HD24/96 Technical Reference

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Now you have heard it twice. So, after you unthinkingly put the PROJECT disk with the only copy of that symphony you just recorded on top of that subwoofer with the 150 lb. magnet, you’ll need to stay after session and write “I will back all my Projects onto two media” 100 times on the chalkboard.

Media ManagementFormatting Drives

Formatting a drive erases the drive contents and prepares the file system for use with the HDR24/96. All media must be formatted before it can be used with the HDR24/96. Normally you’ll format media with the HDR24/96, but you can format backup media on another system. Only media formatted by the HDR24/96 can be used for recording and playback. Mackie Media PROJECT disks use the FAT16 file system, and Mackie Media M∙90 drives use the FAT32 file system.

The HDR24/96 will only allow you to format an External drive. This is for safety, since the recorder’s operating system resides on the Internal drive, as well as any Project files you may have created. Should you feel the need to reformat the Internal drive, please contact Mackie Technical Support first.

Mackie Media M∙90 drives come pre-formatted and ready to use, as do Mackie Media PROJECT disks (be sure to buy IBM formatted ORB disks). However, off-the-shelf UDMA IDE drives from the computer store do not come preformatted. If you decide to buy your own drives and install them into Mackie Media Trays, then you will need to format them, either on the HDR24/96 or off line. You can format PROJECT disks with any PC that has Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, NT 4.0, Millenium, or 2000 on it, or with any Mac that has File Exchange or PC Exchange installed (Mac OS 7 or later). You can format your own UDMA IDE drives with any PC that has Windows 98 SE, Millenium, or 2000 on it, or with any Mac that has OS 10 installed.

Mackie Media drives can also be read by any system that can Format them. So, for example, you can insert a Mackie Media PROJECT disk into your Macintosh SCSI or IDE ORB drive and copy your Projects’ Recorded (WAV) and Rendered (WAV of AIFF) files directly onto your Mac’s hard drive.

To format media from the HDR24/96 front panel:

Press the DISK UTIL button. If the Active Drive is the Internal drive, then select Set. From the Set Active Drive menu Select External, then select Ok to return to the DISK UTILITY menu.

Select Format. The LCD screen will display a message asking you to confirm the format operation. Select Ok to format, or Cancel to quit before formatting.

When the format operation has completed, another message will appear prompting you to Verify the drive for recording and playback. Select Cancel to exit the Format routine if this is going to be strictly a backup drive (an ORB cartridge, for instance), or Continue to run the performance verification test (see Verify Drive Performance).

To format media from the GUI: