[comp.sys.mac] What is minimum needed on startup floppy?

bob@aecom.yu.edu (Bob Lummis) (02/26/90)

What are the minimum files needed on a floppy to use it as a startup disk?  By
minimum I mean I want the most disk space unused, but I want a system capable
of launching an application.  I guess I need a System Folder with a System and
Finder files, no fonts in the System file, no desk accessories (is control
panel required?), the desktop file, and some drivers?  Which drivers are
required?
-- 
Robert C. Lummis,     Director of Scientific Computing
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y. 10461
bob@aecom.yu.edu                   ...!uunet!aecom!bob

ajauch@ics.uci.edu (Alexander Edwin Jauch) (03/01/90)

In article <2759@aecom.yu.edu> bob@aecom.yu.edu (Bob Lummis) writes:
>What are the minimum files needed on a floppy to use it as a startup disk?  By
>minimum I mean I want the most disk space unused, but I want a system capable
>of launching an application.  I guess I need a System Folder with a System and
>Finder files, no fonts in the System file, no desk accessories (is control
>panel required?), the desktop file, and some drivers?  Which drivers are
>required?

The only thing you need on a startup disk are the files called system and
finder.  You can safely delete all the fonts loaded into the system (the
required ones will not go away).  You can also trash all your da's, nothing
is required.  I would suggest keeping the chooser, however.  If you want to
print the printer driver is required (ie, either the Imagewriter or laser
writer depending on your system).  You do not need a system folder.  But you
do need to move the system and finder on the disk at the same time, this
signals the Finder to make the disk bootable (forgive the dos-ism).

Before anyone flames me, I *have* tried this but only with system 5.0, since
I got my hard disk and moved up to 6.02, this wasn't necessary.

Alex Jauch
ajauch@bonnie.ics.uci.edu

aland@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Alan D Danziger) (03/01/90)

In article <25EC990F.12073@paris.ics.uci.edu> ajauch@ics.uci.edu (Alexander Edwin Jauch) writes:
>In article <2759@aecom.yu.edu> bob@aecom.yu.edu (Bob Lummis) writes:
>>What are the minimum files needed on a floppy to use it as a startup disk?  By
>
>The only thing you need on a startup disk are the files called system and
>finder.  You can safely delete all the fonts loaded into the system (the
>required ones will not go away).  You can also trash all your da's, nothing
>is required.  I would suggest keeping the chooser, however.
>
>Alex Jauch
>ajauch@bonnie.ics.uci.edu

WRONG!!!  At LEAST as of System 6, you MUST have at least one DA in
the Apple menu (most people use Alarm Clock because it seems to be the
smallest) and if you delete all your fonts, your text will look funny.
This USUALLY won't be a big deal, however.  But the important thing is
that I don't believe Font/DA Mover will let you REALLY mess things up.


-- 

	-=Alan=-
	aland@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu

hpoppe@bierstadt.scd.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (03/02/90)

In article <2759@aecom.yu.edu> bob@aecom.yu.edu (Bob Lummis) writes:
>What are the minimum files needed on a floppy to use it as a startup disk?  By
>minimum I mean I want the most disk space unused, but I want a system capable
>of launching an application.  I guess I need a System Folder with a System and
>Finder files, no fonts in the System file, no desk accessories (is control
>panel required?), the desktop file, and some drivers?  Which drivers are
>required?

Starting with System 6.0, Apple has been including special Installer
scripts for generating "minimal" systems. They are on Utility Disk 1.
The startup disk so created will only work on a single Mac type
(MacPlus, for instance). The new Installer (V2.0, comes with 6.0.4)
makes this operation particularly easy, since it makes the choices
obvious (when you select "Custom") and will get resources/files
from the appropriate disk.

--
Herb Poppe      NCAR                         INTERNET: hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu
(303) 497-1296  P.O. Box 3000                   CSNET: hpoppe@ncar.CSNET
		Boulder, CO  80307               UUCP: hpoppe@ncar.UUCP

commons@Sunburn.Stanford.EDU (Peter Commons) (03/02/90)

In article 6466, H. Poppe  writes:
>
>Starting with System 6.0, Apple has been including special Installer
>scripts for generating "minimal" systems. They are on Utility Disk 1.
>The startup disk so created will only work on a single Mac type
>(MacPlus, for instance). The new Installer (V2.0, comes with 6.0.4)
>makes this operation particularly easy, since it makes the choices
>obvious (when you select "Custom") and will get resources/files
>from the appropriate disk.
>

Is there a way as easy as this to create a minimal system to work on
every kind of Mac? 

i.e. What exactly is the minimal system file needed to work on every Mac?
I assume it's the System found on the utilities disk minus any extra fonts
or DAs, but I'd love to know!


Peter Commons
commons@sunburn.stanford.edu

jjk@moon.UMD.EDU (Jim Klavetter) (03/02/90)

In addition to using the minimal system with installer, a trick I used
when writing my thesis with only a mac plus and no Hard Disk while at
the observatory was to rename [insert your favorite word processing
application here] to "Finder" and have [your favorite equation editor]
as a da.  I did have to do a little screwing around with [your
favorite graphing application] and [your favorite drawing application]
on another disk, but you get the idea.  

