Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 16:54:12 EST
From: elharo@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Subject: update sysfaq
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: Macintosh system software frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.system
Organization: Department of Mathematics, NJIT
From: elharo@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Reply-To: elharo@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Harold)
Keywords: FAQ, system, Macintosh, Mac, macintosh, mac
Approved: news-answer-request@MIT.edu
Summary: This document answers a number of the most frequently asked
questions about Macintoshes on Usenet. To avoid wasting bandwidth
and as a matter of politeness please familiarize yourself with this
document BEFORE posting.
Archive-name: macintosh/system-faq
Version: 2.2.6
Last-modified: March 17, 1994
Frequently Asked Questions about Macintosh System Software
==========================================================
comp.sys.mac.faq, part 2:
comp.sys.mac.system
Copyright 1994 by Elliotte Harold
Archive-name: macintosh/system-faq
Version: 2.2.6
Last-modified: March 17, 1994
What's new in version 2.2.6:
----------------------------
1.1: Why is my system using so much memory?
The Mac II needs a PMMU to use more than eight megabytes of
RAM and the FDHD upgrade to use large capacity SIMMs in Bank A.
Table of Contents
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Memory
1. Why is my system using so much memory?
2. What is MODE32? the 32-bit enabler? Do I need them?
3. How much memory should I allot to my cache?
II. System Software
1. Why does Apple charge for System 7.1?
2. What does System 7.1 give me for my $35 that System 7.0 doesn't?
3. Where can I get System 7.1?
4. How can I use System 6 on a System 7 only Mac?
5. Non-US scripts and systems
6. What is System 7 Tuneup? Do I need it?
7. Why do my DA's disappear when I turn on MultiFinder?
8. Do I need System 7.0.1?
9. How can I get System 7.0.1 on 800K disks?
III. Hard Disk and File System Problems
1. Help! My folder disappeared!
2. Why can't I throw this folder away?
3. Why can't I share my removable drive?
4. Why can't I eject this SyQuest cartridge? CD-ROM? etc.
5. Why can't I rename my hard disk?
6. How do I change my hard disk icon?
IV. Fonts
1. How do I convert between Windows fonts and Mac fonts?
TrueType and PostScript?
2. What font will my screen/printer use when different types
are installed?
3. Where should I put my fonts?
V. Miscellaneous:
1. What does System Error XXX mean?
2. What is a Type Y error?
3. What is A/ROSE?
4. Easy Access: One Answer, Many Questions
5. How can I keep multiple system folders on one hard disk?
6. How do I access the programmer's key?
ADMINISTRIVIA
=============
Copyright
---------
This work is Copyright 1994 by Elliotte M. Harold. Permission
is hereby granted to transmit and store this document as part of an
unedited collection of any newsgroup to which it is posted by myself.
I also grant permission to distribute unmodified copies of this
document online via bulletin boards, online services, and other
providers of electronic communications provided that no fees in
excess of normal online charges are required for such distribution;
i.e. if the FAQ is available on a system, it must be available at
the minimum charge for accessing the system. For instance you may
post it to most BBS's that charge either a flat monthly fee or a
per hour rate. However if there is an extra charge for downloading
files over what is charged per normal access, either per hour, per
kilobyte, or per month, then the FAQ may not be posted to that
system without my explicit, prior permission. Portions of this
document may be extracted and quoted free of charge and without
necessity of citation in normal online communication provided
only that said quotes are not represented as the correspondent's
original work. Permission for quotation of this document in
edited, online communication (such as the Info-Mac Digest and
TidBITS) is given subject to normal citation procedures (i.e. you
have to say where you got it). If you wish to republish this FAQ
in a modified form or in a non-electronic medium, please contact
me with specific details. I'm normally receptive to non-profits
that wish to redistribute it at no charge, and to anyone who
is willing to make reasonable remunerative arrangements for
non-exclusive republication rights.
Disclaimer
----------
I do my best to ensure that information contained
in this document is current and accurate, but I can accept no
responsibility for actions resulting from information contained
herein. This document is provided as is and with no warranty of
any kind. Corrections and suggestions should be addressed to
elharo@shock.njit.edu.
