Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

Version 7.3
Copyright
© 2007 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights
reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part
without the express written consent of Digidesign.
Avid, Digidesign, Pro Tools, and Pro Tools|HD are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.
in the US and other countries. All other trademarks contained
herein are the property of their respective owners.
Product features, specifications, system requirements, and
availability are subject to change without notice.

PN 9329-55982-00 REV A 01/07

contents

Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Installing the Mac HFS+ Disk Support Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Removing the Mac HFS+ Disk Support Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Media Compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Session Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2. Using Mac HFS+ Disk Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Viewing Mac Drive and File Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Viewing Multisession and Dual-Format Discs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Setting the File Naming Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Partitioning Mac Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Initializing Mac Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Copying Mac Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mac HFS+ Disk Support Warnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Contents iii
iv Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide
chapter 1

Introduction

The Mac HFS+ Disk Support option lets you in-

terchange sessions between Mac-based and System Requirements
Windows-based Pro Tools systems using local A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools|HD® system
HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) formatted hard drives. or Pro Tools LE™ system running Pro Tools 7.3
or higher on a Windows computer
With the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option in-
stalled on a Windows computer, you can mount A qualified hard drive formatted on a Mac
an HFS+ drive on a Windows-based Pro Tools computer as HFS+ (Mac OS X Extended)
system, and record and play back Pro Tools ses-
sions directly on that drive as if it were natively- If you use the Format Mac Disk command
formatted (for example, NTFS or FAT32) for that is installed as part of the Mac HFS+
Windows. Disk Support option to initialize or partition
a Mac-formatted drive, it will not be offi-
When using the Mac HFS+ Disk Support cially supported as a Playback/Record drive
option for recording and playback on a by Digidesign. Though Pro Tools may be
Windows-based system, the session file and able to play back and record to such a drive,
all associated files (such as audio and MIDI only HFS+ disks formatted on a Mac using
files) must be stored on Mac-formatted Apple Disk Utility are supported for play-
drives. Recording and playback of a session back and recording.
from a mixture of Windows- and Mac-for-
matted drives is not supported.
While the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option
will allow your system to read/write HFS
(Mac Standard format) disks, HFS drives
are not supported for either record/playback
or transfer.

For complete system requirements, visit the

Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

Chapter 1: Introduction 1
 Installing the Mac HFS+ Disk Removing the Mac HFS+ Disk
Support Option Support Option
The Mac HFS+ Disk Support option is available If you need to remove the Mac HFS+ Disk Sup-
as part of the Pro Tools HD or LE installation port option from your computer, you can use
procedure. If you did not install it with the Add or Remove Programs command.
Pro Tools, you can run the Pro Tools installer
again. To remove the Mac HFS+ Disk Support Option from
your computer:
To install the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option: 1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
1 Insert the Pro Tools installer disc in your
2 Launch Add or Remove Programs.
CD/DVD drive. Locate and open the Pro Tools
Installer folder, and double-click the Setup icon. 3 From the Currently Installed Programs list, se-
lect Digidesign HFS+ Disk Support.
2 Click Next to begin installation.
4 Click Remove.
3 In the Installer Wizard, select Modify, and
click Next. 5 Follow the on-screen instructions to remove
the option.
4 Select the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option for
installation, and click Next.

5 Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed

with the installation.

6 When Installation is complete, click Finish.

The HFS+ Disk Support option only works

on a computer that has a valid installation
of the Pro Tools application. If you remove
the Pro Tools application from your system,
the HFS+ Disk Support option will also be
removed.

