About Open Firmware

Hi, I did receive a prompt reply re: booting in open firmware.
My next wierd question is in what circumstance do we need to do it? I remember doing so long ago but now I have forgotten why. I'm sure it was some kind of an emergency. Thanks. Leighla

the main reasons would be when you need to set a firmware password, change some settings on the hardware, or if you ever need/want to reset open firmware.
if you do want to reset openfirmware you would want to type these two commands
0 > reset-nvram
Press Return
0 > reset-all
Press Return

Similar Messages

What can I do with Open Firmware

can someone give me some basic commands for open firmware? I just want to tinker around with it a bit.

I'm afraid there probably won't be very many replies about a topic like that here. Messing with the Open Firmware of your iBook could, potentially, be a warranty-voiding operation. Topics about things like that void your warranty are not usually allowed here.
There aren't many Knowledge Base articles about Open Firmware, but here are two:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93772
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42642
Even after more than ten years working with Apple computer/Macintosh technical support, I've never had to do more than reset Open Firmware as described in the second link.
-Doug

Start-up problems, black screen or open firmware

My iBook G4 1.33GHz Dual USB, with 1 gb RAM memory has been troublesome lately. It's installed with the latest version of OS 10.4.9
When starting up the ibook, it will sometimes only show a black screen after the boot chime. Repeated force restart sometimes makes it boot up the open firmware (white screen).
Then I see the error message:
"Illegal instructions at: %SRR0:ff85e778 %SRR1:00081000"
When I continue on with "mac-boot", I get the blue screen with a question marked box. So it can't find the startup disk.
This usually only happens when I'm done working for the day and close the lid on my ibook without manually clicking on the sleep mode when I put in in my drawer,. I've seen several times that the screen is still on when I close the lid, so it will continue to burn battery time.
I've managed to get the ibook to boot properly after removing the battery and letting it "cool-down" for 15-20 min. Also, zapping pram, vram sometimes works, but I don't know how much that actually helped. It worked once when I typed in the reset-nvram in the open firmware screen too.
I'd rather not have this happen at all! Any suggestions? Is this the much-talked about RAM memory failure?
Any suggestions would be very appreciated.
Message was edited by: antony chen

HI,
*"I get the blue screen with a question marked box."*
That can mean several things. One, the drive is failing. Two, your iBook can't find a System Folder to boot from. Try booting while holding down the Option key which will prompt the Startup Manager window.
MemTest
Boot from your install disk and check the hard disk for errors.
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger and later) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
Select your start up disk and click Restart
While you have the Disk Utility window open, look at the bottom of the window where you see Capacity and Available. Make sure there is always 15% free disk space. Not enough disk space can cause directory corruption.
If you cannot boot from your install disk, try booting in Safe Mode
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Carolyn