Trademarks
----------
Apple, Macintosh, LaserWriter, ImageWriter, Finder, HyperCard
and MultiFinder are registered trademarks and PowerBook is a
trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Linotronic is a registered
trademark of Linotype-Hell AG, Inc. PostScript is a registered
trademark and Illustrator and Photoshop are trademarks of Adobe
Systems, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft
Corporation. PageMaker is a registered trademark of Aldus Corp.
AutoDoubler and DiskDoubler are trademarks of Fifth Generation
Systems, Inc. StuffIt and StuffIt Deluxe are trademarks of Raymond
Lau and Aladdin Systems, Inc. StuffIt SpaceSaver is a trademark
of Aladdin Systems, Inc. More Disk Space is a trademark of Alysis
Software Corporation. TimesTwo is a trademark of Golden Triangle
Computers, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. All other
tradenames are trademarks of their respective manufacturers.
How to Retrieve the Entire FAQ
------------------------------
This is the SECOND part of this FAQ. The first part is also
posted to this newsgroup under the subject heading "Introductory
Macintosh frequently asked questions (FAQ)" and includes a complete
table of contents for the entire document as well as information on
where to post, ftp, file decompression, trouble-shooting, and
preventive maintenance. The third part is posted every two weeks in
comp.sys.mac.misc and features many questions that often erroneously
appear in comp.sys.mac.system as well. Please familiarize yourself
with all three sections of this document before posting.
All pieces are available for anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu
[18.70.0.209] in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh.
Except for the introductory FAQ which appears in multiple
newsgroups and is stored as general-faq, the name of each file has
the format of the last part of the group name followed by "-faq",
e.g the FAQ for comp.sys.mac.system is stored as system-faq and
the FAQ for comp.sys.mac.misc is stored as misc-faq. You can also
have these files mailed to you by sending an E-mail message to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the line:
send pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/"name"
in the body text where "name" is the name of the file you want as
specified above (e.g. general-faq). You can also send this server
a message with the subject "help" for more detailed instructions.
=============
MEMORY (1.0)
=============
WHY IS MY SYSTEM TAKING UP SO MUCH MEMORY? (1.1)
-------------------------------------------------
Under system versions earlier than 7.0 or under System 7.x
without 32-bit addressing turned on the Mac cannot access more than
eight megabytes of real memory. If you have more physical RAM
installed, the Mac knows it's present but can't do anything with it.
When About the Finder is selected from the Apple menu, the system
reports all the memory it can't use as part of the system
memory allocation.
To use the memory you need to install System 7 and turn on
32-bit addressing in the Memory control panel. If you have a Mac
with dirty ROMs (a II, IIx, SE/30, or IIcx) you also need MODE32
for System 7.0 or 7.0.1 or the 32-bit enabler for System 7.1.
Both are free from ftp.apple.com (/dts/mac/mode32 and
/dts/mac/sys.soft/7.1.32.bit.enabler) and from the increasingly
mythical friendly neighborhood dealer. The Mac II also needs a
PMMU (paged memory management unit) to use 32-bit addressing and
the FDHD ROM upgrade to use 4 megabyte or larger SIMMs in Bank A.
If you're staying with System 6, Maxima from Connectix ($45 street)
allows you to use up to fourteen megabytes of real memory and can
allocate anything beyond that to a RAM disk.
If you have an LC or an LC II with four megabytes of RAM
soldered to the motherboard, you still need to add two four-megabyte
SIMM's to reach the ten megabyte maximum imposed by the LC ROM.
This means you'll always have two unused megabytes which About this
Macintosh and About the Finder report as part of the system memory
allocation. Unfortunately there is no current means of accessing
this extra memory.
If you've turned on 32-bit addressing or if you have eight
megabytes or less of RAM, check your disk cache (RAM cache in
System 6) in the Memory Control Panel (General Control Panel in
System 6) to make sure it isn't set exceptionally high. All
memory allotted to the cache comes out of the System's
memory allocation.
Finally if you recently upgraded to System 7.1 by updating your
system software rather than by doing a clean reinstall, (See question
4.6 in the general FAQ) you should move all fonts out of your system
file as these can take up an extraordinary amount of memory.
