nino@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Nino Mateos) (06/02/89)
Since the start, about a year and a half ago, our Mac+ with HD20 (no SCSI) had intermittent boot up problems. It happened so seldom during the warranty period, and we were having so much fun with it that we were reluctant to give it up to the dealer for fear they wouldn't be able to reproduce the problem. Big mistake. With time, the bootup problem has gotten progressively worse, to the point where now it won't ever boot up the first time. By turning the HD20 power on and off again, it will eventually spin up in the condition where the Mac+ will boot when it is turned on. This condition is easily recognized by the pattern of blinking lights and sounds that come from the HD20 during and shortly after spinup. No need to turn on the Mac+ until the proper sequence of events has taken place on the HD20, cause it will not boot from it. It cannot find it. It doesn't know its there. Sure don't like torturing the HD20 with the power switch, so the turn on sequence has come to powering on the HD20 15 or 20 minutes before use (you can tell the Mac+ would not boot by the sounds and flashes). Then come back and power it down then up again (the proper sequence of sounds and flashes are evident at this time). Now when the Mac+ is turned on, it will boot off the HD20. This sequence works almost every time, but it is not foolproof. At times it gets particularly stubborn about coming up and will require several tries. There are no (nor have there ever been any) problems once the system boots up. My questions are as follows: 1. What sequence of events is taking place on the HD20 during power up? As mentioned above, its easy to tell if the Mac+ will boot just by what happens on the HD20 during power up. 2. Is there any way to get the HD20 to go through its power up sequence without having to turn the power switch off and on again? 3. What do you think is the problem? 4. What kind (and how much) of a repair bill am I facing? Any and all help would be appreciated. Thanks.