Extension Conflict?

Question

Level 1

56 points

Extension Conflict?

Hi,

I have a clean install of OS 9.2.2 which freezes and crashes constantly. The previous clean install did the same thing. I can't get it to crash with the extensions off, but of course the applications I need to use require extensions. When I turn on even the base system extensions the OS crashes after a few minutes. It doesn't matter what application(s) are open, if any. The computer works perfectly with OS-X. Should I get a copy of "Conflict Catcher"? Which version do I need and where can I find a good deal on it? It appears to be out of print now. Thanks for your help.

Scott

466MHz "Digital Audio" G4 PowerMac 1.5GB RAM, 120GB 7200rpm HDD

Posted on Jul 30, 2007 10:25 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 2, 2007 12:04 PM in response to Scott Cook

Scott,

I used to use a shareware item called Symbionts. It was a control panel / extension which would load first and display icons and memory requirements for each control panel / extension as it loaded. More than once it allowed me to find which item was causing a startup failure.

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Answer 2

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 30, 2007 10:26 PM in response to Scott Cook

Hi,

I have a clean install of OS 9.2.2 which freezes and crashes constantly. The previous clean install did the same thing. I can't get it to crash with the extensions off, but of course the applications I need to use require extensions. When I turn on even the base system extensions the OS crashes after a few minutes. It doesn't matter what application(s) are open, if any. The computer works perfectly with OS-X. Should I get a copy of "Conflict Catcher"? Which version do I need and where can I find a good deal on it? It appears to be out of print now. Thanks for your help.

Scott

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Answer 3

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 30, 2007 10:27 PM in response to Scott Cook

I have a clean install of OS 9.2.2 which freezes and crashes constantly. The previous clean install did the same thing. I can't get it to crash with the extensions off, but of course the applications I need to use require extensions. When I turn on even the base system extensions the OS crashes after a few minutes. It doesn't matter what application(s) are open, if any. The computer works perfectly with OS-X. Should I get a copy of "Conflict Catcher"? Which version do I need and where can I find a good deal on it? It appears to be out of print now. Thanks for your help.

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Answer 4

Jul 31, 2007 12:03 AM in response to Scott Cook

Scott,

A "clean install" of OS9.2.2 ? From an OS9.2.1 retail install disk ? Or from a restore disk for your Digital Audio Mac ? That came with either OS9.1 or OS9.2.1 depending on when you bought it.

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Answer 5

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 31, 2007 10:32 AM in response to Simon Teale

It is a retail OS 9.2.1 disc. It's white with a big "9" on it. I used the Software Update to get 9.2.2 and any other updates. I downloaded a 7 day trial version of "Conflict Catcher" last night. It looks like it'll still take me all day to figure out which extension(s) are causing the problem. The only thing I know for sure is that it crashes with the base 9.2.2 extensions, but apparently not with all the extensions off. Unfortunately I can't do anything productive with the extensions off.

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Answer 6

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 31, 2007 10:37 AM in response to Scott Cook

I should have noted that OS-9 is installed on a slave hard drive. It's a 40GB Seagate 7200rpm drive in perfect working order. OS-X is on the master hard drive and it also works perfectly. Both hard drives are connected to the built in ATA-66 controller.

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Answer 7

Jul 31, 2007 10:46 AM in response to Scott Cook

Scott,

Did you start with default preferences (as part of your clean install) or did you bring them over from a previous OS9 system folder ?

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Answer 8

Jul 31, 2007 11:16 AM in response to Scott Cook

Try this.

Trash the following Preference files & reboot.
ASLM
Finder
Mac OS
System

Doing this will change some of your Control Panel settings.

 Cheers, Tom

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Answer 9

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 31, 2007 12:19 PM in response to Simon Teale

I must have started with the default because I didn't bring anything in from another system.

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Answer 10

Jul 31, 2007 1:14 PM in response to Scott Cook

Hi, Scott -

Some other things to try -

Boot with Extensions Off. Then go into the Extensions folder and look for one named PrefRestoreInit. If you find one with that name, throw it away.

Look also in the Servers folder in System Folder. Remove any aliases to servers that do not apply to your setup. Since this is a fresh install, you probably do not need to have anything in that folder.

Look in the Startup Items folder in System Folder. Remove aliases to items you do not want to be run at startup. This can include an alias to Setup Assistant.

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Answer 11

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 1, 2007 8:14 PM in response to Don Archibald

I did all of these things as instructed, but it still crashes. I ran "Conflict Catcher" but it hasn't found anything wrong yet. Would it be better to copy a known working system from another computer instead? I have OS-9 in my G3 "Icebook" that I could copy to my G4 "Digital Audio".

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Answer 12

Aug 2, 2007 1:35 AM in response to Scott Cook

Hi, Scott -

Would it be better to copy a known working system from another computer instead?

Only if the other machine were the same model as your G4 (DA) model.

Unless specific extra steps are taken at the time of installation, an OS 9 install is model-specific to the machine model it was installed upon, and will not be functional for booting when copied to a different model.

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Answer 13

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 3, 2007 10:33 PM in response to Simon Teale

It starts up okay. After it's been running for a little bit it locks up on me. The mouse pointer won't move and if the ball is spinning at the time it stops. I have to cut power to the machine and reboot. Sometimes it locks up in less than a minute and sometimes it takes over an hour. It will take forever to figure out which extension(s) is causing the problem(s) at this rate... Did I mention how much I LOVE OS-X! (laugh)

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Answer 14

Aug 4, 2007 12:24 AM in response to Scott Cook

Scott,

Have you tried all the obvious hardware things. Could be bad RAM, or badly seated RAM. When you start up what does the ASP say is in the memory slots ? Does it report as you expect ? or does it miss some slots ? or report only half the memory in a slot ?

What apps are you running normally ? Some older apps have an issue with Virtual Memory turned off (Word 5, Excel 3 did for me) and with 1.5GB in OS9, VM will be forced off.

I even question if OS9 can address more than 1GB of RAM.

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Answer 15

Scott Cook Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 4, 2007 10:39 PM in response to Simon Teale

The RAM all shows up normally, as does the other hardware.

After days of messing with "Conflict Catcher" it finally found a problem. It told me there was a problem with the file "Internet", then it ran one more test to see if other files were involved with the problem. OS-9 locked up almost immediately on that next test. After I booted it asked me if I wanted to disable the culprit(s), which I agreed to. It then restarted and I ran CroMag Rally in demo mode for over half an hour before it crashed the application and locked up again... (sigh)... CroMag Rally is such a blast! I love that game.

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