Getting your BlueSCSI working on your classic Mac is WAY easier than you think!

** Join BlueSCSI's Eric Helgeson and I on Wednesday, October 27th at 8pm Central for a moderated discussion of BlueSCSI, the state of solid state storage solutions designed for retrocomputing, and what the future holds for the project. **
Eric has also kindly offered to give away a BlueSCSI device live on the stream ( • BlueSCSI Giveaway Live... )!
To enter, simply leave the tag #BlueSCSI on THIS VIDEO!
Full giveaway rules: docs.google.com/document/d/1B...
Now, on with the video ;)
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I've read a couple of social media posts recently where people returning to retrocomputing on the Macintosh are at a loss on how to get BlueSCSI working on machines (especially on a Plus, SE, or Mac II) that use 800K floppy drives. It's tough to get working system disks for those systems without having another working Mac with the right hardware to make those disks - so what is an enthusiast to do!?
Well... you could maybe watch this quick and easy how-to video that outlines how to use emulators to configure disk images for use with the BlueSCSI on your real Mac?
1) Download a Mac emulator for your modern desktop machine (Basilisk II is a good one)
2) Download a pre-rolled bootable 2GB Mac system software image from Savage Taylor (www.savagetaylor.com/download...)
3) Downloaded “Apple Legacy Recovery CD” from Macintosh Garden (macintoshgarden.org/.../apple-...)
4) Download the archive of "blank" HDA images for the BlueSCSI from the project's GitHub (github.com/erichelgeson/BlueS...)
5) In your emulator, add the Savage Taylor image, the "blank" HDA image (from the BlueSCSI project page) and the Apple Legacy Recovery CD to the drives list in your emulator… making sure that the Apple Legacy Recovery CD is the top bootable item on the list.
6) Perform any additional configuration you need in your emulator, then boot the emulator.
7) After your virtual Mac boots, install the version of MacOS you wish to use onto the "blank" HDA image file.
8 ) After the OS install is complete, copy the apps/utils you’d like to use from the Savage Taylor image over to your newly installed system boot HDA (if in doubt, copy everything except the system folder)
9) Once you are satisfied with your setup, shutdown the emulator.
10) To verify that your newly customized HDA is bootable, change the drive order in your emulator by moving the HDA to the top of the list. If it boots, you're done. Shutdown the emulator.
11) Now, rename your customized HDA in accordance with the naming conventions laid out in the BlueSCSI documentation (github.com/erichelgeson/BlueS...)
CONGRATS! You now have a bootable, customized HDA image file that can be copied to your BlueSCSI's SD card and booted in a real Mac!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
03:35 Get Your Emulator
05:03 Apple Legacy Software Recovery CD
06:53 Savage Taylor
08:33 Blank HDA Files (Thanks, Eric Helgeson!)
10:56 Extract Your Files
12:14 Configure Your Emulator
13:55 Install Your OS
19:01 Copy Utilities Over From Savage Taylor Image
23:09 Transfer ALSR CD to HDA (For Future Experimentation!)
25:50 Properly Name Your Files
31:41 [Giveaway Announcement!]
34:44 Outro
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[@enzo_a_person212]

I’m excited #BlueSCSI

[@RonsCompVids]

First entry... woot!

[@garymajor1460]

This is extremely helpful! Thanks for putting this together for the community!

[@helfire23]

Great explanation of how to get everything up and running - excited for the chat next week!

[@RonsCompVids]

Looking forward to it, sir!

[@49AbjectTestament]

Ron, I just wanted to say thank you for making this video tutorial! I finally got my parent's old Performa 405 out of my father's house and restored it (capacitors, deep clean, pram battery, etc), but had issues with the poor dead SCSI HDD. After finding out about #BlueSCSI as an option, I was still stuck not knowing what to do with it after I assembled it. I eventually ran across your video and it was exactly what I needed! You really did an amazing job and you're demeanor is just downright pleasant throughout. Once again, thank you so much for demystifying this process and helping us all!

[@RonsCompVids]

Happy to have been of help!

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Nice how-to video Ron. The #BlueSCSI is a really nice solution, especially for the price point.

[@RonsCompVids]

Thank you, sir!

