Re: //GS suddenly won't boot

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <6blt80$pic@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>,
mehenn <mehenn@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>It has an Applied Ingenuity 40 Meg hard drive installed in slot 7.  

   That's a purely internal drive, so ignore the irrelevant advice
about powering up external stuff first when that obviously doesn't
apply to you in the least. [That's what you get when all you can do is
mash together a lot of posts from folks without thinking to "create"
something. Sorry, but a unix "cat * >FEHIDFKJB.TXT" (or the very
obviously MS-DOG equivalent) is not creating anything but an
embarrasment]

>He called me this afternoon in a panic because he can't get the machine to
>boot.  I talked him through the control panel and we verified that slot 7
>was set to Your Card.  We tried booting with Slots set to 7, 5 and Scan.  He
>removed, cleaned and re-seated the RAM card and hard drive controller card
>and we tried the whole thing all over again.  We put a Hyperstudio disk in
>the 3.5" drive (because I though it might have an op system on it) during
>the second series of boot attempts.

   Hyperstudio may have been distributed on a different disk from its
boot disk, and 3.5" drives can definitely NOT be powered on before 
the rest of the system, misguided "advice" aside. Check out a bunch
more 3.5" disks, especially ones that you know are bootable. 

>The only reactioin to all of this is the signature BONK and then an "Unable
>to load PRODOS" screen.  He stated that the drive light on the 3.5"
>flickered but didn't stay on for any appreciable time.

   Very odd. Try pulling the Innerdrive and all other cards and
leaving just the 3.5" drive and monitor connected to see about this.

>The last time this happened to me was in 1990 when the battery or VGC chip
>was causing problems; I don't remember exactly.  I had to have the
>motherboard replaced then and I think he's got a ROM 03, now.  It's at least
>an 01.

   A dead battery on a GS does not leave the system unbootable. 
Doubtful the VGC chip would mess with that either.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
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