(Frequently Asked Questions)
FAQ: I changed the Mac removable disk and still get the old directory
from the previous disk.
It would appear your drive and/or controller doesn't support disk change
signaling properly or at all. In this case, when you change disks, execute
our "DiskChg" command on the drive before your next access of
the new disk.
FAQ: I get a Workbench icon "DF0:????" when I put an Mac
disk in the Amiga's internal floppy drive.
This is OK. The task that handles the AmigaDOS device called DF0: can't
recognize foreign disk formats such as Mac. With CrossMAC active, another
icon should pop-up representing the Mac disk in the drive.
FAQ: I get a requester "Disk Ejected Too Soon".
The disk was removed before all information was written to it. Put the
disk back into the drive and Retry might recover without corruption. We
recommend you wait at least 3 seconds from the last disk access before
removing the disk.
FAQ: I get a requester "Disk Full".
You've probably exceeded the capacity of the disk. Remove unnecessary
files from the disk.
FAQ: Putting a floppy in the drive appears to hang the system and
the drive light remains on. (Also Error=38).
We regret to inform you that the most likely problem is that you've
got a hardware problem associated with your floppy system. It needs to
be fixed before this problem will go away.
The technical reason is that the index signal from the drive is not
being seen by the Amiga floppy hardware.
FYI: AmigaDOS floppy disks are formatted in such a way that it doesn't
use the index signal from the drive. Subsequently a 'broken' index signal
doesn't stop AmigaDOS disks from being accessed.
However, Mac disks must be synchronized to the index signal. Therefore,
we need to wait for the index signal to be present before accessing the
disk. If it's not there, we hang.
FAQ: I get a requester "Not a DOS Disk".
The information on the disk doesn't appear to be Mac formatted. Ensure
the disk is an Mac disk capable of being read by your drive.
FAQ: I sometimes get a corrupt Mac disk when using it with both CrossMAC
and an Mac emulator (such as EMPLANT or ShapeShifter).
I wish this were easy to explain. It's a complicated subject but here
goes ...
This concerns people who are using Mac emulator products on the Amiga.
Examples of emulators are EMPLANT or ShapeShifter.
If you've configured an Mac disk for CrossMAC that is simultaneously
configured for one of the emulators, you may run into a nasty problem.
The problem: When more than one file system tries to write to the same
physical disk volume/partition, the disk may end up corrupted. Both CrossMAC
and the emulators running Mac are file systems.
Let me draw a simple analogy. Let's say there is one checking account
and you have a set of checks and a friend has another set of checks to
the same account. If the both of you never cooperate to balance the account
when checks are written, the account will eventually be overdrawn.
Similarly, file systems tend to cache small portions of the disk so
as to speed disk access. Let's suppose CrossMAC and the emulator (running
Mac) just happen to cache the same disk information. If CrossMAC modifies
the information it has cached, Mac (the other file system) will not know
the information was changed. Now, CrossMAC creates a new file and uses
some blocks not previously used. If Mac wishes to create a file, it might
reuse those blocks allocated by CrossMAC. When this happens the disk is
most likely corrupted since neither file system has the correct information.
Both have also modified the disk with out-of-sync information.
The solution: If both file systems would cooperate when writing new
information to the disk, we'd have our problem solved. For reasons which
are very complicated, that solution is not likely to happen.
You can have as many file systems read the disk as long as no writing
occurs. However, if you must write, there are things that can be done to
significantly minimize disk corruption.
FAQ: I format a low-density Mac disk on the Amiga using CrossMAC
and put data on it. I then put the disk in the Mac and it complains it
can't read it.
Check to see if you have any of the following hardware on your Amiga:
+ AMAX or AMIA cartridge and an 800K Mac floppy drive. + AMAX II plus/AMAX
IV cards and standard Amiga floppies. If you don't any of these hardware
options you will not be able to read or write true Mac low-density (800K)
floppies.
Without the above hardware, CrossMAC and the standard Amiga drives will
only be able to format/read/write 800K AMAX and EMPLANT format disks. These
formats are quasi-Mac disks are used with the Mac emulator programs of
the same name. These formats cannot be accessed successfully on a true
Mac drive.
FYI: The reason why true 800K Mac disks are so hard to access on the
standard drives is that Apple choose to write these disks with a non-standard
variable speed drive. There are five speed ranges: one speed for every
16 cylinders. The standard Amiga drive cannot vary its speed. Additional
hardware is needed on the Amiga to access these disks.
FAQ: I'm trying to read a high-density disk on my Amiga but I either
get no CrossMAC icon or I get "MAC0:????".
It's highly possible that the drive you're placing the high-density
disk in is not an Amiga-compatible high-density drive. Without this drive,
you will not be able to read high-density disks.
Officially, only the original A4000s had these drives. (Currently the
A4000Ts don't). All other Amigas were shipped with low-density drives only.
