BlueSCSI and System Switcher basic question

[SasquatcherGeneral]

Hello! I recently bought a Mac SE (1MB with 20MB HD), which is my first compact Mac since my beloved Mac Plus back in 1989.

Unfortunately, after one night setting up some BlueSCSI drives, I've accidentally turned it into a dedicated Dark Castle machine.

Setting up the SD card with multiple HD images worked fine, but it refused to run games that usually started from a floppy, like Dark Castle & Beyond Dark Castle. The error message suggested that there wasn't enough memory for the game and the Finder, and the easiest solution was to boot from the floppy drive. Instead of making a new floppy, I tried to use the System Switcher app to boot into the Dark Castle folder on one of my disk images. That worked fine, but now the computer always boots into Dark Castle if I have the BlueSCSI device installed.

I've tried several recommended key combinations I've seen mentioned online to choose a different boot device on startup, but none seem to work.

Is there a solution besides erasing my SD card and starting over with new images?

Also: What is the correct way to do what I was trying to do, temporarily booting into a floppy image? Is it possible without physical floppies, or one of the floppy emulator devices I've seen?

Thanks in advance for any info to what is no doubt a newbie question. My old Mac didn't even have a hard drive!

Chuck

 

[JDW]

Seems you used System Picker and now you can only boot into Dark Castle and quitting restarts the Mac. Meaning, you seem unable to get to the Desktop in order to use System Picker and fix the problem.

My advise is to not use BlueSCSI as a substitute for a FloppyEMU. I use my FloppyEMU for booting directly into various floppy disk images, and that works well. The FloppyEMU also rescues me whenever I have a critical problem with my BlueSCSI that cannot be resolved by other means. Meaning, I can sometimes boot from my FloppyEMU and then access my BlueSCSI drives to resolve the problem.

Even if you lack a FloppyEMU, if you had a real boot floppy that could boot to the Desktop, you could then theoretically access System Picker, then choose a good System Folder on your BlueSCSI, then boot from your BlueSCSI and all would be well.

Another thing I do is setup the Basilisk II emulator to access my BlueSCSI drives. Then I don't need to boot from a real floppy or FloppyEMU.

A great new alternative is Eric Helgesson's BlueSCSI compatible Mini vMac versions, which allow you to boot from any bootable disk image, and then you can mount your BlueSCSI drive volumes. Once you have access to your BlueSCSI volume, just delete off that Dark Castle system folder and all should be well the next time you use it on your SE.

 

[eric]

While I love and have a FloppyEMU, and it would solve this problem by avoiding it, I don't think buying another storage solution to play floppy games due to memory constraints is the right solution here.

I'd first start looking at a 4mb memory upgrade - I think that'd be a better "bang for your buck" here.

Second, what OS are you running? You should be able to quit the Finder or turn off MultiFinder to save some memory. I know there are some utilities to help with just this situation back in the day though I'm blanking on the names (will post if I can find them)

Honestly a 10 pack of 800k disks is pretty inexpensive - if your floppy drive works maybe write some disks and you'll get those sweet nostalgic floppy seek sounds.

Lastly If you used system picker it "unblessed" the old system folder, so just removing the dark castle system folder likely wont be enough as you'll have to re-bless the old one. Order of operations here might be to boot an emulator using a clean 6.0.8 image. Drag in the broken image and delete the dark castle system. Use system picker again to bless the system folder you wish.

Note on Windows (and Mac now!) you can use CiderPress2 to modify drive images without an emulator.

 

[Drake]

The penultimate solution is to purchase a Quadra 900 system and hand solder 16 units of 256mb 30p ram sticks. You'll be all set.

 

[KennyPowers]

I've accidentally turned it into a dedicated Dark Castle machine.

Where's the problem?

Seriously though, I would use an emulator to switch back to your old system folder and then look for a 4mb memory expansion like @eric described.

 

[SasquatcherGeneral]

Where's the problem?

Exactly! For a while I wondered if it were a problem worth fixing. But I need to be able to at least switch between Dark Castle and HyperCard!

Thanks everybody for the tips. I've ordered a RAM upgrade -- I'm assuming that swapping RAM on a Mac SE doesn't require any special equipment? IIRC in the old days it required something called a "case cracker."

And in the meantime, I'll try to fix my SD card with an emulator.

Honestly a 10 pack of 800k disks is pretty inexpensive - if your floppy drive works maybe write some disks and you'll get those sweet nostalgic floppy seek sounds.

Ha, the sound of my Mac Plus ejecting disks is permanently burned into my brain, and it's traumatic, not nostalgic! I'd thought that getting a Mac with a hard drive would've made all my bad memories go away. (But for this specific issue, of games that run off one or two disks, it sounds like a good idea. I've still got my Dark Castle disk somewhere around here, assuming it's still readable after all these years).

 

[chuck.dubuque]

The case cracker is harder to find these days. You WILL need a long shaft Torx T15 screwdriver to remove the screws under the handle (at least 15cm long) And I have found that a set of plastic spudgers is gentle enough to loosen the plastic around the case so you can pull the back half off without damaging the plastic. I probably would not use an original case cracker on the now 30-40 year old plastics. It gets a little harder if sometime in the past anyone has spilled something that has now dried in the case cracks -- but be patient and spudger all around the case until it's loose.

Also be careful with the high voltage components and CRT. There are lots of videos and guides to opening the case on the internet.

