SE with Performer 68030 accelerator slow booting

[mmaseda]

I just added a Performer 68030 accelerator from MacEffects to my SE SuperDrive with 4mb memory and a BlueSCSI V2 running a bare System 7.1. It takes about 95 seconds to boot up with the required Performer control panel and extension. Before installing the accelerator it would boot up a bare system 7.1 in about 50 seconds. Any ideas why it takes so long to boot with the accelerator? I’ve tried in another identical SE SuperDrive system and I get the exact same results.

Thanks,
Manuel

 

[Builder68]

Hi Manuel,

That is a significant jump in boot time. Could you check exactly when the delay occurs?

Specifically, does the extra 45-second delay happen while the "Happy Mac" icon is displayed, and is the BlueSCSI activity LED staying almost constantly lit during that window?

 

[mmaseda]

Here is my timeline with the accelerator installed.

On power up I immediately get the single chime

At 20 seconds I get the Welcome to Macintosh window

From 21 seconds to 35 seconds I get drive activity while still on the Welcome to Macintosh window.

From 35 seconds to 80 seconds while still on the welcome to Macintosh window I get no drive activity.

At around 82 I get the race care animation and booting take place over the next 15 seconds.

 

[Byrd]

Check PSU voltages, and maybe fresh OS install as a test. I've found the Performer extension, once loaded, does speed up boot times but only slightly (mine in a Mac Plus)

 

[Builder68]

From 35 seconds to 80 seconds while still on the welcome to Macintosh window I get no drive activity.

That 45-second window with zero drive activity is definitely not normal. Across all three of my machines (a 512Ke, a Plus, and an SE Dual Floppy), I’ve never seen a delay like that running System 7.1 with the Performer / Mercury accelerator installed. Usually, once that 'Welcome to Macintosh' screen hits, the handoff to the extensions and INIT files is much snappier. I’m not sure what’s causing that specific hang, but it shouldn't be idling for that long. Sometimes, when I switch back from another OS like System 6, it takes longer—as if it's rebuilding the desktop or something within the drive partition—but even then, it shouldn't be silent for 45 seconds; you should see frantic SCSI activity almost the entire time.

Besides the BlueSCSI, is there any other SCSI device installed, like an internal HD?

 

[mmaseda]

That 45-second window with zero drive activity is definitely not normal. Across all three of my machines (a 512Ke, a Plus, and an SE Dual Floppy), I’ve never seen a delay like that running System 7.1 with the Performer / Mercury accelerator installed. Usually, once that 'Welcome to Macintosh' screen hits, the handoff to the extensions and INIT files is much snappier. I’m not sure what’s causing that specific hang, but it shouldn't be idling for that long. Sometimes, when I switch back from another OS like System 6, it takes longer—as if it's rebuilding the desktop or something within the drive partition—but even then, it shouldn't be silent for 45 seconds; you should see frantic SCSI activity almost the entire time.

Besides the BlueSCSI, is there any other SCSI device installed, like an internal HD?

No other scsi devices installed. Even tried with a ZuluSCSI and got the same results. I just did a complete new install of 7.1 from floppy but got the same results.

 

[Builder68]

Have you tried System 6 (6.0.7/8)?

Have you tried other accelerator drivers, like GemStart 3.0?

 

[Garrett B]

My accelerated SEs boot really slowly on 7.1. Similar boot times that you mention. I assumed that was normal behavior with this accelerator.

 

[Builder68]

My accelerated SEs boot really slowly on 7.1. Similar boot times that you mention. I assumed that was normal behavior with this accelerator.

What model of SE do you have? It is a Macintosh SE FDHD?

 

[mmaseda]

My total boot time with 6.08 is only 35 seconds

 

[luRaichu]

My accelerated Plus takes 80 seconds to boot System 7.1.
50 seconds with memory check skipped.
The 68030 runs very slow when the driver isn't loaded, that's probably why boot times are longer.