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From: buzz@apple.com (Steve Bollinger)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aux
Subject: Re: Resizing AUX Mac OS partition? (novice question)
Message-ID: <13907@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 6 Jun 91 20:08:05 GMT
References: <1991Jun4.112209.31247@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> <1991Jun5.123635.4268@am.dsir.govt.nz> <1991Jun5.141103.23420@helios.physics.utoronto.ca>
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 31

In article <1991Jun5.141103.23420@helios.physics.utoronto.ca>, sysmark@aurora.physics.utoronto.ca (Mark Bartelt) writes:
> | What do you mean by "uniquely"? If Apple are sleazy then they are not the
> | only ones. And in this case Apple are not sleazy at all. The A/UX SCSI disk
> | driver is very generic indeed. It works with most 3rd party disk drives. Do
> | you mean HD SC Setup? Disk formatting software is drive-specific. You can't
> | expect Apple to support all 3rd pary drives out there. Impossible task. Apple
> | supports their own drives which is all they have to do.
> 
> Granted that *formatting* is (or, at least, can be) very drive-specific.  But
> I don't understand why partitioning can't be supported for all drives.  Isn't
> the partition layout squirreled away in some known place (e.g. block N of the
> first cylinder, or some such)?  Once the drive is formatted, HD SC Setup should
> be able to determine the drive characteristics (number of heads, sectors/track,
> and so forth) with standard SCSI commands, following which it could define the
> partitions, copy appropriate things to the Mac partition, and so on.
> 
> It's my impression that HD SC Setup sniffs the drive, notices that it isn't an
> Apple drive, and refuses to deal with it in any way, even though it could, if
> it wanted to, do things like define the partitions.  If I'm wrong, then please
> correct me.  If not, then I'd tend to agree with Mr. Gunn, though perhaps I'd
> consider "sleazy" a bit strong; how about "shoddy"?

You can do some of this stuff with parted
Also, it isn't too hard to make HD SC Setup work with all drives.  I
partitioned a Maxtor 380 with HD SC Setup once.
For Apple to make it work with all drives and support it as such could be
expensive.

-Steve

(this is just me talking, not Apple)