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- Xref: sparky comp.sys.mac.hardware:16088 comp.sys.mac.system:11375
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware,comp.sys.mac.system
- Path: sparky!uunet!spsgate!mogate!newsgate!gpb-mac.!gpb
- From: gpb@gpb-mac. (greg berryman )
- Subject: Re: Strange Tone Sequence During Startup.
- Message-ID: <1992Aug28.175406.8285@newsgate.sps.mot.com>
- Originator: root@mogate.sps.mot.com
- Sender: usenet@newsgate.sps.mot.com
- Nntp-Posting-Host: 222.1.248.85
- Organization: SPS
- X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
- References: <1992Aug26.134325.2096@galileo.cc.rochester.edu>
- Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 17:54:06 GMT
- Lines: 46
-
- npl@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu (Nicholas LaMendola) writes:
- : I have a most frustrating problem with my Mac SE/30 at home. Last night, I was
- : using Excel 3.0 on my Mac and got a system bomb due to a "divide by zero" in
- : the Finder. This did not alarm me since I have seen it before, and proceeded
- : to simply hit the offered Restart button. When it restarted, I heard the normal
- : tone it makes upon startup and then saw the background being drawn, but then
- : instead of seeing the icon to denote that it had located the startup file, I
- : heard a strange 4-tone sequence that sounds exactly like the annoying "Your
- : attention, please" tone given at Charles de Gaulle airport, and then nothing.
- : The background screen stayed, but it never found the startup file. I tried
- : booting the system of a system 7.0 startup disk I had, and still nothing.
- :
- : This morning I tried again and was able to boot it off the startup disk once
- : and was using when I got a recurring Type 28 error while trying to do some-
- : thing in Excel, and so I figured I would try and reboot it off the hard
- : drive, but no dice, I got the same "Your attention, please" tone signal and
- : no startup file found. I tried to reboot it off the disk figuring that my
- : hard drive system file was damaged and would have to be reinstalled (in one
- : case scenario), and again, no dice, and even worse, the system disk is
- : stuck in the floppy drive and will not eject despite every troubleshooting
- : effort and the old straightened paper clip.
- :
- : My question is whether this is a common (relative ?) problem to occur with
- : the system file and that my eyes have never seen this issue discussed in
- : the last 18 months on these newsgroups. Also, why did it restart this morning
- : after not having done so last night, is this a rest-dependent phenomenon, or
- : is it indicative of a greater problem. Anyone with any hint of what might be
- : wrong is certainly welcome to e-mail me. I basically want to, at least, be
- : able to reboot it once to back up a couple of very recent files.
-
- Sounds to me like the battery on the logic board is about dead. An overnight
- powerdown will drain the battery and effectivly "ZAP the PRAM". You might
- try booting while holding down (Cmd + Option + P + R) to assure a full ZAP.
-
- The stuck diskette I think is just a mechanical problem. If a fat paper clip
- doesn't work for you, the small metal tab the paper clip pushes may be bent.
- If so, It's open the case time. It would be for the battery anyway. Just
- remember, the FIRST thing to do after removing the back of the case on any of
- the "compact" Mac machines is UNPLUG THE LITTLE BOARD ON THE END OF THE CRT!!
- If you don't, Murphy says you will bump that little board and crack the crt.
-
- Naturally, I may be off in left field with this or any other thing I might say.
-
- --
- Greg Berryman gpb@gpb-mac.sps.mot.com
- Motorola Inc. Austin Texas
-