded to or by placing it on medium which is not Mac formatted, it should be decompressed simply by double-clicking it - doing so should start up Stuffit Expander, which should decompress the file and then auto-quit, leaving a new file in the .smi format.

If that does not occur, try dropping the .bin file onto the icon for Stuffit Expander - Stuffit Expander should then process it.

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If by chance Stuffit Expander is engaging, but is returning a -39 error or a 127 error (perhaps a -127 error) -

That error is most commonly caused by Stuffit Expander intruding where it should not. Decompressing the download results in a .smi (self-mounting image) format file, a format generated by Apple's Disk Copy. Stuffit Expander has ShrinkWrap technology built-in, which allows it to mount some kinds of disk images - but not .smi ones. Yet ShrinkWrap tries to - hence the error message.

The solution - double-click Stuffit Expander, and open its Preferences (under the File menu). Select "Disk Images" from the list on the left, then turn off (uncheck) "Mount Disk Images". Quit Stuffit Expander.

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If by chance your friend does not have Stuffit Expander on the hard drive, it is easily obtained. On any OS 9.0.4 through OS 9.2.2 full-install CD it can be found in the Software Installers folder, in a folder named Aladdin Software - dig into that folder and you'll find an uncompressed (ready to use) copy of Stuffit Expander. Copy that to the hard drive, and it should be usable immediately.

Bob,

To find if the Mac has Stuffit installed, use Sherlock, aka Find, or just command-F. And search for filenames containing stuffit.

Lo ! and behold, it should find an application of two called Stuffit Expander, amongst a few other stuffit files.

The other issue, the lack of system cd'd preventing your friend from accessing the internet. It might help to explain exactly what the issues are. OS9 is internet ready with the default installation, so there's really no excuse for being disconnected.

Hi, Bob -

I could not find a download for Stuffit Expander that does not need Stuffit Expander (or equivalent) in order to decompress it. That sounds like a catch-22 situation, but it makes sense. Mac OS 9 and earlier use File Type and Creator codes embedded in a file in order to let Finder and other programs know how to handle the file.

Non-Mac servers and computers don't understand those embedded codes, and will usually strip them off of a file, making it mostly useless for a Mac running OS 9.

By compressing a file or group of files into a Stuffit archive, those codes are protected; when the archive is decompressed, those codes are then available to Finder.

There is a Stuffit archive format, .sea, which can be decompressed without using Stuffit Expander. ".sea" stands for "Self-Extracting Archive" - the archive itself contains sufficient program code that it will run and decompress itself when double-clicked. I suspect that the reason that format is not used for downloads is that it acts like a program (if you do a Get Info on one it will be reported as being an application program) - and so probably has vulnerable codes.

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Using a PC (windows machine) to download a Mac file (program ot other) which is in a Stuffit archive is oky, provided no attempt at all is made to decompress the download while it is still on the PC.

The same applies to using media which is not Mac formatted to transfer the download - copy it to the Mac's hard drive before trying to decompress it.

This means the original download is what should end up on the Mac's hard drive.

Unfortunately, that's only part of the equation - the archive and its contained file(s) will be okay, but without Stuffit Expander or other equivalent program it can not be decompressed.

Bottom line - your friend will need to borrow or acquire an OS 9 installation disk in order to get a copy of Stuffit Expander. Yuor friend would be wise to obtain an appropriate version retail OS 9 Install CD anyway - such can prove invaluable in emergencies, or to do some maintenance.

Alternatively, if there is a nearby Apple Store or reseller, or another friend with a Mac using OS 9, or a Mac club (many universities and colleges have them), perhaps your friend could get a copy of an OS 9 version of Stuffit Expander from them. If this is a possibility, for reasons of ease of compatibility do not get a version of Stuffit Expander greater than 5.5.

Note - when transferring an uncompressed program from a Mac to a Mac, make sure the medium used (Zip disk, thumb drive, etc.) is in a Mac format; otherwise the unprotected file can be made useless.

