10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 5:28 PM |
anthony |
Greetings all. This seems like a great program, I just can't get it to run in my particular situation. I could sure use some help. I have a Wallstreet powerbook with the following configuration: -233Mhz original processor (512k L2 cache, which I guess makes this a 'Series II' model) -320MB Ram (64 on the bottom slot, 256 on the top) -6GB HD (upgraded from 2GB original) -A single partition with OS 9.1 freshly installed, though I'm not completely certain what partition format it's using. I don't think its HFS+) -A brand new PRAM battery -I have original install disks for OS 9.1, 10.0.3 and 10.2. My problem is getting 10.2 to install. I try booting from the CD, and I freeze up a short while after I get the grey screen with the apple in the middle and the spinning-timer thingy. I boot in OS9 and run XPF 2.2.5, and I get an 'error writing to NVRAM' window. I try XPF 3.0a4 and get the same error. I set throttle at 10 and get the same thing. I am able to boot from the OS 10.0.3 disk. It will successfully install, and I can use the software update to upgrade to 10.0.4. This is unstable, however, and I get frequent kernel panics. 10.1 is not available except by purchase, and 10.2 is really the minimum I'd like to run. I tried installing OS 10.2 while in 10.0.4, but I don't get much further. The grey apple goes away, the screen refreshes, a black arrow appears for a few seconds, I can move it around, then it disappears and nothing else happens. I have tried resetting the PRAM 5 times in a row before booting the 10.2 CD. No luck. Apple has recently issued a press release saying that some systems (Armani powerbooks, AIO's, RevA iMacs, etc) won't load 10.2 and Apple is not working on a fix. They offered their apologies and $25. Other forums have postede the same problem as mine, but it appears that some powerbooks will install 10.2 and some won't. There doesn't seem to be any way to tell. Sorry for the long description, but I'm trying to be complete here. So, what I need to know is: 1. What's this 'NVRAM' error and how can I get rid of it? 2. What is it about my powerbook that 10.2 doesn't like? 3. Is there a proven procedure for installing 10.2 on a Wallstreet powerbook? Thanks so much for your patience and assistance. This program is obviously filling a much-needed niche. Good luck with 10.3 |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 24, 2003 11:58 AM |
camperslo |
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10.2 and various updates of it work great on my Wallstreet PB G3. No special tricks needed to install. I did have trouble initially with my screen going black at somepoint during bootup. The cure was to Zap the PRAM (holding down command option P R during boot until a second chime is heard in OS 9). Nothing I tried under OS X helped the OS X problem. My machine was one that'd had a damaged sound card where the power connector was ripped from the board when someone tripped over the ac adaptor cord. Aftr that the former owner let ithe machine set unrepaired causing even the internal backup battery to go dead. I think that left it with some corrupt data in the PRAM. (I had already reset the power manager too get the battery to charge - keys for that marked on rear of unit) If your RAM causes problems during boot, it probably will at some other time too, even if it seems okay at first. It isn't just about the RAM getting filled. It may be that the value in one memory location only goes bad when a certain combination of values is in (physically) nearby locations. Simple memory tests cannot possibly test every possible combination of patterns, so some bad RAM can sneak through. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 23, 2003 12:57 AM |
smwalker |
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Partitions must be HFS+ to allow install of OSX 10.2. NVRAM is usually a patch applied to the ROM of a machine, being ROM in RAM in the New World macs. Sonnet upgrade g4 cards apply a NVRAM patch to turn off speculative processing in the RISC chip ... in an old world mac speculative processing might lead to an unbootable system. An error writing to NVRAM could mean various things too complex for me to decipher ... bad ram, bad mobo, bad pci slot, etc. It means you are unable to update the ROM in RAM code that apple uses. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 22, 2003 9:18 PM |
mjoecups358 |
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How about holding down command V on boot and telling us what it says... Marty |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 22, 2003 12:50 PM |
lyonsdj88 |
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Sent, US Post, look for it Sat. or Mon. It's small in a Anti-static bag in packing peanuts so don't miss it, as the Box is Larger than need be. 64mb PC 100 not oem but should work on your 66mhz bus as PC 100 is backward compliant. Enjoy:-) |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 21, 2003 3:00 PM |
anthony |
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Man, you guys are great. lyonsdj88, I'd sure appreciate the memory. My address is Anthony Gilbert, 514 N. Pine St. Lansing, MI 48933. I recall now that Apples have always been touchy with memory, and it's good news that this might be limited to the installation only. Believe me, there are folks on a lot of other groups who want the answer to this question. As far as I'm concerned, this is $10 well spent. tbuckley, if this doesn't work, we'll do the hard drive thing. It might be immaterial now, but does anyone know why I get the NVRAM error? |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 21, 2003 11:32 AM |
tbuckley |
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Anthony, sure just let me know how to get you my address. Tim |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 21, 2003 12:34 AM |
mjohnson1 |
