Re: YMCA 2GS On My Desk

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

daycare@ymca.com writes ...
> 
> Tried what you said and still no change.
> 
> Nathan Mates wrote:
> 
> > In article <6alq3b$ekd@newsops.execpc.com>,  <daycare@ymca.com> wrote:
> >
> > >Turned it on and first see its using ROM ver 01, then a screen with
> > >"Check Startup Device" and horizontal ping line bouncing across the
> > >screen. Now what? Also connected a drive and tried to bring up a
> > >program game and the same routine as before.
> ....

     Getting the "Check Startup Device" message does, at least, indicate
that the GS 'box' is, probably, okay.

     There are several things that can lead to the message. Some that
are fairly common are ...


 1. The drive head(s) of the drive you are trying to boot from are
coated with gunk and need to be cleaned. A Head Cleaning Diskette from
Radio Shack works well for solving this problem. (Sometimes these are
called "Cleaner Disks" or "Disk Cleaning Kits".)

A Head Cleaning Diskette is a paper diskette which looks like the usual
diskette you would use in the drive except that the disk part is paper.
You squirt some cleaning fluid (usually part of the package-- it's
alcohol) onto the paper, stick it into your drive, and get the drive
spinning to wipe off the gunk-- like, you could do two or three
CATALOG's. If you have no way to get DOS or ProDOS going you may have to
do several boots to get enough spins for cleaning.

A 3.5" drive has two heads (top and bottom); an Apple ][ 5.25" drive has
one head (bottom).  If you are cleaning a 5.25" head, snap out just one
panel and leave the other side closed. A 5.25" Cleaner Disk should be
inserted with the open side facing down. 


 2. For some reason, the GS is determined to boot from a Slot which has
no drive. For example, the Control Panel "Slots" setting is for "Slot 5"
but you are trying to boot from a 5.25" diskette (which would usually be
via Slot 6). If the drive you want to boot from does not light up and
spin, it's a good indicator that the GS is not even trying to boot from
it.

The default setting for "Startup Slot" in the "Slots" menu is "Scan".
This means that the GS will start with Slot 7 and look for drives to
boot counting down (e.g. Slot 7, Slot 6, Slot 5, ... ).  It will, also,
try downward scanning if, for example, the CP setting is for "Slot 6".

If you have a Disk ][ Controller card plugged into Slot 6 and are using
5.25" Disk ][ drives to boot, then, the setting for "Slot 6" (in the CP
"Slots" menu) should be "Your Card". Otherwise, the GS will be looking
for Slot 6 drives connected via the Disk Drives socket on the back.

If there is something unusual about your Slots settings (i.e. they are
not the checkmarked default settings) and your GS BatRAM battery has
cratered, then, you may have boot problems because non-default CP
settings (like "Your Card" for Slot 6) will be forgotten once the GS is
turned OFF. If your GS does not forget its CP settings when power is
OFF, your BatRAM battery is, probably, okay.

If it looks like the GS is forgetting boot Slot settings, a temporary
cure try is to do a CTRL-Reset when you get the sliding apple "Check
Startup Device" message. Once you have the usual Applesoft prompt, press
OpenApple-CTRL-Escape, select "Control Panel", change the "Slots"
settings to those you want, and do an OpenApple-CTRL-Reset reboot. (Of
course, when you get the Applesoft prompt, you can, also, type-in PR#5
to boot from Slot 5 or PR#6 to boot from Slot 6.)

 3. The drive is not connected correctly. If you are using 3.5" and
5.25" drives connected to the GS Disk Drive socket, the 3.5" drives
should be first (closest to the GS) and the 5.25" drives should be at
the end of the chain. Another common problem is a drive plug which is
not completely inserted.

 4. If the problem is with a 3.5" drive, it is possible that one or both
heads have been dislodged. The heads in a 3.5" drive are mounted via
springy sheets which are easy to mess up should someone poke around
inside with a pencil, cotton swap, etc.. Once a head is dislodged or
badly bent out of alignment the only fixes are to swap in a working
drive mechanism or to get the heads replaced. (Usually, it's cheaper and
easier to swap in a used working mechanism.)


     The easiest way to check for a bad drive is to, first, use a
Cleaner Disk and, next, to try booting several 'known good' bootable
diskettes, not just one. If the drive still bombs, try swapping in a
know good drive. If the substitute works, you can be pretty sure the
problem is in the original drive. (When checking a drive, it's best to
remove all other diskette drives from the chain so that you can zero-in
on how the test drive is working.)        

     Something else to try is connecting a different size drive and
booting from it (with the correct Slot settings).  For example, if your
3.5" drive is bombing, try booting a 5.25" diskette from a 5.25" drive.
If you can boot, load in, and run a program from a 5.25" diskette, this
verifies that a lot of stuff in your GS is working correctly. (Also,
with the suspect 3.5" drive also connected, you can do a CATALOG,S5 to
get lots of spins for cleaning the heads of the 3.5" drive with a
Cleaner Disk.)


Rubywand