[ValVashon]

I'll have to make this short since it's bedtime and I just took a melatonin (!).

Bondi iMac, 233 processor and 2 fresh chips for 512 mb of memory. Relatively new 40 gb drive. Started up with retail 9.0.4 CD, partitioned drive with 2gb/6gb/30gb partitions. Installed 9.0.4 on 2gb drive, but got blinking folder on startup. Tried several times to select this partition with the startup drive control panel (it highlights as if it is a valid drive) but no joy. Tried to install 10.2.3 retail CD on 6gb partition, it works as far as the first disk is concerned, but at the restart/switch disk part I get the blinking folder again.

Sprung for new pram battery at RS (ouch$$$) but that did not help. Reset-all and Reset-NVRAM using open firmware but no joy again. Tried running Norton disk doctor (I know- but it's all I have) but no major errors were found.

Looking at 9.0.4 partition, it appears that the system folder is blessed as it has the old mac smiley face on it, as does one of the folders in the 10.2.3 partition.

I don't think that this is the older model that needs the firmware upgrade (I think that it's the first slot loaders) so I haven't tried this.

Do I need to let the new pram battery charge up? Other than that I'm out of ideas. Should I wipe the drive clean and partition with the 10.2.3 startup disk?

I already have a Bondi (with 400 mhz card) with this setup on it as our main computer so I know this works and it works quite well. OSX won't be blazing fast but it should do OK on this new machine. I had it booting from OS 9 at one point from the original 4gb disk. Should I put that one back in and see what happens? Is it a memory thing?

Thanks-

Val

(P.S.- any way to bring back dead keys on the keyboard? 2,w,d & c don't seem to work. This thing is starting to kick my a**)

[jmiddel]

1) If you have a hard drive over 8 GB in size, you must partition it, and the partition containing OS X must be completely within the first 8 GB of space or you will not be able to run OS X. (If you are creating the partition within OS X, it must be 7.45 GB or smaller as reported by Disk Utility) OS 9 can be on any partition.

2) I tried looking up your specs, don't see you having firewire, so how about using an ethernet crossover cable to connect your bondis and cloning the working one to the other one.

3) Your pram battery is charged fully and can't be charged by your computer. It will slowly (veeeeery slowly) lose its charge, like any other battery being used.

4) If you have to use OS 9, use 9.1.xx. Much more compatible in general and, I think, the only version compatible with X's Classic mode.

[ValVashon]

Both operating system partitions are within the first 8gb of drive space. OSX won't even let you install on an older mac outside of the first 8gb of drive space.

I'd rather have a clean install but will consider the cloning option.

I'm a TV satellite truck operator and so of course know that lithium batteries can't be charged up. They go boom! Like I said, I was tired. The old battery checked out at 3.63 volts unloaded.

I plan to upgrade to 9.2.2 if I can ever get the thing to boot from an internal drive.

Anybody else have any ideas?

I originally had the hard drive jumper set to "cable select" and then moved it to "master". Neither position made any difference as far as booting was concerned. Should I just remove the jumper?

Should I try wiping the drive with the OS X install disk, partitioning with that and then try installing? 9 or X first?

Thanks-

V

[ValVashon]

Did two things when I had it apart again. Pushed the "CUDA reset" button and pulled the jumper from the hard drive (A Western Digital I believe). Computer has now restarted off of the disk and appears to be operating normally, allowing me to complete the upgrade. Now does anybody have any ideas about the keys on the keyboard that don't work?

Val

[Detrius]

Those iMacs do not support cable select--the drive MUST be set to master.

As far as the keyboard, since it's already fried anyway... unplug it and run warm water over the thing for a little bit (I'm not kidding). This will help dissolve any sugary substances that may have become lodged inside the keyboard. The important detail is that the keyboard MUST be completely dry before you attempt to connect it back to the Macintosh. You can run a hair dryer over it for a while, but the excess heat may be worse than the warm water. I would recommend putting the keyboard next to a moving air source for a day or two or three (or longer, depending on humidity).

I fixed a Pismo keyboard that had sweet tea spilled in it this way. I left the keyboard over my AC air intake vent for two days to let it dry off.

Remember, if this either doesn't work or even makes the keyboard worse, you will need a new keyboard anyway. As long as you dry the thing out before hooking it back up to the Mac, it won't hurt to try. It's not the water that does the damage--it's the electricity going places it shouldn't that does the damage.

[ValVashon]

I pulled the jumper completely off of the hard drive. It's now booting just fine without any jumper on it at all. I was busy installing lots of things and updating to 10.2.8-when I noticed that I had forgotten to put the cage back on the processor. When I got it apart again, I noticed that I had forgotten to put the new RAM back in. It was amazingly speedy when installing and rebooting with only 92 mb RAM! Running just fine and almost to the point of useable.

I have pulled apart the keyboard down to it's million tiny pieces. I think the two halves of the keypad traces were not aligned properly for the 2-w-s-x row. Sounds like I'm dreaming of the easy fix, I know, but this row really did look misaligned when I carefully took the button holder thing off. I'll post again if this actually fixed it.

Val