Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why does my AppleCD 300 work for booting and mounting?
The AppleCD 300 is an OEM Sony drive, just as the SunCD is. Consequently, it is the correct vendor (Sony) and it will respond to the MODE SELECT command from the system. Thus, when the Apple is brought on-line, it tells the system that it uses 2048 bytes/block, which generates an error, the system responds by telling the drive to switch to 512 bytes/block. Thus, you can mount and boot from an AppleCD. Contrast this to what happens with a NEC or Toshiba drive: the command is ignored, so it stays in the improper mode, causing the boot or mount to fail. Disclaimer: It has been brought to my attention (via feedback from FAQ readers) that not all Sun PROM versions send the appropriate commands to set the block size on this drive. I do not recommend purchasing this drive unless you can try it first. It has been said to not work with an IPX or SS2 (which I am guessing would mean it doesn’t work with anything older; ie. SS1, SS1+, IPC). Buyer beware!
