I seem to run into a lot of trouble with just basic file copies using HFS partitions.
Currently I'm organzing some images using GSPlus to burn back to a CF card. I have various sizes (200MB, 2GB) of HFS partitions and while they seem to work at first, after a few minutes GSOS often complains the disk (image) may be "physically damaged" and can't complete the operation.
Usually there is a deletion involved when the errors start (empty trash or overwrite a file).
Once they start they happen with many operations on the same volume and I wind up restoring from a backup.
The images (2mg) were all imported from a CF card or created as blank using Ciderpress.
Is there a way to repair these images (within the IIGS environment or outside) ?
I think that GS/OS 6.0.3 or 6.0.4 (unofficial patches) fixed the HFS stability issues with resource forks and whatnot.
What GS/OS version are you using?
I'm using 6.0.4
It's definitely regarding file deletion where the issues arise.
I'm wondering if there are any native GSOS utlities that can deal with corrupted directory or volume strucutre.
A v1.04 Beta of the HFS.FST was uploaded just this summer that you might want to try out:
https://www.callapple.org/vintage-apple-computers/apple-iigs/hfs-1-04-beta-announced/
I have only recently installed it myself, so I don't have enough time with it to be confident if it has improved the corruption situation or not.
But I have had the exact same experience as you in the past-- a delete operation will sometimes corrupt the entire HFS partition, usually after a large copy operation. My configuration is GS/OS 6.0.4, CFFA 3000 with 4 32MB Prodos partitions and one 256mb HFS partition on a USB stick. Zero issues otherwise.
Just the same, I only use the HFS partition as a mass games repository for P16 titles that can be hard drive installed. So it is static unless I am adding or reorganizing and it is no big deal to restore from a backup if lost.
Hmm... I may give that a try. I can move my SCSI card to slot 2 when I install my CF card in Slot 7, and see if I can use that driver with a ZIP disk formatted to HFS. It'll be a few weeks ere I can report on it, but this was probably the announcement that I remembered about HFS fixes. I somehow thought it was already in GS/OS 6.0.4, but I suppose they skipped it due to its status flag.
You are correct, there was a patched HFS.FST that came out after GS/OS 6.0.1. I think it was released around 1995, and purported to fix the volume corruption and file size errors in the original HFS.FST. That patched HFS.FST was incorporated into the GS/OS 6.0.2 and 6.0.4 releases. However, it seems some bugs remained in the 1995 patch, particularly with larger partitions. Fast forward to 2020 and the latest beta is now trying to correct this.