[@Tom2112Tom]

Great video, Ron. I always enjoy your content. This one was timely since I just got a BlueSCSI for my newly aquired PowerBook 165! With your video, I'm off to the races. Thanks!

[@RonsCompVids]

I’m hoping the video is helpful in getting your machine configured. I wonder if there is an easy way to hide one of those SD extenders in the battery bay to make it easy to update the card?

[@Tom2112Tom]

I went with the PowerBook version of the BlueSCSI, so it will directly replace the drive. But your idea of ready access to the sdcard is awesome. I may have to figure something out...

[@GarthBeagle]

Nicely done Ron! I've got a couple#BlueSCSI I need to build, so will refer to your info for help setting things up (assuming my soldering is good enough 😀)

[@fmlazar]

I've seen people use simmilar methods using WinUAE to set up similar boot drives for SCSI based Amigas.

[@RudysRetroIntel]

Excellent! Wanted to do this to my color classic. Many thanks, Ron

[@RonsCompVids]

Go for it! They really take a lot of the stress out of setting up a classic Mac.

[@anttikiuru1302]

hey, thanks! this was useful and got me started!

[@ravuya]

The #BlueSCSI seems like a well made piece of hardware! It’s good to have options like this as old drives wear out or are separate from their machines.

[@BorisZech]

Yes - but then there is this sensation of a real SCSI drive doing its magic, seeking, screetching, ... We need something like BlueSCSI with synthetic drive sound from a speaker. ;)

[@drbalint]

I like the versatility of #BlueSCSI . From your video and other reviewers I have seen this product looks like a very affordable solution.

[@theObsoleteTechie]

Awesome video!! This definitely gave me some ideas on how to use the image hd next time I work on mac SE.

[@RonsCompVids]

I sure hope it was helpful. I do gloss over a few of the finer details, but I think there's enough information here that would allow a novice to successfully get a working setup going with ease. If not, folks can always ask questions, right? ;)

[@theObsoleteTechie]

@@RonsCompVids yes definitely helpful theres a few tips you mentioned that I struggled to figure out. It took me two weeks to get my bluescsi. I also I like how you mentioned the Discord as helpful place to get informed if you have a question. In my case I was afraid that I didn't know enought of the apple ecosystem to ask and understand what they were talking about, but this video has really good points that a newbie like me can follow and learn. Thank you for the awesome video!!

[@GNanting]

Recently bought my first classic Mac, a Macintosh SE, and was surprised by one of those old Sony HDDs that apparently caused a recall. Unsurprisingly it seems to be dead, so a #BlueSCSI would be ideal, and it's also the best priced HDD alternative in my area. Thanks for doing this vid and giveaway!

[@jdmcs]

The #BlueSCSI would be a great companion to my Macintosh LC!

[@EricsEdgeVideos]

A couple of items that might help. If you are setting up for something like a PoweBook that has a lot of specialized control panel items, you may want to perform a custom/universal install. Or, you can use a control panel/extension called Wish I Were to set your emulator's hardware type to match your target machine.

[@declanmcquay3476]

Adding my thanks for this video. I was setting up the BlueSCSI for my Mac SE and was wondering why I kept on getting three flashes, even though I had named the file in the correct format and made sure it was booting in Basilisk on both my Windows PC and a newer Mac. Then your comment of "Don't set the SCSI ID to 7" was the solution. For some reason I misinterpreted that all SCSI boot devices on a Mac had to be set to the ID of 7.

[@RonsCompVids]

Yeah... ID7 is reserved for the controller in the Macintosh :)

[@SuperMoleRetro]

Very nice! I could use another #BlueSCSI for the MAC SE I just did the recap on the analog board too :)

[@RonsCompVids]

They've great little devices... just so convenient!

[@tombarber8929]

Awesome video about #BlueSCSI ! (If this comment happens to win, please go on to the next one)

[@fmlazar]

Which Mac Emulator you want to use is dependent on the Mac you want to emulate. Basilisk 2 is the go to for 68k macs up to System 7. Sheepshaver is the choice for running OS 8 and 9 PPC machines.