WHAT IS MODE32? THE 32-BIT ENABLER? DO I NEED THEM? (1.2)
------------------------------------------------------------
MODE32 and the 32-bit enabler are system extensions that allow
Mac II's, IIx's, IIcx's, and SE/30's to access more than eight
megabytes of real memory under System 7. If you have more than eight
megabytes of real memory in an SE/30, IIcx, IIx, or a Mac II, you
need MODE32 if you are running System 7.0 or 7.0.1 or the 32-bit
enabler if you're running System 7.1. Otherwise you don't need
either. MODE32 and the 32-bit enabler are free from your local
Apple dealer and can be ftp'd from ftp.apple.com in the directories
/dts/mac/mode32 and /dts/mac/sys.soft/7.1.32.bit.enabler.
HOW MUCH MEMORY SHOULD I ALLOT TO MY CACHE? (1.3)
--------------------------------------------------
One of the Memory Control Panel (or General Control Panel in
System 6) settings is the mysterious cache, Disk Cache in System 7,
RAM cache in System 6. This is memory the system sets aside to hold
frequently accessed data from the disk. The cache acts like a 7-11
for your hard disk. It's quicker to get a quart of milk at the 7-11,
but it costs more so you don't do all your shopping there. And the
7-11 doesn't have everything you want so sometimes you need to go
to the A&P (your hard disk) instead.
Unfortunately Apple's cache isn't really all that fast. For
most people the RAM cache would more appropriately be called the RAM
thief. Its effect on performance seems to be much like the canals of
Mars. You have to want to see it before you can. However there are
a few applications and inits such as Dayna DOSMounter that actually
make use of the cache and will run much faster when it's turned on
than when it's off. Thus I recommend setting your cache to 64K,
turning it on, and forgetting about it. I hope that in 1993 most
Macintoshes have enough RAM that they don't need to worry about
losing 64K.
If, however, your Mac is a IIsi running a color monitor from
the internal video, then you may possibly speed up your Mac with an
appropriate cache setting. The IIsi and the IIci use system RAM to
store the video image on your screen. (Other Macs with internal
video have video RAM separate from the main system RAM so this trick
doesn't apply to them.) The internal video competes with the System
for use of this RAM; and that competition slows down your Mac, just
like two children fighting in the back seat of your car adds an hour
to the time it takes to get to the beach. To stop the fighting a
smart parent will put one child in the front seat and one in the back.
A smart Mac owner will put the internal video in the front seat and
the system in the back seat. To push the system out of the front seat
set a IIsi's cache to between 384K and 768K which will take up all
the space in the front seat not occupied by the internal video and
force the system to sit in the back. The exact value depends on the
type of monitor you have installed. Experiment to see what works
for you. Unfortunately this trick doesn't work when virtual memory
is turned on, but if you're using virtual memory you're probably more
concerned about saving memory than gaining speed anyway. There's
also a bug in the System 6 cache code that may cause a peformance
hit on disk access if the cache is larger than 128K so this trick is
more likely to help Macs running System 7, but again experiment to
see what works for you.
======================
SYSTEM SOFTWARE (2.0)
======================
WHY DOES APPLE CHARGE FOR SYSTEM 7.1? (2.1)
--------------------------------------------
Apple is charging for System 7.1 because Apple's policy makers
suspect they'll make more money by charging for it than by not
charging for it. Apple is a publicly held corporation in a
capitalist economy where the law requires corporations to make
reasonable attempts to maximize profits. To give away something
Apple could make more money by charging for would be a breach of the
fiduciary responsibility of Apple's Board of Directors and actionable
by Apple stockholders in a court of law.
WHAT DOES SYSTEM 7.1 GIVE ME FOR MY $35 THAT SYSTEM 7.0 DOESN'T? (2.2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not much. System 7.1 provides a base for many planned
enhancements to the MacOS. These include a new printing
architecture, an advanced version of QuickDraw, and easy
localizability into foreign languages. All of these will be
separate, optional add-ons which may or may not cost more money.
