Okay, to break it down, you're using a PC to download Mac-related software to be copied to a floppy; that's perfectly fine. Now, you format the floppy as a DOS/Windows disk and copy the downloaded file to the disk. When you take that floppy and insert it into the drive of the SE/30, it doesn't recognize the disk or try to mount it.
From that break down, I see 2 problems:
1.) The SE/30 is missing the System Folder extension called "PC Exchange". This allows Macintoshes (from Plus models and later) to read and write DOS/Windows formatted floppies. It will also allow you to associate known file extensions between Mac and PC; for example, ".txt" files will be recognized as a "Text" file and ".doc" as a Microsoft Word document.
2.) The floppy disk, regardless if it's Mac or DOS/Windows formatted, is missing the hidden files that the Mac needs to mount the disk. You can fix this issue, by simply holding down the Apple key and the Option key on the keyboard, at the same time, as you insert the disk. It will ask you if you want to rebuild the desktop; and make sure you click on Yes or OK to proceed. DOS/Windows PCs don't use these hidden files and haven't a clue as to what they are. But the Mac does and they are critical to seeing the disk mounted on the desktop. Norton Utilities appears to fix this issue and mount the disk for this very reason. It doesn't see the hidden files and tries to rebuild them for you.
The floppy drive usually has 2 micro switches located to the sides up near the front opening of the drive. The left sided one tells the Mac and the drive controller that you have a floppy inserted with or without write protection. The right sided one tells if you have a high density or a double-density disk inserted; high being 1.44MB and double being 800K. On some drives, there may be a third switch that's activated after the disk is inserted, but I'll leave the other 68kmla members to verify that fact.
If you'd like another alternative to getting Mac software from a PC to a Mac, you may also want to try using terminal emulation software and a serial cable or dial-up modems between the two. It's a cheap way to network the two machines together, but takes some experimenting. You will need to understand serial ports and/or dial-up modems: how they work, how they are wired up, what protocols to use and what emulation software works best.
If your PC doesn't have a built-in serial port, you'll need a USB to Serial port adapter. You'll also need a null modem serial cable for Mac that is 8-pin LocalTalk (RS-422) male on one end and 9-pin or 25-pin (RS-232) female on the other end. If using two dial-up modems, simply attach a modular telephone cable (the one that goes between a telephone and the plug socket on the wall) between each computer's modems and set up the terminal software to do computer-to-computer file transfers.
Start by checking out these places below:
http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html (Beware! Some links may be dead.)
http://www.ccadams.org/se/ (I know this site caters to SE users primarily, but it has plenty of useful resources that also work for the SE/30 and other retro Macs.)
http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/index.html (This site's owner passed away a few years ago, so it's been kept active as a memorial to Gamba.)
Let us know how it works out for you.
73s de phreakout. :rambo:
From that break down, I see 2 problems:
1.) The SE/30 is missing the System Folder extension called "PC Exchange". This allows Macintoshes (from Plus models and later) to read and write DOS/Windows formatted floppies. It will also allow you to associate known file extensions between Mac and PC; for example, ".txt" files will be recognized as a "Text" file and ".doc" as a Microsoft Word document.
2.) The floppy disk, regardless if it's Mac or DOS/Windows formatted, is missing the hidden files that the Mac needs to mount the disk. You can fix this issue, by simply holding down the Apple key and the Option key on the keyboard, at the same time, as you insert the disk. It will ask you if you want to rebuild the desktop; and make sure you click on Yes or OK to proceed. DOS/Windows PCs don't use these hidden files and haven't a clue as to what they are. But the Mac does and they are critical to seeing the disk mounted on the desktop. Norton Utilities appears to fix this issue and mount the disk for this very reason. It doesn't see the hidden files and tries to rebuild them for you.
The floppy drive usually has 2 micro switches located to the sides up near the front opening of the drive. The left sided one tells the Mac and the drive controller that you have a floppy inserted with or without write protection. The right sided one tells if you have a high density or a double-density disk inserted; high being 1.44MB and double being 800K. On some drives, there may be a third switch that's activated after the disk is inserted, but I'll leave the other 68kmla members to verify that fact.
If you'd like another alternative to getting Mac software from a PC to a Mac, you may also want to try using terminal emulation software and a serial cable or dial-up modems between the two. It's a cheap way to network the two machines together, but takes some experimenting. You will need to understand serial ports and/or dial-up modems: how they work, how they are wired up, what protocols to use and what emulation software works best.
If your PC doesn't have a built-in serial port, you'll need a USB to Serial port adapter. You'll also need a null modem serial cable for Mac that is 8-pin LocalTalk (RS-422) male on one end and 9-pin or 25-pin (RS-232) female on the other end. If using two dial-up modems, simply attach a modular telephone cable (the one that goes between a telephone and the plug socket on the wall) between each computer's modems and set up the terminal software to do computer-to-computer file transfers.
Start by checking out these places below:
http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html (Beware! Some links may be dead.)
http://www.ccadams.org/se/ (I know this site caters to SE users primarily, but it has plenty of useful resources that also work for the SE/30 and other retro Macs.)
http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/index.html (This site's owner passed away a few years ago, so it's been kept active as a memorial to Gamba.)
Let us know how it works out for you.
73s de phreakout. :rambo: