Increase virtual disk size

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TiddK
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Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

A couple of quick questions:

1. I've imported a lot of my personal documents from my OS 8.6 era, and installed FileMaker Pro 4. I have not yet finished importing, but already my 'available disk space' is down to 56 MB. How can I increase this in SheepShaver without having to start all over again from scratch?
There aren't any performance issues from a nearly full "HD" - 8.6 is blazingly fast in SheepShaver, and once I've finished importing I can't see me needing to increase the space except from natural usage of the system. If I didn't increase the size of the drive, how low can I take it?

2. Is it possible - or even necessary - to 'Rebuild the desktop file' as one had to do from time to time in the pre-OS X world?
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adespoton
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by adespoton »

1. You've got two options; you can either add a second drive image to your SheepShaver setup for non-OS files, or you can move all your data onto a larger disk image. It might also be possible to resize the disk image, but if you're asking this question, it's probably safest not to do that.

2. As you're emulating Mac OS 8.6, you'll have to do exactly the same things you did when running it on a contemporary Mac. If the drive image gets corrupted, you'll have to run Disk First Aid; if the desktop file gets corrupted, you'll have to rebuild it. In practice, I've found that this rarely happens for me, as I don't mess around with things as much on my images as I did back in the day; and as I can back up and restore the entire SS configuration, if things get TOO messed up, I just restore the whole thing to the last saved state.
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

Hm, adespoton posted his answer while I was composing mine. :smile:
Essentially the same. Different wording.

You can create additional disk images in SheepShaver preferences.

In Classic MacOS applications can be installed anywhere, they do not need to be on the System volume and they do not need to in the Applications folder. You could keep the system on the smaller volume and copy anything else to a larger volume or you can keep the disk as it is and just install additional applications on a different volume. Installers will install related files that need to be in the System Folder in the correct location regardless where you install the application itself.

MacOS in SheepShaver does not need free space to run. Virtual memory is non-functional in SheepShaver.

Rebuilding desktop files is (and was) only needed when applications start loosing their icons and/or when files loose the relation to their creator applications. Press and hold command-option immediately after the SheepShaver window appears at launch.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

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The first part (the main bit) worked fine, although SheepShaver did crash twice before inviting me to initialise the new disk, and then again - once - the next time, though it seems ok now, touch wood. I'm assuming that with SS running on an Intel Mac Core i5 there will be absolutely no overhead from accessing 2 virtual disks instead of one?

The second part - rebuilding the desktop file - hasn't worked. I did hold down the Command and Option keys as soon as I got the OS screen, and though it crashed a few times (the ones I mentioned above) at no point did it ask if I 'really wanted to rebuild the desktop file'. I did try once more, this time it didn't crash, but just logged me in as usual with no rebuild. Oh well, I won't be working it hard enough to need rebuilding.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

Interestingly, I now find SheepShaver quits each time I start from new (it gets as far as the OS 8.6 opening screen, and the progress bar goes a short way), but everything goes ok if I click "Reopen".

If I Restart from within OS 8.6, this doesn't happen.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

TiddK wrote:I did hold down the Command and Option keys as soon as I got the OS screen
That is too late, you need to press the keys in the split second after the SheepShaver window opens and before the OS screen appears. Usually takes several tries and on a fast host it may be all but impossible to catch the right moment.

There are also utilities that trash the desktop files so they will be rebuilt at next startup, but that will also remove all comments that you may have added in Finder Info. Look for "Trash•Desktop" on Macintosh Garden site.

As I said above, rebuilding desktop files is not really needed when there are no specific problems that can be related to corrupted desktop files.

Remember that in MacOS each disk volume has its own desktop files.
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

TiddK wrote:Interestingly, I now find SheepShaver quits each time I start from new (it gets as far as the OS 8.6 opening screen, and the progress bar goes a short way), but everything goes ok if I click "Reopen".

If I Restart from within OS 8.6, this doesn't happen.
Strange. Do you have a regular setup or a self-contained VM? Where do you click "Reopen"?
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by adespoton »

Ronald P. Regensburg wrote:
TiddK wrote:I did hold down the Command and Option keys as soon as I got the OS screen
That is too late, you need to press the keys in the split second after the SheepShaver window opens and before the OS screen appears. Usually takes several tries and on a fast host it may be all but impossible to catch the right moment.

