thanks everyone for your suggestions. The problem is fixed for now - it seems like (klutz me, good thinking Magnus!) the problem this time was the power adapter, which had been half pulled out from the powerboard under my desk.
But I suspect there's more than one thing happening here, because I'm sure that wasn't it the other times I've had this trouble. I think it may have something to do with the instruction set behind the system folder in ROM (is that the 'firmware'?). Last time I had this sort of trouble, it went through a funny process where at first it wouldn't read the system off a floppy, then about 12 hours later it would boot off the floppy but not the hard drive, then after leaving it overnight it started off the HD straight off. I'd be interested if anyone knows about this stuff, because I suppose it'll happen again. I've also had similar trouble with a PB 100 that I tried to get going for a friend, except in that case I could never get it going after repeated tries with different systems on floppies. I've read somewhere that the basic operating info in ROM can be corrupted by crashing at low power, especially on the 100. I've also had word processing files corrupted beyond repair from trying to squeeze the last bit of juice out of my batteries on a planeŠ So thanks again everyone, especially Magnus! I'm pleased to hear I'm not alone with this, and wonder if anyone is able to shed more light into this twilight zone on the other side of startupŠ -- John -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> 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/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
