Using A Macintosh To Create A PianoDisc Floppy

The PianoDisc control unit uses a special disk format that your computer does not understand. In order to create a PianoDisc floppy, a "translator" is required. By using a simple utility program, your computer is able to create a disk that the PianoDisc system can understand. Creating the PianoDisc floppy is a simple three-step process:

1. Download & Install The Utility
2. Download A Floppy Disk "Image" File
3. Create The PianoDisc Floppy Disk

If you have previously installed the utility on your system, you can skip ahead to the second step. Of course, your Macintosh must have a floppy drive in order to create a PianoDisc diskette.

Download & Install The Utility

The first step is to obtain a copy of the "suntar" utility. Click on the button below to download the compressed utility. NOTE: PianoDisc did not write this utility. Make sure to review the accompanying documentation and abide by the terms of the license.

This may take a few minutes to download. Once the download is complete, we need to decompress and install the suntar utility.

1. You must have a decompression program installed in order to expand the suntar utility. If you do not yet have a decompression utility, you can obtain a free copy of StuffIt Expander from Aladdin Systems. Once you have installed a decompression utility, you may continue with the update process.
2. Double click on the suntar-222.hqx file to uncompress it. A folder called "suntar2.2.2 Folder" is created.

Download A Floppy Disk "Image" File

An image file contains an exact "image" of the data on a PianoDisc floppy. Click on the link below to download a PianoDisc floppy disk image. By downloading a floppy disk image, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions outlined in the Disclaimer Of Warranty. Once you have downloaded an image, use your browser's [BACK] button to return to this page.

Again, the download may take a few minutes. Make sure to remember the location of the downloaded image file.

Create The PianoDisc Floppy Disk

We're almost done! The last step is to run the utility and create the PianoDisc floppy. You will need an initialized floppy disk for this step. It does not matter whether the floppy was formatted in your PianoDisc unit, or whether it was initialized on your computer. However, if the disk was initialized in your computer, it must be initialized as a DOS disk—not Macintosh. If the name of the image file ends with the letter 'H', you will need a high-density (DSHD) floppy disk. If the name of the image file ends with the letter 'L', you will need a low-density (DSDD) floppy disk. If you do not have a low-density floppy disk, but the image requires one, click here for information about "converting" a high-density disk to low-density.

If you "converted" a high-density disk to low-density, or if the disk you plan to use has not yet been initialized as a DOS disk, then follow these instructions to initialize the disk. Otherwise, you may skip this step. WARNING: INITIALIZING WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON THE DISK. MAKE SURE THERE IS NOTHING IMPORTANT THAT IS STORED ON THE FLOPPY. If you need to initialize the disk, follow these steps:

1. Insert the floppy disk into your computer. If it needs to be initialized, a message will appear that says the disk is unreadable. Otherwise, if the disk is already initialized as a Mac disk, you will need to first select the floppy disk, and then choose "Erase Disk..." from the "Special" menu.
2. Under the "Format" option, select the option that begins with "DOS".
3. Click on the "Initialize" button to initialize the disk.
4. When initialization is complete, drag the disk to the trash to eject it—we will re-insert it later.

Now, we will run the suntar utility to create the PianoDisc floppy.

1. Double click on the "suntar2.2.2 Folder" to open it.
2. There are two versions of the suntar utility. One version (suntar 2.2.2 68K) is for older Macs. Another version (suntar 2.2.2 PPC) is for Power PC Macs. Double click on the program that corresponds to your Macintosh.
3. From the "Preferences" menu, made sure "Expert mode" is checked.
4. From the "Special" menu, select "Overwrite sectors...".
5. You will be prompted to "Insert the test disk". Insert the floppy disk into your Mac.
6. A text screen is displayed that ends with "Start sector number : 0". Press [return].
7. A file selection dialog box appears. Select the PianoDisc image file, and press "Open".
8. After several minutes, the word "Done" will appear in the text box.
9. From the "File" menu, select "Eject".
10. You can now exit the suntar utility.

The update disk is now ready to use in your PianoDisc system. Remember, the utility acted as a "translator" for your computer. If you try to examine the disk from your computer, your computer will report an error.

What Next?

Click on a link below for more information about using the PianoDisc floppy that you just created.

• Updating Your PianoDisc Unit