Note that this is slightly less than the origanal poster requested
since you can't launch applications (unless you add some 3rd party
application, of course), but if you need the space on the floppy for
only one application, it works well.

jjk
Jim Klavetter
Astronomy Program
University of Maryland
College Park, MD  20742

hal@krishna.cs.cornell.edu (Hal Perkins) (03/02/90)

In article <1990Mar1.191611.27202@Neon.Stanford.EDU> Peter Commons writes:
>Is there a way as easy as this to create a minimal system to work on
>every kind of Mac? 
>
>i.e. What exactly is the minimal system file needed to work on every Mac?
>I assume it's the System found on the utilities disk minus any extra fonts
>or DAs, but I'd love to know!

An easy answer is to use the new installer that comes with system
version 6.0.4.  Among the scripts supplied is one entitled "minimal
system for any macintosh".  Should be just what you want.

Hal Perkins                      hal@cs.cornell.edu
Cornell CS

usenet@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU (Usenet programs owner) (03/02/90)

>Is there a way as easy as this to create a minimal system to work on
>every kind of Mac?
>i.e. What exactly is the minimal system file needed to work on every Mac?
>I assume it's the System found on the utilities disk minus any extra fonts
>or DAs, but I'd love to know!
From: vogelw@bionette.cgrb.orst.edu (Walter Vogel - Biochem)
Path: bionette.cgrb.orst.edu!vogelw

If you take System 6.0.3 and remove All the fonts that you can you will be left
with 4 Chicago 12, Geneva 9 & 12, and Monaco 9. Now remove All the DA except
the clock (its the smallest) since Font/DA Mover will not allow you to remove
the last DA. This assumes that you don't want to print from this disk; if you
do then you will need the chooser DA and you will need the ImageWriter driver
also.

Now you have done everything that you can with Font/DA Mover to trim down the
System file--such a file is 232K. This can be trimed down a bit more with
ResEdit (on a copy of your system file). First the fonts: those fonts that
you could remove with DA/Font Mover above are in the ROM of Macs SE,II and
beyond (for the Plus it has Chicago 12 in ROM). Thus for the SE and greater
remove all the FONT and FOND resources. There is a caveat about this that I
will mention at the end of this message. Next remove the FKEY resources. These
allow you to print a screen and send screen shot to a file. Open the DRVR
resources and remove the DA (clock) that the Font/DA Mover would allow you to.
Next open the snds resouces and remove all but the simple beep. Close ResEdit
and save the changes. This will leave a system file of 193K. There are other
things that you could remove. By comparing the system that Apple ships on the
guided tour floppy (SE/30) at least another 27K can be pruned.

To produce the Start up disk that wanted place this system and the finder
on a floppy and a small application that you rename to the name of the
application that you want to run--I suggest TeachText but any small application
will do. No folders are needed. Boot the Mac from this disk and set startup to
the application. Reboot from another startup disk and remove the finder and
the small application then copy your large application with the SAME NAME as
the small applicaion to the disk. Now except for that 27 extra K out there
this is the best you can do.

Now for that caveat: Although those fonts are in ROM not all programs can use
them properly. Some programs allow you to switch between the three available
fonts and font sizes others may not. I tried Word 3 (Word 4 is much too big)
which is 350K and I could only use Geneva. I could choose any size I wished
including 9 and 12 which looked good or even 10 and 14 which of course didn't.
But, I wasn't able to switch to Monaco or Chicago. The system itself uses the
ROM based fonts without any trouble. Make sure that you rebuild the desktop on
the floppy you are working with (do this while another disk is the startup
disk). With the Word 3 example I had 235K left over for files.

Walter Vogel                              

sobiloff@agnes.acc.stolaf.edu (Chrome Cboy) (03/02/90)

If you're really desparate for space, but don't want to rename your application
"Finder" (as one .netter suggested), look up MacUser's "Beat the System"
column from a few months back (sorry, my libe's at home...). It covered how
you can delete certain resources from the System file that you may not need.
I'm not sure if this is the same effect as using the "minimum" scripts in
Installer, but it might be worth a shot.
						-CCb

Doin' Steven S.'s job... :-)

ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) (03/03/90)

Oh, come one now.  You can do better than that!  Who needs all those
silly PTCH resources... :-)

					Tim Smith

wsinkees@lso.win.tue.nl (Kees Huizing) (03/05/90)

ajauch@ics.uci.edu (Alexander Edwin Jauch) writes:

>In article <2759@aecom.yu.edu> bob@aecom.yu.edu (Bob Lummis) writes:
>>What are the minimum files needed on a floppy to use it as a startup disk?  By
>>minimum I mean I want the most disk space unused, but I want a system capable
>>of launching an application.  I guess I need a System Folder with a System and
>>Finder files, no fonts in the System file, no desk accessories (is control
>>panel required?), the desktop file, and some drivers?  Which drivers are
>>required?

>The only thing you need on a startup disk are the files called system and
>finder. 

I have a floppy with a Hypercard demo for single floppy drive owners.  It
contains *only* the system and *no* finder.  For the rest, of course,
hypercard and some stacks.  Hypercard is launched automatically when you
start up.  Quitting means shutting down.  It worked with system version 4.
I got it with my Plus, I don't know how it has been made.

						Kees
-- 
Kees Huizing - Eindhoven Univ of Techn - Dept Math & Comp Sc - The Netherlands
DOMAIN: wsinkees@win.tue.nl    BITNET: wsdckeesh@heitue5    FAX: +31-40-436685