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Macintosh SE SuperDrive and SCSI Zip 100 Drive

Are you by any chance using some bizarre CD ROM drive that requires a driver? I have a 12x Pioneer CDROM drive that will not mount disks without a driver. It's possible that you have two or more SCSI drivers that are competing for the same something... And your Zip drive is losing the battle.

What version of Mac OS are you running?

Check to see if there is a newer SCSI Manager that can replace 4.3. If not, try an older version of SCSI Manager.

Put your Zip Drive between the two devices that are known to work on your SCSI chain. i.e. Macintosh ---> Zip Drive ---> CD ROM Drive

Track down a copy of Conflict Catcher -- the most recent version you can find -- and run it. If I recall correctly, it's shareware. If you can't find it, I'll dig it up from one of my old CDs.

Try updating the driver on your hard disk. Use HD SC Setup and select Update Drivers.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 
Are you by any chance using some bizarre CD ROM drive that requires a driver? I have a 12x Pioneer CDROM drive that will not mount disks without a driver. It's possible that you have two or more SCSI drivers that are competing for the same something... And your Zip drive is losing the battle.
It's an Apple CD 300. It just uses that Apple CD-ROM extension. The Zip Drive still doesn't work when the CD-ROM drive isn't connected.

What version of Mac OS are you running?
System 7.5.0

Check to see if there is a newer SCSI Manager that can replace 4.3. If not, try an older version of SCSI Manager.
Ok, I'll try that.

Put your Zip Drive between the two devices that are known to work on your SCSI chain. i.e. Macintosh ---> Zip Drive ---> CD ROM Drive
I am.

Track down a copy of Conflict Catcher -- the most recent version you can find -- and run it. If I recall correctly, it's shareware. If you can't find it, I'll dig it up from one of my old CDs.
It looks like it's only a trial demo thing.

Try updating the driver on your hard disk. Use HD SC Setup and select Update Drivers.
I will try that too.

 
Updating the hard disk driver got it through startup - with SCSI Manager 4.3!

But the disk won't mount? Oh my?… I think the disks might be HFS+ :I

 
IT DOESN'T MOUNT!!!!

I can probe it, and it even shows me the name of the disk that's in it (which is now HFS so it should work.) Plus it's bringing back that not-being-able-to-do-a-single-task-without-having-to-force-quit I talked about

here.

Please help… :'( :-*

 
Some things to try...

Will it manually mount from SCSI Probe 4.3?

Norton Utilities, also any other boot startup, if you can get them to see it, then designate HD as startup disk before exit.

Turning off SCSI Manager 4.3 (and all extensions with shift) now that driver is updated and test stability again.

Backing up to zip on another system configured as external drive if you can get it to mount.

Then, seeing if you can now get beyond 7.5 and get it to 7.5.3, which includes fixes to the many problems introduced by SCSI Manager 4.3. It's not just needed updates to 4.3, but the rest of the OS also to get the thing stable.

 
Will it manually mount from SCSI Probe 4.3?
No.

Norton Utilities, also any other boot startup, if you can get them to see it, then designate HD as startup disk before exit.
I'll try now.

Turning off SCSI Manager 4.3 (and all extensions with shift) now that driver is updated and test stability again.
I will try.

Backing up to zip on another system configured as external drive if you can get it to mount.
I tried.

Then, seeing if you can now get beyond 7.5 and get it to 7.5.3, which includes fixes to the many problems introduced by SCSI Manager 4.3. It's not just needed updates to 4.3, but the rest of the OS also to get the thing stable.
That kills the Quadra. (see the link in my last post)

 
Duh, I should have added Apple's Disk First Aid to the list, it fixes things that Norton Utilities does not. I have updated drivers using Apple's Setup tool, and even MacOS versions many times without clobbering the existing data files, but what I have not done is written a lot of data files with a hard disk driver now suspected of being downrev relative to Mac OS 7.5 in particular which introduced SCSI Manager 4.3, and then updated the hd driver. I checked the revision level of the Apple HD SC Setup that comes with 7.5.3 and it is the same as the patched 7.3.5 you probably downloaded so the driver revision level should be current enough.

 
I was able to regain my stability by:

1.Disabling SCSI Manager 4.3 and restarting

2.Updating the HD Driver using the Patched HD SC Setup

3.Restarting with All Extensions Enabled

I'll remember that for when bad stuff happens. I couldn't get the HD to be recognized by things other than the SCSI Probe.

These are what some programs see:

Norton Utilities: Sees and can use disk doctor on but can't mount "reinstall drivers with formatting software that came with drive"

Patched HD SC Setup: Sees but can't do anything with

Drive Setup: Sees as "unsupported"

Why can't this Macintosh just mount it?

 
I ran Disk First Aid on the HD. Here are the results.

