On around 21�4�2002 16:21, Andrew Siller said something like: > The problem missed by all of you is >that when the bad drive is turned on, I can't get a desktop even when I >boot from a CD.
If you can't get the computer to boot there is a problem with the SCSI chain. You're probably getting a dominant 7th chord or something instead of the "happy Mac" triad? If I understand you, your machine boots when the damaged drive is off but still connected? And that just having turned it on is what prevents the boot process? A little wierd. And possibly indicative of a drive beyond the help of Norton. But the only way to find out is to try it. (NB: the problem may be with the drive and not the disk _per se_.) Question: was the bad drive ever a system drive? What do you have selected in the Startup Disk control panel? Make sure your internal disk is explicitly selected. That might possibly make a difference to your boot problems (at least enough to allow you to boot from CD-ROM with the bad disk turned on). >Without a desktop, I can't do anything about making the >repair. I suppose I could try turning on the bad drive *after* booting up, >but I've been told so strongly, so many times, never to do that, that I'm >reluctant to do such a thing w.o someone knowledgeable telling me that it's >OK. Having learned all the boy scout behavior stuff with SCSI, I was taken aback when I saw what the guys got up to in the back room of the computer shop I worked at many years ago. Hot/cold plugging was not unheard of, if there was no other way to look at a HD. Hot-plugging I would not recommend (don't try this at home, kids). However, turning on a drive that is already attached to the SCSI chain is normally safe (assuming the power supply is not really--ahem--fried up). True: this is deprecated for day-to-day use, but partly because you have to then use some utility to mount the drive (get it to appear on the desktop). But in your situation, wanting to examine a drive with Dr. Norton &| Friends, should be OK. Actually, I do this quite regularly with my CD burner (it makes a racket, so I normally keep it turned off until I actually need to use it). Random things to watch out for: - Turning a drive off that has already been mounted is less OK. First, some (older) versions of the OS were not prepared for this eventuality (the OS "knows" whether media are removable or not, and generally does not expect non-removable media to disappear w/out notice). Also, this will force a hard disk check the next time you try to mount the disk, which is tedious. But if you drag the disk from the desktop prior to turning off, even this should not be "dangerous". - Sometimes having an attached unit turned off (powered down) can interfere with the SCSI chain. This depends upon details of the SCSI implementation of the units involved. I think most recent hardware is pretty robust in this regard. From your reports, this is not your problem, but people ought to be aware of this. In short: if the only way to get NDD to look at the drive is with turning the drive on after boot time, then do it. If you're nervous about it, then do it with the oldest Mac in your house (or one still under warranty!-). If you're _really_ nervous, then take it to a competent Mac hardware shop and ask them if they can get the drive mounted on their hardware and run Norton over it. That will cost money but should not be extortionate. Hope this helps, Peter --------------- <http://www.bek.no/~pcastine/Litter/> --------------- Peter Castine | Congrats on the new Litter package! [EMAIL PROTECTED] | -- R.G. Glos. U.K. [EMAIL PROTECTED] | _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