(Actually most people at Apple and elsewhere say these will be
free, but that's what they said about system software before 7.1
was released for $35. After 7.1 was released a lot of them started
backpedalling and claiming that no promises of free upgrades were
ever made. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.)
The only added feature of System 7.1 that you can use out of
the box is the ability to store fonts in a Fonts folder rather than
the System file. For this Apple wants $35. There are also about a
thousand various bug fixes over System 7.0. (i.e. 7.1 shipped with
only about 400 known bugs instead of the 1400 known bugs in System
7.0.) Some of these fixes were included in the various System 7
tuners. The most significant bug fix not present in System 7 Tuneup
fixes the Quadra 950's SCSI manager. If you have a Quadra 950, you
need System 7.1. Otherwise you probably shouldn't waste your money.
WHERE CAN I GET SYSTEM 7.1? (2.3)
----------------------------------
Apple rationalizes its decision to charge for System 7.1 by
claiming that most people have been unable to get System Software
updates from online sources or authorized dealers (and of course they
rationalize their refusal to authorize low-price mail order dealers
by claiming that Macs require dealer support) and by claiming that
charging for system software will make software retailers more
willing to stock Apple system software and thus make it easier to
obtain. This denies the reality that System 7.0 was in fact readily
available from the primary sources of payware Mac software as well
as being freely available online. And I doubt a full-page ad for
System 7.0 in the software catalogs costs Apple any more than an ad
for System 7.1. This rationalization also ignores how previously
in large organizations only one person needed to be able to get
the system software from a dealer, online, or bundled with a
new CPU before others could freely and legally copy it. So,
despite Apple's protests to the contrary, it is now harder to
get a current copy of the system software thus creating a FAQ
where there was none before.
If you want the manuals as well as the disks (high density only)
for System 7.1, you can order the entire package including a copy of
At Ease for about $79 from the usual mail-order houses such as
MacConnection (1-800-800-2222) or MacWAREHOUSE (1-800-ALL-MACS). If
you only want the disks you can upgrade from System 7.0 by calling
Apple at (800) 769-APPL and asking for the 7.1 upgrade. To "verify"
that you already own System 7, you'll be asked what's in the right
hand corner of your menu bar. The answer is of course Balloon Help
and the application menu. The disk only upgrade costs $34.95 plus $3
for shipping and handling plus local sales tax.
If you bought a non-bundled copy of System 7.0 on or after
September 1, 1992 (or if you have a scanner, an old software receipt,
and some familiarity with a photo retouching program) you can upgrade
for $3 by sending your dated proof of purchase, a check for $3, and
your name and address to
Apple Computer
Attn: Free Upgrade
P.O. Box 720
Buffalo, NY 14207.
Alternatively you can fax that information and a credit card number
and expiration date to Apple at (716) 873-0906.
HOW CAN I USE SYSTEM 6 ON A MAC THAT REQUIRES SYSTEM 7? (2.4)
--------------------------------------------------------------
The PowerBook 100, Classic II, LCII, Performa 200, and Performa
400 all work with System 6.0.8L, a special foreign version of System
6.0.8 that was hacked together because these machines beat many of
the internationalized versions of System 7 to market. System 6.0.8L
used to be available for anonymous ftp from wuarchive.wustl.edu in the
mirrors/rascal.ics.utexas.edu/support-of-products/Apple/sys.soft/6.0.8L
directory but was removed recently. If you find an ftp site for
6.0.8L or even a bulletin board that carries it, please contact
the author of the FAQ so I can include it here.
WHERE CAN I GET NON-U.S. SYSTEM SOFTWARE AND SCRIPTS? (2.5)
------------------------------------------------------------
For a company that's as hip to the international marketplace
as Apple, it sure has a difficult time comprehending that its
customers might need to work with more than one language. A recent
call to the Apple Customer Assistance Center support line revealed
that system software is available only in the country of origin.
The support rep was unable even to provide contact information for
distributors in countries outside the United States. What the
support rep didn't know (but I do) is that most international
versions of System 7.0.1 are available for anonymous ftp
from ftp.apple.com in /dts/mac/sys.soft.intl. Your best chance
to get Korean system software or any international version of
System 7.1 is to have a friend in the appropriate country
mail you the software.
