PowerBook 145

That model used a notebook SCSI drive with a 40 pin connector. I have no idea where you find one to replace it.

However, from what you describe it's likely the drive is still functional but you may need to reformat it and reinstall Mac OS.

Not sure if it's worth the effort, though. You would need a fully bootable set of floppies with OS 8.x to get it working.

Hi,

You could try to reset the PRAM to begin with. To reset the Power Manager would not hurt either (although probably not effective in this very case).

Do you have access to a Disk Tools floppy for the PowerBook 145? If so, you may want to run Disk First Aid first (repair the hard disk if necessary). Then it might be a good idea to update the hard disk drive driver via the corresponding command in Apple HD SC Setup (do not initialise, at least not now). With a driver update there is a certain risk of detection difficulties if something goes wrong, so be careful if you have important files that have not been backed up.

The PB 145 can handle systems 7.0.1 to 7.6.1. System 7.0.1 is available for download from Apple (for instance, British and North American English versions). So is System 7.5.3 (e.g., British and North American), but 7.0.1 is usually better for this machine (and contains a bootable tools disk). A Mac with a floppy drive will be needed to create sector-copied 7.0.1 floppies from disk images.

Information about the SCSI hard drive can be found, for example, in the PB 140 document here.

Jan

Hard to tell, but if Disk Tools couldn't find a valid drive, then it may no longer be any good. I doubt you'd find a replacement except on the used parts market or one of the several online vendors that sell parts for old Mac computers. May find them using Google.

I tried booting to a Disk Tools floppy and the utilities were unable to locate an SCSI drive.

Apple HD SC Setup on the original Disk Tools floppy may have difficulties recognising a hard drive. This is especially true if it is a non-Apple drive, or if the hard disk has been reformatted by a third-party utility. If so, a third-party program may be needed. Apple's Drive Setup 1.7.3 is also more capable than HD SC Setup in this respect.

Drive Setup 1.7.3 can be placed on a modified Network Access Disk 7.5 ( here) floppy. Please post back for instructions if of interest.

It may not be a bad idea to at least check whether something like Mt. Everything can detect the hard drive (see also this section of the manual).

Jan

Hi again,

You are going to need another semi-old Mac with a built-in (1.44 MB) floppy drive for this. That does not have to be the computer where the actual downloads are carried out; you could transfer the downloaded files to the Mac.

Download the Network Access Disk 7.5 (link above). Use StuffIt Expander to decode the .bin. This should decompress the .sea, too. Make a bootable floppy from the disk image in the folder via Disk Copy 4.2 (the Make A Copy button). This floppy can be used as a general startup disk but does not contain any disk utilities.

Download Drive Setup 1.7.3 (link above). Use StuffIt Expander to decode the .bin. Double-click on the .smi to mount the self-mounting image. Temporarily drag-copy the Drive Setup program from the mounted image to the hard disk.

The Network Access floppy does not have enough space to hold Drive Setup 1.7.3. Thus, the disk has to be modified: Move the System suitcase out of the Network Access System Folder. Place the System suitcase on the base level of the floppy. Next, move the entire remaining System Folder to the Trash. Empty the Trash (the Special menu). The only file on the floppy at this point would be the System. Then, copy the Drive Setup program to the floppy disk. Finally, rename the Drive Setup program (call it Finder).

The modified floppy is bootable and will give direct access to Drive Setup.

Jan