Max HD size on PowerBook 180 (100 series) ?

[Sideburn]

I’ve got a PB180 that I put a BlueSCSI in and it’s working great with a 500mb disk image but I put a 2GB image in and I get the happy chime, happy Mac icon, and then a death chime.

is there a maximum partition size on these PowerBooks?

 

[Sideburn]

A little more details. So the 2GB image has the exact small content as the working 500mb image. I copied the data from the 509 to the 2GB. And the 2GB sd card DOES mount on the PB180 using the db25 external BlueSCSI. It’s just not happy in the internal BlueSCSI.

I’m assuming it has something to do with the PowerBook 100 series and the limitations of it being an internal drive ?

 

[eric]

I don't believe there should be any difference internal or external, there is only one SCSI chip. Are both the internal and external v2? Are they both updated to the same version? Do they both have termination on?

 

[Sideburn]

Yes both new v2’s from Androda. Very strange. I can take the sd card and put it in my external and plug into the PB and mount it and copy files then take the sd card and put it in the internal and power up and I get the happymac and then the death chime sound but the happy Mac stays on the screen. I’ve set the Id to 0 when putting in internal.

I then take the same sd card and copy my original 500mb image onto it and delete the 2GB one, same file name. And then it boots up without issue.

 

[3lectr1c]

My 180c and 170 both have 2GB images on them that boot just fine.
170 is a V2 and 180c is a F4Lite (v1-based).

 

[Sideburn]

Dang. I don’t know what’s up with it then.

 

[Sideburn]

Thanks for the reassurance guys, I just cracked it back open and this time i left the 500MB boot image in there and then ADDED an additional 2GB image and that has showed up on the desktop. SO I am copying the files from the boot disk to it then I will try rebooting with the 2GB as the startup disk. If all goes well I will then replace the boot disk on ID 0 with the 2GB one and see what happens.

 

[Sideburn]

OK it's confirmed now. My PB180 will not boot form a 2GB disk image no matter what SCSI ID it is on.
The disks all mount on the desktop but setting the 2GB as the startup disk gets a sad mac.
I tried it on ID 2 and ID 0

 

[Garrett]

What is in that ini file? The PowerBook shouldn't require one (not sure if that's causing your problems or not). Maybe try removing it?

 

[eric]

Also please attach the err and log file

 

[Sideburn]

I think the Ini has the mods for a mac plus in it.
files attached:

 

[eric]

Few things - please delete the ini file, none of that is needed unless it is a Mac Plus or Mac Portable.

Second please update to the latest version of BlueSCSI v2

We should take a step back and just start with the initial Trouble Shooting steps in the wiki - be sure to go through each (please don't skip any) and then post your log or err log once done.

 

[Sideburn]

DARN i just put it all back together again. Getting a little concerned about taking the thing apart and back so many times.
Considering throwing in the towel on this one since two 500MB internal drives is plenty. But I am curious why it isn't working so I'm on the fence...

It's too bad you have to take it apart to get to the sd card. And the plastic is so brittle. I dont want an "if it aint broke, fix it til it is syndrome" since ive finally got everything working perfectly now aside from the 2gb issue...

This MacBook is in pristine condition now even the display has been replaced with a perfect one with zero tunneling effect so I am afraid of pushing my luck too far with it.

I do have another PB180 in not so good cosmetic condition with already broken brittle case screws that i could use as a test board but I dont have another internal BlueSCSI to try with it.

The one I do have is only a month or so old from Android and it looks like its got the April 10, 2023 firmware. the reason it has that ini is i also have a Portable and a plus so i used the same disk images and files.

I would take this one back apart again one more time if it was known that I could get a 2GB working otherwise I think i should hold off on using it as a troubleshooting box. its already spooked me a couple times with death chimes on power up and non working trackballs. and I'd hate for the brittle plastic to crack form screwing it back together so many times.

 

[Sideburn]

just found this thread on the error code I was getting: https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/mac-iici-startup-sad-mac-error-code-0000000f-00007fff.6165/

Looks like it might be a system file issue.
The system on my current 500MB disk image is system 7.1 with the required system enabler.,
Could simply copying that system file to the 2GB Disk image be a problem? Would I need ot actually run the installer and do a true install onto the new disk image?

 

[lilliputian]

just found this thread on the error code I was getting: https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/mac-iici-startup-sad-mac-error-code-0000000f-00007fff.6165/

Looks like it might be a system file issue.
The system on my current 500MB disk image is system 7.1 with the required system enabler.,
Could simply copying that system file to the 2GB Disk image be a problem? Would I need ot actually run the installer and do a true install onto the new disk image?

System Enablers can be copied from another drive, it does not need to be placed by the installer. However, a normal error for a wrong or missing enabler is simply being told that the System is incompatible with your machine, not the Sad Mac screen.

 

[Sideburn]

I’ll probably open it back up again tomorrow and remove the init, log, and error files and add an additional 2GB image to experiment with since it mounts ok. Not sure about updating the firmware. I wonder if the April 10 version that’s on it is recent enough. The main concern is is probably have to pull the BlueSCSI out to do it and not sure if it’s worth opening the machine back up that far since i can just slightly life it to get to the sd card only.

 

[3lectr1c]

I wouldn't be very surprised if the Mac Plus fix was causing trouble here. The main concern with taking it apart too many times is damage to the interconnect cable. It's deceptively fragile! Internal sound doesn't work on my 170 anymore, and it quit working right after taking it apart. I highly suspect internal damage to that cable is at fault. It's been known to happen.

 

[Sideburn]

Hmm well shoot… yeah exactly. I’ve opened it up and back about 10 times now probably! had to fix the board, put a new button cell battery in and then mucking around with the BlueSCSI. Debating if I do it one more time….

** OK I'm going in one more time! LOL at least now I have a technique where i can get to the SD card with minimal case opening. I remove the screws then pull back just enough to lift the front right up enough to get to the card and then put the battery cover back on to hold it together.

 

[3lectr1c]

It’s probably going to be fine, just be careful not to flex the cable too much.

 

[Sideburn]

OK done.
Still no go as a boot disk. No error file, only a log file generated, attached