Subject: Re: Can we read/write EOD's in DOS format? Try the man pages for: filesystems: cdfs, dos, fat, efs, hfs, mac, iso9660, CD-ROM, kfs, nfs, RockRidge (4) - IRIX filesystem types mediad, cdromd, msdosd (1M) - handle removable media on the system to_dos, to_unix (1) - convert text files between MSDOS and UNIX fpck (1M) - check and repair either FAT (MSDOS) or HFS (MACINTOSH) file systems mkfp (1M) - construct a FAT (MSDOS) or HFS (MACINTOSH) file system Frequently Asked Questions about Magneto-Optical Disks on Silicon Graphics Computers Bob Miller Last updated: 8/30/94 This document discusses issues involving Magneto-Optical removable disks (M-Os) under current releases of Irix, 5.2 and 5.3. ====================================== * Are M-O drives supported under Irix? -------------------------------------- Although SGI has not formally chosen any Magneto-Optical drives as an OEM product, nor have we formally tested any M-O drives, we believe that the the SCSI driver in IRIX does indeed provide base level support for M-O drives. However, applications-level software such as the Indigo Magic desktop does not recognize M-O drives and media. ====================================== * What M-O drives and media can I use? -------------------------------------- Use a SCSI M-O drive. We have used the following drive types successfully. Maxoptix Tahiti 2 and 3 Pinnacle Micro PMO-650 Sony SMO-S521 Other brands and models are likely to work as well. Sony drives based on the 501 mechanism are not recommended. Sony no longer ships 501 based drives, so current models should be okay. The Sony SMO-S521 needs firmware rev. 2.03 or higher. For EFS or HFS filesystems, you must use a cartridge formatted with 512 byte sectors. =============================== * What SGI systems can use M-O? ------------------------------- All SGI systems. ============================= * What filesystem types work? ----------------------------- EFS works. HFS works under Irix 5.3. FAT has not been tested. xFS has not been tested. HFS is the Macintosh Hierarchical File System. FAT is the filesystem used by PCs. EFS is SGI's Extent File System, the same filesystem used on SGI's hard disks. xFS is SGI's 64-bit filesystem. =============================== * What software works with M-O? ------------------------------- The Irix kernel, drivers, and command line utilities work with M-O disks. But objectserver, mediad, the desktop, and the GUI system administration tools don't support them. In Irix 5.2, the GUI tools try to support M-O. But they don't always work, and you'll get better results if you use the command line. ============================================================== * How can I create a Macintosh filesystem on an M-O cartridge? -------------------------------------------------------------- Do it on a Mac. You'll need a formatting utility, such as FWB's Hard Disk Toolkit or Drive7. ====================================================== * How can I use a Macintosh filesystem on an M-O disk? ------------------------------------------------------ You must be using Irix 5.3 or later. As superuser, create a directory where the disk will be mounted. You may use any directory name. This example uses the name "/MO". # mkdir /MO Mount the disk. Use the whole-volume raw device. # /etc/mount -t hfs -o rw /dev/rdsk/dks0d7vol /MO (assuming M-O is at SCSI controller 0, ID 7) ======================================================================== * Can I use Macintosh disks with multiple partitions, encrypted data, or password protection? ---------------------- No. Irix will only see the first MacOS partition on the disk. If the partition is encrypted, it won't be usable. Irix ignores password protection. Some Mac disk drivers encrypt password-protected disks. You won't be able to use those filesystems at all on Irix. Other Mac disk drivers do not encrypt the disks; you'll be able to use those file systems on Irix, but the password protection will be bypassed. ============================= * How do I eject an M-O disk? ----------------------------- You have to manually dismount the filesystem and manually eject the disk. The command to dismount would be # /etc/umount /MO (substitute your mount point) WARNING. If you eject the disk without dismounting it, you will probably corrupt the data on the disk and you will probably hang or crash Irix. You have to manually eject the disk. The eject command does not support M-O disks. =================================================== * How can I format an M-O cartridge under Irix 5.2? --------------------------------------------------- Use the program fx. As the superuser, type this command, substituting your drive's controller number and SCSI ID for (0,7). # fx -x "dksc(0,7)" fx version , Feb 14, 1994 ...opening dksc(0,7,) ...controller test...OK Can't get drive geometry, assuming 64 sectors/track Can't get drive geometry, assuming 8 heads