If you want to work with multiple languages but don't necessarily
need an entire foreign system, you first need to upgrade to System
7.1, the first truly international operating system. System 7.1
includes numerous hooks to support multiple languages. After
installing System 7.1 the first thing you'll want are keyboards,
fonts, and script systems that let you write in your language of
choice. A large number of international keyboard layouts are
included in the file util/organization/manykeyboards.cpt.hqx
available from mac.archive.umich.edu. Apple's Japanese and Chinese
Language Kits are available from MacConnection (1-800-800-2222) for
a little less than $200 each. While Apple plans to release more
language kits in the future, no others are currently available.
So once again if you want to work in Arabic, Hebrew, Icelandic
or something else, you need to have a friend in the appropriate
country mail you the software.
Application software that supports your language of choice
is also nice to have. Currently the only WorldScript savvy word
processors are Nisus 3.4 and WordPerfect 3.0. Nisus comes in two
versions. The limited flag edition supports Roman languages and
Japanese. The full-flag edition also supports non-Roman languages
and is copy-protected by an ADB dongle. WordPerfect supports all
languages with one version and is not copy-protected.
WHAT IS SYSTEM 7 TUNEUP? DO I NEED IT? (2.6)
----------------------------------------------
If you use System 7.0, 7.0.1, or the System 7.0 printer drivers,
you need System 7 Tuneup 1.1.1. The tuneup includes a number of fixes
and enhancements to System 7, including substantially faster printer
drivers, a StyleWriter driver that supports background printing, a
fix that saves several hundred kilobytes of memory on non-networked
Macs, and, most importantly, a vaccine for the disappearing folders
bug. These fixes and many others have been rolled into System 7.1
so the tuneup does nothing for Macs running 7.1.
WHY DO MY DA'S DISAPPEAR WHEN I TURN ON MULTIFINDER? (2.7)
-----------------------------------------------------------
You need to put the file "DA Handler" in your System Folder. It
should be on one of your System 6.0.x disks. Under Finder the Desk
Accessories load into the memory provided by your application.
Under MultiFinder they load into their own memory space provided
by DA Handler.
DO I NEED SYSTEM 7.0.1? (2.8)
------------------------------
Officially if you don't have a Quadra or PowerBook, you don't
need System 7.0.1. Unofficially some changes were made that speed
up SANE (numerics) operations on 32-bit clean Macintoshes with a
floating-point coprocessor. These include all IIci's and IIfx's plus
LC's and IIsi's that have had a coprocessor specially installed.
(Neither of the latter machines ships with a coprocessor.)
HOW CAN I GET SYSTEM 7.0.1 ON 800K DISKS? (2.9)
------------------------------------------------
You can't because all machines that gain any benefits from 7.0.1
come equipped with high density floppy drives. You can however use
the utility MountImage to mount the images of the 1400K System 7.0.1
disks (available from ftp.apple.com) on your hard drive and install
from the image rather than a floppy. Be warned, however, that
MountImage is notoriously unreliable when doing installs. Be sure
you make a complete backup of your hard disk and have a set of
System disks on genuine floppies before attempting to install
from mounted images.
=========================================
HARD DISK AND FILE SYSTEM PROBLEMS (3.0)
=========================================
HELP! MY FOLDER DISAPPEARED! (3.1)
-----------------------------------
Try a Find on the missing filenames. In the meantime
grab Disk First Aid 7.2 from ftp.apple.com which should be
able to fix this problem. It can be found in the directory
/dts/mac/sys.soft/utils.
WHY CAN'T I THROW AWAY THIS FOLDER? (3.2)
------------------------------------------
Possibly the folder contains items that are locked or in use and
can't be thrown away. Turn off file-sharing (if it's on) and quit
all applications. Then try to throw the folder away. If that
doesn't work and you're using System 6, hold down the option-key and
drag the folder into the trash; or, if you're using System 7, hold
down the option key while selecting "Empty Trash" from the special
menu. Holding the option key down lets you throw away locked items.
