[ Excellent summary snipped ] > I hope this isn't too complicated. (I tend to write too much.) > > Just remember this: Using the LBA48 property on a Mac that doesn't support > it > (without hacking), ALWAYS end and start your paritions at 128 GB! > > Because then it won't see anything at all of the partition that extends > beyond > this limit, and so it cannot write-wrap anything, thus data corruption is > not > possible.
1) The magic number is 131,072 megabytes. Partitions must be wholly below the 131,072 megabyte "line", or they must be wholly above the 131,072 megabyte "line". A partition which "crosses the line", that is, it "spans" the line, is very likely to be useless on all pre-QS 2002 models. 2) If your Mac DOESN'T have a Key Largo ATA chip, but it DOES support MacOS X, then your alternative for large drive support is to use Intech's "High Cap" kext, which is in a much later revision, now, but was originally released back in the B&W days, when 160 GB drives were first offered, when drives which exceeded 120 GB were first offered by manufacturers. At that time, the largest drive which Apple offered was 60 GB, which was FORMERLY the largest drive which was offered by manufacturers. You used to be able to get "High Cap" for free from OWC with the purchase of a large drive (>120 GB), but no longer. Also, the old, "free" version of "High Cap" has been replaced by a version which supports the later MacOSes (later than 10.4.x, anyway). 3) Intech's software offerings include MacOS 9 support for large drives and MacOS X support for large drives. But this thread addressed the MacOS X issues, only. 4) It is possible to support large ATA drives by using a "SCSIDE" converter, and then attaching these ATA drives to a supported SCSI controller (Adaptec 29xx with Mac firmware, et. al.). "SCSIDE" has supported large drives for at least 10 years. "SCSIDE" was once the only way to support large drives on Macs, and I actually had a Beige G3 in which every hard drive was UW-SCSI or LVD/SE SCSI and used "SCSIDE" converters. An expensive solution, but it DID give large drive support when there was no other option. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