PowerBook G4 boots to Open Firmware without keyboard access

Summary:
Let me provide a little backstory.
According to the [DARPA Visitor Guidelines|http://www.darpa.mil/body/visitor_guidelines.html] wireless network technology is prohibited from DARPA facilities. Laptops with a wireless card are required to be "disabled at the BIOS level".
Before an upcoming visit to DARPA I was told that I would need to make sure my laptop wireless card was disabled. I mentioned that Macs don't have BIOS but I'd look into doing it in Open Firmware. The response from DARPA was that no one has ever successfully brought an Apple laptop into the facility, and that I should procure a PC laptop for my visit. Ah, a challenge!
I booted into Open Firmware (⌘⌥OF), located the wireless card in the device tree, and removed two properties I figured the driver would be searching for: the vendor ID, and the product ID. I exited Open Firmware and continued to boot into Mac OS X v10.5.2.
Sure enough the System Profiler showed that no wireless card was installed. Success! Now I just need to make the device tree modifications persist between reboots.
It seemed the solution was to place the Open Firmware commands I issued to disable the card into nvramrc. So I set nvramrc to contain the same commands, and set use-nvramrc? to be true. I rebooted the machine but the card was still detected.
A bit [more research|http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/805-4436/6j4719c8v?a=view] revealed that the device tree is not created by Open Firmware until after the nvramrc is executed. The solution is to build the device tree in the nvramrc and tell Open Firmware not to rebuild it. The documentation states that this is accomplished with the probe-all, install-console, and banner Forth commands. I added those commands to my nvramrc and rebooted. The contents of nvramrc:
probe-all install-console banner
dev wireless
" device-id" delete-property
" vendor-id" delete-property
The outcome... well technically the laptop has wireless disabled. Almost everything is disabled. The machine now boots directly into Open Firmware with a few ominous bits of output and no response from the keyboard.
no active package
Apple PowerBook5,6 6.4.9.1f1 BootROM built on 01/21/05 at 10:51:16
Copyright 1994-2005 Apple Computer, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Welcome to Open Firmware, the system time and date is 05/06/2008 10:00:00
Command security mode
To continue booting, type "mac-boot" and press return.
To shut down, type "shut-down" and press return.
ok
0 > _
The first sign that something has gone wrong is no active package. The second message just throws another wrench into the works: Command security mode. Yes, the Open Firmware password was enabled. In retrospect this was a bad thing to have set when mucking about in OF. I knew of the RAM change trick (see below) so this was not an issue at the time.
Question:
So the question is: What actions do I need to take to return the laptop to a useable state. That is, booting into Mac OS X.
*Attempted solutions:*
+1. Reset nvram+
The first and most obvious solution is to reset nvram using the snag key combination ⌘⌥PR. Unfortunately do to the firmware password being set, [all snag keys have been disabled|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352]. This means no target disk mode (⌘T), boot from CD (⌘C), boot from network (⌘N), etc... In any case an attempt at resetting nvram yields an additional message being appended to the Open Firmware screen:
Release keys to continue!_
+2. Reset nvram after changing amount RAM in system+
Luckily there is a work-around to firmware password protection. Changing the amount of RAM installed in the machine should allow the nvram zap snag to function. I removed one of the two 512MB DIMMS in the laptop and started up while holding down ⌘⌥PR. This results in the same message as above:
Release keys to continue!_
Not so lucky.
+3. Reset the Power Management Unit+
[Resetting the Power Management (PMU)|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449] is accomplished by removing the battery and disconnecting the power cord, and then holding down the power button for about 5 seconds. This had no effect besides resetting the system clock to 01/01/1904 00:00:41.
Getting more desperate...
+4. Search logic board for CUDA+
I [opened the machine|http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G4-Al-15-Inch-1-5-1-67-BT-2-0 -LR/64] to search for a hidden [CUDA button|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86760]. As expected, a CUDA button does not exist on this model and the PMU reset is accomplished as noted in attempted solution 3.
+5. Remove internal battery+
Well the laptop is open now, so I tried removing the internal memory backup battery and revisited each of the above solutions. No success.
+6. Remove hard drive+
Again, since the laptop was open, why not remove the hard drive and see what happens. The machine wasn't even making it to the boot-loader hand-off so I didn't expect this to produce any results. No results produced.
Thinking crazy thoughts...
+7. Attempt a firmware update+
Firmware updates have a side effect of resetting the nvram. Also firmware updates are initiated very early in the startup process by holding down the power button until a tone is heard and the power light flashes. My thought was that I would grab a previous firmware update for this laptop and force it to be reapplied. Unfortunately there have been no updates to this model's firmware.
+8. Write my own firmware update script+
While investigating solution #7 I realized that the file BootROMFirmware installed by the firmware updaters for G5s and G4s machines are just Forth programs with a binary payload attached to the end. I learned [Forth|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth(programminglanguage)]. The BootROMFirmware files are really cool, since they do everything from drawing the progress bar during the update, uncompressing and check-summing the binary payload, and generally making sure you don't brick your machine. In any case it seem entirely doable to write my own program in Forth and undo the evil I did before. I really only need to flip one bit. I needed the use-nvramrc? variable set to false. So I created this very simple Forth program:
\ debrickifier
setenv use-nvramrc? false
reset-all
The original firmware file had additional attributes set, a creator and file type of fw99. So I set those two attributes on my file as well. I ran strings on the firmware installer program and guessed that it was copying the file to /System/Library/CoreServices. So this is where I placed my Forth file. Reinstalled the drive and rebooted the laptop while holding down the power key to initiate a firmware install. No dice.
Its hard to tell why this is failing. The file may in the wrong place, have the wrong permissions. From what I've reviewed in the original files, the setenv and reset-all words should be available. Maybe the Firmware Update utilities are setting some other magic in nvram before the reboot.
I think I've covered all the different major solutions that I've attempted. Their might be a few more that I've forgotten to mention (like using an external USB keyboard). I still think that getting some Forth to execute via the firmware update mechanism could use some more exploration. My current worst case is that I'll replace the logic board, although I'd hate to do that when I know there are only a few bad bits flipped in a CMOS somewhere.
I'm hoping to snag the attention of the resident hardware/firmware guru that can shed some light upon the firmware update process, but any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Mark

For your next DARPA visit, another option might be to buy the cheapest possible third-party wireless card — it doesn't even need to work. Insert it into your Powerbook's CardBus slot before visiting DARPA, and turn Airport off in System Prefs. On arrival at DARPA, remove the card from the Powerbook and hand it to the security guard. Retrieve it from the guard as you leave, and turn Airport back on again when you get home or back to your office. Unable to comply with the letter of the dunderheaded regulation because you have no BIOS, you will be complying with the spirit of it instead, and no one will be the wiser.