There are also utilities that trash the desktop files so they will be rebuilt at next startup, but that will also remove all comments that you may have added in Finder Info. Look for "Trash•Desktop" on Macintosh Garden site.

As I said above, rebuilding desktop files is not really needed when there are no specific problems that can be related to corrupted desktop files.

Remember that in MacOS each disk volume has its own desktop files.
Desktop rebuilding happens when launching the Finder with command and option held down. So you can also rebuild after boot by quitting the finder and relaunching it. This can be tricky in SS, but there are third party utilities that will add a Quit menu item to the Finder. You can also use command-option-escape while in the Finder to quit and relaunch it; quickly release escape and keep command and option held down to rebuild the desktop.
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

adespoton wrote:You can also use command-option-escape while in the Finder to quit and relaunch it
command-option-escape is intercepted by the OSX host (opens the OSX force-quit dialog).
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by adespoton »

maybe remap the keycodes?
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

I'll try a few of those suggestions - there is only a split second between the Sheepshaver window and MacOS and I'm not usually quick enough.

"Reopen" is after SS quits - you get the OS X dialogue saying Ignore Report or Reopen.

(Cmd-opt-esc is no good - it brings up the Force Quit dialogue in OS X)
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

TiddK wrote:"Reopen" is after SS quits - you get the OS X dialogue saying Ignore Report or Reopen.
I see. That is the dialog that is shown when an application crashes.

I tried using option-command at startup for rebuilding desktop in SheepShaver myself. I succeeded once. The keys must be pressed after "Welcome to Mac OS" appears but before "Starting Up..." appears.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

Ronald P. Regensburg wrote:
TiddK wrote:Interestingly, I now find SheepShaver quits each time I start from new (it gets as far as the OS 8.6 opening screen, and the progress bar goes a short way), but everything goes ok if I click "Reopen".

If I Restart from within OS 8.6, this doesn't happen.
Strange. Do you have a regular setup or a self-contained VM? Where do you click "Reopen"?
Regular setup - but it only started after I added a second virtual disk for it. The System and System Folder are on the first disk, which is also top of the list in SS preferences.

The "reopen" command is in OS X and refers to SS not OS 8.6
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

Still strange. Why would SheepShaver crash during MacOS startup only when launched directly and not again when reopened from the crash dialog. It started after a second disk image was added to the volumes list? Are both disk images in the same location on the host? Any relevant info recorded in Console at the time of the crash?
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

Ronald P. Regensburg wrote:Still strange. Why would SheepShaver crash during MacOS startup only when launched directly and not again when reopened from the crash dialog. It started after a second disk image was added to the volumes list? Are both disk images in the same location on the host? Any relevant info recorded in Console at the time of the crash?
Yes - both disk images are in the SheepShaver folder.

Here is the start of the latest Console message:

Code: Select all

Process:         SheepShaver [43763]
Path:            /Users/kran/SheepShaver/SheepShaver.app/Contents/MacOS/SheepShaver
Identifier:      SheepShaver
Version:         2.4.20140201 (2.4)
Code Type:       X86 (Native)
Parent Process:  launchd [184]

Date/Time:       2016-02-07 19:04:08.522 +0000
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549)
Report Version:  6

Exception Type:  EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread:  0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Application Specific Information:
abort() called

Thread 0 Crashed:  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libSystem.B.dylib             	0x9254bc5a __kill + 10
1   libSystem.B.dylib             	0x9254bc4c kill$UNIX2003 + 32
2   libSystem.B.dylib             	0x925de5a5 raise + 26
3   libSystem.B.dylib             	0x925f46e4 abort + 93
4   SheepShaver                   	0x780ad387 powerpc_cpu::execute_illegal(unsigned int) + 87
5   ???                           	0x27cf52ca 0 + 667898570
By the way, for both disks, 'Ignore Illegal Memory Access' is checked. 'Ignore Illegal Instructions' is NOT checked.

