Re: RamFast Error code

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

On 10/21/2010 9:47 AM, Rich Hare wrote:
> Michael J. Mahon wrote:
> > On 10/19/2010 12:56 PM, Rich Hare wrote:
> SNIP
> > > If it doesn't lock up with a colored screen, I get following error
> > > message:
> > > "System Error ($0001) This Operation cannot be completed. Bad System
> > > Call Number."
> > >
> > > Any idea what that could mean in this context?
> >
> > Others with more GSOS experience may be able to provide more pertinent
> > information.
> >
> > I'm assuming that these errors occur during a long operation. RAM
> > errors can appear to be virtually anything. If your system is failing
> > occasionally, it could be almost anything that is causing it to operate
> > marginally. Power supply degradation or higher operating temperature
> > are two things that come immediately to mind.
> >
> > Attack intermittents by making changes in the setup and seeing if the
> > error frequency changes. For example, remove the top of the computer
> > to lower its internal temperature and try again. Or remove some
> > unneeded cards/devices and try again. If you find some change that
> > makes the errors disappear and re-appear, that can be a useful indicator
> > of the cause of the problem.
> >
> > -michael
>
> Thank you Michael.
> Seems like the three areas of concern might be Memory, Heat, and Power.
> I just don't think it is heat related, and while I'd like to put in a
> Buggy Power Supply, I don't know where to get one these days. I did swap
> the 4 meg memory card for a Q-Ram card I had. (Both the new and the old
> pass a BitBanger test). Seemed to make a big difference. I went a day
> and a half with only two "Bad System Call" errors.
>
> Just now I got a new one: System Error ($0051) Directory is damaged. I
> can't even delete the bad directory. I did manage to re-name it (I guess
> HFS lets you do that) and am continuing.
>
> Hardware includes: Rom 03 GS, ZipGS @ 8 mh, Ramfast D, 3 drives on a
> SCSI chain, and a System Saver. I'm shift booting to maximize free memory.
>
> In terms of what has changed, I did add the Sonic Blaster card a few
> months ago and this is the first time I've tried to run with so many
> SCSI devices in the chain (although I've cut back to three in my latest
> attempts.
>
> Any suggestions on how to get rid of the "Directory is Damaged" problem?
> I'd just be happy to delete it, if I could.

ProSel 8's CatDoctor "directory sort" function contains a kludgy but
effective way of deleting *any* offending file, including a directory,
without recovering the space it occupies.  A subsequent Mr.Fixit run
will free up the abandoned space.

It's unfortunate that HFS doesn't have any integrity checking tools
on the IIgs.  About the only way to get a "clean" disk is to copy it
to a new one, ignoring the bad stuff...

Perhaps someone has some better ideas.

It is quite dangerous to write to an HFS volume when some memory is
flaky--very bad things can happen that won't show up until much later.

It might be best to start your volume-building operation over from the
beginning, with the good memory card.

-michael

NadaNet 3.1 for Apple II parallel computing!
Home page:  http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."