[Ham-Mac] Help! - Start-up problem with G4

[Jim, N9NGH]

Dave,

Do you have a WIRELESS Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (WMSIME) 
connected? I have found that this mouse causes very strange startup 
issues. The reasons are too long to go into here but the bottom line 
is (based on my experience) this mouse is not compatible with and is 
extremely VOLATILE to the health of G3s and G4s!  With the WMSIME 
installed, NEITHER machine will start up with a viable boot CD such 
as Norton Utilities or even the Apple startup CD. IT WILL START UP 
WITH THE APPLE EMERGENCY CD, HOWEVER. But this is just a "test" CD. 
Basically the WMSIME does not work with Apple comuters. It will work 
for about 5-7 days and then things go crazy! I moved it to my PC at 
work and it (so far) is okay. I got another pointing device for my G4 
(at work). The Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer with the CORD works 
great!

Do you get the flashing folder with the "?" mark in it at startup". 
If so click on that icon and you will hear the HD start to spin up 
and then it will start. This is a common symptom of WMSIME syndrome.

It could also be too many devices on the USB hub/port. Apple's "not 
so obvious rules" are that USB port #1 is ONLY for the keyboard and 
mouse and USB port #2 is for the higher current draw USB connections 
and hubs. I have an Asante Friendly Net 4 port hub on my G3 (at home) 
that HATES my PALM USB connect. It does what you describe also (stops 
during start up and "hangs" during the displaying of extension icons, 
etc. I now plug only my PALM USB connect directly into USB port #2 
and everything works fine. Note that the Asante hub is no longer 
connected.

I would like to know if there is a more functional hub than the 
Asante Friendly Net hub. It is powered by an external power supply 
but that does not seem to matter. I called Asante about the problem. 
Their solution does not fix the PalmConnect problem. I am using an 
older Palm cradle and Palm Connect (USB to Serial adapter) for my 
Palm V.

Try This:

1.  Remove EVERY cable connected to the computer.
2.  Unplug the power cord and let it "set" for 15 minutes.
3.  Plug the monitor, keyboard and mouse back in (use the Mac Mouse).
5.  Start it up. It should start up and run fine.
6.  One by one, plug in each "extra" cable and restart until you see 
the problem again. If you are using a hub, connect ONLY the hub with 
nothing plugged into it and extend this startup sequence with each 
USB hub connect.

This should gradually narrow down the culprit peripheral.

If you have trouble starting up on item 5, turn off all extensions at 
startup and see if it starts up. The Cassady & Green Software, 
"Conflict Catcher" is useful in sorting out culprit extensions. I 
find it a worthwhile investment for OS 9.2.2 and lower. I really have 
not had to use it on OS X v.10.1.5. It only works if you start up in 
OS-9 as opposed to switching to "Classic" mode while in OS-X.

Good luck,

Jim, N9NGH
=========================================================


>My Mac has developed a very strange problem over the past month and it
>is driving me crazy. The machine is having difficulty starting up.
>
>It is a 400 MHz G4 with OS 9.1. I have an extra internal IDE drive and a
>
>bunch of USB devices attached to the machine
>
>I will turn the machine on and it goes into it's startup routine. It
>reaches the screen where you would begin to see the extension icons at
>the bottom and than just sits there and does nothing. You can come back
>after 20 minutes and it is still sitting there. I am having to startup
>with my emergency CD and than restart and pop the CD out. With restart,
>it is no problem at all, but if you shut the machine down, I encounter
>the situation that I am talking about.
>
>Any suggestions? I am reasonably Mac literate as I have been using Mac
>only since 1984. I have never seen a problem like this one and it has me
>
>baffled!
>
>Thanks,
>
>Dave N7RK
>
>--
>***********************************************************
>Dave  N7RK                    http://members.dancris.com/~n7rk
>Phoenix, Arizona         *DXCC Honor Roll*    *WAZ#23 - 75 Meter SSB*
>
>             ex-XE2/N7RK, N7RK/ZB2, VK2ERK, ZM0AJN, WB6NRK, WN6IWX
>
>Boatanchor Collector Extraordinaire preferring Hallicrafters, National
>and what ever else looks interesting!
>
>
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