Unable to get device geometry, assuming default Scsi drive type == SONY SMO-F521-00 2.03 fx: Warning - no sgilabel on disk warning: can't read sgilabel on disk creating new sgilabel ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- [exi]t [d]ebug/ [l]abel/ [a]uto [b]adblock/ [exe]rcise/ [r]epartition/ [f]ormat fx> format fx/format: Drive parameters to use in formatting = (current) * * * * * W A R N I N G * * * * * about to destroy data on disk dksc(0,7,)! ok? yes format will take approximately 15 minutes ... Can't get drive geometry, assuming 64 sectors/track Can't get drive geometry, assuming 8 heads Unable to get device geometry, assuming default ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- [exi]t [d]ebug/ [l]abel/ [a]uto [b]adblock/ [exe]rcise/ [r]epartition/ [f]ormat fx> exit label info has changed for .... write out changes? (yes) yes Formatting typically takes from ten to thirty minutes. =================================================== * How can I format an M-O cartridge under Irix 5.3? --------------------------------------------------- Use the program fx. As the superuser, type this command, substituting your drive's controller number and SCSI ID for (0,7). # fx -x -c "dksc(0,7)" FORMAT Formatting typically takes from ten to thirty minutes. ========================================================= * How can I create an EFS filesystem on an M-O cartridge? --------------------------------------------------------- Use the program fx to create the volume header. As the superuser, type this command, substituting your drive's controller number and SCSI ID for (0,7). # fx "dksc(0,7)" fx version 5.3, Aug 15, 1994 ...opening dksc(0,7,) ...controller test...OK Scsi drive type == SONY SMO-F521-00 2.03 ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- [exi]t [d]ebug/ [l]abel/ [b]adblock/ [exe]rcise/ [r]epartition/ fx> repartition/option Warning: you will need to re-install all software and restor... from backups after changing the partition layout. Changing ... will cause all data on the drive to be lost. Be sure you ha... backed up if it contains any user data. Continue? y ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- [exi]t [d]ebug/ [l]abel/ [b]adblock/ [exe]rcise/ [r]epartition/ fx> exit Create the filesystem using this command, substituting your controller and SCSI ID for "s0d7". # mkfs /dev/rdsk/dks0d7s7 If you want to create multiple partitions or otherwise customize the partition table, refer to the fx(1M) man page. ========================================================= * Why does my Sony M-O get errors when I run /usr/bin/fx? --------------------------------------------------------- If you get errors during the controller test, you need new firmware. Upgrade the drive's firmware to at least revision 2.03. ================================================= * How can I use an EFS filesystem on an M-O disk? ------------------------------------------------- You have to manually mount it and dismount it. You must be careful never to eject the disk while the filesystem is mounted. As superuser, type this command to mount # /etc/mount /dev/dsk/dks0d7s7 /MO ================================================= * How can I make a cartridge mount automatically? ------------------------------------------------- If you want to leave a particular cartridge in the disk drive and have it mount every time you boot, put an entry into /etc/fstab. E.g., for an EFS filesystem, /dev/dsk/dks0d7s7 /MO efs rw 0 0 For an HFS filesystem, /dev/rdsk/dks0d7vol /MO hfs rw 0 0 See the fstab(4) manual page for more info. If you want to have disks automatically mount whenever they are inserted, you're out of luck. Mediad does that, and mediad doesn't recognize M-O's. =============================================================== * How can I mount an M-O cartridge without superuser privilege? --------------------------------------------------------------- There is a free program, mountMO, that allows you to do exactly that. It was written by Kent Landfield and Alan Hewat . >From the mountMO manual page: Mountmo allows a user who is not the superuser to mount a Magneto-Optic (MO) drive. The drive is mounted on the directory /modrive. The mount point /modrive must be a directory and not a symbolic link to a directory. The drive can be mounted as readonly using the -r option. The eject button is disabled until the disk is dismounted with the command "umountmo". On the Internet, you can get mountMO from this URL. ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/hardware/mountmo.c mountMO is also distributed on SGI's Developer's Toolkit CD-ROM. On Wed, Oct 19, "Jacky Romano" wrote: > A question came form a customer - Can we read/write Eraseable Optical > Disks in DOS format, so one can transfer data to/from PC's. Do you > have other ideas about media one can use to move ~500 MEG files to a > PC. -- David Youatt, dpy@sgi.com, 508/562-4800 x353