EnderBuddy
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Q: Macintosh Powerbook Duo 230 with a disk and a question mark

I have a 1992 Macintosh Powerbook Duo 230 and when I start it up, I get a blank screen with a floppy disk and a question mark in the center. I have an external floppy reader but no disks. I do believe i don't need any floppy disks to run OS X on it but I'm not sure. Is there any way I can get OS X to run again?

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Posted on Oct 14, 2015 5:54 PM

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Q: Macintosh Powerbook Duo 230 with a disk and a question mark

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  • by Jan Hedlund,

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Oct 15, 2015 12:00 AM in response to EnderBuddy
    Level 6 (9,869 points)
    Oct 15, 2015 12:00 AM in response to EnderBuddy

    To begin with, you may want to try a PRAM reset. Press the four keys Command(Apple) + Option + P + R immediately at the startup sound. Keep the keys depressed until there is a second sound.

     

    Unfortunately, it is not possible to run Mac OS X on a PowerBook Duo 230. The supported operating system versions are shown in the Macintosh PowerBook Duo 230: Technical Specifications.

     

    In order to make a bootable floppy from a disk image such as the Network Access Disk 7.5 (http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/Network_Access_Disk_7.5.sea.bin), one would normally need another old (pre-1998) computer with a (built-in) floppy drive, together with an appropriate version (for example, 4.0.1 or 5.5) of StuffIt Expander and the application Disk Copy 4.2 (http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English -North_American/Macintosh/Utilities/Disk_Copy/Disk_Copy_4.2.sea.bin).

     

    If absolutely necessary, one can use a special technique with an older Windows computer (with a floppy drive) to create bootable Mac floppies from certain disk images.

  • by Jan Hedlund,

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Oct 17, 2015 12:29 AM in response to Jan Hedlund
    Level 6 (9,869 points)
    Oct 17, 2015 12:29 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

    Correction

     

    >one would normally need another old (pre-1998) computer with a (built-in) floppy drive

     

    That is, a Macintosh computer with a floppy drive that can handle 1.44 MB disks (in addition to 800K). It means a machine from approx. 1991 to 1997.

     

     

     

    Addendum

     

    A PowerBook Duo 230 would, normally, boot from the internal hard drive. However, a problem with the PRAM can lead to an inability to locate a valid system folder, thus preventing a proper startup. That is why a PRAM reset is recommended as a first step. If this does not work, one would have to use the external floppy drive and an appropriate startup disk. The Network Access Disk 7.5 floppy is capable of booting a PowerBook Duo 230. It would also let you check whether the internal hard disk appears as an icon on the Desktop. If not, a Disk Tools floppy may be required instead (allowing you to examine the SCSI bus, and, if necessary/possible, to update the hard disk drive driver software).

     

    Do not hesitate to post back for additional information. If so, please provide some details about what other computers (and peripherals) you have access to; that would make it easier to suggest a method for creating or modifying floppies.