If that doesn't work restart the computer, hold down the option key,
and try again. If you still can't throw away the folder, try
throwing away the items in the folder (if any) one by one until you
find the ones giving you trouble. Remove them from the folder, and
then throw the folder away. If you still can't throw the folder
away, you've discovered a "Folder from Hell." Create an empty folder
on ANOTHER disk with the same name as the Hell Folder. Then copy the
new folder onto the same disk in the same folder as the Hell Folder.
Click "Yes" when asked if you want to replace the Hell Folder. Now
you should be able to throw the just copied folder away. If that
doesn't work, get a copy of John Jeppson's HellFolderFix utility,
available from the usual FTP sites.
WHY CAN'T I SHARE MY SYQUEST DRIVE? CD-ROM? BERNOULLI BOX? ETC.? (3.3)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple originally planned to treat removables like floppies
rather than hard disks for file-sharing. At the requests of beta
testers file-sharing on removables was hacked into System 7.0 at
the last minute. However, since file-sharing was originally to be
implemented only on fixed drives, no means were created for the
host Mac to tell other Macs when a new volume went on or off-line.
Therefore sharing a removable volume requires that the disc or
cartridge be inserted and mounted when filesharing is turned
on. Turn filesharing off and on with the drive powered up and
the cartridge inserted and you should then be able to share
the removable.
WHY CAN'T I EJECT THIS SYQUEST CARTRIDGE? CD-ROM? FLOPTICAL? ETC.? (3.4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When file-sharing is turned on it makes all disks larger
than two megabytes available for remote access by the owner even
if they aren't specifically shared. This prevents the dismounting
of removeable media. Turn off file-sharing first. Then drag the
volume icon to the trash. Apple's recently released free utility
UnmountIt will do this automagically, i.e. turn off file-sharing,
eject the disk, and then turn file-sharing back on.
WHY CAN'T I RENAME MY HARD DRIVE? (3.5)
----------------------------------------
Turn off file-sharing as described above. If the disk you
can't rename is not shared, Kazu Yanagahira's freeware utility
Unlock Folder will also unlock your hard disk so you can rename it.
HOW DO I CHANGE MY HARD DISK ICON? (3.6)
-----------------------------------------
In System 7 you change the icon by cutting or copying an icon
from somewhere, Getting Info on the hard drive, and pasting the
icon into the Get Info box.
If the normal pasting of an icon onto your hard drive fails,
you'll need to perform some simple software repairs. You will
need a utility capable of changing information bits on files
and volumes such as ResEdit, the $10 shareware FileTyper 4.0,
or the payware DiskTop.
First turn the "Has Custom Icon" bit on the hard drive OFF. This
may be all you need to do so try pasting a new icon again. If this
still doesn't work, you need to delete the old icon first. This
icon is stored in a file called Icon\r on the root level of your
hard disk. (Note that the file may have a different name in some
international systems. For instance in the Danish system it's
called Symbol\r.) Since the Icon\r file is invisible you'll need
to turn the Invisible bit of the file off to make the file visible.
Then trash it. Next create an empty folder, Get Info..., on the
folder and paste the icon you want for your hard drive in the
folder's Get Info box. Make the Icon\r file inside that folder
visible and move it to the root level of your hard drive. (You can
do this by dragging the file onto the icon of your hard disk.) Now
make the file invisible again. Use your utility to turn the "Has
Custom Icon" bit ON. Finally restart the computer and rebuild
the desktop.
In System 6 you must use the hard drive formatting software
to give the hard drive a new icon. You'll be limited to the
icons included with the formatter. You may be able to edit the
icons included with the formatter using a resource editing tool
like ResEdit.
============
FONTS (4.0)
============
HOW DO I CONVERT BETWEEN WINDOWS AND MAC FONTS? TRUETYPE AND POSTSCRIPT? (4.1)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Reed's $10 shareware TTConverter 1.5 will convert back
and forth between Windows and Macintosh TrueType fonts. The payware
programs FontMonger ($95 street) and MetaMorphosis ($89 street)
convert between all types of TrueType and PostScript fonts. On
the PC side the REFONT program available from jasper.ora.com
[140.186.65.14] in /pub/mac-font-tools will convert Macintosh
Truetype fonts to PC TrueType fonts and vice-versa. It also
converts Macintosh PostScript fonts to PC PostScript fonts and
vice-versa. It will not, however, convert between PostScript
fonts and TrueType fonts.
