[comp.sys.mac.system] Suggestion on installing system 7.0

gad@eclipse.its.rpi.edu (Garance A. Drosehn) (05/18/91)

Here's an idea I used when installing system 7.0 on my hard drive.  It requires  
that you have plenty of free space, but it worked well and it's offered for  
your collective amusement.  "Plenty of free space" means 5-10 megs, at least.

Back up the system.  Run the compatability checker (and read the report!).   
When it asks about moving things out of your system folder, don't.  Just leave  
everything there.  Get your floppies all made up and ready.

Just before you're ready to take the leap, create a folder inside your system  
folder, called "Hide System".  Move the "System" file (and only that file) into  
that folder.  The hard disk now has no system folder (since there is no folder  
which has both "Finder" and "System" files in it).  Rename what was the system  
folder to something else (eg: "System Folder 6.0.7").  

Reboot, starting the system off the "Install 1" floppy.  Run the installer  
script.  Since it sees no system folder on your hard disk, it installs a  
pristine copy of system 7.0 on your hard drive.  When it's done, it asks if you  
want to restart or shutdown.  

If you have an Apple hard drive, get the "Disk Tools" disk ready.  Restart the  
machine using that floppy.  Run "Apple HD SC Setup".  Reboot, this time going  
to your hard disk.  You are now running a pristine copy of system 7.0.  If you  
have any problems, you know it's system 7 and not some interaction between that  
and something else you had in your old system folder.

As you get become confident that things are working OK (they ARE working okay,  
right!?!), start moving things from your old system folder into the new one.   
Note that you'll need the new version of CD ROM software (if you have Apple's  
reader).  You need version 1.2.10 of Suitcase if you're using that.  First try  
to live without your old inits & cdevs, and then move them into your new system  
folder one at a time as you find things you really miss.  That way, if  
something breaks you'll know what broke it.

Among other benefits, the above strategy means you'll get the scrapbook file  
from system 7.0 installed.  You can then open that up to find a pretty map of  
the world.  Copy it to the clipboard.  Open up the Map cdev.  Paste the  
picture.  Viola, no more black-and-white map.  (hmm, I guess that might not be  
too much fun on a monochrome system, but it's neat on a color display).

I always go for the important things first...
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Garance Alistair Drosehn   = gad@rpi.edu  or  gad@eclipse.its.rpi.edu
ITS Systems Pgrmr;   Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;  Troy NY  USA