Macintosh System 7.

Hi,

It depends a bit upon which "System 7" you are referring to (BTW, there is a "System 7.x and older System Software" forum here). The supported versions for the Macintosh LC can be seen in this document. You can find System 7.0 (e.g., the British English version here) at the Apple web site. System 7.0.1 (the British English version here) may be the best choice for the computer in question. System 7.5.3 (for example, the Bulgarian version here or the North American English version here) would require at least 4 MB of RAM (but will be relatively slow on this machine).

Please note that the installation procedure is entirely different with System 7.5.3. In that case you do not create sector-copied floppies from disk images. Instead all the parts (once the .bin has been decoded) together constitute one large image. The idea here is to transfer/copy all files to the hard disk of the computer where the system software is to be installed. If necessary, since each downloadable file is small enough, one can use a 1.44 MB floppy disk for the transfers. A system folder drag-copied to the hard disk from a tools disk or similar could act as a temporary operating system (this will free the floppy drive for transfers).

With System 7.0.1 (as an example) on the other hand, the normal way would be to use Disk Copy 4.2 under Mac OS 9 or earlier on a semi-old Mac (with a built-in floppy drive) to create sector-copied disks. You could try to run the Disk Copy 4.2 utility under the existing French operating system on the LC. Load each image file, then click on the Make A Copy button. I deliberately mentioned the British system software above, because this version has been made available in the form of separate files (not inside a self-mounting image file as the North American 7.0.1). This makes it easier if you have to use another platform for the creation of the floppies. It is, for instance, possible to produce correct floppies from the old Disk Copy 4.2 format images on a Windows PC, if a special technique is used. The first System 7.0.1 installation disk is bootable (and so is the Disk Tools floppy).

I have not tested the method for Mac OS X described in this article, but it does not appear to be totally without complication.

Jan

Hello again,

Apparently, you tried the British System 7.5.3 ( here). Does your Macintosh LC boot properly from the existing operating system on the internal hard disk (can the Desktop with its icon be seen?). If necessary, test a startup while holding down the Shift key (in order to switch off extensions). If you choose the first line under the Apple menu, which French operating system version is reported?

With HD diskettes, you should be able to format 1.44 MB. If the formatting procedure does not work in a USB floppy drive under Mac OS X, you could perhaps try it in the LC. It then ought to be possible to decode the MacBinary (.bin) of the nineteen downloaded System 7.5.3 files on a Mac OS X computer (StuffIt Expander). It should not be impossible to copy each resulting (decoded) file onto a floppy via the USB drive, and then to carry out the transfer to the LC's hard disk.

Jan

I can format disks under OS 7, but when I insert them in my USB floppy my iMac cannot recognize them.

You have to use HD diskettes (for 1.44 MB; they have one square hole with a slider and one extra empty square hole). 2DD/DSDD diskettes (only one square hole, with a slider) formatted 800K Mac are not recognised by a USB floppy drive.

Jan

Strange. I suppose that you normally should use DD diskettes in the Yamaha synth. I guess that its floppy drive is of an old kind that does not have the ability to recognise HD disks (and thus formats them 720K DOS). A modern computer or a USB floppy drive (and the LC) would have expected 1.44 MB from an HD diskette, but that should not prevent a correct reformatting. Can you find a fresh (empty) HD floppy (right out of the box)? Could you borrow a PC (with a floppy drive)?

Jan

Waited for the OS 7 to load and inserted the disk, started the installer and said that there is some kind of error

As indicated above, the System 7.5.3 files as such are not bootable. It is not necessary to use Disk Copy or any dd commands with these files. Were you testing the first (the. smi) of the British System 7.5.3 files in this case? All nineteen files have to be present on the LC's hard disk for the entire self-mounting image to mount. However, an existing System 7.0 will not be able to mount the self-mounting image. A System 7.5 Network Access bootable floppy is recommended for this (which means that you are back on square one).

Since you apparently have one correctly Mac-formatted 1.44 MB floppy, use this one for transfers.

