TITLE
    Mac OS 8.5: Crash When Using 720K DOS Diskettes
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		24742
12/2/98
10/15/99
TOPIC

    Sometimes when a 720K DOS diskette is inserted into my Macintosh with Mac OS 8.5, the system crashes. What is wrong?

DISCUSSION

    The issue with these floppies is that there is no File System Type specified in the BIOS Parameter Block. This can cause File Exchange 3.0 to crash. Floppies formatted with PC Exchange 2.1.1 and earlier may be the source of the behavior.

    The workaround is to reformat the floppies on a Windows or DOS-based PC. If you do not have access to a PC, you can do the following on your Mac OS 8.5 system:
      1. Disable File Exchange using Extensions Manager.
      2. Restart.
      3. Reformat the floppies as 800K Macintosh floppies.
      4. Enable File Exchange using Extensions Manager.
      5. Restart.
      6. Reformat the floppies as 720K DOS floppies.

    For information on disabling File Exchange without having to restart your computer, please see the following Tech Info Library article:

    Article 24741: " Mac OS 8.5: Disabling File Exchange Without Restarting "

    Substitute the steps in article 24741 for steps 1-2 and 4-5 above.

    Note: This issue has been fixed in File Exchange 3.0.1, which is included with Mac OS 8.6, or File Exchange 3.0.2 in Mac OS 9.

Document Information
Product Area: Mac OS System Software
Category: Mac OS 8.5
Sub Category: System Software Components; Troubleshooting

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