2 Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

 If you are using SCSI or Fibre Channel drives,
Media Compatibility you can watch for notification from the SCSI or
Fibre Channel adapter during the boot process
The Mac HFS+ Disk Support option enables
detailing detected drives. If a newly-attached
Windows and other software running under
SCSI drive is not detected, check for ID conflicts
Windows to access nearly any type of Mac disk.
and proper termination. Regardless of the drive
Windows, however, must be able to communi-
type, if it is not detected, look for faulty cables,
cate with the drive to allow Mac HFS+ Disk Sup-
check both drive and adapter configuration, and
port to function.
try PC-formatted disks in order to confirm
If you are currently able to use your removable whether the drive is working.
media drive with normal PC-formatted disks,
The Mac HFS+ Disk Support option works with
you can be confident that Windows is success-
the following:
fully communicating with the drive, and that
Mac HFS+ Disk Support will be able to recognize Zip, CD-ROM, CD-R/RW, DVD±RW/±R, Jaz,
Mac disks when they are inserted. iPod, hard drives, SyQuest, MO, ORB and nearly
any other disk device that works with Windows
If the disk device is new to your Windows sys- can be accessed.
tem (as would be the case, for example, when
High-density (1.44MB) Mac floppies can be
plugging an external drive from a Mac OS sys-
accessed on any Windows system with a 3∫"
tem into your Windows PC FireWire adapter for
floppy drive.
the first time), it is likely that it will be recog-
nized by Windows and work properly without Low-density (400KB and 800KB) Mac floppies
requiring the installation of driver software cannot be accessed due to physical differences
from the drive or adapter manufacturer, but this between the floppy drives in Mac OS systems
is not guaranteed. and Windows PCs.

When attaching a removable media drive, if While it is possible to use the Mac HFS+
Windows presents no drive letter for the remov- Support option with drives mounted as part
able drive, the hardware may not be properly in- of a Storage Area Network (SAN), Digide-
stalled, or driver software may be necessary. sign has not qualified this configuration.
When attaching a Mac external hard drive, Win-
dows will not present a drive letter unless both
Mac RAID disk volumes are not supported
the drive and the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option
by the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option.
are properly installed.

Chapter 1: Introduction 3
 Session Compatibility
The Mac HFS+ Disk Support option enables
Windows to recognize Pro Tools sessions cre-
ated on Mac-based Pro Tools 7 (.ptf) and
Pro Tools 5.x - 6.x (.pts) systems.

Mac-based Pro Tools 5.x - 6.x sessions that refer-

ence audio files in Sound Designer II (SD II) for-
mat are not supported on Windows.

If your Mac-based Pro Tools session includes

any audio files in SD II format, you will need re-
turn to the Mac-based Pro Tools system and re-
save the session so that its audio files are Win-
dows-compatible, then open it on your Win-
dows system.

To save a Mac-based Pro Tools 5.x-6.x session

with SD II files to be WIndows compatible:
1 Open the session on the Mac-based Pro Tools
system.

2 Choose File > Save Session Copy In.

3 In the Save Session Copy dialog, select Enforce

Mac/PC Compatibility.

4 Choose the audio file type, sample rate, and

bit depth for the session.

5 Choose a destination and enter a name for the

new session.

6 Click Save.

You can then open the session on a Windows-

based Pro Tools system.

4 Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

chapter 2

Using Mac HFS+ Disk Support

2 In the Properties window, click the HFS+ Disk

Viewing Mac Drive and File Support tab.
Properties
When you view properties for a Mac-formatted
drive or a file or folder on a Mac-formatted
drive, you can view the Mac-specific properties
of that drive, file or folder from its shortcut
menu.

You can also display the Mac properties of files

in the Windows Explorer Details view.

To view the properties of a Mac drive, file or folder:

1 Right-click the element whose properties you Mac drive Properties window
want to view, and choose Properties from the
shortcut menu.

Viewing the Properties of a Mac drive

Mac file Properties window

3 Click OK to close the Properties window.

Chapter 2: Using Mac HFS+ Disk Support 5

 The following information is displayed for the To view the properties of a Mac file in Windows
element, where applicable: Explorer:
1 In Windows Explorer, choose View > Choose
Mac name Displays the file’s true Mac name as it
Details.
exists on disk. This may be different from the
name reported by Windows due to the fact that
certain Mac filenames automatically have Win-
dows file extensions added to them, and the ne-
cessity of changing some Macintosh file names
slightly to conform to Windows file-naming
rules.

Data size Displays the size of the file's data fork,

where cross-platform data is usually stored.

Resource size Displays the size of the file's re-

source fork, where additional data, usually Mac-
specific, is stored.

Backed up Displays the date that the file was last

backed up, if ever.