Begin by downloading Disk Copy 4.2 onto the iMac (and carry out the .bin decoding). Drag-copy the .sea file to the 1.44 MB floppy. Move the floppy to the LC. Drag-copy the .sea file to the hard disk. Expand the .sea.

Next, download the British System 7.0.1 files instead onto the iMac (and carry out the .bin decoding). Drag-copy each .sea file to a 1.44 MB Mac-formatted floppy and move this disk to the LC. Drag-copy each .sea file to the hard disk. Expand each .sea.

Finally, use Disk Copy 4.2 on the LC (Load Image File and Make A Copy) to create sector-copied floppies from the disk images. For the System 7Tune-Up file you will have to use a DD diskette (or, as a temporary solution, cover the extra square hole of an HD diskette with a piece of tape) since it is an 800K image. The other six files contain 1.44 MB images; use normal HD diskettes.

It cannot be ruled out that Mac OS X could lead to a problem with the .sea (self-expanding archive) files. If so, you will have to transfer the downloaded .bin files as they are instead (without any decoding on the iMac). In this case it will become necessary to use an appropriate version of StuffIt Expander (such as 4.0.1) on the LC. If applicable, post back for instructions.

Jan

I never said I tried with 7.5.3.

I asked about this, since you said "I downloaded exactly the British 19 or so files." earlier.

The system I was trying to boot from was 7.0.0 and 6.8 or so.

OK, the disk images that you were attempting to make bootable floppies from on the iMac under Mac OS X apparently were only System 7.0 and 6.0.8.

I can expand the .sea files with Stuffi tExpander-downloaded for free.

Yes, decoding .bin and decompressing .sit (or .sea) files on an iMac should not be a problem. If you wish to try to make bootable floppies directly there, that would of course be a necessary first step in order to gain access to the contained disk images.

But OK, I'll try your method to see what happens.

The reason for suggesting Disk Copy 4.2 on a working Macintosh LC (working, because the existing French operating system obviously is OK) is that you then would use the disk images inside the System 6.0.8, System 7.0 and System 7.0.1 downloads exactly as intended. No need for special procedures or commands on a modern computer. If you had StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (or a similar old version, suitable for use on the LC), you would just transfer the downloaded .bin files (without any decoding or decompression whatsoever on the iMac) on one standard Mac-formatted 1.44 MB HD diskette to the LC. Without an old version of StuffIt Expander for the LC, you would have to try a transfer of the intermediate .sea file instead. Self-expanding (.sea) files that have not been damaged can be unpacked without a decompression utility. It cannot be ruled out however that the .sea is not OK any more after the handling under a modern file system on an iMac; if so, the protected .bin file transfer would be required. Once on the LC, and after a subsequent decoding and decompression, it is easy to create proper bootable floppies through the Disk Copy 4.2 program.

Jan

LC accepts only disks formatted by itself. Interestingly, these disks shows me under Mac OS X, that they are read only for me. Formatting under OS X makes them unreadable under system 7.

I cannot explain this incompatibility. Which USB drive model are you using? Any new drivers to download from the manufacturer of that drive? Do you have access to another modern Mac, maybe with an earlier version of Mac OS X, to test whether the behaviour is the same? Also, it could perhaps be a good idea to try at least one absolutely new HD diskette, that had not been previously used in the Yamaha synth.

Otherwise, if you cannot locate another semi-old Mac, you may have to ask someone with a Windows PC (with a built-in floppy drive) for help. There are two possibilities:

One would be to use the Windows machine for a plain download and copying/transfer operation. Unless the French system on your Macintosh LC contains software for the handling of PC-formatted floppy disks (typically, a separate program called Apple File Exchange in older operating systems; newer versions used a PC Exchange control panel), you would have to rely on special Windows software for Mac disks (such as TransMac).

The other would be to use Aladdin (StuffIt) Expander for Windows (this is an exception; the normal procedure is always to transfer downloaded Mac .bin files as they are) and a disk-image program (such as WinImage) in order to directly create bootable floppies from, for example, the British System 7.0.1 (1.44 MB) disk images.

Jan