@DATABASE 
@WORDWRAP

@REMARK Created with Guided by Linus McCabe


@node Main "Main"
@WORDWRAP

@{B}OPTIMIZE YOUR HARD DISK@{UB}

@{B}Before proceeding, BACK UP YOUR FILES ON THE PARTITION YOU WISH TO OPTIMIZE.@{UB}

@{B}1)@{UB} HDToolbox will open with a list of the active disk controllers on your machine.  They have names such as scsi.device, gvpscsi.device, etc.  Select the one you wish to use for your hard disc recording work, then click @{B}OK@{UB}.

@{B}NOTE@{UB} : if you have a Phase5/DCE PPC/SCSI combo, you may need to check the @{B}Wide SCSI Board@{UB} box in the lower left of the window.  Consult your documentation to be sure.

@{B}2)@{UB}  Now you'll see a list of all the devices connected to your selected hard disc controller.  Select the drive you wish to use for your ProStationAudio work by clicking on it with the mouse - after that, the @{B}Partition@{UB} button in the lower right of the screen should no longer be ghosted - proceed by clicking on it.

@{B}3)@{UB} You should now see the various partitions on the device displayed in graph form.  Use your mouse to select the prtition you'd like to optimize by clicking on it.

@{B}4)@{UB} In the lower right of the program's display is a button called @{B}Change...@{UB}.  Click on it with your mouse.

@{B}5)@{UB} What you should see now is a detailed display of all the important parameters for your selected partition.  

There are two crucial variables that should be adjusted for use with ProStationAudio.  

The first, is called @{B}Mask@{UB}.  The Mask number is displayed in a box on the right of the program display.  For most SCSI controllers, the optimum Mask setting is 0x7FFFFFFE.  Some older controllers will barf on this number, notably GVP controllers.  Consult any documentation you have to confirm this.

The second, and most effective variable we're looking for is the @{B}File System Block Size@{UB}.  It is displayed just under the Max Transfer.  This number is usually @{B}512@{UB} by default, when using the standard @{U}Fast File System@{UU}.  What we want to do is change this number to @{B}8192@{UB}, or possibly @{B}16384@{UB}.  the higher the File System Block, however, the more RAM is consumed by simply having that partition mounted, so keep that in mind.  We have found that values higher 8192 bring diminishing returns.  When clicking on the block size value, a drop menu will appear and display the choices you have.  Select your preference.  Hit @{B}OK@{UB}.

Now, the program returns you to the previous screen.  You now must @{B}Save@{UB} the changes you have made.

@{B}MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO FILES THAT YOU NEED OR HAVE NOT BACKED UP ON THE PARTITION YOU SELECTED.  CHANGING THE BLOCK SIZE WILL OBLITERATE ANY DATA ON THE DRIVE.@{UB}

After saving your changes, you will need to do a reboot, and then reformat that partition.
@ENDNODE