 

[phipli]

Thanks everybody for the tips. I've ordered a RAM upgrade -- I'm assuming that swapping RAM on a Mac SE doesn't require any special equipment? IIRC in the old days it required something called a "case cracker."

The main thing is you need the long T15 drive as mentioned. Then with the 4 screws removed, the trick to opening it without a mac cracker is to put the SE face down on the bed (not near the edge), and using the flats of your hands, sharply but not too hard, bring them together like you're clapping on each side, and lift at the same time with a little grab / snatch movement. It makes a small air pressure pulse inside the SE that briefly helps the front detach, and the bedding stops you dropping it or causing any damage to the front

I suspect this wasn't the method used by Apple techs, but it works well enough and you kind of get a knack for it.

More generally - I'd put a second bootable drive with a separate SCSI ID on the BlueSCSI, and the one keyboard shortcut that generally works on older machines (I could be wrong, sorry if I am) is Cmd+opt+shift+backspace. That disables the boot disk saved in PRAM and boots from the next available device. You can then use System Picker to pick a different system (on the second "drive", the first one (i.e. the Dark Castle Disk) wont show up on the desktop because of cmd+opt+shift+backspace) and restart. Then the Dark Castle Kiosk disk will appear on the desktop as a second drive and you can use System Picker again to select your original system folder on that disk.

You should be able to do this with what you have before the new RAM arrives. As someone said above, make sure you're not using Multi Finder and are using System 6.0.x generally if you don't have much RAM. But in this specific instance I think Dark Castle needs... like System 4.3, perhaps 5.x(?) Or older. There are later or patched versions, but my copy certainly doesn't like running in System 6 or later. Someone else will know the requirements for Dark Castle better than me - its a bit before my time :s

Good luck! SEs are one of the best macs. Don't listen to other people with their Quadras and SE/30s and PPC. Its all about making silly stacks in HyperCard on an SE and playing Lemmings and Prince of Persia.

 

[SasquatcherGeneral]

Thanks again to everyone for the tips! It's kind of funny: for years, I've been dismissive of just running an emulator, since it doesn't feel the same as running a classic Mac. But now that I've got a classic Mac and have been running Basilisk to set up SD cards, I'm really appreciating how much nicer and more convenient it is to run an emulator!

For replacing the memory on a Mac SE: I've heard enough warnings about the dangers of the CRT that I'm properly nervous about doing it myself.

Is a SIMM replacement/upgrade even something I should be attempting if I don't know what I'm doing? I'd originally assumed that the motherboard was far enough away from the CRT to not cause any problems, but am realizing now that I don't even know exactly what parts of the interior are likely to hold onto a charge. Is it a requirement to discharge the CRT first (I've seen a few videos that don't bother to do that, or at least don't show it), or is it simply a recommendation?

 

[Paolo B]

Discharging the CRT is always the way to go. It’s indeed not that complicated, there are plenty of tutorials on how to make it in the safest way.
For example, download the Larry Pina book and you will find good guidance there.
However, it’s also good to know that almost all the compact Macs use a bleeding resistor which discharges the CRT in a few seconds after switching it off.
I suggest that you download the SE Service Manual and go step by step.
The major hurdle for a novice is probably opening the case: beside the long neck screwdriver, sometimes the rear case is so tight that it feels like it will never come apart… But it will!
The highest risk in my opinion is to accidentally crack the neck of the CRT, but there’s no reason why you should be messing around with it.
As for replacing the ram modules, it’s indeed simple.
So, good luck and have fun!

 

[JDW]

@SasquatcherGeneral
I think @Paolo B makes an excellent point about the CRT neck, so you definitely want to give due consideration to that.

I've made several videos about CRT discharge, and the one below (which leads you to the correct time stamp) shows the latest info, including the exact alligator clips I use at both ends of the discharging wire:

(Amazon link to the large alligator clips found in the text description beneath the video when it is viewed on YouTube.)

 

[phipli]

Is a SIMM replacement/upgrade even something I should be attempting if I don't know what I'm doing?

You'll be fine.

The main trap is that there is a little latch on the big many pin connector in the middle of the board. It is on the far side so you can't see it. With the CRT neck not far above it, you want to make sure you push that latch, and then rock the connector side to side rather than pulling on it. If you just pull on it the chances of you breaking the neck on the CRT is somewhere approaching 100%, especially if you don't realise that the latch is there.

Oh, also, take your time removing the board, because the speaker cable needs unplugging as you remove the board.

With regards to the CRT charge, I'm about to get shouted at, but if you leave it unplugged for a week before you work on it, it wont be holding a charge - I'm rarely in a rush and just leave it long enough for the capacitors to discharge, even if the discharge resistor is broken. I usually leave it a couple of days. I always have plenty of other things to be doing.

I guess what I would really say is possibly do both. The thought someone powering down a machine and immediately discharging the CRT then believing everything is safe makes me slightly nervous in case an error was made in the process. While the passive way is always going to happen and the risk is things like... someone else plugging it in while you're not there or an enormous EM field and a coil in the machine resulting in the caps building a charge... at the same time the bleed resistor happens to have failed.

 

[JDW]

...if you leave it unplugged for a week before you work on it, it wont be holding a charge.

It's a great suggestion that works well!

There's also another technique put forth by Thomas Lee, EE Professor at Stanford and author of the Classic Mac Repair Notes. Many years ago he shared his technique: Power on, crank up the brightness all the way, then yank out the power cord. Yep. That's it. I've been preaching that lesser-known trick for many years.