Mac users: ".img" & ".smi" files are worthless!!

Macintosh Users:



Correct me if I'm wrong, but trying to share a DiskCopy or ShrinkWrap ".img" or ".smi" file through Limewire could be absolutely pointless.



The ".img" file format, as well as the ".smi" self-mounting variety, each contain a small amount of critical resource fork information. It's possible that this info won't be preserved during the download. This is because Wintel boxes (which could handle the file somewhere along the line) don't understand what a resource fork is, and will consequently sever the file. They can only understand, and thus preserve, the data fork. The end result will be a corrupt disk image file that won't mount.



If you want to share a ".img" or ".smi" file, please be sure to encode it in order to preserve the resource fork information. In other words, before sharing, convert it to a Stuffit Archive file (".sit"), or encode it into a MacBinary (".bin") file or a BinHex (".hqx") file. Alternatively, if you're using OS X, you could create a ".dmg" file.



Thanks....and keep sharing!

[dwt]

As far as I can see this wont be a problem if you share and download the file on a Mac.

As there would be no pc involved who could "destroy" it.

Also because there is mainly mac-software in these images that shouldn´t be that big problem.

Nevertheless I prefer .dmg files also.

cu Martin

[mdouma46]

bump

[mdouma46]

Originally posted by dwt
As far as I can see this wont be a problem if you share and download the file on a Mac.

As there would be no pc involved who could "destroy" it.

Also because there is mainly mac-software in these images that shouldn´t be that big problem.

Nevertheless I prefer .dmg files also.

cu Martin

Regarding this post, I still hold my original thoughts...

Maybe a limewire Developer could help us out here? Will Limewire recognize and preserve the resource fork part of a file, if it's transferred directly from one mac to another?

Anyway, if you have .img files, just get the latest version of Stuffit Expander (6.5.1) which is part of Stuffit Lite. Go to www.alladinsys.com to get it. Stuffit Lite also includes DropStuff, which you can use to convert any file to a ".sit" Stuffit Archive File.

Thanks again, and keep sharing!

Unless your storing it on a PC, the resource file is transfered through LimeWire just as if it was a data fork. *Has downloaded working images off LimeWire just to prove a point*