you said: and >>>I ask... I have a Performa 550 that I cannot get to boot.
I believe the hard disk is probably dead. >>what brand? what size? The hard disk was partitioned with Drive 7 and some of the partitions stopped being mountable before the machine failed. >>how long did it work before it did this? how old is it? With this kind of warning, all vital data on the machine was backed up, so data recovery is not a priority. We tried to boot from a zip disk, but for reasons unknown we couldn't - eventually the zip drive failed to work at all as well. >>>see question below about hot shoeing. I can't find any bootable Apple CD's - >>can you borrow? although I should have some somewhere. >>what OS range would you want to try with? I've tried a couple of superbooter floppys as well as Apple's Network Access Disk without success. Here's the symptoms. >>how are you powering on? >>>chimes or no? [ is machine doing its hardware check, hardware sensing whole system?} Gray screen at startup (mouse moves pointer), Happy Mac! (for about 3 seconds), flash - back to gray screen, flash - back to happy mac, finally the blinking question mark appears on a disk icon. When I attach a zip drive >>>>asking the obvious, did you turn off power and hook it up cold before restarting? or did you try to 'hot shoe' plug it in while the machine was powered on? (Universal System 7.5.5 folder built and tested on a Performa 6300), >> do you have that perf 6300 still? I can see that the disk is accessed in the Mac's scan of SCSI devices. >>>the hard disk? or the zip disk? >>you mean its icon shows up on the screen? how? Non bootable CD's are ejected, as are floppies (after a brief happy mac). I tried to boot from a different device >>what device? with the hard disk removed, but that didn't work either. >>>no chimes? anything on the screen? >>please define 'didn't work' I did get kind of static noise from the speakers, after leaving the machine on for several minutes >> in what state? diskettes in? out? zip disk attached?? disk in? disk out? CD in? not in? hard drive inside? not inside? (don't know what kind of clue that may be. No signs of obvious damage on the inside >>meaning you're looking for smoke, charring, meltdown, bad smells, visible damage. yet static noise in the speakers is a sign of electrical discharges. so the damage may be invisible but audible.. static hurts chips: RAM, processors, etc. (I've removed and reinstalled each of the drives >>which drives? internal? external? HD? zip? CD ROM? please be specific for us and the motherboard). >>>did you take all the standard antistatic precautions in handling each component? I'm about ready to give up, >>>nah, with macs there's always more than one way to approach it. >>is this the only mac you have? got any others around? but hoped there might be something more I could try. >>.fall back and go thru the basics from the beginning. ask yourself if you skipped, missed, got lazy or forgetful with any standard steps and checks. is the outlet grounded? are your connections all good and solid and secure? are you using antistatic protocols? are you turning off power or shutting down properly before adding or subtracting peripheral components? do you know what SCSI ID's each device is set to? does this model have a CUDA or reset button on the mobo? are you hitting it before or after changing hardware in and out of the logic board? if you have any other macs, can you test each component on the other mac, to see if it behaves right on that one? meaning, your HD, your CD ROM drive, your zip drive, your floppies, your CD's? how's the PRAM battery in this machine? is your RAM in solidly? what about disassembling things on an antistatic work surface and unplugging and just letting the board 'drain' for a while, and beginning again meticulously with the standard checklist and protocols? neatness counts. wanna give yourself and the beast a rest, and begin again? these are what I would ask myself if i was faced with your sitch. couldnt hurt, might nail something you've forgotten. the beauty of macs is, there's always another way to go. mix n match. Janet http://community.webtv.net/mensabrains/BADCODE -- Vintage Macs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Vintage Macs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml> The FAQ: <http://macfaq.org/> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/vintage.macs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
