Is there a maximum Hard Disk size for older Macs (or do I have some other problem)? I have a 1.0GB external drive which works fine on most Macs but will not mount on older models such as a Classic II and a PowerBook 160, each running System 7.1.

Not only will the disk not mount, but nothing I have tried can even see it when it's attached to these Macs, and that includes SCSIProbe, DriveSetup, HDSC Setup, FWB Toolkit PE, Mt.Everything, Norton DD, TechTool Pro and Disk Warrior.

I've tried a couple of different SCSI cables and every imaginable combination of terminators on both the Mac side and the "far side" of the drive. No luck.

Can anyone please offer a suggestion?

src,

there might be a certain limit to the maximum size of the startup partition of a drive related to the OS version you use (for 7.6 it is 2.0 GB).

You could try to connect your drive to some other machine with a newer OS version (like 7.5) just to get the chance to configure two partitions of, say, 512 MB each (using Apple's Drive Setup). For this temporary connection, it would be advisable to use the drive as the only external SCSI device thus reducing termination hassles as far as possible.

Good luck.

Walter.

Walter Fersti,
Thanks for your suggestion. However, I forgot to note in my original posting that my 1.0GB drive is in fact partitioned into two equal volumes.
This drive works fine on any Mac other than the two I mentioned -- a Classic II and a PB160, both running 7.1. What intrigues me is the fact that not only can I not USE the drive when it's connected to either of these, but I can't even SEE it, no matter what utility I use.
I'd really like to know why this is, and how I might overcome the problem. I bought the drive specifically to help me service older Macs, and before I try alternative solutions, I need to understand why this one doesn't work!
Thanks.