File type and File creator For files, displays the

four-character codes stored by Mac OS that indi-
cate the type of data contained in the file and Choose Details window
the software that created the file. 2 In the Choose Details window, select any of

Files on volume and Folders on volume For the following:

drives, displays the numbers of files and folders Mac Resources Displays information about the
on the drive. file’s resource fork.
Advanced Opens a window with additional ad- Mac Type Displays the four-character code that
vanced attributes of the disk, folder or file. Only indicates the type of data contained in the file.
the Name Locked attribute can be changed in
this window. The other attributes are shown Mac Creator Displays the code that indicates the
only for your reference. software that created the file.

Mac Backup Date Displays the date that the file

was last backed up, if ever.

3 Click OK.

Columns for the selected properties appear in

Windows Explorer when you choose View > De-
tails.

6 Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

 To switch display of a CD between Windows and
Viewing Multisession and Mac volumes:
Dual-Format Discs Right-click the disc whose display you want to
When you mount a Mac-formatted multisession change, and choose HFS+ Disk > Show Mac Files
CD or a dual-format CD, you can select view op- or Show Windows Files from the shortcut menu.
tions for each from the disc shortcut menu.

On some computers, after choosing a new

volume on a multisession CD-R or a new
file set on a dual-format CD-ROM, the
name of the disk as it appears under Win-
dows Explorer may not be properly updated.
Refer to the disc shortcut menu or its con-
tents, rather than the name of the disc, to
assure that the desired volume is available.

Dual-Format Mac CD-ROMs

Some CD-ROMs have both Windows (ISO-9660)
and Mac (HFS or HFS+) volumes on them. You
Choosing a volume of a dual-format CD
can choose which volume to access from the
disc shortcut menu. The effect is much like Multisession Mac CD-Rs
ejecting one disc and inserting another. Mac
HFS+ Disk Support remembers which volume, A list of available volumes appears in the disc
Windows or Mac, you last used on a particular shortcut menus of multisession CD-Rs. Selecting
disc, and will return you to that setting if that a new volume causes the current volume to dis-
disc is used again. appear, and the new volume to appear in its
place. The effect is much like ejecting one disc
and inserting another. Mac HFS+ Disk Support
remembers which session you last used on a par-
ticular disc, and will return you to that session if
that disc is used again.

To choose which volume of a multisession CD to

display:
1 Right-click the multisession disc whose dis-
play you want to change, and choose HFS+
Disk > Volumes from the shortcut menu.

2 Choose the name of the volume you want to

display from the submenu.

Chapter 2: Using Mac HFS+ Disk Support 7

 Backup/File Transfer This mode is appropriate
Setting the File Naming Mode for tape backups of Mac disks, or transfers of files
from one Mac disk to another, including be-
When you view files on a Mac-formatted drive,
tween a true Mac disk and an NTFS volume stor-
you can change the way the filenames are dis-
ing a Services for Macintosh network share. This
played for that drive from the shortcut menu.
mode preserves Unicode characters, but, unlike
Mac HFS+ Disk Support does not change the the other two modes above, does not append ar-
names of files on the Mac-formatted drive, tificial file name extensions for software-com-
it only affects the way they are displayed in patibility purposes.
Windows. Similarly, setting the File Nam-
ing Mode does not affect filenames on disk,
it only changes the way they are displayed Partitioning Mac Drives
in Windows.
HFS+ Disk Manager is a wizard that gives you the
To set the file naming mode for a Mac drive: ability to create and delete partitions on Mac-
1 Right-click the drive whose file naming mode formatted hard drives.
you want to change, and choose HFS+ Disk >
If you use this command to partition a Mac-
Show File Names For from the shortcut menu.
formatted drive, it will not be officially sup-
ported as a Playback/Record drive by
Digidesign. Though Pro Tools may be able
to play back and record to such a drive, only
HFS+ disks formatted on a Mac using Apple
Disk Utility are supported for playback and
recording

When using HFS+ Disk Manager, make sure to

note the following:
• While you can leave part of a disk unused
(called Unallocated space by HFS+ Disk Man-
Choosing a file naming mode
ager), you will not be able to make a PC parti-
2 Choose one of the following from the sub- tion or volume (FAT, FAT32, NTFS, or
menu: otherwise) in the unallocated space. The only
thing you can do with unallocated space is to
Normal Use This mode maximizes compatibility
make additional Mac partitions in it in the fu-
with a wide range of software, and preserves in-
ture, or simply leave it unused.
ternational characters where possible.
• You cannot use HFS+ Disk Manager to add a
International Use This mode is appropriate for a Mac partition to a PC-partitioned disk. Using
disk containing files named using international Mac HFS+ Disk Manager on a PC-partitioned
Unicode characters, in cases where preservation disk will destroy all PC partitions.
of those characters is important, but compatibil-
ity with a wide range of software is less impor-
tant. This is the default setting.

