[G4] Flatliner MDD

[Richard H. Blount]

> 
> I've read them all and I still can't figure out what does and doesn't work on
> Maj. Richard's machine! Will it actually boot and run when at least some CD or
> DVD is used? If so, have you, Richard, tried attaching the CD/DVD drive to the
> other ATA buses to see if it still boots? Have you tried attaching a hard disk
> to the same cable the CD/DVD drive is on to see if it still works?
> 
> BTW, despite the "Cable Select" recommendation from Apple, my drives work fine
> with the jumpers set to Master and the drive at the end of the cable. (This
> might not work with an old 40-wire cable, since cable select is different on
> those.
> 
> - Aaron
Hi Aaron,

I've not connected the CD/DVD drive to the other busses. I kind of left it
alone as that seemed to be the only component that works every time. I have
seen intermittent function in the 66 and 100 on both busses using a variety
of drives of varying speeds. At first, the 100 bus would not recognize any
drive I attached to it at any time, but the 66 would, on an intermittent
basis. The restore disks would boot and start up every time but fail at
differing junctures along the way to the point where I was to select a drive
to restore. When it was able to get to that point, the OS wouldn't recognize
any hard drive on any of the three busses, or would see the drives but
indicate the drive as being incompatible to the system. This behavior
occurrs regardless of jumper configuration, cables used and/or memory in any
of the 4 slots. (I even chained a drive to the CD/DVD drive) My technical
background is almost exclusively in PC's. I am not accustomed to system
disks that are not so model specific, and what I was seeing seemed to
indicate a problem with either the memory or the optical drive as I was able
to boot and install with my restore set on another machine. I decided to
replace both the optical drive and memory. After replacing both of those
components plus a new ATA133 disk purchased for the project. I was able to
initialize the new drive and even installed Osx to the drive using my
install disks on the older machine (Also a G4). I took the disk with a
freshly installed OS from the old machine, put it in the Newer one and it
did not recognize it then either.

Apparently the system restore/install disks are not entirely compatible with
the unit. This was determined when I was able to install a Linux
distribution to it and that OS was able to at least recognize drives of all
kinds on both Hard drive busses, and intermittently boot from both ATA
busses.  The maddening part of troubleshooting this problem was that it
doesn't die at the same time every time or even act the same way every time.
It starts and runs consistently using a very old drive on the 66 using a
distribution of Linux for PPC. This would be great if I knew anything about
Linux other than putting in the disk, holding C and letting it do it's
stuff. 

I would take the whole works to a bona-fide Apple repair center except for
several factors. First, I am stubborn and really hate getting my butt
kicked. I know I am very close to getting it up and running. Second, I am
not supposed to drive due to my illness (I am a stroke survivor). Even if I
could, I don¹t know of an Apple service center within 50 miles of my
location. Third, even if I was able to get to a repair center, I don¹t
believe I could afford the bench time.

A couple of guys have generously offered to send me copies of the correct
hardware test and restore disks. I really appreciate that and have put the
machine aside awaiting their arrival.

As to the variety of headings under which this has appeared in this forum I
accept a large part of the blame. I posted under different headings to
reflect different stages of frustration. I think we are currently using
either Flatline and/or Irritated. I will not add any new headings so as not
to confuse the issues any further.

-- 
Maj. Richard H. Blount (OHMR Ret.)
It is not enough to aim, You must hit.