hey guys,
well ive been fixing up macs since i was 8 but this problem really stumps me! :-O
ive got in my collection an Beige PM G3 with the standard 24x cd drive, but when i plugged the system in the other day for fun (it talks, friends like that :-) ) i noticed that the CD drive isnt recognized in the system profiler anymore, i even tried swapping the Apple CD drive with another one i have in my storage room, and again, still nothing!!!! i checked the IDE cables and their all plugged in perfectly!!
that systems running system 9.2.2!! i dont usally use a monitor with it, ive got that apple presentation system hooked to it!!
help me out!!! im young (18), im still learning!!!
Hey just a thought, you didn't mention the power cables - are they seated properly? Try plugging a "known-good" drive on the same IDE/power connector combo. No joy? - bad cabling - but is it IDE or power? Does the drive "spin-up"? If yes, then power is ok - IDE cable is kaput. If not - try a different power connector - should be a spare or two inside the case. Be patient - old G3 IDE controllers on early rev B&W G3s were very flaky.
Also, check your master/slave settings on the drives - though they don't "change themselves", sometimes jumpers "fall off". These old G3s dont like "cable select", so do set your CD to Slave, Hard Drive to Master.
Good luck, and keep learning!
Dan
hey dan,
thanks for the info, yeah the drive does spin up. the IDE its on is the same as the HD. the drive worked fine and then i put the system away, then plugged it back out about a month later and the CD drive didnt wanna read cd's anymore, so i checked the system profiler and it didnt even pop up in there anymore!!!
does that clairfy things again ?? :-S
also on a diffrent issue, ive got a B&W G3 running 10.3.9 with 350mhz/640MB RAM. my question for that one is that sometimes i get a screen that pops up and says that i must restart my computer!! the discs im using are some i got on download, as locally i called EVERY single computer store in ottawa trying to find the 10.3 discs and all i got was, sorry we dont deal apple, haha your using apple!! and sorry its discontinued! so i had to do last resort!! any idea what might be causing that!!! it doesnt do it as much since i installed a 68pin scsi HD!! any clues!!
let me know again,
thanks
What you said about the hard drive and CD being on the same IDE doesn't sound right. Notice on the motherboard, there are two IDE bus connectors - J1 and J15. J1 is a standard IDE/ATA3 connector, while J15 is for UltraATA33/ATA4. Up to two ATA4 hard drives can be connected to J15, but your CD and Zip drive should be installed on the J1 connector with the CD set as master(1) and the Zip set as slave(0).
If it still doesn't work - it might be the power connector. There are two voltages on that four-pin connector - 12 volts for motors, 5 volts for logic. So, even though the motors work (12v is ok, trays open etc.), logic will not fire up (5v is not ok - doesn't show up in System Profiler). Notice you have more than one set of power cables inside your G3? Try a different set of power connectors.
About your other G3 - sounds like maybe those Slimewire downloads aren't so great. Amazon still has sellers for 10.3, or you may LF it here on MUGOO - someone must have a 10.3 disk they would sell!? I don't anymore...
Good luck,
Dan