Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I rebuilt the desktop in OS9 on both drives (took 2 hours!) and ran Disk Utility to repair permissions on the internal hard drive. I booted from the Tiger install DVD and ran Disk Utility on both discs to repair, etc. I even dragged a copy of my Tiger System onto the external drive so that the iMac would "see" OSX files on this drive too. I've downloaded and installed the updated firmware for my external Lacie drive and I can now boot OSX in safe mode and enjoy seeing my firewire disc on the desktop for more than 2 minutes! Trouble is, if I reboot 'normally' then I still get the dreaded "restart" message after 2 minutes. If I UNPLUG the firewire drive as I reboot then all is well with the iMac, including the attached firewire CD burner. But the minute I plug the hard drive back in I have 2 minutes of life left before I have to restart :-(
So.....I CAN use OSX 10.4.2 with my external firewire drive for an unlimited period as long as I reboot OSX in safe mode. My Kensington Turboball still functions in safe mode (the only "third party" product), so what exactly am I missing by only running OSX Tiger in safe mode, and could this mean that something in the standard reboot mode is causing the firewire problem? Oh, and sorry for "shouting" in my original email header. I'll now keep all noisy verbals specifically for the computer every 2 minutes when I do my tedius reboots :-) Kev (iMac G3 DV/400, 320 megs memory, Lacie Firewire external drive, OS 10.4.2 and 9.2.2 on internal boot drive) -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