There were a few A3000s that unofficially had them. You can also purchase
them from third party to upgrade your Amiga.
FAQ: Can I access my SyQuest (Bernoulli, Jaz, Zip, etc.) drive with
an Mac formatted cartridge in it?
Yes. These drives are considered hard drives to the Amiga. Removable
drives are little different from non-removable hard drives on the Amiga's
CrossMAC floppy drives come preconfigured since we know exactly where
they are. However, with hard drives we're not so lucky. To use a hard drive,
it must first be 'configured' as a CrossMAC device. You can do so by one
three methods. The "Install" program has an option, the "READ.ME"
file has buttons, and lastly you can use the "ConfigDisk" program.
The manual covers this utility in Appendix C. You need only configure the
CrossMAC once for each unique device. The configuration program will place
a 'mountfile' that describes the device to the Amiga in a place that gets
'mounted' each time you boot.
FAQ: My CrossMAC removable hard drive doesn't sense when I put in
another cartridge.
Unlike the Amiga's floppy hardware, hard drives and controllers (both
SCSI and IDE) don't have a established mechanism for informing when a disk
change occurs. The way most controllers simulate disk change sensing is
by polling removable drives about once every three seconds (You may notice
the disk light flashing). If they get an error report when polling, they
assume the disk was ejected. It is then the responsibility of the device
driver (controller) to send a disk change message to file systems (such
as CrossMAC) using that device. Sadly not every controller supports this
or supports it correctly. If this is the case we provide a program called
"DiskChg" to force a disk change.
FAQ: I configured an CrossMAC device for my hard drive and it worked
for a while. Now it stopped recognizing the drive.
If the WorkBench icon shows ":NDOS" or ":????" following
the device name, you probably put a non-Mac formatted disk in the drive.
Use the Dr_CrossMAC program to help determine if this is the case.
If you don't see the icon at all from WorkBench, check to make sure
the drive is set to the exact same SCSI ID when you first configured it
successfully. The mountfile created by the configuration program depends
on both the device driver name and unit number to be correct to access
the drive in any form or fashion. If you continually remove the drive from
the Amiga and put it back again, you may have changed SCSI ID to accommodate
the Mac.
FAQ: Can I read Mac CD-ROMs with CrossMAC?
Yes. Configure your CD-ROM drive as detailed in Appendix C of the manual.
FAQ: You have a program called "Finder_Manager" in the
manual but I can't find the program anywhere.
Sorry. For legal reasons, we decided to change the name to the "File_Type_Manager"
after the manual was near completion at the printers. Substitute the name
"File_Type_Manager" for "Finder_Manager" anywhere in
the manual.
FAQ: I write data onto a Mac formatted disk using CrossMAC. I bring
the disk to the Mac and the disk icon shows up. I run my Mac program and
try to access the data on the disk but the files don't show up.
It's possible that when you wrote the file on the Mac disk with CrossMAC
you didn't set the correct 'filetype' required by many Mac programs. These
Mac programs filter out files not containing the 'filetype's they recognize.
This is a complicated subject (thanks to Apple). We go into some detail
in the manual. Refer to page 27 and Appendix D (Mac 'Finder' Information)
page 51. In short, if you use one of the file extensions we provide for
the filetype you need, you'll get that filetype set.
FAQ: Why is there a program called "CrossMAC"?
I realize it may have been a bad choice for a name. "CrossMAC"
is actually what is called a commodity. The purpose of the commodity is
to control specialized aspects of how the CrossMAC file system handles
files and the data.
Generally, unless you're doing text or MacBinary transfers you probably don't need the commodity.
FAQ:I configured an CrossMAC device for my hard drive and it worked
for a while. Now it stopped recognizing the drive.
Installing MagicWB (a program that installs nice icons in place of older ones) may also cause a similar problem. Some versions of this program installs a new icon for the one we create for the mountfile of the CrossMAC configured device. The problem is not the graphic for the icon but the changes the program makes to the ToolType of the program.
To fix the MagicWB problem: From Workbench, go to the "DEVS" drawer. In this drawer, go to the "DosDrivers" drawer. In this drawer you should find the icon for the CrossDOS device. Select the icon and do an "Icons/Information" from the Workbench menu. The ToolType parameter "ACTIVATE=1" is the correct one. Make the change if necessary and select "Save" when done.
FAQ: I have a Toaster-Flyer and a Mac formatted hard drive (such
as a Zip). I can't get CrossMAC's hard drive configuration program (ConfigDisk)
to work to create a mountfile.
Sadly, NewTek's Toaster-Flyer (with the on-board SCSI controller) is the only controller we know of that we can't interface to. Their interface is proprietry and not Commodore device driver compliant. This means you have to purchase another SCSI controller and attach the drive to it to get CrossMAC to talk to it.
We spoke to NewTek about this problem. Their answer: They have no plans to make a Commodore compliant device driver interface. If YOU think they should please contact them at (913) 228-8282.