PROM N/A? - ?

[Josh_B]

Hey guys,

Maybe you can help a poor sod like me out.

I got a new (used) mac about a week ago, but I can't seem to get into the PROM to check and see if it is detecting the new DVD-RAM I just installed.

I can't get the previous DVD-ROM to mount anything, so I tried replacing the DVDROM with a new DVD-RAM, although it is still not mounting anything.

I tried booting from the Linux PPC install disc I want to use by hitting command or ctrl-c and I also tried a number of other key combos... it won't let me into the PROM... won't let me "zap" the PROM.... I can't do anything.

Maybe I should give this Mac back and just get a PC for payment instead!

 

[t5brick]

Hold down the "option" key while it's booting to bring up the boot select menu. Hold down "C" while it's booting to just boot from the optical drive.

How old is this Mac?

 

[Josh_B]

Hold down the "option" key while it's booting to bring up the boot select menu. Hold down "C" while it's booting to just boot from the optical drive.

How old is this Mac?

It is a G4 Yikes AGP 450MHz.

How do I find out if the DVD-RAM is even detected? I guess if I try viewing the bootable devices and the DVD doesn't show, that would answer my question...

 

[BinarySynapse]

If you want to zap the NVRAM there should be a microswtich near the battery on the motherboard that you push and hold down for about 10seconds (i think). I'm not sure if you have to take the battery out first or not though. I'm sure it has to be unplugged.

 

[Josh_B]

Holy #(*&$(*#

As it turns out, I had:

1) A bad DVD-ROM. It won't read any discs on both the Mac, or a PC.
2) A bad DVD for OSX. It can't be read by any DVD-ROM.
3) I don't know if this is normal for a Mac, but IDE devices all had to be set to CS before they would be detected. (Actually this is common for OEM PCs to do this, too.)

Ugh!!!

It is working now. Just re-installed OSX... re-downloading FC6, too.

 

[CreativeMac]

Holy #(*&$(*#

As it turns out, I had:

1) A bad DVD-ROM. It won't read any discs on both the Mac, or a PC.
2) A bad DVD for OSX. It can't be read by any DVD-ROM.
3) I don't know if this is normal for a Mac, but IDE devices all had to be set to CS before they would be detected. (Actually this is common for OEM PCs to do this, too.)

Ugh!!!

It is working now. Just re-installed OSX... re-downloading FC6, too.

#3 is very odd. In every Mac using IDE devices, they've always handled a master/slave arrangement. In fact, when I encounter odd problems with IDE devices one of the first things I do is to take the drives off of CS and move them to master. At any rate, gald you got it working.

If you want to zap the NVRAM there should be a microswtich near the battery on the motherboard that you push and hold down for about 10seconds (i think). I'm not sure if you have to take the battery out first or not though. I'm sure it has to be unplugged.

The easiest way to reset the NVRAM is as follows -
- Boot to Open Firmware (if the machine has OF) by holding Apple-Option-O-F on boot
- Type "reset-nvram" <enter>
- Type "reset-all" <enter>
The machine will reboot and the NVRAM and PRAM will be reset.

To reset the logic board, there are usually one or two gray buttons on the logic board. Hold those down for 5-10 seconds. This may reset the NVRAM as well, but why go into the case if you don't really have to?