This document answers questions regarding the BeOS which are specific
to the Power Macintosh release of the software.
General
Q: Are any of the Power
Macintosh systems vendors bundling the BeOS with their systems?
A: Be currently has bundling arrangements with
Motorola, Umax, PowerTools, Power Computing, and Computer Warehouse [any
others?]. Because of the Apple purchase of Power Computing's Macintosh
business, Be is offering Power's customers the BeOS for free, direct
from Be.
Be is also utilizing a variety of other methods to distribute the BeOS,
including bundling the BeOS with a variety of magazines, giving CDs away
at events, and selling it via the Web. You can read more about the various
ways to get the BeOS at our web site:
Q: Is the BeOS running
on top of the Mac OS? Or vice versa?
A: Neither. While the BeOS and the Mac OS can be
installed on the same system, only one operating system can actually be
running at a time. In this regard, the BeOS is quite similar to MkLinux.
The normal process for booting the BeOS on a Power Mac involves booting
the Mac OS. During the boot process, the Mac OS loads Be's "OS Chooser"extension. Loading the OS Chooser extension allows you to select an operating
system to load. If you choose the BeOS, the Mac OS load process will stop,
and the BeOS will take over the machine and begin to load.
If you instead load the Mac OS, you can later launch the BeOS by running
the BeOS Launcher application. The BeOS Launcher will squeeze the Mac OS
out of the way, and the BeOS will start up.
So that your machine does not wait during the boot process for you to
make a selection, the OS Chooser extension remembers you most recent OS
boot choice, and will choose that OS by default after a countdown of 5
seconds.
Q: Can I boot my Power
Mac system to the BeOS without the Mac OS?
A: Macintosh hardware will not boot without the
Mac OS. That's the way the hardware sequence works, and we can't change
that. ;-)
Therefore, the normal process for booting the BeOS on a Power Mac involves
booting the Mac OS. During the boot process, the Mac OS loads Be's "OS
Chooser" extension. Loading the OS Chooser extension allows you to
select an operating system to load. If you choose the BeOS, the Mac OS
load process will stop, and the BeOS will take over the machine and begin
to load.
So, the simple answer is, no, on Power Mac hardware, you cannot do away
with the Mac OS, just minimize your usage of it (by loading the OS Chooser
extension early in the boot sequence).
Q: How do you get around
the Mac ROM? Don't you need to enter the PowerPC supervisor mode to take
over like that? How do you do that?
A: We actually don't "get around" the
Mac ROM, we basically ignore it. Nothing in the BeOS executes code from
or in any way uses the Mac ROM.
As for entering the PowerPC supervisor mode, we're afraid we're not
allowed to talk about that. Sorry!
Q: Will my current Mac
applications be able to work with the BeOS? Can the BeOS run Macintosh
software?
A: The BeOS is a new operating system, written
from scratch to take advantage of the full power of multiple processors
and new operating systems technologies. As a new operating system, the
BeOS requires new applications be written for it. Macintosh applications
will not run under the BeOS out of the box.
We are investigating several alternatives that would allow Macintosh
applications to work on the BeOS, either by running in an emulator or by
making it easier to port applications to the BeOS. Look for more details
regarding this issue in the future.
Q: What level of application
compatibility is there between the BeBox and Power Mac versions of the
BeOS?
A: Very high. Clearly, there's no GeekPort on the
Power Mac, nor are there standard MIDI ports, IR ports or multiple serial
ports. Joysticks are kind of tricky also.
But just about every BeOS application we've tried out has seemed to
work fine on both platforms.
Hardware Requirements
Q: What machines will
BeOS for Power Mac support?
A: The BeOS Preview Release runs on a wide variety
of 603- and 604-based PCI Macintosh and Macintosh clones. For the latest
information regarding hardware compatibility, please check the compatibility
page of our web site:
http://www.be.com/products/beosreadylist.html
This list will always contain the most current information about what
Macs the BeOS will run on.
Adding new systems to this list is very dependent on the level of documentation
and support that we receive from our friends at Power Computing, Apple
and other Power Mac clone vendors; we've been delighted with the support
we've received so far, but we cannot make commitments about future systems.
Q: Hey, my machine isn't
on that list! What happened?
A: Unfortunately, we had to make some difficult
decisions regarding support for 601-based Power Macs. The older NuBus-based
Power Mac models and 601 PCI-based Macs didn't quite make our list. Neither
PCI-based 601 Macs nor NuBus Macs will be supported.
