Challenge! Feelin' Lucky, PUNK?

[longston]

No need for curtness, either, Mr. StateTheObvious.

Oops, sorry you got the wrong impression, but this was designed to be a humorous AND educational post. I wasn't intending to ruffle your feathers. I just assumed you were secure enough in your knowledge to have a little fun poked at it...

I was speaking in general about what you stated, which was the following...
I did check that your hard drive was a 120 GB from your original post so obviously yours was supported, plus your iBook uses the ATA-100 drive so you wouldn't have that limitation (you DID see that I mentioned ATA-66 having the problem of addressing over ~127 GB, didn't you Mr. OverlookTheFacts?).

The minute I wrote the comment about partitioning, I just KNEW someone would probably pounce on it like it was a loose $20 bill on a sidewalk. I really regret even mentioning it. I didn't overlook the facts, I just didn't see the point of you going on about partitioning when it was both irrelevant to the matter at hand, and therefore, basically off topic.

My reply was in dispute of your claim that partitioning would overcome the limitation of addressing the entire capacity of the drive. You might want to try and apply at least some brain power to actually READING a post.

Yes, yes, I get it. You feel a need to be defensive, so you will now lash out at me and try to impune my reading skills. It's fine, my testicles are often used for internet forum kid's parties if no inflatable bouncy castles are available to rent. (this is smart-ass humor, not an invitation for a flame war, 'k?)

OK, here's the deal, I had a problem once with a hard drive that was 4Gb, and the computer could only work with it if I partitioned it into two 2Gb drives, so remembering that, I made my comment about partitioning.

And it this is already a resolved issue, why are you wasting everyone's time trying to figure it out? Why not post how it was fixed in the HOW-TO/FAQs section and actually CONTRIBUTE to this community instead of wasting its time? Doesn't take a brainiac's amount of mental power to think of that.

Wow, grumble, grumble, bitch, bitch, etc. Back to reading skills. The title of this thread is "Challenge! Feelin' Lucky, PUNK?". What kind of thread did you expect it to be? I also tried to make it clear that this was a resolved issue and a challenge to see if anyone could guess what the resolution was.

Good day.

And a good day to you, sir.

 

[longston]

well. Being a tech, first think I would try after doing what you did, would be remove the new equipment you just installed.. Like the ram and the new dvd... If that didn't make a difference, I'd check bios to make sure it shows up in there.. Depending on what it says, there is still a ton of things that could be tried.

Did all of that, didn't solve the problem.

I'm not sure I understand "bios" on a Mac. Could you explain?

 

[longston]

you've got two drives that don't work. try another. if 3 drives don't work, it's the logic board.

Nope, it's not the logic board...

 

[longston]

Must have something to do with 'strange firmware installed on the hard drive from unknown sources' that some company tried to convince you was the fix.
I would be curious how a third-party firm somehow comes up with a factory-specific firmware to flash the drive. I suspect they just reseated your drive ribbon cable, and it started working, and they had to come up with a plausible explanation for the 'fix'. Sounds bogus to me! But, of course, you have the now-working hard drive to show. Seems a moot point now!

Nope. And just because you don't fully understand how it was fixed is no reason to claim that the solution is "bogus".

I followed your advice when I posted this in tech help back at the beginning of November, and it didn't resolve the problem (no disrespect meant), but it led me to finding the solution, and I have not had anyone so far that knows what fixed it say, "of course, I should have thought of that".

That's why I posted this thread as a "challenge", so we could have some fun with a brain teaser, see if anyone actually has had a similar experience, and maybe end up learning something that is so unique that no one so far has told me that they've ever heard of it before.

 

[longston]

Longston, in defense of what I thought was a factual and engaging post, you have made yourself look like a prolix ass. I've decided to "have enough" of this; you are not contributing to our community. Let's have the answer. Hopefully, after this thread, you can help us mere mortals by use of your incredible Mac-related cunning.

Hey, there's no nnnneeeed (intentional spelling) to be rude here.

I believe your contribution was.

Schizophrenia?

Well, I guess compared to that, my postings are "prolix", but to call me a "prolix ass", and to be so harsh is a little over the top, what?

Then, I'm accused of "not contributing", and admonished to "help us mere mortals by use of your incredible Mac-related cunning." Say what?

I'm beginning to get the impression that some of us need to re-install our Sense Of Humor For Internet Forums software...

