SheepShaver Mac version vs. Windows version

[Betatester]

I am needing to use Folio Views for Mac. SheepShaver seems to be the only viable solution so far.

It appears there is a bug in the Mac version of SheepShaver. I've set up SS with the same HDD image in Windows xp as I use on my MacBook Pro and PowerMac, using the same settings and ROM file. Folio Views runs great under Mac OS 9.0.4 using the Windows version of SS.
Using the Mac versions (all), Folio Views freezes/crashes the OS. No amount of waiting will recover it's good temper. I've tried the hardware and software curser versions and there is no difference.

I have tried the old stand-by of switching off extensions and control panels to no avail. Different ROMs and OS versions make no difference. Folio views is the only app that I have tried that causes problems, and it is the one I need SS for.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks.

Daniel

[Ronald P. Regensburg]

1. Settings that work fine for the Windows version may not be the best settings for the MacOSX version. If you post the contents of the prefs file, we can compare your settings to the settings we use.

In Terminal type at the prompt:

Code: Select all

open ~/.sheepshaver_prefs

followed by a return.
The prefs file will open in TextEdit and you can copy and paste its contents here.

2. I do not know Folio Views. I understand it is some kind of database application. Exactly when does the freeze or crash happen? Does it happen when the application is launched? Or does it happen while handling files, opening, editing or saving files? Are the files very large?

[Betatester]

Ronald,

1.SheepShaver Prefs file:

disk /Applications/Guest OS Folder/SheepShaver ƒ/MacOS9.dmg
rom /Applications/Guest OS Folder/SheepShaver ƒ/MacOSROM
keycodefile /Applications/Guest OS Folder/SheepShaver ƒ/BasiliskII_keycodes
disk /Users/Shared/400MB.dmg
extfs /Users/Shared/
screen win/1024/768
windowmodes 0
screenmodes 0
seriala
serialb
bootdrive 0
bootdriver -62
ramsize 536870912
frameskip 0
gfxaccel true
nocdrom false
nonet false
nosound false
nogui true
noclipconversion false
ignoresegv false
jit true
jit68k false
keyboardtype 5
ether slirp
keycodes true
mousewheelmode 1
mousewheellines 3
dsp /dev/dsp
mixer /dev/mixer
ignoresegv false
idlewait true


2. Yes, Folio views is a data base app, version 4.2. 176MB of data in one file. But the app can be launched without using the data files, this also causes the freeze/crash. It launches and immediately the OS hangs "forever". The menu bar in OS 9 goes blank as Folio Views launches. I have to force-quite SS and re-launch it. I've left SS go for 35 min. with no change in the hang.

Thanks for your interest and your help.

Daniel

[Ronald P. Regensburg]

You have prefs set to boot from CD-ROM. I would normally leave that set to "Any", although I do not think it will make a difference to your problem.

Is the Folio Views application installed on the MacOS9 disk?

Have you tried to increase the amount of memory allocated to Folio Views (in Finder Info).

[rscaboyke]

Ronald, I think he has the same problem as I'm having !
In the earlier days when Gwenolé himself did answer mails regarding crashes in SS, I had mailed him about SS crashing when launching Framemaker 7.0 in SS-windows. He mailed me something about an upcode-error and said that he would fix it in his new release, and he did so. Framemaker SS-windows working fine. Nowadays I turned windows my head without buying mac either, now I natively run a hackintosh (ideneb v1.3 - osx10.5.5) and use the osx-built of SS, and framemaker just crashes as before. I think becaus Gwenole had to change his code in a update, that the OSX-port of SS didn't count that in. Perhaps for View same thing ???

[Ronald P. Regensburg]

Could be. We need someone with programming skills to have a look at the source code and see if that specific change was made for the Windows version only. Regrettably, no active development of SheepShaver is going on. However, all changes made by Gwenole before he suspended development of SheepShaver and BasiliskII are in CVS and if this was a bug that was not limited to the Windows version, I would expect him to have made the change for all three versions.

[emendelson]

One solution for the original poster might be to use Basilisk II, because Folio Views is old enough to work on a 68K Mac. My experience is that Ronald's Basilisk II build is highly stable running System 7.5.5 or 7.6.1, and certainly much faster than SheepShaver.

[CharlesS]

Betatester's problem is not unique. I, too, have found that trying to launch Folio Views hangs SheepShaver when running under OS X, even if it is the latest CVS build. There's no bomb box, and nothing gets logged to the console - it just hangs. However - it is not the SheepShaver app itself that hangs - it is the emulated environment that freezes, while the app itself remains responsive (and the cursor continues to move if it's a software cursor build).

Trying to run Folio under Basilisk will not work as it is a PowerPC-only application and does not contain 680x0 code.

[Betatester]

Hi everyone, Thanks for your help and input. I appreciate this forum.

Folio Views is installed on the OS 9 disk. I have tried it on a separate disk with no difference. I have memory set to the maximum it will allow, which I think in this case it is 14050.

BTW How do I turn on virtual memory in the Mac OS using SS? I thought the way to reveal that option was to hold down the Option key as the Memory Control Panel was launched, however this does not work under SS.

Yes, the emulated OS freezes, not SS really. Though I have to Force Quite SS to get out of the freeze/hang. And I too tried the Software build with folio but my curser froze occasionally when launching Folio.

Daniel

[Ronald P. Regensburg]

The hardware that is needed to be able to use virtual memory is not emulated by SheepShaver. That is why virtual memory settings are hidden in Memory control panel.

Software that depends on virtual memory or otherwise needs a MMU (memory management unit) will not run in SheepShaver. The fact that a MMU is not emulated is also the reason why MacOS 9.1-9.2.2 cannot run in SheepShaver.

[Betatester]

Wow Ronald! Thanks!

I've been messing around with SheepShaver for two years and I've never heard that before!

Thanks again.

[kelvin31415]

In the earlier days when Gwenolé himself did answer mails regarding crashes in SS, I had mailed him about SS crashing when launching Framemaker 7.0 in SS-windows. He mailed me something about an upcode-error and said that he would fix it in his new release, and he did so. Framemaker SS-windows working fine. Nowadays I turned windows my head without buying mac either, now I natively run a hackintosh (ideneb v1.3 - osx10.5.5) and use the osx-built of SS, and framemaker just crashes as before. I think becaus Gwenole had to change his code in a update, that the OSX-port of SS didn't count that in. Perhaps for View same thing ???

I assume you mean an "opcode" error, which likely refers to an error in the translation of a PowerPC opcode for native execution. There is a good chance that this sort of error would be platform-specific. However, if you can tell me the date of your email conversation with Gwenole, I will rummage the code change history and see if I can find out what he did.

[kelvin31415]

Yes, the emulated OS freezes, not SS really. Though I have to Force Quite SS to get out of the freeze/hang.

In a situation like this, you can invoke an "emergency quit" from SheepShaver by typing a control-escape.

[Betatester]

In a situation like this, you can invoke an "emergency quit" from SheepShaver by typing a control-escape.

Control-escape didn't work for me. So, maybe it is SS freezing. I've gotten the "beachball" the last three times I've tried Folio Views, usually the cursor remains a pointer when I try Folio.

[Betatester]

Just to update this:

A couple days ago, I downloaded the latest build of SS available. Now when I try Folio Views, SheepShaver crashes hard with the Unexpected Quit notice from OS X.