I know a bit more about the error.
Some things that Finder can do work only correctly if the files are on the startup disk.
For example, copy a font suitcase to a volume that is different from the startup disk (for example, the RAM disk).
Open it.
Drag the fonts to the desktop.
They VANISH on my computer.
Can someone confirm this?
Yes. That's what happens. Every time.
BUT… it's
not that they have to be on the startup disk.
It's that you can't move them to a different volume OR the "Desktop Folder".
Font handling in ALL Classic Mac OS's was / is nuts. Go back to 68k and you even had to install and uninstall them with an app! "Font-DA Mover"
I think that part of this is because fonts developed and evolved over time (screenfonts, Postscript, TrueType etc etc.) but they just kept patching and repatching the OS to keep it all working
and backward-compatible.
Fonts moved from a different volume to the Desktop the way you describe will disappear into the ether if they're outside of a suitcase. Interestingly enough, make an everyday folder, put them inside and then move them and they're fine. Evidently they just need to be "wrapped" in something.
The OS9 "Desktop folder" which
doesn't even appear as a folder in the Finder, exists in some kind of magic place where it can reference stuff from different volumes and more or less keep it together but it's not tolerant at all of loose font files.
Is THIS what started all of the error -110 stuff to begin with? Is it just me or is this all because you're somehow compelled to keep testing the limits of the OS? Understand, I'm NOT trying to be snarky here - I just can't begin to get a grip on what the hell it is you're trying to accomplish that's causing all of this. Any enlightenment would be helpful and appreciated.