Long tone on start up and then goes into open firmware

I stumbled upon the older posts here and thought I'd add a solution.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6115258
It was about an emac starting up with a long tone and the led flashes a few times and then goes into Open firmware, and when doing "mac-boot" in open firmware, it attempts to start, shows the apple symbol, the screen goes dim and crashes.
It could be a bad power switch. To confirm - you can remove the emac case, be careful not to touch the motitor's picture tube. Find the cable to the power switch; with a small wire just touch together the black and red wires on the power switch cable (or it might be red and green). This will start the emac. If it boots up and runs OK then the power switch was bad. Not sure where to buy a new switch. I soldered and glued my switch together.
<Edited by Moderator>

Or, you'll find both the short pigtail-cabled nVidia graphics driven power switch and the version with a longer cable used with the AIT graphics driven models here* for a good deal less.
Note that the later ATI version can actually be used with either product generation.
*I may receive compensation as a result of parts or services being ordered by users specified at the link shown in this message.

IBook G4 - Black screen in open firmware

Hi, i have a strange problem with my iBook G4.
When switched on it chimes and starts loading but the screen is completely black (not no backlight but completely black). In otherwords it does not show the grey screen or apple logo.
Once the OS boots the blue screen comes up and everything works perfectly.
So the problem is that anything before the actual OS loads is black. That means the grey screen with apple logo, open firmware and the drive selection screen (if you boot holding ALT/OPT) are all black.
I have tried resetting the PMU, Pram and blindly (with black screen) in open firmware did reset-nram and reset-all but nothing changed.
It is a late 2004 iBook G4 1.2Ghz with 512MB ram, 30GB HD and OSX Leopard 10.5.8.

This is a strange one, isn't it?
I'd count my lucky stars that it will boot into the OS, and I'd be saving up for a new MacBook Pro (or used MacBook).
I'm going to kick this one around with some of the gang in the Lounge and see if any of them have any ideas about what may be causing this.
Good luck with it.

Strange boot bug; open firmware not working

Hi!
I have a powerbook Alu 15", 1.5Ghz. It runs OS X 10.4.2 with the latest security update. My problem started last Saturday.
The problem is that my pb will not restart nor boot on its own. The computer makes its usual chime, the hard-disk starts to spin for a few second, and then stops suddenly before anything is displayed on the screen (the display does not even light-up). If I press the option key after or before the chime, and keep it pressed, or the shift key, or the c key, or the t key, or the command-option-p-r key combination, or even the command-option-o-f key combination, the behavior is exactly the same: the disk starts to spin for a few second after the chime, and suddenly halts. The computer appears to shutdown on its own before the boot can even start.
Here is the strange part: the computer boots normally if I press the command key (this key on its own is not suppose to do anything). It also works if I press the command-s or command-v key combination. No other key combination seem to work.
Except for this strange boot behavior, the computer works flawlessly. I did not have any kernel panic for at least a year, the computer did not crash recently, everything works fine except for one small detail on which I will come back at the end.
I've tried to fix the problem by the following actions:
1) Clean install of Tiger with a new partitioning of the disk; I even zeroed the entire disk. This did not change anything so the problem is probably not OS related.
2) Reset of the PMU with the four finger salute: shift-control-option-power combination. No effect except that I lost the date/time information. Hence the reset worked.
3) Tried to reset the PRAM, but the command-option-p-r key combination does not seem to work.
4) Tried to load the open firmware with command-option-o-f, but this does not work either.
5) Memory seems ok. I have 1x256M of Apple RAM + 1x1G of RAM bought from OWC. I've had the OWC RAM for about a year without any problem. Anyway, I removed the 1G module and tried to boot on the 256M Apple module alone. Exact same behavior. Then I removed the Apple module and put back the 1G module. Exact same boot behavior. So the problem is not with my RAM, unless both modules have simultaneously developed a malfunction.
6) Tried to run the Apple hardware tests. However, for my machine, these tests come on the install DVD, in a special hidden volume. To boot on this special volume, one needs to boot with the option key depressed, and to select the boot volume from the open firmware interface. But this does not work on my machine, the computer seems to shut down before this interface can be activated!
So this problem is very strange. I can live with having to press the command key for booting my machine, but I would sure like to know what is going on here. Is the problem hardware related? Perhaps, but as I said, the machine works flawlessly except for the strange boot behavior.
Is the problem related to firmware? I think that this is the most probable option. What do you think? Maybe, the firmware got slightly corrupted? Maybe a bit got flipped in the flash memory? Is this possible? I guess so. But, what can I do? Should I contact my friendly local repairman?! I have to admit that this option scares me a little bit for such a strange problem. I would need an Apple engineer with boot related experience/expertise!
Now, here is a little bit of further information. I don't know if its related, but it is also very strange. I work with a dual screen configuration. Usually, I connect my screen and then I wake up the computer. Last week, I noticed that if I connect my second screen live, the system detects it automatically. I guess this is new to Tiger? Anyway, the strange behavior is that the computer then asks me if I want to sleep, restart or shutdown my pb, as if I had pressed the power button. But I did not press this button when I connected the dvi connector >:-o
Many thank