Other systems, such as all-in-one systems or PowerBooks, are subject
to availability of technical information and engineering resources. As
a very small company (fewer than 25 engineers), we are regrettably unable
to support the entire population of Macintosh hardware.
Q: Is there anything
I can do to encourage Be to port BeOS for Power Mac to my machine? I have
a 6100/7100/8100 and I'd really like to be able to run it...
A: We're well aware of the number of 6100/7100/8100
owners out there and the fact that many of these owners are "early
adopters", but we had to draw our line somewhere. The technical issues
are just too involved to support BeOS for Power Mac on those machines.
Thanks for your understanding on this issue.
Q: I'm majorly bummed
out about this--really, why aren't you supporting NuBus-based machines?
A: NuBus machines have a different physical address
space layout. They have a different interrupt controller. They do not have
Open Firmware (which we leverage to get information about the machine).
These are but a few of the technical reasons why we aren't able to support
NuBus-based machines.
It is unfortunate, but it is simply not technically practical to recompile
our operating system and make it work on every Power Mac system, since
an operating system has to have intimate knowledge of the motherboard it's
running on. Given the resources of our small company, we've decided to
concentrate on PCI-based systems.
Q: Will the BeOS ever
support PCI-based PowerPC 601 systems, like the 7200 or the 7500?
A: No. Our engineering priorities and resources
make it impossible for us to support these systems and also move the BeOS
forward. It's a hard decision, but we're a very small company (fewer than
25 engineers), and we have to make hard choices about what we work on.
Unfortunately, this means that 601-based Power Macs will not be able to
run the BeOS.
Q: OK, so you won't
support the BeOS on a PowerPC 601-based system, but what would happen if
I tried to run the BeOS on a 601 machine? (I am really desperate to run
the BeOS.) Does it just not do anything, does it run unreliably, or does
it spectacularly toast the motherboard and pop it out the disk drive?
A: First, you won't be able to install the BeOS
onto such a system. But even if you could, it wouldn't run. The BeOS simply
will not work on these systems. There is a lot of engineering work between
the BeOS and 601-based systems, and right now if it would even start loading
(which it won't), it would crash immediately.
Really, we're not making this up while secretly telling our friends
how to run the BeOS on their 7200s!
Q: I have a Power Mac
7500, which you say is not compatible with the BeOS for Power Mac, but
I upgraded it with a 604 processor upgrade card. Can I use the BeOS on
it?
A: We haven't tested all of the different 604-based
processor cards ourselves, but we have heard many reports from users that
most or all cards do indeed work.
You should note that because there are many different processor upgrade
cards, and many different systems they can be installed in, we can't promise
it will work for your specific installation.
Q: I have a BeOS-ready
Power Macintosh system, but I am thinking of upgrading the processor card.
Is the BeOS compatible with Newer's MAXpowr and MAXpowr-MP processor upgrade
cards? How about the DayStar nPower 360+ and 400+ cards? How about the
XYZZY card?
A: Given the number of different processor upgrade
cards, we have been unable to test all of them in all possible combinations
with different CPU models. Please remember, we are a very small company,
with both limited financial and engineering resources!
In general, multi-processor cards which are based on DayStar's nPower
technology should be compatible with the BeOS (assuming the card will run
in your Mac at all, that is!). NewerTECH's MAXpowr-MP cards are based on
this technology.
As we test various pieces of hardware, whether they are new CPU models
or processor upgrade cards, we will add them to the BeOS Ready Systems
list on our web site:
http://www.be.com/products/beosreadylist.html
As always, we also encourage you to contact the hardware vendor with
questions of BeOS compatibility. Customer demand is often what drives compatibility
decisions. We will be happy to send BeOS CDs in response to requests from
the engineering or testing departments of hardware manufacturers!
Q: Is the BeOS compatible
with UMAX's ASPD secondary processor cards? What about if I buy a card
that is a different speed (clock rate) than my system?
A: The answer to both of these questions is yes,
the BeOS is compatible with such systems, and will take full advantage
of both processors.
Keep in mind that as of this writing, the only such systems which support
the ASPD cards are UMAX's S900 series. You might want to read the UMAX
FAQs on these systems, for limitations which are hardware based and
other information regarding UMAX's line of multiprocessor systems.
