jg13@umd5.umd.edu (Allon Stern) (10/11/89)
I've found that when you hold the mouse down on booting (i.e. to eject a
floppy disk), if you have an Emac HD (only tested with two models on two
mac Plusses), you get a sad mac (id 0f0002, I think). Can anybody out there
explain, or get this to happen on their machine? I'm curious to see if it
is just the plus and this particular hd, or any mac and this hd, or what...
Thanks...
- -= Allon =- -
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------danno@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Your host... Dieter) (10/12/89)
In article <5439@umd5.umd.edu> allon@solarvax.umd.edu writes: >I've found that when you hold the mouse down on booting (i.e. to eject a >floppy disk), if you have an Emac HD (only tested with two models on two >mac Plusses), you get a sad mac (id 0f0002, I think). Can anybody out there >explain, or get this to happen on their machine? I'm curious to see if it >is just the plus and this particular hd, or any mac and this hd, or what... > >Thanks... > > - -= Allon =- - > Ohhh, yes, let's talk about EMACs. Here at Dartmouth, about 500 freshmen just got EMAC 20s as part of the freshman package the college recommends (this is along with a Mac Plus for minimum package; several hundred others got SEs, SE/30s, or even IIcxs, but they are another story.) And about 10% of these have been DOA for one reason or another. One problem is that one version of the Disk Manager (they're all 3.22, but have different modification dates) won't format properly for a Plus. But the major problem is one of cabling: the opinion of those-who-have-been-studying-the-problem here is that the terminators are not seating properly in the drive. To restate: the flow-through terminators were either designed improperly, or we got a bad batch. It is often rectifiable by setting the Mac up against the wall so that the wall holds the cable in tightly. What a solution! How does this relate to Allon's question? Well, many of the disks, once the cabling thing is worked out, give a Sad Mac with this code. (Which, for anyone who doesn't know the codes offhand :-}, is the only Sad Mac code which indicates a software error rather than a hardware error. That is, anything starting with "0F" is a software error, with "OOO2" corresponding, according to 1st Aid Kit's manual, to SysError=02, or "address error.") This is rectified, in our case, by re-installing the System. Could this be a driver problem? Would anyone else like to share experience with EMACs? They seem to be nice drives at a good price, although it would be nice to have a CDEV to mount partitions. (Not that I would EVER recommend soft partitioning under any circumstances to anyone; it's just that, if you're going to do it, you should make it easy. I assume Everex does soft partitioning because the partitions are re-sizeable, and SilverLining is the only thing I know of that will re-size hard partitions withough reformatting, in some cases.) A disclaimer is in order: I in no way represent Dartmouth's official reaction to this problem. I am merely a Student Assistant and Student Peer Consultant; as such, I get to deal with a large number of the students who experience these problems. I find it frustrating that even the people trying to solve the problem can't seem to get to the bottom of the matter-- these things keep going dead, communication-wise. Also: since no one here really can tell what's going on, this is not a flame to Everex. I'm merely trying to get all the info I can. Yay! More hard disk debate! (Does anyone want to buy a Jasmine DirectDrive 45? For about $550?) ======= -- |\_______/| Someone send me a new Tragedy mask graphic!| Daniel McKinnon | | | | O O | Comedy must be played with a straight face;| danno@dartmouth.edu | \ | Only tragedy deserves laughter. |
dpaight@HP-UX.ucsd.edu (Dan Paight) (10/13/89)
I just tried holding down the mouse during restart on my Mac Plus-EMAC 20 system. No sad Mac; no problem. dp
dpaight@HP-UX.ucsd.edu (Dan Paight) (10/13/89)
I too have had A LOT of problems with my EMAC (purchased about 4 months ago). Often, the thing just won't get off the dime. I turn on my Mac Plus, the screen comes up white for a few seconds, and then -- when I SHOULD be seeing a smiling Mac -- the screen goes black and nothing happens. Sometimes just turning everything off and on again 'fixes' it. But just as often I have to run Disk First Aid (booting from a floppy). A few times I've had to take the cable off and beat it about the head and shoulders a while, reattach it, and then it works. Finally, a couple of times the EMAC has crashed on booting up, destroying the directory (or whatever it destroys) so that the Mac tells me the EMAC is not a Macintosh disk. Had to use PC Tools (Rebuild) to salvage the thing. If I had it to do over, I would not buy another EMAC. BTW, my EMAC has a Seagate inside. dp
dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner) (10/14/89)
In article <16057@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> danno@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Your host... Dieter) writes: >Would anyone else like to share experience with EMACs? We have two EMAC 20's, bought about a year ago. One of them has a marked tendency to cause a burning smell, accompanied by 1) the drive no longer functioning and 2) the SCSI port on the Mac no longer functioning. We've lost 2 SCSI ports this way. The drive is on its way to be fixed for the third time (why we bother, I don't know). Our Computer Store has stopped carrying Everex drives because of "reliability problems". -- Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu UUCP: {convex,uunet}!uiucuxc!dorner IfUMust: (217) 244-1765