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From: ccc_ldo@waikato.ac.nz (Lawrence D'Oliveiro, Waikato University)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Finder disk copying oddity
Message-ID: <265.260e6301@waikato.ac.nz>
Date: 26 Mar 90 06:44:17 GMT
Lines: 34

I want to mention a bug in the Finder that's been mildly bugging me
for a long time now.

I've got a vintage Mac II with a single 800K floppy drive. I frequently
do disk-to-disk copies using the Finder. When the copy has finished, I
give the copy the same name as the original. I do this by clicking on the
greyed-out icon of the (ejected) original, and doing a Copy. I then click
on the icon of the copy, and do a Paste.

This is where the problem occurs. About five times out of six (this
was my initial estimate; I think the problem is worse now) the above
procedure would work fine. But every so often, the Copy operation would
copy garbage, instead of the proper disk name. I would notice this as soon
as I did the Paste; frequently, the Finder would complain that I was
trying to give the disk a name longer than 27 characters.

By the way, I noticed this problem with Finder 6.1 (System 6.0, 6.0.2, 6.0.3)
and 6.1.4 (System 6.0.4) (I can't recall, but I think the special disk-
to-disk copy mode only came in with Finder 6.1). I started out with 2Mb
of memory, I now have 5Mb. I wasn't a regular MultiFinder user initially,
I am now (1.0, 6.0, 6.1b?, 6.1b9). I don't think the INITs I've been running
have anything to do with it.

I tried investigating the problem with MacsBug, by putting a breakpoint
on the PutScrap call. The memory block containing the name being put
to the Clipboard always seems to be a valid one (i e not a purged handle),
but--when the problem occurs--it certainly doesn't contain the volume name.

Anybody else noticed this? Is there a Finder 6.1.5 with System 6.0.5?
If so, does it fix the problem?

Lawrence D'Oliveiro
Computer Services Dept, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
"Sic Biscuitus Disintegratum." -- David Brin