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| Author | PM 6500 SCSI woes (Read 13014 times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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jmmaddux
4 MB  Posts: 7 
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on: July 07, 2007, 08:20
Since getting back into using System 7 again, I've been trying to get 7.6.1 installed on my "new" 6500. However, I can't get the built-in CD-ROM to work. I noticed that the PRAM battery is dead which may have something to do with it, but I can't imagine how. After looking through Apple System Profiler, I noticed that the CD-ROM is listed as a tape drive with a SCSI ID of 3. There is also an internal Zip drive which is identified correctly with an ID of 5. Both drives are getting power but none of the known good disks I tried will mount. I finally had to settle for installing 8.5 from an external CD-ROM I have, but the internal drives still won't work. I've also tried reseating the logic board and RAM, and tried pressing the logic board reset button, reseating the CD drive and Zip drives themselves, and I've zapped the PRAM. I don't have any external SCSI devices connected at the moment. At this point, I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Does anyone have any more ideas or have seen this type of issue before? |
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #1 on: July 07, 2007, 10:25
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Try disconnecting the ZIP drive entirely. I had SCSI problems galore on my 8600 until I disconnected the old internal ZIP 100 drive. Everything is good for me now. If that doesn't work, try replacing the CD-ROM drive with a known working drive, such as the one in your external case. If that one also doesn't work, then there is a more serious problem.
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jmmaddux
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4 MB Posts: 7
Reply #2 on: July 07, 2007, 15:30
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Thanks very much! Disconnecting the Zip made the Mac boot right up. Now the CD-ROM is working just like it should be, and System Profiler is reporting correctly that it is a CD-ROM. Now I can get 7.6.1 installed on it like it should be!
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #3 on: July 07, 2007, 19:21
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Wow I can't believe these ZIP drives are causing so many problems.
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jmmaddux
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4 MB Posts: 7
Reply #4 on: July 07, 2007, 22:20
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I know; it doesn't make sense. I'll see if I can find another drive for it, but even if I could, it would probably be a high-mileage drive and on its way to failure.
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jmmaddux
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4 MB Posts: 7
Reply #5 on: July 08, 2007, 05:48
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Well, I'm back to square one. Now the Mac won't even boot up. All I get is the blinking question mark and neither the hard drive nor CD-ROM will work. The hard drive will try to spin up, makes a click and then spins down again and keeps repeating that behavior. The CD-ROM does the same thing when I put a system disc in it, so I'm guessing I'm looking at multiple component failure. That combined with no working Zip drive leaves only the floppy drive working. I wasn't able to make a proper Disk Tools disk for this Mac, so I guess I'm looking at replacing all these components. And if that doesn't work, there's something wrong with either the motherboard or the internal cabling.
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #6 on: July 08, 2007, 10:57
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And did you say everything works fine with Mac OS 8?
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jmmaddux
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4 MB Posts: 7
Reply #7 on: July 08, 2007, 15:02
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I figured it out! It WAS the PRAM battery all along! After looking through some documentation, I read that a dead battery can prevent some Macs from even starting up. So I removed it and everything started working like it's supposd to. Even the Zip drive is working. I've installed 7.6.1 and have put the system through its paces and it's performing solidly. All I've got to do now is get a new battery. I'm exhausted but extremely pleased that that's all it was. To answer your question dpaanlka, it only seemed to be better under OS 8. The truth is that whenever I could get the Mac to boot, I couldn't predict if it would boot on the next restart so I could never have it remain running long enough to really tell.
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madmann
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256 MB Posts: 284 
Reply #8 on: July 08, 2007, 19:45
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the pram battery can cause a lot of problems when it starts to supply low voltage. its not dead nor good. I went through something similar with my g3. you can get those batterys at radio shack they are expensive their but the head ache is worse
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Blessed Cheesemaker
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8 MB Posts: 13
Reply #9 on: July 12, 2007, 03:43
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That is interesting; I swear I have no problem with PM 6500 with dead PRAM batteries, but the theory of the in-between voltages could be true. By the way, I get the PRAM batteries at OWC ... the last time I went to Radio Shack in 2002, they wanted 13.99 for one! OWC has the 6500 style for ? 5.99 and the 7x00, 8x00 and 9x00 style for 4.99 each. I don't mean to be an advert for them, but they have the best price I've seen.
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jmmaddux
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4 MB Posts: 7
Reply #10 on: July 12, 2007, 15:19
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Well, I've ordered a new battery from Amazon.com. It's supposed to be here tomorrow, and hopefully then I can put all this behind me. I also did an experiment and put the old battery back in the Mac. Sometimes you can get a little extra juice out of a battery by reseating it; sure enough, the Mac recognized all of my SCSI devices...for about 5 minutes. Then, when the battery's voltage dropped low enough, it couldn't anymore. I have to say this is without a doubt the strangest behavior I've seen on any Mac.
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