Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
August, 31, 2002 9:14 PM |
mbedford |
At this very moment I am trying to install OS-X on a 7300/G3, 208 megs of RAM. I booted up from a Zip disk with all the needed accessories (XPF, etc.), reformatted the internal 2 gig drive into 2 partitions (1900+ megs for X, 120 for Classic). I am using a Toast copy of the original Amazon-bought retail installer to avoid damage to the original CDs (I test booted a G4/500DP with the copy disk; it does work). Launched XPF, successfully copied the files to the target drive, hit Install. The computer restarted, the OS-X happy Mac showed up, as did a rough-looking version of 10.2's watch (which is flashing like it is trying to spin like the real thing). I have been stuck there for forty minutes. I hear quick bursts of hard disk activity every several seconds, but nothing else is happening and no progress seems to be being made. The 8x CD drive is not spinning (I have the case open and can see the mechanism). Problem with the hard drive? Normal delay? I think I will force-restart and try again... Same thing so far. PS: I have successfully installed the update on a G4/533DP, so I am familiar with the official process. |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
September, 03, 2002 12:02 AM |
OSXGuru |
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I took a look at your pictures, and here are a couple of thoughts. The "still waiting for root device" message basically means that Mac OS X is having trouble talking to your CD-ROM device. The preceding error message from the Mesh driver suggest that it may be a SCSI termination issue, or some other issue with the SCSI bus. I'm not quite sure what to make of the strange desktop that you get to. I haven't seen anything like that before. It would be interesting to try starting up in verbose mode to see whether you appear to successfully go through that process. Or, if you are familiar with single-user mode and the command line, you could try that and see whether that seems to be functional. It's possible that it is a problem that would go away with a different monitor. Another option would be to delete the file at this path: /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist It stores resolution settings and the like, and can sometimes be the source of trouble. |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
September, 02, 2002 4:08 AM |
tempest |
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Almost all problems I've experienced with Mac OS X has been with termination. I recommend you double-/triple-check your termination. Refer to the SCSI FAQ (via Google). |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
September, 02, 2002 3:55 AM |
mbedford |
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Tempest, thanks for your reply! 1) Yes, an Apple drive (8x; I have a 12x in my main system for when the time comes that I feel confident enough to hack it). 2) Not sure about the drive termination. I tried both Quantum and Seagate 2 gig drives. (I have 4 gig IBM drives in my main system to try later.) I'd have to tear into that machine again to get model numbers; perhaps Tuesday. Location on the cable was the two hard drive connections (in the drive bays at the front of the 7300). I may have tried both in turn, testing each drive. 3) No PCI cards in the test system; I have ProMax FireWire and XLR8 dual USB in my main system. I am still wondering if I was successful after all; I seemed to get to the OS-X desktop but couldn't see it all with the small monitor I was using. I am not willing yet to try my 17" Sony; I will use a spare Apple 17" (that comes with beige G3s) in the office Tuesday, where I have much more throwaway hardware to play with. I also have some 7600s I can migrate everything to and try again. |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
September, 02, 2002 3:05 AM |
tempest |
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Questions: 1. Is your CD-ROM drive an Apple drive? 2. Is your SCSI termination correct? What types of hard disks do you have installed? Model numbers, and types of interfaces (i.e. narrow, wide, SCA). What are your drives' termation settings for each drive, and what are their physical locations on the cable? 3. What types of PCI cards do you have in your system? |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
September, 01, 2002 3:11 AM |
mbedford |
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Here are some visuals: http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/mbedford/misc/osx/osxattempt.html |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
September, 01, 2002 12:55 AM |
mbedford |
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The plot thickens... After the second CD finished, it seemed to boot to the desktop--except the blue background was grinched up (a lighter rectangular section taking up 1/4 of the screen on the left, a darker section on the right), and what seemed to be the top sliver of the Dock appeared at the bottom of the screen. I did not see any drive icon or menu bar. The hard drive kept scratching in short bursts for a long time until I force restarted and got the Do not enter symbol again. After a trip to verbose land (I got a screenshot; I will eventually post it) indicated something wrong with the CD drive, I unplugged that drive and successfully restarted--but am stuck at the funky "desktop" again. I will let it sit for a longer time this time. This whole experience is not as cool as I had hoped... BTW, I'm a Mac IT Consultant at a large university and maintain about 60 networked Macs in lab, office and newsroom settings, so I am experieced in much hardware and software tinkering, as well as software beta testing for a few major companies. But OS-X on unsupported machines--like the one I have at home--presents a whole new set of challenges (except on the G4 in my office; no problem there at all!). |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
August, 31, 2002 11:41 PM |
mbedford |
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Finish up: After a successful install (this whole process has taken a little over 3 hours), the 7300 rebooted into OS-X 10.2! At the splash screen, the monitor suddenly took on a strong magenta hue (I read about someone having this occur on some recent model iMacs). During the CD 2 installation, the color suddenly reverted back to normal. The installation of CD 2 continues... |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
August, 31, 2002 10:55 PM |
mbedford |
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Ah ha! I still had the power cable attached to the first drive I attempted to install on (but not its SCSI cable). Once I unplugged it and restarted, the second drive showed up in the Destination disk options. I am now enduring the glacial progress of the install progress bar... (Since I solved this myself, do I get $10 credit? ;-) ) |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
August, 31, 2002 10:21 PM |
mbedford |
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I forgot to mention a couple of things: I copied a couple of OS-X utilities (compressed, to use later) onto the target drive before running XPF. The target drive happened to be ID 2. The second drive I am trying is ID 0. The battery in the 7300 may be dead. I have just rebooted after clicking "Install" in XPF using the second hard drive, partitioned as before but without the additional software on it, and IT IS WORKING--so far! My guess--either the ID # (most likely) or the copied utilities gave the installer problems. I am also seeing chopped items (buttons, menu words) in the installer's GUI on the old 14" monitor I am using (so as not to hose new hardware). I got stuck waiting for a Destination disk to appear in that screen of the installer. I crashed the installer by choosing "Go back" at this screen after no drive appeared. I got a text prompt to restart the computer (it is now at the Happy Mac screen; restarting into the installer). At this point I am choosing to run the Disk utility to check the destination drive. The drive does not show up (the Zip and CD do). I successfully ejected the Zip to remove it from the mix. Back into the installer. I am back at the Destination disk screen, waiting a little longer for the hard drive to show... So why doesn't the destination drive show up in either the utility or installer? If anyone is online tonight, please advise! Mike (getting his $10 worth out of this forum ;-) ). |
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RE: Installer startup stall at Happy Mac |
August, 31, 2002 9:52 PM |
mbedford |
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OK, zapped the PRAM, which isn't helping. Now I get the Do Not Enter symbol (circle with slash--no system folder?). Prior to this I briefly got a black-and-white OS 9 Happy Mac (I think it was trying to start from the Zip), but it restarted into the above symbol. Restarting with Option does not help. Command-option-shift-delete does not help. Putting the retail CD in does not help. Switching target hard drives does not help--until after I zapped the PRAM again, then I was able to boot from the system (9.1) on the second spare un-reformatted hard drive. I am booting up from the Zip again to reformat the second spare hard drive and try all over again... |