Hi Scott!
Almost every time the PowerBook woke after sleep, I got the 'Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now...' message.
I get this message upon wake only rarely, but every time I plug or unplug a display live.
The strange behaviour was tolerable, so I've lived with it for several months. But then when checking out the PowerBook discussions, I read about the failing lower RAM slot problems, and just out of interest, checked out my System Profiler....
Ok, so the good news is that my pb may continue to work for several months
My lower RAM slot appears to be ok for now.
Interestingly, I'm sure that the start-up problems began when I started using my PowerBook with a 23" Apple Cinema Display (a pink hued one, but that's another on-going saga) - and you too have mentioned that you use an external display, so I wonder if that's part of the cause of our start-up problems.
Yes, I've noticed the 'Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now...' message just a few days before noticing the strange boot problem (not sure if the machine booted in between). I use ViewSonic displays (one at home and one at the office), and several different projectors in different class rooms. From what I read, it is plausible that there is a link between this problem and the dvi port. Could it be that the boot sequence of mb is affected by a hardware problem on the dvi port? But not when a press the command key?!
Anyway, my machine is no longer under warranty, so I intend to live with the problem for as long as possible...
But I've been doing more regular backups since then.
Best wishes to you and your (almost) new machine!
Marc.

PowerBook G4 17" Boots into Open Firmware; Won't boot from HD or Disk

This PBG417 (1GHz/512MB/60GB) has an complex recent history directly related to this problem. It was thought to have a dead logic board, and was given to me for a very insignificant amount of money. I discovered today (at an Authorized Apple Repair center) it merely had a ribbon cable disconnected from the logic board which kept it from powering on, which, when rge cable was reconnected it did on the spot, fully booting (imagine my satisfaction). However, upon getting home, it booted into Open Firmware instead, and offedrs a choice of typing mac-boot or shut-down. Mac-boot takes it to the grey screen where the question mark/Finder guy blink and nothing happens. I put a grey PowerBook G4 17" system disk in, but not the one that shipped with it, hoping it would do. When I try to boot from disk, it goes to Open Firmware, I enter mac-boot, it goes to happy Finder with no question folder, but stays there with the optical drive occasionally making movememts and sounds. If you enter any command besides shut down or mac-boot, iot says unknown word; the command prompt itself is 0> .
I'm not sure the hard drive is seated correctly. When I got the computer, the drive was removed; I put it in an enclosure and installed Tiger on it and put it back in, but apart from connecting the ribbon cable, it just sat in its bay not fixed down. However, it booted correctly the first time it was successfully started.
Finally, the previous owner removed all 23 bottom case screws when he took out the drive and lost them; the Apple repair tech mustered up about 9 and put them in the crucial locations but it's still not screwed down everywhere, although the one time it booted correctly, it had no screws in it.
It seems the computer doesn't read the hard drive or the disk, but the hard drive mau be installed wrong and the disk, while for a 17" was not the one that shipped with this PowerBook 17". The computer is missing many case screws, bnutg booted properly only when there were none it place. I also tried resetting the PMU but am not sure I did reset it because the Apple article isn't clear about which models have which processes. I tied Target Disk Mode but it woujldn't mount/boot.
How can I get the disk out and how to make it boot to the desktop?

