Re: Strange IIgs error (Update!)

[Phoenyx <quazar@dcnet2000.com>]

If the PB drive is functioning for it's own use, most likely this is not
the problem. On the GS side there could be several reasons.

The GS doesn't like the format provided by the PB drive when it writes the
disk image. Or the disk image is flawed or corrupted in some way, but then
Disk Copy should have caught that. There is the possibility of faulty
disks also. It may also be possible that the 5.25 drive which is daisy
chained to the 3.5 is defective and causing trouble. Or, it could be the
3.5 is bad or the wrong drive type, say for example a Unidisk 3.5. Or the
GS control panel settings could be wrong, although this is the least
likely problem. It can be rather difficult to diagnose hardware without
being able to look at it. There is even the possibility that the GS itself
is defective. You should be able to verify this to some degree by using
the built in self test. Hold down the command and apple and control keys
then press and release the RESET switch and wait for the results. This
should not take to long and it will not tell you if the drives themselves
are defective.

It is very easy to get a 5.25 disk to boot the system. Practically any
one here would make one for you. You could also get a set of system
disks from Mike at www.byteworks.org. This method allows for a certain
degree of reliability. It is suggested to get the 5.25 ProDos disks also
just in case the 3.5 is bad. Out of all the options available, this is
my preferred choice. Just remember to write protect the boot disks.

Another possibility, you don't mention what if any cards are in the GS
slots. Or, if you did I missed that post. It is possible that a bad card
will cause this error. For example I have a dead Ramfactor card which
stops the system from booting if it is installed anywhere before the boot
disks. On my GS this would be any slot. My system is setup so I can boot
either 3.5 or 5.25 before the Focus.

As for the difference in error messages. The first would indicate the
system tried to load something from the disk and failed. The second one
sounds like the boot block code is loading but unable to locate a file
named Prodos to load. These both sound like disk errors to me. AFAIK, the
GS uses a different message when it finds no bootable media at all. At
least my ROM3 system does. It's been a while since I've seen the ROM1
boot fail message. On my system it would be the sliding apple character
moving across the screen. At least I think so, I haven't seen it fail to
boot in a long time either.

-- 

Thank you for your time and interest. I hope it was helpful
or at least interesting.

Phoenyx,

Apple2 user since March 1984

Links to Phoenyx's pages:
preferred..... http://zip.to/Phoenyx_A2
alternate..... http://www.tinyangeldesigns.com/Apple2