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I think it's the RAM that is causing the problems. I was able to install 10.2 on my Wallstreet only after downgrading to 192MB of RAM. After the install, I was able to re- insert my 256MB RAM and run 10.2 without any problems whatsoever. It seems that the installer is very picky about RAM, but the actual system (once it is installed) is less picky. Good Luck. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 21, 2003 12:21 AM |
lyonsdj88 |
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Don't mean to pick the nit, as I see your trouble is very Real, but Apple has not revoked support for the Mac's you listed. Full support of all the features that these Mac's have will not be forth-coming from APPLE, how ever OS X 10.0-10.2.8 is Supported. Mostly these Mac's lack 2D/3D HardWare Accel. and DVD HardWare decoder Support. OS X should install and run. Not sure if the trouble you are having is bad RAM or some other trouble. I could US Post you a GOOD stick of 64mb Ram from my PB (taken out for upgrade) so you could test with your 64mb for 128mb. As this 64mb stick is just sitting around and not worth selling for the $5 it would bring. Fairly sure it's OEM Ram from APPLE. Also your PB has 4mb BootRom, most that do are not updatable i.e. never going to be firmware update as it can not be Flashed. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 11:37 PM |
anthony |
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Here's the url about the incompatibility: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/08/15/1454224&mode =thread&tid=107&tid=179&tid=185&tid=187&tid=190 |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 11:28 PM |
anthony |
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Update -- Switching back to OEM drive did not work. I did a single hint, though. The first time I tried to boot from the 10.2 CD, I eventually got a black screen with the message 'Installer quit due to an unexpected error: exit code 1. Please restart your machine.' I never got it again. Apple's site says that the G3 series powerbook does not require a firmware update. Only the Firewire models got one. As a last resort, tbuckley, could I send my harddrive to you to see if you can install it on your machine? |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 11:25 PM |
lyonsdj88 |
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Apple has recently issued a press release saying that some systems (Armani powerbooks, AIO's, RevA iMacs, etc) won't load 10.2 and Apple is not working on a fix......................I was not aware of this could you provide a URL to this? Does sound like a RAM trouble, you may be able to run 10.0.3 with just the 64mb after it is installed, it will be slow ,but if it is stable you know the other RAM is incompatable with OS X. OR RUN a memory test with GagePro (must be run over night) in os 9. Have not seen a post from Ryan this week ,but I'm sure he'll be working on support for your PB in 10.3 and adding fix's to 10.2 for any Mac's like yours that should run 10.2. Looks like lots of MAC's will be joining us here soon, bad for some better for others. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 9:20 PM |
anthony |
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Couldn't get verbose logging to work when booting from the 10.2 CD, so no help there. Cmd-v had no discernable effect at all. I'm going to switch back to the OEM 2GB Hard drive and see if that makes a difference. Updates soon. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 8:36 PM |
tbuckley |
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I have a Wallstreet that I just loaded 10.2. No XPF Although I dont have a 6 gig drive (oem 2gig) I could to only install the basics, but other than a little slow it works well |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 6:48 PM |
anthony |
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On the subject of firmware, does anyone know if Apple ever released a firmware update for the Wallstreet? I've searched Apple's site and can't find anything. As for the RAM, this is interesting. The Wallstreet was originally rated for more than 192Mb Ram. Later people found out that this was not the case. The memory appears to work fine, since "About this Mac' shows 320Mb. Unfortunately, all I have are the 512 card, the 64Mb card and a 32Mb card. As I understand it, 10.2 needs at least 128Mb to boot, so I can't really remove the 512Mb card. Thanks for the quick responses. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 6:41 PM |
anthony |
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Ok, so why doesn't it work? Apple has decided that the Wallstreet is actually unsupported in 10.2, and several Wallstreet owners can attest to the fact that 10.2 will not boot, let alone install. And even if XPF is not strictly needed, it should still work, right? Or is XPF itself incompatible with a Wallstreet powerbook, and therefore will always give me this 'NVRAM' error? |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 6:41 PM |
ian |
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But, addressing your apparent HW issue: It is possible you have bad RAM (if NVRAM cannot be written to) and OS X is very picky about bad RAM. It won't boot, and it will give you all sorts of bunk. Also, make sure you have the most recent version of the firmware installed on the machine. If you cannot update the firmware, or if it gives you a message, you could have a failed main logic board. Attempting to run OS X on some machines without applying the firmware update and checking for good RAM can cause hardware damage. It's not common, but it has happened before. However, why don't you boot the PowerBook to the 10.2 install CD while in verbose mode (boot holding Cmd-V) and see where it gets hung up. If it boots far enough to freeze at a certain point in the black-screen process, it'll at least give you some indication as to the problem. |
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RE: 10.2 on Wallstreet failure |
October, 20, 2003 6:32 PM |
ian |
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You don't need XPF for a Wallstreet and OS X 10.2. It is natively supported. |