Important Information About Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0
This document contains important information about Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0 (version 2.0.3) that is not included in your user's guide.
IMPORTANT
Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0 requires Macintosh system software version 7.0.1 or later.
What is Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0?
Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0 is a System 7 compatibility utility that lets you use DOS-format disks on your Macintosh. PC Exchange makes it easy to work with DOS data files on your Macintosh and to transfer files back and forth between a Macintosh and a PC-compatible computer simply by copying the files between disks.
Please note that PC Exchange will not translate or convert DOS data files into Macintosh data files. In addition, PC Exchange does not allow you to work with MS-DOS or Windows application programs on your Macintosh.
New Features
Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0:
* now works with DOS-format and Windows-format SCSI fixed and removable media storage devices (such as Iomega Bernoulli and SyQuest cartridge drives).
* now works with Apple II ProDOS-format floppy disks.
* now works with NEC DOS-format 640K floppy disks.
* lets you access DOS-format drive container files created on a Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS-Compatible computer.
* uses minimal random-access memory (less than 5K) when not in use.
* includes an on/off switch in the control panel that allows you to turn off the PC Exchange disk-mounting capability temporarily.
* comes with built-in device drivers to support a wide variety of SCSI hard disk and removable media drives.
* works on Power Macintosh systems in Macintosh 68000 emulation mode.
Software Fixes in Version 2.0.3
* Earlier versions of Macintosh PC Exchange would fail to recognize and display DOS files on DOS-format disks when the filename contained certain international characters. In this new version, DOS filenames containing international characters will be recognized by PC Exchange. However, in most cases, the DOS international characters will be replaced with alternate Macintosh international characters.
* Earlier versions of Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0 would not allow File Sharing to be turned on when a DOS-format hard disk or removable media drive were mounted on the Desktop. This new version will allow you to turn on File Sharing while a DOS-format disk is mounted on the Desktop. However, the DOS-format disk cannot be shared using the File Sharing software.
* Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0.3 now accurately recognizes WorldScript 2-byte character DOS file and volume names.
* When erasing 800K floppy disks on a Macintosh Quadra AV system, the format popup menu would list the Macintosh 800K format option twice. This problem has been corrected in version 2.0.3 of PC Exchange.
Known Problems in Version 2.0.3 of Macintosh PC Exchange
* A "Sad Mac" error may occur on your Macintosh if a removable media cartridge is left in the drive during startup. To keep this problem from occurring, manually eject removable media cartridges from the drive before you turn on your Macintosh.
* PC Exchange cannot recognize SCSI hard disks, removable media devices, or drive container files which contain more than one gigabyte of disk space.
SCSI Hard Disk and Removable Media Drives Not Supported
The following disk drives are not supported by Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0:
* Apple 5.25-inch floppy disk drive
* Maxtor 230MB SCSI hard disk drive
* Pinnacle Micro PMO-650 SCSI magneto optical drive
Installation Information
If you have already installed another PC disk-mounting utility on your Macintosh, be sure to remove it before installing Macintosh PC Exchange.
You install Macintosh PC Exchange by dragging the PC Exchange icon into the Control Panels folder of your System Folder and restarting your Macintosh.
NOTE: If you are installing Macintosh PC Exchange on a Japanese Kanji-localized Macintosh system, you must remove the "DOS640K Driver" software extension from your Extensions folder before installing version 2.0.3 of PC Exchange. If you do not remove the DOS640K Driver, you will experience difficulties when trying to read NEC DOS-format 640K floppy disks.
Strange Text Characters in a Document
In some cases your Macintosh application program may not be able to interpret the file format of a PC document. When this happens, the document's formatting is displayed incorrectly and you may see strange characters in the document. Try using a different application program or translate the document into a different file format using one of the file format translation utilities available for the Macintosh (such as MacLinkPlus/Easy Open Translators from DataViz).
Paint Programs
Some paint programs, such as MacPaint and SuperPaint, save documents on DOS-format floppy disks very slowly. To avoid this problem, always save paint documents on your computer's hard disk. If you like, you can then copy the documents to a DOS-format floppy disk.
Apple File Exchange and Macintosh PC Exchange
The Apple File Exchange software is not compatible with PC Exchange and should not be used while PC Exchange is installed. Macintosh PC Exchange 2.0 contains an easier and more intuitive method for accessing DOS and Apple II ProDOS disks on a Macintosh.
AutoDoubler
To use AutoDoubler with Macintosh PC Exchange, you must first open the AutoDoubler control panel and turn off the "Show DD on Compressed Files" option.
ClarisWorks (Version 1.0v2 or Earlier)
Some versions of ClarisWorks cannot read or write files on DOS-format floppy disks. To open a PC document in ClarisWorks, you must first copy the document to your computer's hard disk. Always save ClarisWorks documents on your Macintosh hard disk. If you like, you can then copy the documents to a PC-format floppy disk. Contact Claris to obtain version 1.0v3 or later of ClarisWorks.
Directory Assistance II
Directory Assistance II should not be used while the Macintosh PC Exchange control panel is open. You can turn off Directory Assistance II from the PC Exchange control panel by holding down the Option key while you click the Add or Change button in the control panel window. Directory Assistance II will be turned off temporarily while you use the PC Exchange control panel and will be reactivated when you close the PC Exchange control panel.
Compressed PC Disks and Files
Macintosh PC Exchange does not work with DOS-format floppy disks or SCSI hard disks that have been compressed using Stacker or other MS-DOS or Windows disk-compression utilities. Before transferring compressed DOS files to a Macintosh, you must decompress the files and save them to a noncompressed DOS-format disk.
