Nebula 1994 June/NEBULA_SE.ISO/Documents/FAQ/Macintosh-faq/system-faq

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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!pad-thai.aktis.com!pad-thai.aktis.com!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: Macintosh system software frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Supersedes: <macintosh/[e-mail]>
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.system
Date: 25 Aug 1993 00:00:42 -0400
Organization: Department of Mathematics, NJIT
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References: <macintosh/[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Elliotte Harold)
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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.
Keywords: FAQ, system, Macintosh, Mac, macintosh, mac
X-Last-Updated: 1993/08/14
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.sys.mac.system:36070 comp.answers:1737 news.answers:11769


Archive-name: macintosh/system-faq
Version: 2.1.6
Last-modified: August 14, 1993

Copyright 1993 by Elliotte Harold


What's new in version 2.1.6:

        1.3: How much memory should I allot to the cache?

             There is a bug in the System 6 cache code which reduces
    disk access for cache settings above 128K.

    2.5: Where can I get non-U.S. scripts and systems?

        The Japanese Language Kit is available from MacConnection
    for $189.

    3.1: Help! My folder disappeared!

        Disk First Aid is at version 7.2.  I've also added
    the full path to find it at ftp.apple.com.

    3.6: Added the question:  How do I change my hard disk icon?

    4.0:  Added this section on fonts including the questions:
         1. How can I convert a Windows font to a Mac font and vice versa?
         A TrueType font to a PostScript font?
         2. Which font will be used on my screen and printer when I have
         different types installed?
         3. Where should I put my fonts?


                          comp.sys.mac.faq
                     Part 2: comp.sys.mac.system


                         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 Disks, File sharing, and the File System
     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 can I convert a Windows font to a Mac font and vice versa?
     A TrueType font to a PostScript font?
     2. Which font will be used on my screen and printer when I have
     different types 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


     This work is Copyright 1993 by Elliotte M. Harold.
  Permission is hereby granted to distribute this unmodified
  document provided that no fee in excess of normal online charges is
  required for such distribution.  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 printed material and 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).

  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.  All tradenames are trademarks of their respective
  manufacturers.  Corrections and suggestions should be addressed
  to [e-mail].

       This is the SECOND part of the 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
  [18.70.0.224] in the directory  pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh.
  Except for the introductory FAQ which appears in multiple newsgroups
  and is stored as general-faq.Z, the name of each file has the format
  of the last part of the group name followed by "-faq.Z", e.g the
  FAQ for comp.sys.mac.system is stored as system-faq.Z and the FAQ
  for comp.sys.mac.misc is stored as misc-faq.Z.  RTFM stores files as
  compressed (.Z) BINARY files.  If you leave off the .Z at the end
  of the file name when "getting" the file, rtfm will automatically
  decompress the file before sending it to you.  You can also have
  these files mailed to you by sending an E-mail message to
  [e-mail] 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 get System 7 and turn on 32-bit
  addressing.  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.  If you're
  staying with System 6, Maxima from Connectix ($45 street) allows use
  of 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 now 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 [phone].


 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.  Your best chance to get Chinese, Korean or
  Japanese 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 language kit
  is available from MacConnection (1-800-800-4444) for $189.  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 a nice thing to have.  Currently the only WorldScript savvy
  word processor is Nisus 3.4 which 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.


 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 PROBLEMS  AND THE FILE SYSTEM (3.0)
 =======================================

 HELP! THE FOLDER CONTAINING ALL SOURCE CODE FOR MY COMPANY'S BIG
 PROJECT JUST DISAPPEARED FROM OUR SERVER; WE HAVEN'T BACKED UP IN A
 WEEK; AND IF I CAN'T GET IT BACK I'LL BE FIRED AND MY COMPANY WILL
 GO BANKRUPT!  (3.1)

       Try a Find on the missing filenames; and, if they turn up, move
  them to the desktop.  In the meantime grab Disk First Aid 7.2 from
  ftp.apple.com which should be able to fix this problem.  It is
  archived as dts/mac/sys.soft/utils/software-utility-1-0-image.hqx.


 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 CAN I CONVERT A WINDOWS FONT TO A MAC FONT AND VICE VERSA?
 A TRUETYPE FONT TO A POSTSCRIPT FONT?  (4.1)

       Chris Reed's $10 shareware TTConverter 1.3 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 ibis.cs.mass.edu in
  /pub/norm/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 BE USED ON MY SCREEN AND PRINTER WHEN I
 HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF THE SAME FONT INSTALLED?  (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 meet 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)

       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.

--
  Elliotte Rusty Harold         National Solar Observatory
  [e-mail]      Sunspot NM 88349