One other thing - which may or may not be relevant. Anything to do with QuickTime causes the Mac OS to freeze (a blank grey rectangle starts to appear, but it remains empty). I have to Force Quit SS. For example, double clicking a JPEG, or clicking the Apple-provided 'Play this movie' or similar. Edit: I just checked in the QuickTime folder and read the "read me". Apparently I should have QT 3. However there is no QT application, but there is a very small 'Movie Player' and 'Picture Viewer' - is this correct? Further edit: there is a System Extension called QuickTime - was that how it worked back then?
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

--- About the SheepShaver crash at startup ---

"Ignore Illegal Memory Accesses" needs indeed to be checked. I do not know what you mean with "for both disks", it is a general setting that is not related to disks.

I am not an expert in this, but it seems to me a memory issue nevertheless.
- Is that second disk very large?
- What RAM Size did you set in SheepShaver preferences?
- Have you tried if restarting the host machine solves the issue?


--- About QuickTime ---

QuickTime itself is not an application, it is a number of extensions (the number depends on the version) and a control panel. The associated Player and Viewer applications let you view QT movies and QT images.

MacOS 8.6 comes with QT 3.0.2, five extensions and one control panel. You can check this in the Extensions Manager control panel. The latest version of QuickTime that is compatible with SheepShaver is version 4.1.2.

You can install a newer version of QT over an older one, but you cannot simply downgrade QT by re-installing an older version. You need to manually remove the newer version first.

Files that need a newer QT version cannot be viewed with an older QT version.

SheepShaver does not provide 3D support. Most 3D QT files will cause SheepShaver to crash.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

- The first disk is 419MB (! I set it to 400) and there's about 66MB remaining
- The second disk is 150MB with 57MB remaining
- RAM is 256MB
- I avoid rebooting if possible, as Sophos and Safari 5 together manage to mess up any site that is https. I have to open them in Firefox instead, until Safari settles down after 2 days and manages to open them. I will monitor what happens next time I reboot.
- "for both disks" : my mistake, I had each disk selected in turn before checking Miscellaneous (which was the same in both cases, of course!)

QuickTime
I've checked and yes I have the Control Panel and the 5 Extensions. I had not checked the settings, but the only thing I could see that might be an issue was the choice of 28k modem, so I changed it to Intranet/LAN. However, when I then tried to play the Movie on the desktop "Get QuickTime Pro", it did the usual thing with the grey window / freeze (see picture) [img]Screen%20shot%202016-02-08%20at%2009.56.10.jpg[/img].

I don't use 3D. The Apple movie can't need a newer QT as it's supplied with the OS itself.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

The only movie installed with QuickTime is "Sample Movie". A file "Get QuickTime Pro" does not appear on my 8.6 installation. I probably trashed it because I already own QuickTime Pro licenses for various QuickTime versions. With the license one can unlock the Pro features in QuickTime. I forgot how it worked exactly, but when you ask to purchase a QuickTime Pro license, your default browser would start and connect to the related Apple web-page. That web-page does not exist anymore.

I tried it myself. When I try to start either QT player or QT viewer in MacOS 8.6 (and in MacOS 8.5.1) in SheepShaver, MacOS (and with it SheepShaver) crashes. QT 4.1.2 works fine in MacOS 9.0.4, though. Maybe it will work in MacOS 8.6 when you update QT to version 4.1.2. Make sure you install the version that corresponds with the language version of your MacOS.
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1134?loc ... cale=en_US

(BTW: You cannot upload images here. If you want to show an image, you need to publish it somewhere else and add the full url between [img]and[/img].)
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TiddK
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

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Unfortunately I can't get QT 4 to install. The download included the installer, but when I double click it and complete the necessary details, it tells me it is about to download the installation data - it then starts and immediately gives me a "red hand" error saying that trying to download the VISEData file had failed.

I tried a restart but the same thing happens every time. There is now a QT icon on my desktop but clicking it gives me the message that I need to download the installation data in order to use QT 4.

OS 8.6 doesn't object to QT4 in principle so I think the version is ok. Yesterday I just about managed to get the internet running and did download an early beta of the Opera browser. I have "Intranet/LAN" selected as my modem.

I copied the QT4 "installer" to my desktop but not the QT Install Cache. I then tried copying that across, but this time - instead of the "red hand" error message - I get the "black bomb" system error message each time.

