where can i get help for my Mac LC 520 with OS 7.5

When starting from a tools disk, does the hard disk appear in Disk First Aid? If yes, run a test (repair if necessary/possible).

Would HD SC Setup detect the hard drive? If so, be careful not to initialise if the disk contains valuable information. You may want to try a driver update, though (but you should really have backup copies of important files before doing so).

What happens if you try to reset the PRAM?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

Has the 3.6 V logic board battery voltage been checked (at least approx. 3.2 V would be OK)?

Jan

>disk tools and HD SC setup don't see HD

Are you using a Disk Tools floppy from an original (System 7.1?) disk set? Do you know whether the original hard drive is installed, or whether it has been replaced by a third-party unit at some point?

>option-apple-r-p will not get to extentions window

Does the computer restart (and can you hear the startup sound for a second time) while holding down these four keys?

>Is there a download for os 7.5 to fix hd like there is for os-x

The latest version of Apple HD SC Setup available for download is 7.3.5.

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/

Apple HD SC Setup is intended for Apple hard drives. For a third-party drive, one would use a third-party formatting utility for SCSI disks.

A hardware issue cannot be ruled out.

Jan

Did the attempted PRAM reset result in a restart with a second startup sound (see above)?

Any difference in HD SC Setup if you start from the Disk Tools floppy while holding down the four keys Command(Apple) + Option(Alt) + Shift + Delete(Backspace)?

Do you have any other formatting utility? Do you have access to another older Macintosh computer (with a floppy drive)?

Jan

It is good to have a few third-party disk utilities available (for example, Mt. Everything, and one or two formatting programs).

Apple's Drive Setup 1.7.3 can often be useful, although Apple HD SC Setup 7.3.5 should be considered the primary program for a SCSI drive like this.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1249

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/Drive_Setup/

However, without access to a fully working old Mac, it may be difficult to modify startup disks to hold new applications. Even the decoding of downloaded and transferred .bin files would not be easy.

We cannot rule out that the internal hard drive itself is faulty. Is there a sound of a spinning hard disk at all? It may also become necessary to check cables and connectors, and perhaps electronic components on the logic board (leaking/bulging electrolytic capacitors have been known to create various problems in many older computers).

Since it appears to be possible to start your Mac from either a floppy or from a CD, you could also try to connect a second SCSI hard drive (in an external enclosure) to the SCSI port.

Jan

It is normally possible to download Macintosh program files (usually encoded .bin or .hqx, or compressed .sit) to a PC, and then transfer them to an older Mac. When doing so, keep the files as they are; do not try to decode or decompress on the PC. Once on the old Mac, a utility called StuffIt Expander is used for the decoding/decompression. If a suitable version (4.0.1 or 5.5 here) of StuffIt Expander is not available, the following is a method of obtaining a Macintosh installer via a Windows computer:

If no appropriate version of StuffIt Expander for Macintosh is available, try this: Use a PC to download the MACDISK.EXE file via the link below. Prepare an empty PC-formatted 1.44 MB diskette via FORMAT A: in DOS or the full formatting option under Windows (this is important). Launch this MACDISK.EXE on the PC. Follow the on-screen directions. The result will be an automatically reformatted Mac floppy disk, which contains a ready-to-use StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 installer.

http://rrzs42.uni-regensburg.de/Macintosh/files/macftp.html

However, in this very case the situation is a bit more complicated. If you start from a CD, you would have to use the small space on one or more floppies for the actual handling of files. This may or may not work, partly depending upon how the limited operating system on the CD would act.

A user's guide for the LC 520 (and for the Performa 500 series) can be downloaded from Apple.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/0304220AGSLC520.pdf

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/0306355BPRF500UG.pdf

Jan

Normally, the Extensions off message (in the Welcome to Macintosh window) only appears if you press Shift at startup. Release Shift. If you then wish to rebuild the Desktop, immediately press Command(Apple) and Option(Alt). A new message, asking whether you really want to rebuild the Desktop, will appear.

Jan

Does the computer hang/freeze at the Welcome to Macintosh (Extensions off) window, or does the startup process continue automatically (as it should) to the Desktop?

Jan