You can try to reset NVRAM here is KBase from apple site:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42642
and after that reset PRAM in your unit, here is the kbase:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
If needed you can also tried to reset PMU, here is the kbase:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449
Make sure you choose the correct step for your unit.
If after all the steps your unit still booting up to open firmware then there is possibility that you have corrupt NVRAM which could not be fixed by doing reset except replacing logic board.
Good luck. Hope this help
Flippo

Can't reset Open Firmware!

I have a 1GHz titanium, and it has the 'sleep of death' problem - blank screen on opening the lid from sleep. (Only happens intermittently.) It has several other 'issues' lately that are driving me nuts, but one at a time. I would like to reset the open firmware, however on this machine, when I hold cmd-option-o-f on restart it does nothing. Literally.
The machine reboots, then sits there with a blank screen. Nothing happening.
If I release the keys, it does not go into a startup, it just sits there - note the fan is making a slight noise, so technically it is not 'off', however I have to hold down the power key and restart that way.
Is there a way around this? Not a software issue, as all this happens (or rather, doesn't happen!) before anything loads.
-frustrated
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) Titanium 15" Powerbook 1GHz Superdrive

Are you able to do a pram reset? (command-option-p-r). If so, do this 3 times and then attempt to go immediately into an open firmware reset.
About the sleep issue, I had also had that problem. I performed a reset that has cleared that issue (hopefully permanently). My computer is a little different but I believe the procedure is similar. I would consult the knowledge base to see what the procedure is for doing a reset. In my case, I basically held down the reset button (located next to my modem port) without the battery out and the power cord unplugged.
Hope that helps.

Open Firmware password works or doesn't work on MBP?

I'm confused...
This article describes how to set up Open Firmware Password on Macs, including, Intel-based Macs and even states what OFP disables on Intel-based Macs when enabled:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106482
just to finish the article at the bottom with the following sentence:
"Note that Intel-based Macintosh computers do not use Open Firmware. Thesesteps do not apply to Intel-based machines."
So, what is what? OFP works or not on MBP? If yes then what works and what doesn't?
I've read one post here stating that it didn't stop booting from CD at all.
An expert advice will be appreciated.

I'm another confused MBP user.
I have a 15" MacBook Pro (MBP) and want to protect the Intel based machine using Apple's Open Firmware Application.
Since the MBP doesn't have an open firmware layer, how do you apply a firmware password? Apple's site is of no help and has conflicting information.
I tried the OF Application (V 1.1) from the Tiger install DVD and receive a message about my firmware being too old to use with the application. The MBP SMC version is 1.2f10 and the Boot ROM is version MBP11.0055.B03. Both are current.
Has anyone been successful???
thanks

Open Firmware displayed on Desktop

Hi all,
I was wondering has anyone come across a problem where open firmware is displayed on the desktop. It happened when the computer was being shutting down. The computer all of a sudden displayed the open firmware screen over the desktop, the prompt was displayed but it wasn't possible to type anything in. The computer is a 1.8Ghz G5, 10.3.9. All the fans started running and the mac was left over night. The fans were still running the nextday and it was shutdown. I had a look in the System Profiler and the only thing that I could see that was relevant was this error
localhost loginwindow[179]: sendQuitEventToApp (iCalAlarmScheduler): AESendWithMach returned error -1712
Nov 6 13:41:30 localhost kernel: AFPSleepWakeHandler: waking up
Nov 6 13:41:30 localhost mDNSResponder[138]: mDNSResponder Waking at 8751262
Nov 6 17:33:40 localhost loginwindow[179]: sendQuitEventToApp (iCalAlarmScheduler): AESendWithMach returned error -1712
Nov 6 17:33:41 localhost loginwindow[179]: halting
Nov 6 17:33:42 localhost shutdown: halt by machine_3:
Nov 6 17:33:44 localhost syslogd: exiting on signal 15
Nov 7 09:47:37 localhost syslogd: restart
Does anyone know what this error means?
Fiachra.

Fiachra:
I think it was possible to run "repair disk" while booted from the hd a couple of osx versions back.
You cannot repair the volume from which you are booted. That is why you need to boot from the install disk, or another volume, e.g. while booted from a Firewire external boot volume, or from another mac while in Firewire Target Disk Mode. You can do a certain amount of Disk Repair by Starting up in the Safe Mode.
I have read verious oppinions about which way was best to run "repair permissions" so I tough the jury was out on that one.
While you can Repair Disk Permissions while booted from the install disk doing it from the Utilities Folder on the boot disk is preferable because it examines and repairs the latest permissions on the boot volume. At least that is the rationale I have seen, which seems to make sense to me.
On the other topic, I use Tech Tool Pro regularly and I try to do it at a time when I am not using the computer for anything else so I don't have to worry about how long it is taking. Many users prefer for Disk Warrior for directory repairs, although I find TTP to be as efficient, and it does the other things as well.
Good luck.
cornelius.