 

[longston]

As I understand it, Longston shipped his iBook to a company for repairs. That company claimed that the replacement hard drive had some proprietary firmware installed. They re-flashed the drive, and all was working well OK. I suppose it's legit, but where does a third party get factory firmware from Seagate? I think that explanation is bogus.
However, Longston's hard drive is now functional, and he seems to be testing all you good folk, to see if you could come up with that unlikely fix without actually seeing the laptop - the repair company had that advantage.

I related this problem to numerous experienced and seasoned Mac techs beginning with my local Apple authorized dealer, and going so far as to contact specialists in the area of hard drives and logic boards around the country. I have discussed it with people via phone and email, and posted this issue on various forums, including here in tech help, and in the hardware forum, where I had no response from anyone. I even took it to two Apple authorized repair stations for them to diagnose, and both were wrong.

I just wanted to see if anyone ever had a similar experience with a hard drive, or if someone could guess what the solution was before I shared my experience with everyone here for future reference.

 

[nixgeek]

I understood that you meant this for fun when you posted. I actually READ your entire post so I knew what the thread was about. However, I felt that what you said about partitioning needed correcting (you said that this was also an educational post, correct). I don't see the problem with that. Many have corrected me here and I have taken their corrections to heart. I was merely trying to give you some factual information under the assumption that you might not have been aware of the fact.

And if you knew talking about partitioning was going to get a response from someone that would have corrected you on your error, why did you even mention it? Granted, you used information you had knowledge of. All you had to say was "you're right, my mistake" (which we've all done here now and again), but you chose to take another route. So who's confidence was in question when you decided to poke fun at my response to your error?

Where you failed was in assuming that everyone would "get" your "humor", and the fun part of the thread went away. And still, you continue with the snide remarks and the veiled sarcasm (not just with me but everyone else). Expect to be confronted when you respond to people like that, especially in a forum where contexts can be misconstrued due to lack of emotional display. In the real world, one would interpret your body language along with such comments and either understand you and laugh or punch you in the face. Depending on how you really meant it, it's no wonder you chose the safety of a forum on teh internets to let loose your "humor".

You want to have fun with the rest of us? Check the "Bob's Place" section and see how we all deal with one another in a fun way. Seeing as you have only posted a few times since you created your account back in 2005, you might need to get a feel for how we all interact with one another here. So far, I don't think you're gaining much support in your favor.

 

[longston]

So in essence, he's just wasting our time with a non-issue. I'm wondering if this is in retaliation for not having his problem answered before, as is evident in his previous threads.

http://macosx.com/forums/mac-os-x-system-mac-software/296901-hard-drive.html
http://macosx.com/forums/hardware-p...ive-missing-after-upgrades-made-ibook-g4.html

I never stated that it was an issue. I thought I was clear about this being something that was resolved all along. I'm sorry you feel that way, but it was never my intention to waste anyone's time.

As for "retaliation", that is ludicrous. The first thread was posted by Macosx.com, not by me. The second thread, "hard-drive-missing-after-upgrades-made" was my original attempt to get assistance, and as anyone can plainly see, despite 105 views, there wasn't a single response, but I just went elsewhere for advice.

This thread is just my warped way of sharing my experiences with getting a solution to a problem that stumped me, along with almost everyone I asked for assistance from. I thought it would be fun to see if anyone had a similar experience, could guess how my computer ended up being fixed, and present it as a sort of brain teaser / test of mac hardware knowledge, not to waste anyone's time or just be obnoxious.

However, I do find it interesting that with a change of title to "Challenge! Feelin' Lucky, PUNK?", I get all kinds of responses. What's up with that?

Still, it's no justification for being snarky.

Senor, we don' got to have no stinkin' justification for being snarky. Some of my favorite people are impertinent, sarcastic, dismissive, and yes, even snarky. Perhaps along with an upgrade of our Sense Of Humor For Internet Forums software, I might also suggest a copy of the Snarky Humor module v 1.0.1 for macosx.

And speaking of snarky, what did you expect from a thread with the title "Challenge! Feelin' Lucky, PUNK?" A truly snarky title for a thread if I ever did see one. . .

 

[longston]

Was that the problem? Or perhaps it was this?

Finally, someone has found the answer! Yes, it's true, it was my cats all along!