[@RonsCompVids]

It is still possible to run 7.6.1 under Sheepshaver… and on some machines, it’s way more stable than basilisk II

[@fmlazar]

@@RonsCompVids A lot of it has to do with using the right ROM the Performa ROM tends to give the best results. With it my 7.5.3 to 7.5.5 update went through with no crashes.

[@macdude22]

A #BlueSCSI would go great with that IIe Card 😆

[@Gumdoc9]

This is very cool! #BlueSCSI

[@DavidStahlOLDHAPPyMACs]

#BlueSCSI I would love to add one these for may older Mac

[@charkes]

It's a great piece of tech. #BlueSCSI

[@DDE100]

Awesome! #BlueSCSI

[@RetroTechy]

Hiya Ron #BlueSCSI

[@1BitFeverDreams]

#BlueSCSI loved assembling my own but could use another

[@brandonacevedo9574]

Hi the page for the blank images is down

[@brittman914]

WOOHOO! Go Ron! #BlueSCSI

[@RonsCompVids]

Thanks, Britt!

[@MacintoshLibrarian]

#bluescsi is cool 😎

[@reuvenmr]

I enjoyed watching the BlueSCSI walkthrough. I’m in the process of restoring a Mac SE with a 40MB HD and 800K floppy,and would like to add a BlueSCSI to my system. This would help in the transfer of new apps to my Mac, since it is challenging to find a modern computer that will read the old 800K disks. I’m having difficulty finding a place to purchase a BlueSCSI in the US. Can you suggest a source? Thx

[@RonsCompVids]

The official list of resellers is at: bluescsi.com/v2#buy I know that these are continually restocked, but with the rush for the new V2 units, there might be a small amount of lead time to get one. JCM-1.COM listed quite a few last week and they immediately went out of stock.

[@stevecox5219]

#BlueSCSI

[@EricsEdgeVideos]

Ron - has anyone ever done a video on how to extract a ROM image from a Mac?

[@RonsCompVids]

I'm fairly certain SOMEONE has to have done a video about it. But there is a great thread over on Emaculation about it: www.emaculation.com/doku.php/capturing_rom

[@gregmun5595]

for some reason my mac SE/30 hangs after going into startup screen where loads extensions. I followed all the steps from your video.

[@RonsCompVids]

What is your SE/30 working with a mechanical drive before you swapped out for a BLUESCSI?

[@gregmun5595]

@@RonsCompVids it had mechanical drive before but I never saw it mounted on desktop. I only saw it on SCSI probe. Is that mean mechanical drive is dead? It took me a long time to figure out how to make working blueSCSI file. Now I am stuck at frozen screen. 😅

[@RonsCompVids]

What did you use to create your image file?

[@johndavis1465]

I have a Mac Performa 475 that works with Bluescsi but you do not show show how to fget loppy images on to the Bluescsi.

[@RonsCompVids]

If the “floppy” already on your Mac in the form of an image file, you should be able to just use DiskCopy to mount the image. Drag the image file on top of DiskCopy, and it should mount the image as a virtual floppy disk on your Macintosh desktop..

[@HEPATCA]

The problem now is without the hard drive the computer is almost too quiet. I don't miss the constant droning whine of failing ball bearings, but the faint ticks and clicks of a new drive were kind of reassuring. 😀

[@RonsCompVids]

Drake is actually creating an in-line device to be used with BlueSCSI that simulates the sounds of a mechanical hard drive.

[@RonsCompVids]

en.infinityproducts.co.jp/product-page/smc-beleth-s-drum-hd-sound-simulator

[@kencreppin2146]

I have a IIci with a HD configured exactly as I want. Since it is an ancient SCSI drive, I presume it's life is very limited. Is there an easy way to make this HD into an image file for the BlueSCSI???

[@RonsCompVids]

The simplest way to clone your existing setup would be to just add the BlueSCSI to your IIci as a secondary drive and then just drag your existing system over (to a blank partition that you had prepared on your more modern PC or Mac). Just make sure that the image files you place on the SD card do not have a conflicting SCSI ID with any drivers that you currently have in your IIci. If you’re just running the stock configuration, that means that your existing drive should be at SCSI ID 0. Just make sure your image file is named to allow for that.