WHICH FONT WILL MY SCREEN/PRINTER USE IF DIFFERENT TYPES ARE PRESENT? (4.2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For screen display a Mac first looks for a bitmap font with the
appropriate name in the appropriate size. If it finds it, it uses
it. If you're running System 7 or have installed the TrueType init
in System 6, your Mac then looks for the the appropriate TrueType
font. If it can't find the TrueType font and ATM is installed,
it then looks for the appropriate PostScript outline font. As a
penultimate resort your Mac will scale a bitmap font to the needed
size. Finally, if all else fails and the Mac simply cannot find
any member of the requested family, then the display will use the
default font, Geneva on U.S. systems, possibly something else on
international systems.
On a QuickDraw printer (ImageWriter, DeskWriter, StyleWriter,
etc.) the Mac normally looks for fonts in the same order it does
for the screen. However on some printers in some modes it may
look for a larger size of the requested font so it can scale
the font down to match the higher resolution of the printer.
A PostScript printer looks for fonts in a different order. First
it looks for a PostScript outline font on the printer's hard drive
(if any). Then it looks for the font in the printer's ROM. Then it
looks for the PostScript font on the computer's hard disk. If the
printer can't find an appropriate PostScript outline font, then it
will use a TrueType font. If it can't find the TrueType font,
it looks for a bitmap of the font. Finally if it can't find
any version of the font anywhere, it substitutes Courier with
predictably horrible results.
WHERE SHOULD I PUT MY FONTS? (4.3)
-----------------------------------
If you're using System 7.1 the answer is simple: Put all fonts
(Truetype, PostScript outline, and bitmap) in the Fonts folder inside
the System Folder. You can put them other places (the Extensions
folder, the System Folder itself, the System file) but there's no
good reason to do so. In particular storing fonts in the System file
unnecessarily is a common cause of System file corruption and all sorts
of hard to diagnose problems. When you upgrade to System 7.1, be sure
to remove all fonts from the System file.
If you're using a system older than 7.1, TrueType fonts and
bitmaps belong in your System file. In System 7.0 and 7.0.1
PostScript outline fonts go in the Extensions folder. In System 6
PostScript outline fonts belong in the System Folder.
Many older versions of font and printer utilities like ATM
and SendPS cannot find fonts placed in System 7.1's Fonts folder.
Most of these utilities will work if you put your printer fonts
in the Extensions folder or System folder instead. However in
all cases I'm aware of upgrades to these utilities that work
with the Fonts folder are either cheap (under $10) or free.
====================
MISCELLANEOUS (5.0)
====================
WHAT DOES SYSTEM ERROR XXX MEAN? (5.1)
---------------------------------------
Typically it means nothing at all of any use to the end user.
Your time is much more productively spent trying to figure out what
actions in which application caused the crash so that you can avoid
them in the future rather than deciphering system error numbers.
After all, knowing that Error 16 means a math coprocessor is not
installed doesn't help you much in fixing the problem. Knowing that
this happens in QuarkXPress 3.0 every time you try to link two text
boxes on a master page when copies of those text boxes already
contain text does. (And in this case the error message isn't even
accurate.) If you really want to know what that number means, get
Dr. Pete Corless's System Error 7.0.1 utility available in the
usual places.
WHAT IS A TYPE Y ERROR? (5.2)
------------------------------
A Type error is your Macintosh's way of telling you that it's
sick and plans to take a nice vacation in Belview for a few days.
Among developers Type errors are officially known as DS errors where
DS stands for "Deep Spaghetti" though a somewhat more colorful
expression is often used in place of "Spaghetti." Your
applications are toast. Any unsaved data is lost. Once you've
been hit with a Type error there's absolutely nothing you can do
about it. You'll probably need to restart your Macintosh either
by hitting the programmer's key or by turning the Mac off and on
if the programmer's key isn't installed.
The most common type errors are Type 1 and Type 3. Type 1 is
a bus error. It's most commonly symptomatic of software that isn't
32-bit clean. A Type 3 error is an illegal instruction. It's most
often symptomatic of poorly written software. You may occasionally
be able to avoid Type 1 errors by turning 32-bit addressing on or off
or by turning the cache on or off if you have a 68040 Mac. Otherwise
there is almost nothing you can do about these errors except try to
find out what actions, applications, and/or extensions cause them
so you can report them to the programmer and avoid them in the
future. There is no point posting about Type errors to the net.
WHAT IS A/ROSE? (5.3)
----------------------
A/ROSE by any other name would still generate as much pointless
net traffic. Apple's Realtime Operating System Environment is not
needed by 99.9% of the people who stumble across it. It's only
needed if you have an MCP NuBus card of which there were about
three at last count. The only even moderately common one is Apple's
TokenTalk NuBus card. If you don't have such a card, feel free to
trash it.
EASY ACCESS: ONE ANSWER, MANY QUESTIONS (5.4)
----------------------------------------------
Easy Access is a WONDERFUL system extension from Apple, useful
for far more than its intended purpose. Unfortunately it's also the
source of a lot of confusion and strange behavior on many Macs. It's
even been suggested that anti-virals should detect and report the
presence of Easy Access since it produces more false virus reports
than any other software in Macintosh history. If you're using
System 7, your Mac will emit an ascending whistle for about two
seconds when Easy Access is turned on and a descending whistle
when Easy Access is turned off. You may also hear a beep after
some keypresses.
Easy Access has two pieces, Sticky Keys, which is turned on by
hitting the Shift key five times in a row without moving the mouse,
and Mouse Keys which is turned on by hitting Command-Shift-Clear.
Sticky Keys lets you type things like Command-Shift-Clear without
doing the Rose Mary Wood shuffle. Just hit the modifer keys you
want to use and then hit the regular key. For example if Sticky Keys
is turned on, you could also turn on Mouse Keys by typing Command,
then Shift, then Clear rather than by hitting them all at once.
When Sticky Keys is turned on an icon appears in the menu bar
to the right of the application icon/menu. Mouse Keys lets the
numeric keypad substitute for the mouse. This is especially useful
for making precision, single-pixel adjustments in draw and paint
programs and for safely shutting down or restarting your computer
when the mouse is frozen.
HOW CAN I KEEP MULTIPLE SYSTEM FOLDERS ON ONE HARD DISK? (5.5)
---------------------------------------------------------------
By far the best way is to divide your disk into multiple
partitions, one partition for each system folder. Then use your
formatting software to select the partition to boot from. This
will, however, trash everything on your hard disk so back up first.
Soft partitions like those created by Norton Utilities and other
utility packages are not nearly as reliable or safe for your data
as hard partitions created by a disk formatter like Drive7.
If you don't want to repartition your hard drive, you can keep
compressed archives of system folders you might want to use on your
hard disk. To switch system folders you'll need to boot off a
floppy or a second hard disk, trash the old system folder, and
uncompress the new one. Just be sure that when you boot your Mac
there's not more than one uncompressed System Folder on any one
drive.
Finally if you absolutely must keep multiple, bootable system
folders on the same hard disk, Keisuke Hara's freeware System
Switcher 1.1 will adjust the boot blocks of the hard disk so
you can pick which one your Mac will boot off from. If you put
a copy in the Startup Items folder of your System 7 system folder,
and specify it as a startup item in System 6, then whenever you
start up you'll be offered a choice of systems.
HOW DO I ACCESS THE PROGRAMMER'S KEY? (5.6)
--------------------------------------------
On Macs that don't have a physical programmer's switch (in
other words almost every Mac sold in the last three years) you
can restart the computer with Command-Control-Power and drop
into the debugger with Command-Power. Also note that in System 7
Command-Option-Escape will force most applications (including
the Finder) to quit so you no longer need to activate the debugger
just to kill a frozen application.
--
Elliotte Rusty Harold Dept. of Mathematics
elharo@shock.njit.edu New Jersey Institute of Technology
emh0362@hertz.njit.edu Newark NJ 07103
..