[rescue] Odd Mac startup problem

Phil Stracchino alaric at caerllewys.net
Sat May 1 13:05:14 CDT 2004


On Sat, May 01, 2004 at 01:56:30PM -0400, Nathan Raymond wrote:
> When did you last replace the PRAM battery?  If it's not running at a
> consistently high enough voltage, it could demonstrate the symptoms you
> describe (in fact if the battery were complete dead, you might sit at that
> black screen every time).

Actually, I have no idea when it was last replaced.  We've only had the
machine a few months.  It's worth looking into.

What type of battery should it take, and can it be safely swapped with
the machine running?  (Or, if not, how long do I have to swap the
battery without losing PRAM contents?)


>  I don't think it's the hard drive not spinning
> up, because at worst you would see a blinking question mark on a grey
> screen until it did spin up and the firmware could locate it.

No, neither do I, particularly since I can hear both disks spin up
normally.



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