chas@ssc-vax.UUCP (Chas Boyd) (01/09/87)
Thanks for all the replies - the net looks after its own. Here is a summary of what I learned about ST hard disks: 0) A program in the AUTO folder of the boot floppy loads the hard disk driver. 1) When booting up a hard disk, the DESKTOP.INF file is read from the C: partition of the hard disk and the one on the boot floppy is ignored. 2) A DESKTOP.INF file from a floppy with no hard disk icons can be copied onto a hard disk, making the HD inaccessible. 3) This problem can be remedied using the create disk option in the menu bar to create icons for the hard disk. 4) This option does not check for an empty space on the desktop. Icons created may be covered over by a directory window so that it appears that nothing has happened. 5) The contents of an AUTO folder on a boot floppy are executed on start-up, but are ignored on a hard disk. 6) DAs are loaded from the hard disk main directory and then from the boot floppy if there is room. 7) The formatting program that comes with the disk does not require the presence of a hard disk icon because "it contains it's own driver". I do not know if it requires a driver to have been loaded from the floppy auto folder. How I discovered these wondrous things: The problem: My Atari w/SH204 Disk drive would boot, load the DAs and then bring up the GEM desktop without any hard disk Icons. I thought this was because of the HD driver loader program being in an Auto folder on the hard disk. I tried many things, but eventually posted to the net. Our usenet node immediately crashed for the 2, 3, 4,and 5th of Jan preventing me from reading replies. However, on the 3rd (a SATURDAY) Landon Dyer of Atari Engineering called to say that I just had a bad DESKTOP.INF on the Hard disk. He also suggested various things like resetting the system several times with the HD running and no boot program in the AUTO folder, and then disconnecting it and trying the boot program again. This sounded intricate so I tried reformatting again and just happened to have my directory window in a slightly different place so that I was able to see the icon appear. It did not occur to me that the system would place new disk icons UNDERNEATH another window. This seems rather unclever to me. Oh well, maybe in a later version of the ROMs... Now that the usenet node is back up, I have received many suggestions on what to do. Most of them are correct, and any additional info is listed above. BTW 0), 1), and 6) are in the SH204 manual, and 7) is questionable. Thanks all, you know who you are... Chas. -- UUCP (uw-beaver|fluke)!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!chas (Charles Boyd) ARPA ssc-vax!ssc-bee!chas@uw-beaver WORK (206) 773-3878 HOME (206) 271-7216