I'm ready to give up. :sad:
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

I did the QT 4 upgrade in 8.6 and it worked fine.

Not sure what you did.

I downloaded the file QuickTime_Installer.smi.bin on my El Capitan host and decompressed it to QuickTime Installer.smi. I then dragged the .smi file into the shared folder. In SheepShaver I copied the file from Unix to the 8.6 System HD. Double-clicking the .smi file there, mounted the "QuickTime Installer" image volume on the desktop. Opening that volume showed the actual QuickTime Installer. After double-clicking the installer QuickTime 4 was installed. You are asked to choose a connection speed. Anything will do as you can change that setting later in the control panel. Skip the QuickTime Pro upgrade registration (do not fill in a registration number). Look for the newly installed QuickTime folder with player, viewer and sample files for QuickTime 4. When launching the player or the viewer the first time, skip QuickTime Pro upgrade ("Later") because that will not work anymore.
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TiddK
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

This then is the difference. My download is not QuickTime_Installer.smi.bin, but a dmg of "QuickTime Installer.smi". OS 8.6 doesn't recognise a dmg, and tells me I must try on a Mac HFS disk or Mac Enhanced disk.

So I tried again with yesterday's download. This time I did two things different:

1. I OPTION-dragged the installer and cache from Unix to the 8.6 desktop, which left the original copies in Unix (i.e. Copy, not Move).
2. I selected 56k Modem/DSN with multiple streams, instead of Intranet/LAN.

This time it worked! It's installed ok, and I can open the QT Player on my desktop.

The only curious thing is that my remaining disk space is the same as before. I think it must have done a PARTIAL install before, which used up the required disk space, and the successful installation has merely overwritten that.

Footnote: it's entirely possible I never used QT on my PB3400 all those years ago; I never played music on it, and pictures I tended to take screenshots of, then open them in ClarisWorks or Photoshop, and save them as PICT files.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

TiddK wrote:My download is not QuickTime_Installer.smi.bin, but a dmg of "QuickTime Installer.smi".
Apparently you did not use the link to the QT 4 downloads from Apple that I posted above.
I OPTION-dragged the installer and cache from Unix to the 8.6 desktop, which left the original copies in Unix (i.e. Copy, not Move).
To make sure the file is not still somewhere on the Unix volume, I always advise to copy it to another disk. As you may be aware, the desktop in MacOS is not one location (like in OSX), but each mounted volume has its own desktop and what you see is the combined desktops of all mounted volumes. Unlike moving the file to the desktop, copying to the desktop will indeed copy the file to the desktop of the startup (system) volume.
I selected 56k Modem/DSN with multiple streams, instead of Intranet/LAN.
Irrelevant for the installation. The setting is meant for playing files over a network connection (from the internet).
The only curious thing is that my remaining disk space is the same as before. I think it must have done a PARTIAL install before, which used up the required disk space, and the successful installation has merely overwritten that.
Maybe. Of course the installation also replaces most files of the earlier QT installation.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

Ronald P. Regensburg wrote:
TiddK wrote:My download is not QuickTime_Installer.smi.bin, but a dmg of "QuickTime Installer.smi".
Apparently you did not use the link to the QT 4 downloads from Apple that I posted above.
Yes. Yes I did! (Where else would I go?). I clicked the blue Download link next to 'International English' and that's what it gave me - a dmg.
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

That is very strange indeed. At the time that these files were posted by Apple, the .dmg format did not yet exist.

When I click that same download link, I get "QuickTime_Installer.smi.bin" that is extracted by Apple's default "Archive Utility" (automatically when set to do so in the browser's settings) to the file "QuickTime Installer.smi". It does show a disk image icon, like all disk image files regardless the format, but no .dmg file anywhere to be seen.

A .smi file (self mounting image) is in fact an application with disk image inside. In classic MacOS the image will mount when double-clicked without the need for any additional software. Like all applications, it will not run (or not run properly) when executed from the 'Unix' volume in SheepShaver (and BasiliskII).
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Re: Increase virtual disk size

Post by TiddK »

Maybe I have a utility somewhere, or a preference, that defaults all such things to dmg's?

Actually, Safari's download says I downloaded the .smi (but not the .bin) - it just looked and behaved like a dmg.
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