Q: What about the Performa
5200/5300/6200/6300? It doesn't have a NuBus slot so why can't you support
it?
A: Unfortunately, these machines remain NuBus-based,
even if Apple didn't put any NuBus expansion slots in them. These machines
will not be supported, except for the Performa 6360 (see next item).
Q: What about the Performa
6360? It's almost exactly like a Performa 6400, and you support those...
A: Indeed, the Performa 6360 is perhaps named (numbered?)
poorly. It is based on Apple's "Alchemy" logic board design,
which Apple used in the Power Macintosh and Performa 6400/6500. They also
licensed this design to various Macintosh clone manufacturers, including
Power Computing and Motorola.
We will be supporting most or all of the machines based on the Alchemy
design in the BeOS Preview Release, with the exception of the Performa
5400 (all in one units are problematic for us, unfortunately).
Q: What about systems
sold in Europe or the Far East, like the 8200 or the UMAX Aegis?
A: A number of Macintosh hardware manufacturers,
including Apple, create systems for non-US markets with different names
than those we see here in the US. Sometimes the systems are identical to
systems with other names sold in the US, while often they are unique to
those markets.
In these cases, because we don't have easy access to such systems in
order to test them, it is difficult for us to give a specific answer regarding
whether we support it or not, why we don't support it, or whether we plan
to add support in the future.
For example, from what we can tell, the Power Macintosh 8200/120 is
sold only in Europe. When we checked there was little or no technical information
available from Apple's Web site regarding this hardware. From various sources
we've learned the 8200 seems to be based on the 7200, a 601-based PCI system,
which we do not and will not support. So the same answer would apply to
the 8200.
Q: Apple just released
a bunch of new CPU models, and yet you haven't updated your BeOS Ready
Systems page to mention them. Are you compatible with those systems?
A: We update the BeOS Ready Systems page on our
web site as soon as we have verified compatibility with the BeOS, one way
or another. Really, we are maintaining this page!
When new machines come out, from any manufacturer, we have to obtain
and test them for compatibility, and evaluate how supporting that model
will impact our engineering efforts.
We're a very small company (fewer than 25 engineers!), and so even testing
and evaluation can take some time. Please be patient, we really do put
this information up on the Web as quickly as we can!
Q: How about PowerBooks
or other Mac laptops?
A: We'd love to support PowerBooks or (yet-to-be)
Mac-compatible laptops, but the challenges of the very custom hardware
inherent in laptop designs makes this much more difficult than supporting
the fairly standardized designs for desktop Macintoshes and Macintosh clones.
We do understand that many PowerBook owners would like the BeOS to run
on their systems, but the engineering challenges are formidable, and at
this time we do not have the technical information necessary to even begin
work, nor does Apple seem inclined to give it to us.
We can tell at this point that PowerBooks (of any kind) will not
be supported in the Preview Release of the BeOS. Maybe in a future release.
Thanks for understanding this issue.
Q: Will the BeOS ever
support 680x0 Macs?
A: No. There are no new Macs or Mac compatibles
based on the 680x0 architecture, and existing machines' performance lags
far behind that of PowerPC-based machines or Intel based products. We've
chosen to use our limited resources on the higher performance PowerPC-based
machines, and Intel-based systems.
Q: My Power Mac only
has one CPU. Will that adversely affect the BeOS? Will the BeOS still be
multi-threaded?
A: The BeOS schedules threads onto the next available
CPU based on a priority schedule (see a recent Be
Newsletter article for more details). If only one CPU is available,
all of the threads are scheduled onto that CPU. The BeOS does indeed remain
multi-threaded, and highly responsive.
In general, we find that Power Macs perform very well under the BeOS.
Especially now that most Power Macs are powered by chips much more powerful
than those used in the BeBox, we're finding that even a single CPU 604e-based
Power Mac, running at 180 MHz or greater, can actually give better performance
than the BeBox 133.
Q: I have a multi-processor
Power Macintosh, not a BeBox. Will the BeOS take advantage of all my processors?
A: Mais oui! Otherwise it wouldn't be the BeOS!
Q: How much RAM do I
need to run the BeOS for Power Macintosh?
A: 16MB is the minimum size for the BeOS. More
is obviously better, just like any other operating system.
Q: How big a hard drive
(or hard drive partition) do I need for the BeOS for Power Macintosh?
