How can I get my 180 C to start up?

Question

Level 1

18 points

How can I get my 180 C to start up?

I haven't tried to start it in several years. There are some files I want to retrieve. With the battery connected it doesn't do anything. When I pull the battery out, it starts up and has a happy face and then blinks and the face becomes a question mark. I'm thinking there's a key stroke I could use to boot it without the control panels, etc. I have no floppies (thinking I'd never need them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm also trying to use and external monitor as the 180 C's isn't worth too much.
Thanks,
Charles in Winterport, Maine

180C, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier, Pre OS8

Posted on Dec 30, 2008 5:10 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 30, 2008 5:17 PM in response to frets

Hi, to bypass extensions and control panels start up holding down the shift key.

A PRAM reset is command + option + P + R though it sounds like your hard drive may not be spinning up. Can you hear it spinning, it should be fairly noisy.

There is a way to spin up the drive if it is stuck but that requires the PowerBook to be taken apart to the point you can remove the hard drive and gently swish it back and forth to try and unstick it.

If you're not familier with taking apart the PowerBook or doing this process I wouldn't recommend it. Also it could be a one time deal so you need to be ready to copy off the files you are after.

Kevin

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Answer 2

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,307 points

Dec 30, 2008 9:02 PM in response to frets

Charles,

The question-mark indicates that the computer is unable to locate a valid system folder.

Try the PRAM reset mentioned by Kevin first. See also KB article HT1781 about the Power Manager.

A disk image for a bootable floppy (the Network Access Disk 7.5 here) is available for download from Apple. However, you will need another semi-old Macintosh computer equipped with a floppy drive (and Disk Copy 4.2) in order to create the disk. If absolutely necessary, a PC can be used via a special technique.

Jan

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Answer 3

Dec 31, 2008 3:02 PM in response to frets

One other thing you could do if you have the cables is put the PowerBook in SCSI disk mode and connect it as an external hard drive to another Mac which SCSI. There were two types of cables, one that allowed you to connect SCSI peripherals and the other that had an extra pin that put the PowerBook into SCSI disk mode.

Kevin

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