[dlindsay17]

I have a G4 with the BTO SCSI card in it. Attached to the SCSI card is a tape drive, CDR and scanner. Everthing was working just great this morning when I burned a CD, but when I returned from work today, things were a mess!
I needed to burn a CD so I powered on the burner. Toast didn't see it, so I checked connections and restarted with the burner still on. This is where things get weird.
The computer stalled on that gray screen right before it finds the startup disk and loads the OS. It just sat ther until I turned the CD burner off. Once I did that, the computer proceeded to spin up the hard disk and load the OS. I turned the burner on again. The computer stalled during the extension parade. Turned the burner off and the extensions marched on. Weird... I opened Toast again and turned the burner on. Still nothing. I hit the "scan scsi bus" button and it scanned...and scanned...and scanned...I turned the cd burner off and it completed the SCSI scan - no burner.
I opened up Hard disk toolkit and scanned the bus again. It stalled too and wouldn't unfreeze until I turned the burner off.
I've checked the SCSI IDs, cables, I've even put the burner on as the first and only device on the chain. I've messed around with the termination and double checked my startup disk settings. There really aren't any drivers for this old APS cd burner. It worked great just 12 hours before this! Any ideas????

[Zwilnik]

Apart from the usual PRAM reseting, starting with extensions off, starting from your system CD etc. The only thing I can suggest is that you may just need a new CD burner (or possibly just a new SCSI case to put it in). That or the SCSI lead you are using for it has developed a fault (in which case, lose it quickly, before it causes more serious problems).

[Evangellydonut]

agreed...
Although SCSIs are supposedly hot-swappable, but I've had some problems with it, such as frying the SCSI2 cable of an old burner when I disconnected it from the computer w/o shut-down, and my new burner still freezes my machine if shut-off when my computer is running. All I can say is, zap the PRAM/NVRAM, do a clean install, and if still no luck, play around with the SCSI cables...
Leave those devices on at all times, they don't consume that much extra power...though the burner's fan can be loud, you'll get use to it...

I have NEVER heard that scsi is hot swappable! Always a risk of damage when hot swapping scsi devices! You should not even power up/down a device while the computer is on all scsi devices should be on at powerup. The only scsi that is hot swappable is the 80 pin SCA drives. This is one of the thinds that Apple flaunts about firewire over scsi FW is hot swappable SCSI is not.If someone feels I am wrong on this I would appreciate being pointed to some documentation....

[dlindsay17]

Well, SCSI is semi-hot swappable...meaning it works most of the time but you can burn your device, bus or cables. I've always powered on my burner or scanner when the computer was already up and running. This time I think I was messing with the cabling and either fried the burner or a cable.

[dlindsay17]

Horay! It was only a cable problem. I replaced the SCSI cable and the burner came back to life. Thanks for your help!