A: 130 megabytes is the minimum size. This will
allow you to install the base OS and the sample applications, and leaves
room for the "scratch" space required for virtual memory. The
BeOS and its included applications and demos occupies about 50MB and the
virtual memory default size is 80MB (it can be changed).
130 megabytes will not give you much room for third-party BeOS software,
movie, audio, or other files, however. Since playing movies is something
we do really well, we want you to have room for them on your hard drive!
So, if you can give the BeOS 200 megs of HD space, you'll get the opportunity
to really put us, and our third-party apps, to the test!
Q: Can I install the
BeOS onto a Zip, SyQuest, or Jaz drive cartridge?
A: Yes. Although the standard BeOS install takes
130 megs of disk space (50MB of code and 80MB of VM scratch space), you
can adjust the VM scratch space to a lower number to fit on a Zip.
Since Jaz cartridges are 1GB, they should have no problem with the BeOS.
Of course, you have to be smart about using removable drives in this
manner. After all, what happens when you eject the drive that has the VM
swap file on it, and the BeOS needs to swap something to disk? Bad things,
man, bad things.
Q: Will the BeOS be
supporting Adaptec SCSI cards, such as the ones bundled with Power Computing's
PowerCenter Pro systems?
A: Due to Apple's acquisition of Power Computing,
Be has curtailed development of a BeOS driver for the Adaptec PowerDomain
Fast and wide UltraSCSI PCI card. This card has recently been bundled with
some Power Computing systems such as the Power Center Pro. Unfortunately
the loss of on-going support from Power Computing and a small installed
base of these cards make it impractical for Be to invest further resources
to support the card.
Fortunately for customers with these systems there is a work around.
The BeOS will work with SCSI devices which are connected to the SCSI cable
from the main logic board (rather than the cable which connects to the
Adaptec card). You need not remove the Adaptec card as the BeOS will only
recognize SCSI devices connected to the logic board SCSI bus, and will
ignore all devices connected to the Adaptec card.
We thank you for your interest in and support of the BeOS.
Q: Do you support the
UMAX/SuperMac E100 Extended Performance card?
A: The SuperMac E100 Extended Performance card
is a combination high-speed SCSI connection and 100 Mbps Ethernet connection.
Both connections require custom driver software support in order to function.
At the present time, the BeOS does not support this hardware. However,
we'd be delighted to assist UMAX in the development of driver software
for the BeOS. Be sure to let UMAX know that support for the BeOS is important
to you as a customer!
Q: Is the BeOS compatible
with the Apple GeoPort modem?
A: The Apple GeoPort Telecom Adapter Pod is not
actually a modem, but a line adapter interface which connects a telephone
line with the GeoPort serial port of a Power Macintosh. The "modem"is actually software, running under the Mac OS on the Power Mac.
For this reason, the BeOS does not support the GeoPort adapter. In order
to use a modem on the BeOS, you must have a full and actual modem, not
an adapter.
Note that it is not impossible for this adapter to be used with the
BeOS, but Apple would need to write software to do so. Be would be delighted
to work with Apple to assist them in this effort. Contact Apple to let
them know that as a customer, support for the BeOS is important to you.
Q: Is the BeOS compatible
with the Apple Express Modem?
A: The Apple "Express Modem" is not actually
a modem, but software pretending to be a hardware modem, running under
the Mac OS on the Power Mac. Express Modem software is used by the GeoPort
Telecom Adapter, and also by various internal "modem" cards that
Apple makes, included with some Performas, etc.
For this reason, the BeOS does not support the Express Modem. In order
to use a modem on the BeOS, you must have a full and actual modem, not
a half modem, or an adapter.
Note that it is not impossible for Apple's partial modems to be used
with the BeOS, but Apple would need to write software to do so. Be would
be delighted to work with Apple to assist them in this effort. Contact
Apple to let them know that as a customer, support for the BeOS is important
to you.
Q: Will BeOS for Power
Mac support multi-button mice?
A: We've confirmed that Kensington two-button and
four-button ADB mice here at Be work fine. We have found Mouse Systems
and Logitec multi-button mice problematic.
In general, if your multi-button ADB mouse follows Apple's January 1994
Technical Note, "ADB
-- The Untold Story: Space Aliens Ate My Mouse", the BeOS will
accept those multiple buttons. Most mice made after 1994 adhere to this
Technical Note. Contact your multi-button mouse manufacturer to be sure.
