🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <6co2dt$iuo$1@orthanc.reference.com>, thailye@kartoffelsoft.com
wrote:


> 
>      I have had a severe system crash.  Basically, even my CD
> 
> drive is not working properly, so I cannot boot from the OS 8
> 
> startup CD.  Here's how it happened:

I suspect your CD drive is actually OK. The problem is more likely to be
with the CD-ROM extension. I too have a clone (from Computer Warehouse
which I think originally emanates from Power Computing) and my CD-ROM will
not work with the CD-ROM extension which comes with system 8. I am using
version 5.3 of the extension which is fine. 

Your System file is almost certainly screwed so you might as well dump it.
It took me the best part of a day to sort out a similar set of problems I
had with my machine but I hope I may be able to save you some time. If you
have the CD-ROM for system 7.x.x then try booting from this. Hold down the
letter 'C' to do this. On my system, you have to do this at exactly the
right time otherwise the machine tries to boot from the hard disk. So try
it a few times until you find the precise moment. If you can boot from a
system 7 CD, then almost certainly, you have the same problem with the
CD-ROM extension as I have. How kind of the manufacturers of our machines
to let us know about this problem. I had to read about it on the US Apple
Web pages.

If you have successfully booted from a system 7 CD, you now have the
problem of sorting out your hard disk. I have a 6 gig external drive so I
just put system 7.5.3 on that, then set the external drive as the start up
drive, then I restarted the system, put the system 8 CD into the CD-ROM
drive and then re-installed system 8 on the internal drive. This works
because the CD-ROM extension is not overwritten until the next restart.
So, keep a copy of CD-ROM extension 5.3 (or anything other than the one
that comes with system 8) so that you can replace it in the system folder
at the appropriate time.

This may not help you much if you do not have an external drive. You might
be able to install system 7.x.x on a RAM disk, I suppose. Then make that
the startup (Can you do this? I don't know because I never use a RAM
disk). I checked and the version of system 7 which I installed on my
external drive takes up about 42 megs so RAM should not be a problem for
you. What you are aiming to do is to get a system running with the CD-ROM
drive free and with a version of the CD-ROM extension installed which will
enable you to run the System 8 CD-ROM (but not as the boot disk). If you
can get to that stage, the rest is easy except that there are always those
extras that you have to set up again etc. If a RAM disk is no good, do you
have a Zip drive on your machine? 

> Any instructions or tips are needed.  I am in a world of hurt.

I know just how you feel. I hope the advice I have offered is helpful.
Others have suggested using disk first aid, etc. This is always sound
advice but you need to get something running before you can follow it. I
get the idea from your description that nothing works at present. Email me
if you think I can be of further assistance.

Good luck

Terry