Working With PC-Format Disks Containing Multiple Partitions
If a SCSI hard disk or removable media cartridge has been formatted to contain multiple partitions, you can use PC Exchange to mount the Macintosh-, DOS-, or ProDOS-format partitions as individual logical drives on the Macintosh Desktop. If the disk contains both Macintosh and DOS-format partitions, PC Exchange will only recognize the Macintosh partition. In addition, PC Exchange will only recognize ProDOS-format partitions on SCSI hard disks that are less than 32 megabytes.
You can use PC Exchange to erase existing individual partitions on a SCSI hard disk or removable media cartridge to the same format. However, you cannot use PC Exchange to reformat and resize individual partitions contained on the disk. Nor can you format a Macintosh-format hard disk or removable media cartridge as a DOS-format disk. To resize or reformat multiple Macintosh, DOS, or ProDOS partitions, you need to use third-party software designed for partitioning hard disk and removable media drives.
Tips for Working with DOS-Format SCSI Removable Media Devices
In order for PC Exchange to recognize SCSI removable media devices, you must turn on the device and eject any cartridges before you turn on your Macintosh system.
Do not install the device driver software that came with your removable media device. Instead, open the PC Exchange control panel, click the Options button, select your SCSI device from the list, and then restart your Macintosh. PC Exchange will install it's own device driver for that SCSI device.
The Eject Disk command is unavailable when working with removable media devices. To unmount and eject a removable media cartridge, drag the device's icon to the Trash. Once the device has spun down and the red light goes out, you can manually eject the cartridge from the drive. To access a removable media cartridge that has been ejected, simply reinsert the cartridge in the drive.
When initializing and formatting Bernoulli and SyQuest cartridges on a PC-compatible computer, use the disk setup and partitioning software that came with the SCSI controller card installed in your PC or that came with your Bernoulli or SyQuest device. Do not use the MS-DOS Fdisk command to initialize a removable media cartridge. In addition, you should use the MS-DOS Format command to format the disk before you copy DOS files to a newly initialized removable media cartridge on a PC.
When you initialize a removable media cartridge on a PC-compatible computer, you must fully partition, initialize, and erase the cartridge using the software that came with your SCSI controller card or removable media device. If you do not, PC Exchange may not recognize the new DOS-format partitions on that cartridge.
Tips for Working with DOS-format SCSI Hard Disk Drives
In order for PC Exchange to recognize SCSI hard disk drives, you must turn on the drive before you turn on your Macintosh system.
Do not install the device driver software that came with your SCSI hard disk. Instead, open the PC Exchange control panel, click the Options button, select your SCSI device from the list, and then restart your Macintosh. PC Exchange will install it's own device driver for that SCSI device.
When initializing and formatting an external SCSI hard disk on a PC-compatible computer, use the MS-DOS Fdisk command or the disk setup and partitioning software that came with the SCSI controller card installed in your PC. In addition, you should use the MS-DOS Format command to format and erase the disk before you copy DOS files to a new SCSI hard disk on a PC.
Additions to the User's Guide
If you change the volume name of a DOS-format disk to a name that is longer than 11 characters, the disk name will be shortened when you view it on a PC-compatible computer.
If Macintosh PC Exchange encounters a problem while formatting a floppy disk, an Updating Disk dialog box may appear. This dialog box shows the status of the updating process. To stop the disk from being updated, you can click the Cancel button. This cancels the initialization process and the disk is ejected from the disk drive.
You cannot create an assignment with a blank DOS suffix in the PC Exchange control panel.
Common MS-DOS File Suffixes
.BAK Backup document (used by word processing programs)
.BAS BASIC program (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.BAT Executable DOS program (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.BMP Windows Bitmap graphic
.CDR CorelDraw graphic
.CGM Computer Graphics Metafile graphic
.COM Executable DOS file (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.CWK Clarisworks document
.DBF dBASE database file
.DIF Data Interchange Format (used by spreadsheet and database programs)
.DLL Windows Dynamically Linked Library (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.DOC Microsoft Word document
.DOX Multimate v4.0 document
.DWG Autocad drawing
.DXF Autocad drawing in exchange format
.EPS Encapsulated PostScript file
.EXE Executable DOS file (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.INI Windows preference file
.OBJ Compiled object file (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.PCC PC Paintbrush graphics file
.PCX PC Paintbrush graphics file
.PIC Lotus 1-2-3 graphics file
.PM3 PageMaker 3.0 document
.PM5 PageMaker 5.0 document
.PM4 Pagemaker 4.0 document
.PRG dBASE program file (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.PRN DOS 'Print' file
.RFT DisplayWrite Revisable Form Text (DCA format)
.SAM AmiPro document
.STY Microsoft Word style sheet
.SYL SYLK format (used by spreadsheet and database programs)
.SYS DOS system file (cannot be used on a Macintosh)
.TIF TIFF graphics file
.TXT ASCII text file
.WDB Microsoft Works database
.WKS Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, version 1
.WK1 Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, version 2
.WK3 Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, version 3
.WMF Microsoft Windows Metafile
.WP OfficeWriter or WordPerfect document
.WPF WordPerfect document
.WPG WordPerfect graphics file
.WPS Microsoft Works word processing document
.WQ1 Quattro Pro spreadsheet
.WS WordStar document
.XLA Microsoft Excel add-in macro
.XLT Microsoft Excel template
.XLC Microsoft Excel chart
.XLM Microsoft Excel macro
.XLS Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
.XY XyWrite document
Copyright 1994 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Macintosh PC Exchange is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other product names are the trademark or registered trademark of their respective holders. Mention of non-Apple products is for informational purposes and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of these products.
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