8 Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

• You cannot use Mac HFS+ Disk Manager to re- 6 To add a partition where unallocated space is
size a partition and retain its contents. The available, select the drive or the unallocated
only way to resize a partition is to delete and space and do the following;
recreate it at a different size, which will result • Click Add.
in the loss of any files in the original partition. • Enter a name for the new partition.
• Mac HFS+ Disk Manager works only with • Set the size of the partition by entering it in
fixed hard drives; it cannot be used to parti- the Size box or by adjusting the slider.
tion removable disks.
You can click Undo to reverse any of these oper-
To partition a Mac drive: ations.

1 Make sure Pro Tools is not running. 7 To change or remove a partition, select the
partition and do any of the following:
2 Click the Start menu and choose Programs >
• Click Change to rename or change the for-
Digidesign > HFS+ Disk Support > Create or
mat of the partition.
Change Mac Hard Disks.
• Click Delete to remove the partition.
3 In the HFS+ Disk Manager Wizard, click Next.
You can click Undo to reverse any of these oper-
4 In the Change Disks window, Mac-formatted
ations.
drives appear with a small red apple icon next to
them. 8 When you have finished configuring the par-
titions, click Next.
5 Double-click a Mac-formatted drive to display
its partitions. 9 Do one of the following:
• Click Next to accept the changes.
• Click Cancel to discard the changes and
leave the drive unchanged.

Initializing Mac Drives

The Format Mac Disk command is available un-
der the HFS+ Disk shortcut menu for any Mac-
formatted drive connected to the system. This
option lets you initialize the drive in HFS+ for-
mat.

Displaying partitions on a Mac drive

Chapter 2: Using Mac HFS+ Disk Support 9

 This process will erase any data on the drive. 4 Choose “Mac OS Extended (HFS+)” from the
Format Type pop-up menu.
All formatting and maintenance of HFS+
drives for Pro Tools should be carried out 5 Select Quick format.

when the drives are connected to a Mac, us- 6 Click Start.

ing Apple Disk Utility. If you use this com-
mand to initialize a Mac-formatted drive, 7 When formatting is complete, click OK.

the drive will be qualified only as a Transfer

drive in Pro Tools.

To initialize a Mac-formatted drive:

Copying Mac Disks
1 Make sure Pro Tools is not running. You can make a copy of a Mac-formatted remov-
able disk with the Copy Mac Disk command. A
2 Right-click the drive you want to initialize, disk can be copied only to another disk of iden-
and choose HFS+ Disk > Format Mac Disk from tical type and capacity.
the shortcut menu.
Only one drive is required, as the full contents
of the disk being copied are stored on your sys-
tem hard drive before being written to the desti-
nation disk. Your system hard drive must have
enough free space to temporarily hold the con-
tents of the disk to be copied. Mac HFS+ Disk
Support will alert you if there is not enough free
space available.

To copy a Mac-formatted removable disk:

1 Insert the disk in the drive on your Windows
Formatting a Mac disk computer.
3 Type a name for the drive volume. 2 Right-click the disk and choose HFS+ Disk >
Copy Mac Disk from the shortcut menu.

3 Choose the number of copies you want to

make from the po-up menu.

4 Click Start to being the copy process.

5 When prompted, insert the destination disk.

If Number of Copies is greater than one, you will

then be prompted to insert additional destina-
Format Mac Disk window
tion disks, until all desired copies have been
made.

