Power Computing PowerTower -- How to boot from CD

larry98765

Registered
Hi All,

Someone gave me their old PowerTower Pro.

The system can't boot from the drive -- i.e. question-mark at boot -- so I'd like to boot from the CD (luckily I have it!) in order to troubleshoot.

How? I tried holding down C on startup, doesn't work.

Thanks.
 
Do you know what OS was on the machine? What OS CD are you trying to boot from?

Do you have any Utility CD's that you can try and boot from? Norton, TechTool Pro?
 
Bobw--

It's the OS 7.6.1 system cd that came with the machine (specifically for this PowerTower Pro). It's just not being recognized.

Don't have Norton or TechTool Pro, but I thought I should be able to boot from this system CD.
 
Was this machine running when you got it, or had it been sitting for awhile?

Try starting with the Shift bar down to turn off extensions.

Try zapping the Pram, restarting holding the Command-Option-P-R keys down until you hear three chimes.

You can get a manual that may help here;

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50332

See if it has a reset on the mother board and try that.

You can get some help from users of these machines here;

http://www.powerwatch.com/
 
Bobw --

Yes, it had been sitting around a while, but I know it was working when the previous owner (my friend) had it.

Zapping the PRAM didn't make a difference. I suspect the drive is shot because it starts accessing it on boot, gives me a happy mac, then the drive clicks and clicks until the "missing disk" icon shows up.

But that wouldn't account for why the CD isn't rcognized. I checked the cables internally, and everything looks ok. But who knows.

Anyhow, many thanks for your advice. I'll try the powerwatch forum.
 
You should be able to make a boot floppy from the 7.6.1 CD (there are images on the CD).

If you can't boot from the floppy, then the CD-ROM and hard drive may not be your real problem here.
 
I happened to have a fresh battery. Tried that -- no luck.

Can't maka a floppy bc I don't have a floppy on my good mac(s).

Have a floppy on my PC tho. Is there a way to use that over a network to make a disk? Kinda doubt it.
 
Originally posted by larry98765
Can't maka a floppy bc I don't have a floppy on my good mac(s).

Have a floppy on my PC tho. Is there a way to use that over a network to make a disk? Kinda doubt it.

I don't think so. I generally keep a boot floppy for both 68k and PPC systems around because I service those for a living.

The best bet would be to find a friend with a Mac that both (a) has a floppy drive and (b) can be booted into a Pre-OS X version of the Mac OS (newer than System 7 though).

You could ask an Apple service provider to make you one. I would think that they would either not charge you or only charge you a small amount for it (specially if you provide the floppy).
 
Thanks RacerX. If I find a friend with a floppy drive I'll make a boot floppy and go from there.

I'm trying to get this working so I can run it as an ethernet bridge for an old serial laser writer. But I wonder if it's gonna be more trouble than it's worth.
 
If it's a Select 310 or 360 you can use a Localtalk to Ethernet adapter to connect via Ethernet.
 
Yes, a hardware bridge was my other option, but since hooking the printer up isn't critical for my work, I was trying to do it on the cheap.

But could you recommend a model (I searched and came up only with Farallon/Proxim, I think) and a place to buy?
 
AsanteTalk but a little expensive. $80.00 to $100.00.

HERE's a Farallon iPrintLT on ebay for $5.00.

There are a couple others on ebay also if you search.

Farallon had two, iPrintLT and iPrintSL. You need the LT version.
 
Snail mail me your CD and floppy and I'll make a boot floppy from it. Private message if this sounds reasonable to you and I'll give you my address.
 
Since posting this, I found a LocalTalk to ethernet adapter at a flea market !!! Had to scrounge up a power brick for it, but it worked like a charm. So thanks again!
 
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