[net.micro.mac] Trashing/Building DeskTop on SCSI Disk

barad@brand.UUCP (04/22/86)

2 days ago, I managed to trash the Desktop file on my DataFrame 20 hard disk.
I started to panic, but then I remembered an article that I read in MacTutor
from Gary Voth about his own similar problems with the Apple HD-20.  He said
that the desktop file could be rebuilt with Finder 5.0 and not the later
versions.  Fine.  I then tried this and it did not work.  I tried this with
every version of the Finder that I have (5.0, 5.1, & 5.2).  Now I really
began to panic.

Well, here is what I did.  I made ResEdit the startup application on a Floppy
that I have that also has the SCSI Init file that is needed for the DataFrame
hard disk.  I made it the startup application because the Finder demands that
I rebuild the desktop of the DataFrame disk (and you know what that means...).

When I got into ResEdit (I am using v. 1.0D5), I drew a quick sigh of
relief and noticed that ResEdit completely recognized everything.  The
desktop file has been thoroughly trashed (it had 286 bytes in the resource
fork - with no resources!)  Well, I got to work and copied every resource
in my floppy's desktop file into the DataFrame's desktop file.  Upon quitting
from ResEdit, the Finder recognized the DataFrame and everything looked ok.
Of course, many files now do not have their icons, but I could then recopy some
applications onto the hard disk and the icons now linked up properly.

I still don't trust the desktop file completely.  I don't think it is quite
kosher, but I had no other way of rebuilding it.

Does anybody (INCLUDING YOU APPLE!!!) have a reliable way of rebuilding a
desktop file on an SCSI hard disk?  I am sure that someone has run into
this problem before.  I hope it can be resolved soon - the Desktop file is
too important of a file to play around with.

-- 


Herb Barad	[USC - Signal and Image Processing Institute]

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leeke@cascade.ARPA (Steven D. Leeke) (05/07/86)

In article <204@brand.UUCP> barad@brand.UUCP (Herb Barad) writes:
>2 days ago, I managed to trash the Desktop file on my DataFrame 20 hard disk.
.
.
.
>Does anybody (INCLUDING YOU APPLE!!!) have a reliable way of rebuilding a
>desktop file on an SCSI hard disk?  I am sure that someone has run into
>this problem before.  I hope it can be resolved soon - the Desktop file is
>too important of a file to play around with.

Why not just boot a off a floppy disk with a system folder and while it
is load hold down opt-cmd to get a rebuild desktop dialog box.  I have
corrupted the desktop on my Paradise several times (my fault - not Paradise's)
and when I tried to boot and rebuild the Paradise at the same time time it
bombed, but when I rebuilt the desktop off a floppy boot it worked.

Steve Leeke
leeke@cascade