I wanted to learn how to use a Mac, so my instructor at school gave me a old PowerPC 7200/120 he had laying around. The problem is that it starts the boot process, puts a couple of icons on the desktop, but then it freezes at about 20% and won't continue after that. I know nothing about Mac's, I need a couple of things to set me on the path of enlightenment.
First, maybe some links to some web pages that have some good tutorials of using and working on Mac's. Yeah, I could google for them but I wouldn't know which ones were good and which ones were crap.
Second, a place where I could get some free diagnostic tools to help me troubleshoot the Mac. The problem here is that I need to know how to create emergency boot disks or diag cdroms on a windows machine and then use them on the mac.
Third, if I need to reload and OS onto this machine some info on which OS this machine is supposed to have and can it be upgraded to something different. I know its an old machine and can be only be upgraded so far, but I would like to try.
I'm so new , to Mac's that is, I don't even know if this is the proper newsgroup to post my question in.
Any help would be appreciated Thanks Innocent Bystander
> I wanted to learn how to use a Mac, so my instructor at school gave me > a old PowerPC 7200/120 he had laying around. The problem is that it > starts the boot process, puts a couple of icons on the desktop, but > then it freezes at about 20% and won't continue after that. I know > nothing about Mac's, I need a couple of things to set me on the path > of enlightenment.
> First, maybe some links to some web pages that have some good > tutorials of using and working on Mac's. Yeah, I could google for them > but I wouldn't know which ones were good and which ones were crap.
> Second, a place where I could get some free diagnostic tools to help > me troubleshoot the Mac. The problem here is that I need to know how > to create emergency boot disks or diag cdroms on a windows machine and > then use them on the mac.
> Third, if I need to reload and OS onto this machine some info on which > OS this machine is supposed to have and can it be upgraded to > something different. I know its an old machine and can be only be > upgraded so far, but I would like to try.
> I'm so new , to Mac's that is, I don't even know if this is the proper > newsgroup to post my question in.
> Any help would be appreciated > Thanks > Innocent Bystander
The 7200 was a fine machine in its day. As you recognize, it's getting a bit old. However, it should still be useful, and you can upgrade it. It is a question how much money, time and effort you want to spend upgrading it vs getting a newer machine.
You can get specs for that, and all other Macs ever made, at the Apple web site, in the Support section http://www.apple.com/support
You can of course also find out about newer Macs at the Apple web site.
There are some web sites devoted to upgrading old Macs. One you may find interesting is http://www.lowendmac.com/ and there are many others. Just do a Google search for old Macs.
All new Mac software and hardware is being developed for the new generation machines, which have built-in USB and Firewire, and which run OS X. You can still get hardware and software for the older Macs on eBay and other sources.
The 7200 can be equipped with USB and Firewire by means of a PCI expansion card. I don't believe it can run OS X without substantial upgrade, such as a large hard drive and a lot of RAM.
There are some other Mac newsgroups that seem to have more traffic than this one, so you might get more answers there. They are all of the comp.sys.mac family. You might want to have a look at comp.sys.mac.hardware comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc comp.sys.mac.system.
On 3/25/05 6:28 PM, in article fch941h77apbncoae535nbs6qi3i49k...@4ax.com,
"Innocent Bystander" <I...@tia.com> wrote: > I wanted to learn how to use a Mac, so my instructor at school gave me > a old PowerPC 7200/120 he had laying around. The problem is that it > starts the boot process, puts a couple of icons on the desktop, but > then it freezes at about 20% and won't continue after that.
Try "Zapping The PRAM"...
1. Locate the Command, Option, P, and R keys. The Command key is the key with the apple icon on it.
2. Practice holding them all down at once.
3. Once you feel comfortable with that, restart the computer.
4. When you hear the "bing" noise in the beginning, hold down Command, Option, P, and R.
5. Continue to hold them down while the machine bings several times, at least twice.
6. Let go of the keys and let the machine boot. If it does, great. If not, try this:
Booting with Extensions turned off...
1. Reboot the computer.
2. When you hear the opening bing, hold down the shift key.
3. The mac should put up a message saying that Extensions have been disabled.
4. Once you see that message, let go of the shift key and see if she boots completely.
5. If you don't see the message, keep holding the shift key down until it boots.
Good luck,
Stu (who has been using the Mac since June of 1984)
>> I wanted to learn how to use a Mac, so my instructor at school gave me >> a old PowerPC 7200/120 he had laying around. The problem is that it >> starts the boot process, puts a couple of icons on the desktop, but >> then it freezes at about 20% and won't continue after that.
>Try "Zapping The PRAM"...
>1. Locate the Command, Option, P, and R keys. The Command key is the key >with the apple icon on it.
>2. Practice holding them all down at once.
>3. Once you feel comfortable with that, restart the computer.
>4. When you hear the "bing" noise in the beginning, hold down Command, >Option, P, and R.
>5. Continue to hold them down while the machine bings several times, at >least twice.
>6. Let go of the keys and let the machine boot. If it does, great. If >not, try this:
>Booting with Extensions turned off...
>1. Reboot the computer.
>2. When you hear the opening bing, hold down the shift key.
>3. The mac should put up a message saying that Extensions have been >disabled.
>4. Once you see that message, let go of the shift key and see if she boots >completely.
>5. If you don't see the message, keep holding the shift key down until it >boots.