[@kencreppin2146]

@@RonsCompVids THANK YOU!!!

[@ethanwashoe5868]

Is the process still the same? Im trying to follow along but when you donwload the "blank" images, the page is different and I only see "premade" images to download? edit* I was able to create a blank image with disk jockey I made the image the same size as yours and had to "initialize it" once booting up Basilisk. I am now trying to download os 6.08 but after I install it to the blank image, when I try to restart the Basilisk it says "This Macintosh is set for 32-bit adressing". and asks if I want to switch to 24, but when I do it just restarts and brings up the same window. Is this because the Rom I'm using in Basilisk? I used the one you recommended in a comment below "3DC27823 - Quadra".

[@RonsCompVids]

You might need to use a ROM file that supports 6.0.8 (like a IIci)

[@HEPATCA]

Which ROM did you select? Basilisk II starts then immediately hangs on my Windows 10 machine.

[@RonsCompVids]

Here's my Memory/Misc settings: RAM = 32MB Model = IIci CPU = 68030 with FPU ROM = "1992-03 3DC27823 - Quadra 950.ROM"

[@HEPATCA]

@@RonsCompVids Thanks! That works much better. I've also had good luck with the LCIII ROM that I got from the "Old World ROMs" ZIP file.

[@billbucks1665]

I use VMac emulator ; will it work to share files with the real Macintosh or do I need to switch to Balistik ?

[@RonsCompVids]

It all comes down to how your image files were created. I do not know for use that many of the images for vMac floating around actually have the drivers needed to make them boot on a actual Mac using BlueSCSI. I made a video recently that might be of interest to you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHymk2qqqqpsf9E

[@billbucks1665]

@@RonsCompVidsthanks for the answer. So my understanding is that Balistik is better if I want to share files between an emulator and the real Mac using a BlueSCSI + SD. Is that correct ?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Hey Ron. If you see this do you mind responding so I can test out whether I am getting comment notifications?

[@RonsCompVids]

I see your comment, sir!

[@lukash2953]

Hello and thank you for the great tutorial! I am working on a Mac mini running macOS 12.1 and everything works fine with Basilisk II except adding .hda files. I can add .dsk, .iso, .img but no .hda files. Is there a solution for that? Thanks in advance!

[@RonsCompVids]

That’s very strange… mostly because I strictly deal in those .HDA files for use on the BlueSCSI.

[@lukash2953]

@@RonsCompVids Can the BlueSCSI handle .dsk or .img files? I couldn’t boot from them using the BlueSCSI.

[@RonsCompVids]

It appears that all you have to do is change the file extension to .dsk while you’re working which it,on the Mac… and then change it back to .HDA when you copy to the SD card for use on the BlueSCSI.

[@lukash2953]

@@RonsCompVids I will try that, thank you!

[@brianclimbs1509]

There are a lot of steps presented here, but I don't really understand what is happening. Why can't I just download a disk image and copy it to an SD card. What is happening? I don't really need an emulator, I just want to get started by booting up a disk image in a performa 580CD and copying files over from the old hard drive. Can anybody tell me if I need to do all of these steps?

[@RonsCompVids]

I’ll work,on it.

[@brianclimbs1509]

Thank you. I'm totally not a computer specialist, as you can tell. @@RonsCompVids

[@audunrundberg9180]

On the Savage Taylor site there’s a download link for BlueSCSI that seems like it’s ready to go for an SD card. I guess the emulator is useful if you want to customize the MacOS build from the comfort of your modern computer. I haven’t actually tried any of this myself as I’m waiting for my BlueSCSI, so I could be wrong!

[@ethanwashoe5868]

@@audunrundberg9180 Did you end up using one of the premade images?

[@cosmokramer4585]

Can’t you just drag a pre made image onto a formatted SD card and call it a day?? Instead of going through all those steps??

[@RonsCompVids]

Now-a-days? Sure. Over a year ago when this video was made? Not as readily.

[@tekk9995]

Nice. Too bad you're not actually booting from a real machine..

[@RonsCompVids]

This is just the steps to get your image ready for use with the BlueSCSI. After you prep you image, copy it to the SD card and then you're booting on a new machine.