A command-key equivalent is available for one-button mice (Control-Command
for right-button, Control-Option for middle button). Additionally, the
Tracker accepts click-and-hold as a right click for context-sensitive Tracker
menus.
Q: What graphics cards
does the BeOS for Power Macintosh support?
A: The BeOS for Power Macintosh can use almost
any graphics card in a basic (but slow) mode. We currently provide direct
(fast) support for the following graphics configurations:
- Macintosh and Mac-clone built-in video
- ATI Mach 64/Xclaim GA (not Xclaim VR or Xclaim 3D, yet)
- IMS Twin Turbo 128 M2/M4/M8
- Matrox Millenium
We are working with a number of graphics cards makers and third party
developers to provide support for different graphics cards on the BeOS.
Driver availability updates will be on the Be web site.
Note that these are different graphics cards than the ones supported
in our BeBox hardware. See the list of BeBox-compatible
graphics cards for that information.
Q: Does the BeOS for
Power Macintosh support 16- and 24-bit color?
A: Running on Power Macintosh hardware, the BeOS
Preview Release supports 8-bit color (256 colors) and 32-bit color (24
bits of color, 8 of transparency, and called "Millions" in the
Mac OS Monitors control panel) but does not support 16-bit color ("Thousands"in the Mac OS Monitors control panel).
Q: My video card (or
built-in video) supports 16-bit color ("Thousands") but not 32-bit
color ("Millions") on the Mac OS side. Can I use something besides
8-bit color under the BeOS?
A: Generally speaking, color depth on screen is
limited primarily by the amount of video memory your graphics system has
(there are exceptions to this). Larger screens require more memory, as
do higher bit depths.
If you have video hardware that could support 16-bit color, and you
have a multisync monitor, you can try reducing the screen size. This will
reduce the amount of memory used by the size of the screen, possibly giving
you enough extra memory to increase the color depth.
For example, if your monitor runs at 1024 by 768 pixels in 16-bit color
under the Mac OS (and there isn't enough video memory to run in 32-bit
color), under the BeOS you will only get 8-bit color. Reducing your BeOS
screen resolution to 800 by 600 pixels in the Screen preferences application
may free up enough video RAM to go to 32-bit color (it works on my Power
Center 132).
Another alternative would be to buy more video memory for your computer,
if it supports increasing that memory. VRAM is fairly cheap, since you
will only need another megabyte or two...
Q: Does the BeOS support
multiple monitors hooked up to the same computer?
A: No, not yet. We plan support for more than one
monitor to be added in a future release of the BeOS. Look for more details
regarding this issue in the future.
Q: Does the BeOS support
external MIDI hardware on the Power Mac?
A: Yes, the BeOS Preview Release provides support
for external MIDI hardware connected via the Macintosh serial port.
Installation
Q: I am very excited
about trying the BeOS. I am going to order the CD, but I want to know what
I can do now to get ready for it. What can I do now so that I can install
the BeOS when it gets here?
A: We understand your excitement. We get excited
about our product, too!
First, we recommend you back up all your data. This is something that
can be time consuming, but we especially recommend it if you plan
to install onto a Mac OS hard drive on a second hard drive partition.
Second, be sure you have the right hardware. You can check our web site
to see what Power Mac and Power
Mac clones are currently supported.
Third, get a second hard drive, or set up a second hard disk partition
on your existing hard drive (130 megs is the minimum size).
Q: Why does the BeOS
Installer not see the hard drive on my Power Center Pro?
A: The BeOS does not at this time support any
of the various SCSI adapter cards, just the built-in (on the logic board)
SCSI interfaces that all Power Macs have.
So in order to get the BeOS to see any hard drive in a Power Center
Pro, it has to be connected to the internal or external built-in
SCSI interface.
Since the Power Center Pros ship with their internal hard drive connected
to an Adaptec SCSI card, to get the BeOS to see it, you need to open the
case, and unplug the drive from the SCSI cable that goes to the Adaptec
card, and plug it in to the cable that goes to the CD-ROM drive (which
is the internal SCSI connection cable). It's easy to do, as there are extra
connectors on that ribbon cable for just this sort of thing.
You do give up the extra performance of the fast/wide/ultra/whatever
interface on the Adaptec (or other SCSI) card, but with the speed of the
BeOS file system, you will still think it's fast! ;-)
Q: Should I install
the BeOS onto a separate hard drive? The installation instructions say
I can use a separate disk partition. What is this?