10 Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

The Format destination disk(s) option is avail- If the problem persists, the disk should either be
able only when copying floppy disks. If this op- repaired or reformatted (using Mac OS X Disk
tion is selected, each destination floppy will be Utility) in order to avoid future problems.
formatted before the disk is copied. This is typi-
cally necessary only when copying to new, un-
Paritition Conflict
formatted floppy disks.
Whenever a disk is mounted, Mac HFS+ Disk
6 When copying is complete, click Close.
Support checks the disk to see if it is properly
and clearly either Mac-partitioned or using the
PC partitioning scheme.
Mac HFS+ Disk Support
In some cases where disks have been reparti-
Warnings tioned from Mac to PC, or vice-versa, a situation
arises where invalid remnants of the old parti-
Volume Check tioning is left on the disk. In many of these
cases, it is impossible for Mac HFS+ Disk Support
Whenever a disk is mounted, Mac HFS+ Disk
to tell whether it is the Mac partitions or the PC
Support checks the disk to see if it was properly
partitions that should be considered valid.
unmounted the last time it was used.
In such a case, Mac HFS+ Disk Support will dis-
If there are signs that it wasn't unmounted cor-
play a warning and ask if you want to commit
rectly, Mac HFS+ Disk Support displays a warn-
the disk to being Mac-partitioned or PC-parti-
ing so that you will know there is a risk that the
tioned, or if you don't know how to properly
disk was improperly unmounted.
classify the disk.

Volume Check warning

Mac HFS+ Disk Support will only mount such a

drive in Read-Only state, so it cannot be used to
record in Pro Tools.
Partition Conflict warning
If Mac HFS+ Disk Support displays this warning,
it does not mean that the disk has been judged Be sure you know if the disk was last Mac- or PC-
to be corrupt; it merely means that there is a sig- partitioned before making your choice.
nificant risk, and that the disk should be re-
mounted and then correctly unmounted on a
Mac system before reconnecting it to a Win-
dows system.

Chapter 2: Using Mac HFS+ Disk Support 11

 To choose the disk classification: is turned on in order to invalidate the signature.
The disk is then remounted, and the invalidated
1 Do one of the following:
signature is ignored by both Windows and Mac
• If you are sure it was last Mac-partitioned,
HFS+ Disk Support.
choose “This is supposed to be a Mac disk.”
• If you are sure it was last partitioned using
Windows or other non-Mac software, Disk Protection
choose “This is supposed to be a PC disk.” Whenever an attempt is made to change the
• If you do not know which is correct, you partitioning on Mac disk by any Windows soft-
can choose “I don't know,” in which case ware other than HFS+ Disk Manager, Mac HFS+
you will be asked again later. Disk Support steps in to mediate the situation.
2 Click OK.
This is done because if Windows software other
If you choose improperly, there is a way you can than HFS+ Disk Manager makes changes to the
attempt to change your decision, but it is only partitioning on a Mac disk, the disk will no
likely to work if the disk hasn't been modified in longer be Mac-partitioned or Mac-formatted,
any other way since initially making your and all contents of the Mac disk will be lost.
choice. Sometimes this is a desirable outcome, if a Mac
disk is no longer needed, and you want to repar-
To get the Partition Conflict window to appear tition and reformat it for use exclusively with
again for all applicable disks:
Windows. In this case, you should select the
Click Start > Run, and then type in the follow- Erase the Mac disk entirely option.
ing (including the quotation marks):
At other times, however, Mac HFS+ Disk Support
“SystemDrive\Program Files\Mediafour\ steps in and protects a Mac disk from accidental
MacDrive\MDDiskProtect.exe”/restore damage. In that case, you should choose the Do
not change the Mac disk option.
You can then choose the appropriate disk classi-
fication. If you decide that you really do want to change
partitions on the Mac disk, but want it to remain
Technical Note a Mac disk when you are done, you should
choose the Modify Mac Partitions option.
The Mac HFS+ Disk Support option judges a disk
to contain PC partitioning if bytes 510–511 con-
tain the hexadecimal signature 55aa, and judges
a disk to contain Mac partitioning if bytes
512–513 contain the ASCII signature “PM” or if
bytes 1024–1025 contain the ASCII signature
“BD” or “H+.”

If a non-system disk is found to contain both PC

and Mac signatures, the Partition Conflict win-
dow is displayed. If a decision to repair the disk
is made, the high bit of the undesired signature

12 Mac HFS+ Disk Support Guide

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