> <If I take an IBM formatted drive and drop it into my 5300, then start > from an external hard drive, I should be able to use Apple's drive setup > to > format it for Mac, right?> > > I can't see why not. I've gotten floppies which were IBM formatted and > was able to Mac format them easily with the "Erase Disk" function applied > to the floppies in question. So I don't see why Drive Setup used to > similarly format an IBM formatted HD should be any less effective. >
It's a little more complicated than that. Hard drives have much more stuff on them than floppies, and one of those things is circuitry that says "I have been blessed by Apple." If you are using unmodified Apple software, then it will refuse to format "alien" hard drives. As someone else noted, though, HD SC Setup has been hacked (the most popular being version 7.3.5), and patches for it have been widely distributed. After applying the patch, HD SC Setup will no longer care if the drive is Apple-branded. Alternatively, you can use free formatting tools that are agnostic right out of the box. For a great many HD resources (as well as many other valuable things), see Gamba's terrific site: home.earthlink.net/~gamba2. [I have no affiliation with the site; I'm just a fan.] -- Prof. Thomas H. Lee Center for Integrated Systems, CIS-205 420 Via Palou Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-4070 http://www-smirc.stanford.edu 650-725-3709 ph, -3383 fax -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