A: It is safer to install the BeOS on a separate
hard drive. This is very simple to do, and poses no risk to your Mac data
on other drives.
However, if you are sure you know what you are doing, and have the right
software tools, it is possible to install the BeOS on the same hard drive
as the Mac OS.
If this is an existing hard disk you must first defragment the hard
drive with something like Norton Utilities -- if you don't you could lose
valuable data!
If this is a new hard disk or you have defragmented it, you can go ahead
and use your hard disk formatter to shrink your existing hard drive partition,
and then create a second HFS volume. Instructions for doing this should
be in your hard drive formatter's manual, and we include the general steps
to take in the BeOS
User's Guide, in the Advance
Installation Procedure section of the Installation chapter.
When you install the BeOS onto one of these partitions (instead of onto
a separate hard drive), the Be installer will reformat that partition to
the BeOS format. This will destroy all data on that partition!
You can also destroy all of your data if you re-partition your hard
drive. Many drive formatters destroy and then re-create disk partitions,
rather than re-sizing existing partitions, which destroys all data on that
disk. Be sure to read your software manual!
Q: I am trying to re-size
my hard drive partition(s) to make room for the BeOS, and I can't do it.
What's wrong?
A: First of all, be aware that re-sizing your hard
drive partitions usually destroys all the data on them. Be sure you have
a backup and restore procedure worked out before you proceed.
In order to re-size a hard drive partition non-destructively, all the
data must be contiguous on the drive. The best way to achieve this is with
a disk optimizer, such as Norton Speed Disk. Optimize your drive, and try
again.
Also, the FileSaver extension of Norton Utilities can prevent you from
re-sizing a partition when one of its (invisible) files is open on the
hard drive. Be sure that FileSaver is turned off, restart, and try again.
Q: I re-partitioned
my hard drive to make a new partition for the BeOS, and now all my Mac
data is gone! What happened?
A: Unfortunately, your data is gone. While there
is a remote chance that Norton Utilities can restore your data, most likely
you will need to restore your data from a backup.
Not all hard drive partitioning software allows dynamic resizing of
partitions. In particular, Apple's HD Setup does not. To change partition
sizes, it deletes and re-creates the partitions, re-initializing the drive
in the process. This deletes all data on the drive.
Q: How do I convert
a BeOS partition back to a Mac OS partition using the Preview Release?
A: We understand that some people may need to (temporarily,
we hope!) uninstall the BeOS, and convert their BeOS hard drive partitions
back to disk partitions that can be used by the Mac OS.
Here are instructions for doing so using the Preview Release:
- If you have any data on your BeOS hard drive partition that you want
to save, save it. All data on your BeOS partition will be destroyed
by the next steps!
- It's also a really good idea to back up your Mac OS partion(s) on that
same hard drive, just in case you make a mistake.
- Boot the BeOS off of the Preview Release CD.
- When the Installer window appears, press Command-Control-Shift-D to
launch the DriveSetup application.
- In DriveSetup, select "apple..." from the "Partition"submenu of the "Setup" menu.
- You will then be presented with a display of the partition map of your
hard drive. Select the Be_BFS partition you wish to convert back to the
Mac OS by clicking it.
- Select "Apple HFS" from the "Type" pop-up menu,
located next to the "Partition Type" field.
- Click the "Update" button.
- Click the "OK" button.
- You will then be warned that changing the partition map may destroy
all data on the selected disk. If you are sure you have chosen the correct
partition to reformat (you backed up your important data as instructed,
right?), click the "OK" button.
- Close DriveSetup by clicking the close box in the top left corner.
- Quit the BeOS installer by clicking the close box in the top left corner.
- Reboot to the Mac OS.
- When the Finder loads, you will be asked if you want to eject or initialize
your newly converted partition. Click the "Initialize" button.
You should see the converted partition mount as a separate hard
drive icon on your Desktop (it will be empty of all data). It is a separate
hard drive because it is still a second disk partition, you have only converted
the type of partition.
At this point, if you want to merge this disk partition with one of
your other disk partitions, see your hard drive formatter's instructions
for the steps to do so.
Of course, you could leave it as a separate partition so that when you
want to re-install the BeOS Preview Release, you'll be able to install
it onto that partition with ease. ;-)
Q: I installed the BeOS
and rebooted my Mac, but it comes up with the Mac startup screen. Why don't
I have the BeOS?