Code:
Checking disk “Macintosh HD”.
Checking disk volume.
Checking extent BTree.
Checking extent file.
Checking catalog BTree.
Problem:  Invalid BTree Header, 0, 0
Checking catalog file.
Checking catalog hierarchy.
Rechecking extent file.
Checking volume info.
Checking for locked volume name.
Rechecking catalog file.
Trying to repair volume “Macintosh HD”.
Repairing the disk.
The volume “Macintosh HD” was repaired successfully.
Then things got unstable again. The usual method of restoring stability isn't working. What should I do?

 
Well, looking at the history thread to which you directed me, that Quadra has an attitude. Until you have a data backup maybe it would be better if all further rescue attempts be on a stable platform, perhaps your 4400. If the disk on a stable platform really accepts a Disk First Aid repair and perhaps a subsequent Norton Utilities repair, and stays repaired long enough maybe you can back it up. If the directory is still bad stopping a mount, you can run Disk Warrior to reconstruct an all new directory, but for sure this is not to be attempted on the Quadra. I am not sure that writes to the disk at this point really go where they are intended.

I did run a test on that patched HD SC Setup tool on an external spare drive. Initially it would not mount but after power cycling (not just restarting) both drive and system it mounted and all files on all disks look fine and pass the anti-virus scan.

If you can get a backup, the quest for stability back on the Quadra can then proceed by some special driver handshaking modification experiments and a set of really rigorous disk read/write diagnostic tests on the media that map out bad sectors, followed by a clean install and attempts to get to 7.5.3.

 
In your position I might bust out Hard Disk Speed Tools and see if it could help(it has helped a few times in the past with HDs and my CD-RW).

Were the old versions of Disk Warrior any good/compatible with what you are working with in your situation?

What about TechTool Pro 2 or something? Could you not have it run some tests? I know TTP2 is 68k compatible, but cannot remember what it's disk related options are and I can't check until I get home and have some time.

 
I have bad news. The Quadra 700 can't boot up with SCSI Manager 4.3 even without the Zip Drive connected. The thing is that the macintosh is rocksolid when actually working with no SCSI Manager 4.3. I'm trying to give it a new driver to fix the SCSI Manager 4.3 problem, but it isn't working. No matter what, the zip drive isn't mounting. Also, the ? is starting to appear at random times. I'm doing a full HD backup to my G4. What's happening?

 
In your position I might bust out Hard Disk Speed Tools and see if it could help(it has helped a few times in the past with HDs and my CD-RW).Were the old versions of Disk Warrior any good/compatible with what you are working with in your situation?

What about TechTool Pro 2 or something? Could you not have it run some tests? I know TTP2 is 68k compatible, but cannot remember what it's disk related options are and I can't check until I get home and have some time.
I don't have any of those. :(

 
First get a complete backup. Then defragment the disk in case it's that. Then we need to get you a competent formatter that will test and map out sector defects and update the factory defects table. Then Blind Transfers and Allow Disconnect need to be disabled in the driver, something FWB HDT 1.7.6 can do. But first I gotta go get some shopping therapy, back later... [;)] ]'>

 
First get a complete backup. Then defragment the disk in case it's that. Then we need to get you a competent formatter that will test and map out sector defects and update the factory defects table. Then Blind Transfers and Allow Disconnect need to be disabled in the driver, something FWB HDT 1.7.6 can do. But first I gotta go get some shopping therapy, back later... [;)] ]'>
Fragmentation wouldn't cause a startup problem. When files are fragmented, it just means that the files are stored in non-contiguous blocks on the drive. Defragmenting doesn't do anything but put your files in contiguous blocks. Which just means that your hard drive doesn't have to work as hard to read files. I wouldn't expect fragmentation to be the culprit in MacTCP's case.

My advice is to:

a) Reset the PRAM on the Quadra.

B) Backup your hard drive and reformat it.

c) Restore your files to the Quadra's hard drive.

d) Format all of your Zip disks with the same software and drivers that you formatted your hard drives with.

It sounds to me like your biggest issue is consistency. Address your driver consistency issues on a Macintosh with a good PRAM and you should be good to go. Barring, of course, any anomalies that are not software related. e.g. bad SCSI cables, flakey logic board, etcetera.

EDIT: To backup your files, copy them to another machine over a network. Don't backup your system folder. When you format your drive, do a clean System install of 7.5. If you absolutely have to maintain some files from your system folder, backup only your preferences folder. Everything else should be deleted and re-installed. That includes extensions and control panels. Your Quadra sounds like it needs more than "bandaid" solution, unfortunately.

 
I reset the PRAM, and the Quadra is now stable with/without SCSI Manager 4.3. Zip Disks still don't mount.

What shall I do next? Do you think I should erase the hard drive and put my backup I made last night onto the freshly erased HD?

 
The Zip Drive not mounting doesn't have to do with the non-Apple HD. My Macintosh LC III with an Apple HD can't mount it either. (The Macintosh LC III doesn't ever have instability/SCSI Manager 4.3 problems. The instability on the Quadra would seem to not be related to the Zip Drive. Right now, the Quadra is completely stable anyway.)

What should I do next? :?:

 
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