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Also, the fact that he doesn't have the installation disks is why he can't connect to the Internet and download files for himself. Is there anywhere to download these disks, or the essential functions, so that he can connect and download whatever else he needs?

Not really.

Apple has not made available for download any complete OS newer than OS 7.5.3. As far as obtaining specific files your friend might need, it depends what is missing - there's a bunch of OS components and third-party items (like browsers) that could be involved.

The simplest solution is to (again) obtain an appropriate version retail OS 9 Install CD. What version might be the minimum appropriate depends on the specific model G3 your friend has. For example, some late-model G3 iMac models came with OS 9.1, but it was a model-specific version; they can not use a retail OS 9.1 Install CD.

Hello Don,

The only sensible solution in this case, as you have already pointed out, would be to obtain an appropriate Mac OS 9 install CD; both for StuffIt Expander and in order to have a bootable disc at hand.

If an install CD is not yet available, and Bob would like to try other ways to get StuffIt Expander in the meantime, here are some additional comments:

There is a Stuffit archive format, .sea, which can be decompressed without using Stuffit Expander. ".sea" stands for "Self-Extracting Archive" - the archive itself contains sufficient program code that it will run and decompress itself when double-clicked. I suspect that the reason that format is not used for downloads is that it acts like a program (if you do a Get Info on one it will be reported as being an application program) - and so probably has vulnerable codes.

Yes, that is the way I see it, too. Since a PC, normally, cannot handle the resource fork of the file, the "clickability" of the .sea would get lost without a protective outer "shell" of MacBinary (.bin) or BinHex (.hqx) encoding. You would not be able to launch the built-in unpacking program of an unprotected .sea file, but it should be OK to regain the data portion by dragging the file onto a StuffIt Expander program icon (or by opening it from within StuffIt Expander). Not very useful for downloading StuffIt Expander itself, that is, if one does not have StuffIt Expander.

For older Macs, with a built in floppy drive, I usually recommend getting a ready-to-use version of StuffIt Expander for Macintosh via a PC ⚠. This is how it works: Begin by downloading the MACDISK.EXE file here onto the PC. Prepare an empty 1.44 MB PC-formatted diskette through the FORMAT A: command in DOS or the "full" formatting option under Windows. Launch the MACDISK.EXE program on the PC. Follow the instructions on screen. The result will be a Mac-formatted floppy, complete with a StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 installer. Once installed, in a suitable environment, the 4.0.1 version can be used to decode many files. If a newer StuffIt Expander version (e.g. 5.5) is needed to handle certain decompressions, a download from ftp://ftp.allume.com/pub/archive/mac/StuffIt_Expander should now not be too difficult.

With a more modern Mac, without a built-in floppy drive, the situation gets more complicated. Even with access to an external USB floppy drive, one can not assume that the 4.0.1 installer will run on the new machine (and if it does, the 4.0.1 program may not).

There are PC utilities for Mac disks (an old freeware application called HFVExplorer could once be found via a Google search) which can internally process MacBinary and/or BinHex files while placing the decoded result on a plain Mac-formatted 1.44 MB floppy. This means that one can download a .bin or .hqx StuffIt Expander program file as it is (for instance, directly from the aforementioned ftp site) onto a PC (without attempting to decode or decompress in a PC file system surrounding), and then decode it while in transit to the Mac floppy. With a USB floppy drive at the Mac end, this will improve the chances to get a properly working version of StuffIt Expander.

Some web browsers and certain email programs may be capable of directly decoding at least BinHex files. This would per se make it possible to download .hqx files from the above site, or having .hqx files sent by a friend. However, without a functioning Internet connection that would not be of any use in this very case.

Another possibility might include decoding encoded files sent by a terminal emulation application over the telephone lines, provided that a program of a corresponding type is installed at the receiving end.

Regards,
Jan