A: The normal process for booting the BeOS on a
Power Mac involves booting the Mac OS. During the boot process, the Mac
OS loads all enabled control panels and extensions, including Be's "OS
Chooser" extension. Loading the OS Chooser extension will allow you
to select an operating system to load. If you choose the BeOS, the Mac
OS load process will stop, and the BeOS will begin to load.
You may have an extensions manager, such as Now StartupManager or Conflict
Catcher, which can be set to not load new extensions unless you
manually enable them. Check your extensions manager, and make sure the
"OS Chooser" extension is turned on, and then reboot.
Be sure to watch your screen during the boot process. The OS Chooser
extension will choose a default OS if you do not choose one a few seconds
after it shows its dialog box. The first time through, this will be the
Mac OS.
Note that you should also have an application called "BeOS Launcher"in a folder called "BeOS Mac Tools." If you launch that application,
it will take you directly into the BeOS from the Mac OS without having
to restart your Macintosh.
Q: I installed the BeOS
and rebooted. Every time I choose the BeOS from the "OS Chooser"extension dialog, I get an error message about "Can't allocate PEF
Memory" or "Could not allocate system memory for boot info. This
is a memory error. Contact devsupport and let us know what happened."(or similar message). What's wrong?
A: Oops! Yes, it's another bug! The simple answer
is, the heap is getting corrupted (always bad ;-) and the OS Chooser extension
is running into it and dying.
In the meantime, disable the OS Chooser extension. Instead, launch the
BeOS by using the "BeOS Launcher" utility, located in the "BeOS
Mac Tools" folder.
Q: After installing
the BeOS on my Mac, my CD-ROM drive has stopped working under the Mac OS!
What's wrong?
A: There is apparently an extension conflict between
the Be "OS Chooser" extension and Apple's CD-ROM drivers. This
is clobbering the Apple drivers.
Using an extension manager, or by renaming the files in the Finder,
ensure that the Apple CD-ROM driver loads before the OS Chooser
extension. This should solve the problem.
If it does not, try disabling the OS Chooser extension entirely. You
will no longer be able to boot directly into the BeOS, but you will still
be able to use the "BeOS Launcher" utility in the Finder to start
the BeOS.
Time-saving tip: If you hold down the Shift key when booting the Mac
OS, the Finder will load much faster, and you can use the BeOS Launcher
that much sooner. After all, if you're not going to use the Mac OS, you
don't need those extensions...
Q: I have a PCI SCSI
interface card (or DVD card, or Media 100 card, or other funky PCI card)
installed. Could that cause the BeOS to not boot?
A: In general, while PCI cards will not be usable
under the BeOS until there is a native BeOS driver available, they should
not cause the BeOS to have problems booting.
We are working with developers to create drivers for popular PCI cards,
and plan to offer native support for some SCSI cards ourselves, in a future
release or update to the BeOS.
In the meantime, if you have a PCI card (or SCSI device) which prevents
the BeOS from booting, we would very much like to hear about it. Please
send us the details at custsupport@be.com.
Q: I don't have any
PCI cards installed and I have less than 96 megs of RAM, but the BeOS still
stops at the Be logo. Is there anything else that might be wrong?
A: In situations like this, we suggest that you
"pare down" your Mac to the bare minimum hardware required to
boot, with as much original equipment as you can find and use, i.e., stuff
that came in the box with the CPU.
We have heard reports that suggest the BeOS may have difficulties with
various peripherals and hardware, among them optical mice, the Visioneer
Paper Port SCSI adapter, and others. So taking everything out when
having problems is a good idea.
If you have taken everything non-standard out or off of your Mac, and
it is still freezing at the Be logo, we'd really like to know about it,
so we can fix it. For that matter, we'd like to know about it if you find
a specific piece of hardware that is problematic.
Please send mail, with as much information about your configuration
as possible, to custsupport@be.com.
Thanks!
Q: I don't have any
PCI cards installed, but the BeOS still stops at the Be logo. Is there
anything else that might be wrong?
A: The original BeOS Preview Release has two limitations
(bugs!) regarding memory.
First, if you have more than 512 megs of RAM (you lucky dog!), the BeOS
will hang at the boot screen. This is a bug we will fix in a forthcoming
upgrade to the BeOS.
Second, if you have more than 96 megs of RAM in a multiprocessor Mac
(again, lucky!), a similar problem occurs. This bug is fixed in Update
2; here's how to get it installed:
- Remove enough RAM from your system to be under the 96 meg limit.