>Good luck,
>Stu >(who has been using the Mac since June of 1984)
>NP: Four Piece Suit by Systems Theory
Thanks for the info, will give it a try. Another quick question. Is there any way I can burn a cd on my windows machine that the mac can reconize or a good web page with tutorials on how to do this? Thanks IB
>>> I wanted to learn how to use a Mac, so my instructor at school gave me >>> a old PowerPC 7200/120 he had laying around. The problem is that it >>> starts the boot process, puts a couple of icons on the desktop, but >>> then it freezes at about 20% and won't continue after that.
>>Try "Zapping The PRAM"...
>>1. Locate the Command, Option, P, and R keys. The Command key is the key >>with the apple icon on it.
>>2. Practice holding them all down at once.
>>3. Once you feel comfortable with that, restart the computer.
>>4. When you hear the "bing" noise in the beginning, hold down Command, >>Option, P, and R.
>>5. Continue to hold them down while the machine bings several times, at >>least twice.
>>6. Let go of the keys and let the machine boot. If it does, great. If >>not, try this:
>>Booting with Extensions turned off...
>>1. Reboot the computer.
>>2. When you hear the opening bing, hold down the shift key.
>>3. The mac should put up a message saying that Extensions have been >>disabled.
>>4. Once you see that message, let go of the shift key and see if she boots >>completely.
>>5. If you don't see the message, keep holding the shift key down until it >>boots.
>>Good luck,
>>Stu >>(who has been using the Mac since June of 1984)
>>NP: Four Piece Suit by Systems Theory
>Thanks for the info, will give it a try. >Another quick question. >Is there any way I can burn a cd on my windows machine that the mac >can reconize or a good web page with tutorials on how to do this? >Thanks >IB
Ok, disabling the extentions did the trick. The machine booted up. Now what does that tell me? I need to permanatly disable one of the extentions. How do I determine which one is causing the problem? Thanks IB
On 3/26/05 3:18 PM, in article j9rb41dvlgnpni4s8ngsb0avrdu9u6v...@4ax.com,
"Innocent Bystander" <I...@tia.com> wrote: > Ok, disabling the extentions did the trick. The machine booted up. > Now what does that tell me? I need to permanatly disable one of the > extentions. How do I determine which one is causing the problem?
Extensions are located in the System Folder, in a folder marked Extensions.
1. Create a new folder and label it "Extensions (disabled)" and place that folder in the System Folder.
2. Take all of the items from the Extensions folder and place them in the Extensions (disabled) folder.
3. Transfer one extension from the Extensions (disabled) folder back into the Extensions folder.
4. Reboot (with no keys held down) and see if you can boot.
5. If so, open the Extensions (disabled) folder, find another extension, place it in the Extensions folder and reboot again. Repeat until you find the offending extension.
> On 3/26/05 3:18 PM, in article j9rb41dvlgnpni4s8ngsb0avrdu9u6v...@4ax.com, > "Innocent Bystander" <I...@tia.com> wrote:
> > Ok, disabling the extentions did the trick. The machine booted up. > > Now what does that tell me? I need to permanatly disable one of the > > extentions. How do I determine which one is causing the problem?
> Extensions are located in the System Folder, in a folder marked Extensions.
> 1. Create a new folder and label it "Extensions (disabled)" and place that > folder in the System Folder.
> 2. Take all of the items from the Extensions folder and place them in the > Extensions (disabled) folder.
> 3. Transfer one extension from the Extensions (disabled) folder back into > the Extensions folder.
> 4. Reboot (with no keys held down) and see if you can boot.
> 5. If so, open the Extensions (disabled) folder, find another extension, > place it in the Extensions folder and reboot again. Repeat until you find > the offending extension.
> Good luck,
> Stu > (who just got back from the beach)
> NP: Senor Blues by Horace Silver
Don't do that. You need some of those extensions to just boot the system.
Instead, in the Control Panels folder should be "Extension Manager". One of the options is to create a new extension set profile.
Create the new profile, and initially set it to the base set of extensions.
then use the Extension Manager to add extensions back in.
Side note. A system that old, may have a dead lithium battery (keeps the clock alive and remembers default system settings). If you find the system forgets things and the clock keeps resetting, you may need to go to Radio Shack and get a new battery. Of course you will have to open the case first to find the old battery to get the part number, etc...
<nospam.News....@remove.Smith-Harris.us> wrote: >>> Ok, disabling the extentions did the trick. The machine booted up. >>> Now what does that tell me? I need to permanatly disable one of the >>> extentions. How do I determine which one is causing the problem?
>> Extensions are located in the System Folder, in a folder marked Extensions.
>> 1. Create a new folder and label it "Extensions (disabled)" and place that >> folder in the System Folder.
>> 2. Take all of the items from the Extensions folder and place them in the >> Extensions (disabled) folder.
>> 3. Transfer one extension from the Extensions (disabled) folder back into >> the Extensions folder.
>> 4. Reboot (with no keys held down) and see if you can boot.
>> 5. If so, open the Extensions (disabled) folder, find another extension, >> place it in the Extensions folder and reboot again. Repeat until you find >> the offending extension.
>> Good luck,
>> Stu >> (who just got back from the beach)
>> NP: Senor Blues by Horace Silver
> Don't do that. You need some of those extensions to just boot the > system.
That's not true. You can boot a functional System with no extensions.
> Instead, in the Control Panels folder should be "Extension Manager". > One of the options is to create a new extension set profile.
> Create the new profile, and initially set it to the base set of > extensions.
> then use the Extension Manager to add extensions back in.
This is fine advice. The Extensions Manager is an easy way to manage extensions.
Stu (who hasn't worked with OS 9 since 2002, so he may be wrong)
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