[comp.sys.mac] Crashes and compatibility on the IIci

seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) (12/12/89)

  I am now a proud owner of a Mac IIci, and though I have most applications
working or classified as incompatible, I am still experiencing some puzzling
system crashes and hangings. I typically run under Multifinder with a series
of inits, which may or may not be important, though Fresh Start is the first
one that runs. The common thread to the problems seems to be the presence of
a floppy in the FDHD. There doesn't seem to be any other common point. The
symptom is that seemingly innocuous actions such as clicking once on an icon,
trying to close a window, or other basic finder actions cause the system to
either freeze or display a rapidly blinking empty default debugger dialog box.
The other symptom is that sometimes inserting a disk freezes everything except
cursor movement. The crux of my question is to ask if it is reasonable to
suspect the FDHD drive in all of this. I was told that at one time problems
with the FDHD could cause problems at "random times".
  I have 8 meg of RAM, a RasterOps 264 board, and am currently running off
a Cutting Edge Syquest-type drive. Inits/cdevs include SuperClock 3.5,
Boomerang 2.0B8, SoundMaster 1.2, Vaccine, ClockAdjust, Suitcase II,
Pyro, and Calendar Reminder. Pyro and SoundMaster only worked if run after
Suitcase II.

A second issue is that I have Macsbug 6.1, but hitting the programmer's
switch just gives me a blank grey screen. Is this because of the color board,
or are the claims that 6.1 works on the ci false? SuperPaint 2.0 crashes, 
even under the finder with no inits and the monitor set to b/w. Does this
happen on every ci? Finally, Fresh Start SEEMS to work okay, despite reports
to the contrary.

Edward Seiler
ST Systems Corp.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 635
Greenbelt, MD 20771
seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov or seiler@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov

wilkins@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Mark Wilkins) (12/12/89)

In article <597@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) writes:
>A second issue is that I have Macsbug 6.1, but hitting the programmer's
>switch just gives me a blank grey screen. Is this because of the color board,
>or are the claims that 6.1 works on the ci false? SuperPaint 2.0 crashes, 
>even under the finder with no inits and the monitor set to b/w. Does this
>happen on every ci? Finally, Fresh Start SEEMS to work okay, despite reports
>to the contrary.


   Macsbug 6.1b1 works fine with a ColorBoard/264 on a Mac II.  I'd be
surprised if it were the source of the problem...



  -- mark Wilkins

martin@m2.csc.ti.com (Steven Martin) (12/12/89)

In article <597@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) writes:
>
>  I am now a proud owner of a Mac IIci, and though I have most applications
>working or classified as incompatible, I am still experiencing some puzzling
>system crashes and hangings...
>  I have 8 meg of RAM, a RasterOps 264 board, and am currently running off
>a Cutting Edge Syquest-type drive. Inits/cdevs include SuperClock 3.5,
>Boomerang 2.0B8, SoundMaster 1.2, Vaccine, ClockAdjust, Suitcase II,
>Pyro, and Calendar Reminder. Pyro and SoundMaster only worked if run after
>Suitcase II.

I have a CI with 5 meg of RAM, internal video, Quantum 105 internal
disk.  I also use Boomerang, ClockAdjust, Suitcase II, among others.
I am not having any "Random" problems.
>A second issue is that I have Macsbug 6.1, but hitting the programmer's
>switch just gives me a blank grey screen. Is this because of the color board,
>or are the claims that 6.1 works on the ci false? 

I use Macsbug 6.1, I would suspect your color board.

Steve Martin            USENET: {ctvax,im4u,texsun,rice}!ti-csl!martin
                        ARPANET: SMARTIN@CSC.TI.COM  COMPUSERVE: 72727,1471
                        GENIE: S.MARTIN8    PHONE: (214)-995-0387, 404-1061
I'll have four whole fried chickens and a Coke. -Jake Blues

Fabian@cup.portal.com (Fabian Fabe Ramirez) (12/14/89)

Steve,

Remember that the Mac IIci has 32-bit QuickDraw in ROM and there are some
(numerous?) applications that just aren't "32-Bit Clean" or even 8-bit clean
for that matter.  Also, to the best of my knowledge...MacsBug 6.1 isn't fully
compatible with 24-bit video cards.

Fabian Ramirez
SuperMac Technology
fabian@cup.portal.com
sun!cup.portal.com!fabian

chrisj@ut-emx.UUCP (Chris Johnson) (12/14/89)

In article <101923@ti-csl.csc.ti.com> martin@m2.UUCP (Steven Martin) writes:
>In article <597@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) writes:
>>
>>  I am now a proud owner of a Mac IIci, and though I have most applications
>>working or classified as incompatible, I am still experiencing some puzzling
>>system crashes and hangings...

(Description of system configuration omitted.)

>I have a CI with 5 meg of RAM, internal video, Quantum 105 internal
>disk.  I also use Boomerang, ClockAdjust, Suitcase II, among others.
>I am not having any "Random" problems.

Based on the description of the problem, it's not the color board or any of
the INITs, it's the WDEF virus.  This is one of the major problems with
WDEF:  it's completely incompatible with the Mac IIci.  The IIci will crash
more or less the moment an infected floppy is inserted in the disk drive.

Aren't viruses wonderful?  Wouldn't you like to send a big vote of thanks
to your local virus authors?  I know I would.

Cheers,
----Chris (Johnson)
----Author of Gatekeeper
----chrisj@emx.utexas.edu

seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) (12/15/89)

In article <597@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) writes:
>
>  I am now a proud owner of a Mac IIci, and though I have most applications
>working or classified as incompatible, I am still experiencing some puzzling
>system crashes and hangings. ...
> ... The common thread to the problems seems to be the presence of
>a floppy in the FDHD. There doesn't seem to be any other common point. The
>symptom is that seemingly innocuous actions such as clicking once on an icon,
>trying to close a window, or other basic finder actions cause the system to
>either freeze or display a rapidly blinking empty default debugger dialog box.
>The other symptom is that sometimes inserting a disk freezes everything except
>cursor movement.

Well, as Chris Johnson of Gatekeeper fame astutely recognized, it was WDEF.
I of course feel violated. To those of you who thought the symptoms illustrated
weaknesses in the ci, it seems that since the ci is just a baby, perhaps it
was less resistant to the bugs going around (bugs in the bugs being the worst
kind!).

Let me join in the accolades for the fine work being done by those who are
"fighting the good fight".

Edward Seiler
ST Systems Corp.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 635
Greenbelt, MD 20771
seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov or seiler@dftnic.gsfc.nasa.gov

yost@esquire.UUCP (David A. Yost) (12/15/89)

In article <597@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> seiler@chrpserv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ed Seiler) writes:
>
>  I am now a proud owner of a Mac IIci ... I have most applications
>working or classified as incompatible

*Please* post your classifications!

 --dave yost