Open Firmware issues

D

drasix

Registered
All right.. here is my problem

Ive got an PB 17" (Mac OS X 10.3.3), and when I try to boot up I get a picture of a folder with a question mark, so I tried fixing it with the standard reset commands in Open Firmware, but no luck there.

When I type "printenv" it says: hd:,\\:tbxi in boot-device
Since Ive only got one harddrive and it only has one partition. But how do I write it? Should I use the long name: pci@******** or use hd?

Im really lost here :(

//Dig_Sparx
 
You didn't try and install Linux, did you? I had this same problem -- I had to replace the hard drive because it wouldn't even show up in Disk Utility anymore. I think the problem is that one of the partitions (a standard Mac-formatted drive with one partition actually contains eight or nine partitions) gets corrupted or renamed somehow, and prevents the device from being recognized.
 
No.. not Linux.. But I fixed the error though.. I found my old OS9 cd and activated the partition.. and now it works :)

But Open Firmware isnt the easiet thing to use :)

Thanks for everything.
 
Last edited:
ElDiabloConCaca said:
You didn't try and install Linux, did you? I had this same problem -- I had to replace the hard drive because it wouldn't even show up in Disk Utility anymore. I think the problem is that one of the partitions (a standard Mac-formatted drive with one partition actually contains eight or nine partitions) gets corrupted or renamed somehow, and prevents the device from being recognized.
Click to expand...
I doubt that was your problem. I've abused my HD plenty in all sorts of configurations when dual booting MacOSX/Linux, then finally Linux only, then switching back to MacOSX only. So it can take the abuse just fine. Only thing I can think of is in a dual boot setup, I *think* OSX needs to be the first partition(s) at the beginning of the drive.
 
Lycander said:
I *think* OSX needs to be the first partition(s) at the beginning of the drive.
Click to expand...
You are thinking of the infamous 8 GB limitation on OS X that exists only on the following Macs
  • PowerBook G3 Series, excluding PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze Keyboard)
  • Power Macintosh G3 Desktop
  • Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower
  • Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One
  • Macintosh Server G3
  • iMac 233 MHz
  • iMac 233 MHz/B
  • iMac 266 MHz
  • iMac 333 MHz
If you have one of these older Macs OS X must be on the first partition on the drive and that partition must be entirely contained within the first 8 GB of the drive. There is no such limit on other Macs and OS X may be installed on any partition on the drive.

In my humble opinion 8 GB is just about the minimum partition size to use for Panther.
 
Well, I read on the YellowDog Linux support site that there is an intermittent problem with Linux/Mac OS X and systems with more than one hard drive (which describes my setup perfectly). Apparently, this was fixed in 3.0.1, which is what I used to install Linux.

I think it was just a big coincidence that my hard drive seemed to fail right around the time that I installed Linux, and it just took a reboot or three for the hard drive problem to manifest itself.

Also, in reference to the 8GBB partition thing: yes, on older Macs there was an 8GB limitation on the partition on which OS X was installed -- but with YellowDog Linux, there is a recommended partition setup for optimal use. There are different troubleshooting procedures depending on whether the OS X partition is before or after the Linux partition(s), and whether Linux and OS X are installed on different hard drives.

dig_sparx: have you tried booting from the OS X install CD and running the Startup Disk program from there? I know it's in there somewhere -- I tried that when my hard drive was failing.
 
dig_sparx said:
Ive got an PB 17" (Mac OS X 10.3.3), and when I try to boot up I get a picture of a folder with a question mark,
Click to expand...
The picture of a folder with a question mark on it is the Mac's way of telling you there is no default boot drive assigned and it is searching for bootable systems to use. If you are on a network that can take some little time. System Preferences > Startup Disk and selecting your boot volume should easily clear that problem without any need to use open firmware or even Zap the PRAM.

If no bootable volume can be found the display will be a folder with a red circle and slash mark over the folder.
 
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