Re: GraphicWriter III freeze

[yardbird@primenet.com (Joe Walters)]

In article <60eo8c$2pk8@enzu.unm.edu>, Jim Pittman <casa@unm.edu> wrote:

> Dave Althoff (dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us) recently posted a
> question about a GraphicWriter III v.1.1 file becoming unusable.

> I have had similar freeze-ups with version 2.0 of GraphicWriter
> and I'd sure like to know what to do to prevent them.

This is something that happened with version 1.1 and 2.0

> Nothing I could think to do would fix that file and I had to abandon
> it and start over with a new "model" file and re-import my text files
> and re-format my article.

Bingo! The magic word, "import." When using GW3 I attempt to write
all of my articles in AppleWorks and then import them into GW3 in
order to cut down on the amount of "churn" that in GW3 as the article
is fine tuned. 

> A couple months later I had a replay of this phenomenon with another
> file. Similar symptoms, same result: a useless file.

It is my experience that once a file becomes "poisened" it remains
poisened forever. During beta test I sent and offered to send a number
of these to Richard and never heard anything back so I don't know if
he knows what the problem is and doesn't know a reasonable fix or
simply doesn't know what the problem is.

<snip>

> Finally I tried running Salvation: Deliverance and chose "Recover
> Files..." and it checked the entire boot drive and said it found and
> fixed one error. After re-booting, GraphicWriter will run. Wow!

I never had this problem.
 
<snip>

> Both machines in question have an 8-mHz Zip-GSX accelerator. Both
> have 4-meg memory cards. Both have Second Sight cards and VGA monitors.
> One is a ROM 01 and the other is a ROM 3. The ROM 01 has a Focus hard
> drive and the ROM 3 has a RamFAST with a Quantum SCSI drive. Both
> have Pointless with TrueType fonts.

My differance with you is no Second Sight and no Focus. I do have a
RamFAST with a Quantum SCSI, and Pointless.
 
> I have quite a lot of crashes on all my IIgs computers.

Mine became quite rare when I got my BUGGIE power supply.

I would suggest that you obtain an accurate volt/ohm meter and measure
the voltages for the BUGGIE power supply, expecially, the +5. A friend
ordered one and it hung his IIgs. A replacement did the same. I
brought the replacement home and put it in place of my BUGGIE power
supply and my IIgs would not boot. The +5 (I think that is the one),
was low. Putting my BUGGIE power supply back allowed me to boot with
no problem. My BUGGIE +5 voltage is right on the mark.

You can measure the voltages quite easily by looking at the back
(left side) of the connector to your mother board. Each pin has a bare
metal strip on the left side of the connector.

I have been asking Steve to please use a current RamFAST as one of the
test vehicles for his suppleis. Unfortunalty, he does not have one and
probably will not have one in the near future.

The good news is, Steve said that *most* of his power supplies have an
adjustment for the +5 voltage so I would advise contacting him for
details on how to use it in conjunction with your accurate volt/ohm
meter.

A somewhat strange thing is that the docs for the early versions of
the BUGGIE power supply told one to measure the voltages BEFORE
connecting to your IIgs. I measured mine and they were right on the
mark.

Current units/docs do not have this requirement, and in fact Steve
sent me mail that said, "That was an old requirement."

My response, "Well, it worked for me and when not present for my
friend George, the unit didn't work."

Kind Regards,

--
        Joe Walters:  yardbird@primenet.com
        To know and not to do is to not yet know