- Install the BeOS Preview Release.
- Install the Preview Release Update
2.
- Re-install the rest of your RAM.
Q: My Mac is listed
as supported by the BeOS for Power Mac, and I followed the installation
instructions perfectly, but when I boot the BeOS, my video goes weird after
the Be logo. What's wrong?
A: The BeOS Preview Release requires a multisync
monitor to work. Non-multisync monitor such as the Apple 13" and 16"monitors will not work with the BeOS, and using one with the BeOS can produce
the video madness you are experiencing.
A forthcoming upgrade to the BeOS will remove this limitation, but our
support for fixed sync monitors will be slower than for multisync monitors.
Be highly recommends multisync monitors for use with the BeOS.
Q: I have a multisync
monitor, but my video is still not right. What could be the problem?
A: Various video issues are affecting people who
installed BeOS for Power Mac. These problems seem to be affecting many
Power Mac 7600s and 8500s, and perhaps other models as well. Be sure to
read all the video-related questions and answers before you
try any of the solutions.
First possible solution (especially for 7600s and 8500s, it seems).
Apparently, there is a bug in Apple's ASICs for the built-in video on some
Power Macs, which requires that video RAM be in a particular bank for the
BeOS video drivers to work (this apparently affects MkLinux as well, although
the Mac OS handles it fine).
Try moving your VRAM from the current bank to the empty bank, generally
from bank 2 to bank 1, and try again.
Note that Be recommends that you should do this only if you feel
comfortable modifying your hardware; if not, have someone do it for you,
or try one of the other solutions.
Q: OK, that didn't work.
What else?
A: It has been suggested (on comp.sys.be.help)
that the extension "7500/8500 Graphics Driver", installed in
your System Folder/Extensions Folder on the Mac side, may cause problems.
If you have switched your VRAM and it still doesn't work, try de-activating
this extension and rebooting again.
Q: No, that didn't help
either. Anything else?
A: For persistent difficulties, you may need to
drop down to the "lowest common denominator" graphics driver.
You can use the BeOS File System Tool, running on the Mac side, to delete
all files except for "macstub" from the /boot/system/add-ons/app_server/
directory. This will force the BeOS to use the generic compatibility driver.
The downside is that this will be slooooow for PCI graphics cards, but
there is little difference for built-in video. Either way, you will be
unable to change screen depth or resolution on the BeOS side.
The upside is that you're almost guaranteed not to have any video driver
related problems when you have no video drivers. ;-)
Usage and Interface
Q: How can I move files
from the Mac OS side to the BeOS side of my Macintosh?
A: The BeOS Preview Release supports accessing
Macintosh HFS volumes. You are be able to mount a Mac floppy or hard drive
and simply copy files to your BeOS (Be File System) hard drive.
For safety reasons, the BeOS does not at this time support writing to
HFS volumes. After thorough testing, we expect (but do not promise) we
will turn writing on in an update to the BeOS.
Q: My ADB keyboard is
plugged into the ADB port of my large monitor, which is plugged into the
ADB port of my Mac, and that works fine under the Mac OS, but doesn't work
under the BeOS. What's wrong?
A: Apparently some monitors interfere with the
ADB signals sent to the keyboard when they sit in between the keyboard
and the CPU. Connect your keyboard directly to your CPU, and try again.
Q: Whenever I boot my
computer, the Mac OS Finder asks me if I want to initialize the disk or
partition onto which I installed the BeOS. Why does the Mac OS keep trying
to initialize (and therefore destroy) my BeOS hard drive?
A: While I'm sure conspiracy buffs will be disappointed,
this is actually a problem on our end. The BeOS partition has a hidden
setting that is incorrect, which tells the Mac OS Finder to try to mount
the disk or partition. When it finds that it is not a Mac OS partition,
it asks if you want to initialize it.
We will fix this in a future release of the BeOS.
In the meantime, to fix this before you accidentally destroy your BeOS
disk, you need to change the setting to be correct. Then the Mac OS won't
look at the drive (or partition) at boot time and (helpfully?) offer to
blow your BeOS drive away.
To do this, you need to use your hard disk formatter to change the "auto-mount"setting (generally called "auto-mount" or "mount at startup"or something like that) to be OFF (unchecked). If you don't know how to
do this, check the users guide for your formatter software for details.