Need urgent help on Sawtooth stucked at Open Firmware screen

Hello.
I've got a G4 Graphite Sawtooth Powermac running a Newertech MaxPower 2.0MHZ processor upgrade for about 3 years. It is running Leopard (10.5.8) system.
I've also installed a Seritek 1S2 card with a 500GB Sata disk.
Some days ago I've started to notice that sometimes when I did Log Off or Shut down the Mac cleaned all the desktop icons but then nothing happens.
Also, it started to freeze sometimes doing some tasks like open apps or working on Photoshop.
Today the Mac refused to boot on the main system disk (I have a secondary 80GB disk with Tigger installed on it).
Then I ran TechTool Pro Disck scan and it gave me an error on scanning the main disk.
I've booted into the Tiger disk (a 80GB one) and think to myself if this could be something to do with the Seriteck card or driver, or something related to it...
I've loaded the Seritek install CD and click the install firmware of the Seriteck disk, then I've booted and... it stucked on Open Firmware forever.
It is on the welcome screen of the open firmware and I can't do anything.
It says" To continue booting, type "mac-boot" and press return", but I can't type anything because it looks freezed. My keyboard don't respond.
I've tryed the firmware boot (that one with the long beep pressing the programmer button) at no avail.
I'm desesperate. I'm a freelancer and I've goot importante work to deliver to clients and I can't get my Mac to to boot into the system.
At this point I just want to boot normally into Tiger, Leopard, whatever.
I just need to boot and recover my works.
See screenshot of Open Firmware screen here:
http://img19.imageshack.us/i/dscn3061q.jpg/
Can someone please help?
Thank you for your time,
Macjaime

I ran TechTool Pro Disk scan and it gave me an error on scanning the main disk.
If you did a "Surface Scan", and not a "Volume Structures Repair", it is telling you there is a Bad Block on the Hard Drive.
There are two cases: It could be temporary, or it could be permanent. There are two sub-cases of each: It could be important or it could be unimportant.
When you run the test, and it tells you the Surface Scan has detected an error, you are supposed to ask it figure out what file is involved, and write it down. Then you can decide whether to delete that file and replace it with a good copy.
Bad blocks may mean your drive will not be working properly in six months, if you continue to use it full time. It could also die this afternoon -- no one knows. If you can re-initialize with Zero all Data (one pass) the drive will substitute some of its stash of spare blocks for any that remain bad after the zeroing. But of course all your data will be lost, and it takes a few hours to complete.
Some readers suggest that a drive that has had spare blocks substituted may last a long time at light duty, such as making an occasional backup.
The only article that comes up with a search for "default catch" has to do with drives that are really wacked out. It suggests you back up everything and re-initialize the drive.

Solution needed for open firmware problem

I've been helping a friend set up a G4 that another friend had given him, and the firmware got utterly trashed. Here's the problem, the donator wiped the drive for security purposes (which is completely unrelated to the open firmware corruption).
When I say that its hosed, I mean it. I've tried every boot key sequence known to man. We need to figure out how to re-install (re-flash) the firmware. Its so toasted that when the power on button on the front of the case is pressed it glows for a few secs, then when the o f is supposed to kick in, the button goes dark. There is no boot chime. When powering it down manually using the button it lights up again until the machine is off.
Let this be a cautionary tale that playing with p-ram is not the safest course.
System specs:
G4 2001 Quicksilver 733MHz
512 MB RAM.

Hi, Stealth43 -
Welcome to Apple's Discussions.
There has never been a firmware update released by Apple for a G4 Quicksilver machine, so even if were possible to re-install one (which it is not), there is none available -
Article #86117 - Firmware Updates
The temporary glowing of the power button (only when pressed) usually indicates that the PMU needs to be reset -
Article #95037 - G4 (AGP) - Resetting PMU
That article is written around a G4 (AGP) model; however, the procedure also applies to all G4s except the G4 (PCI) model, thus includes QuickSilvers. The location of the PMU button varies from model to model; the location of it for a Quicksilver is shown on this diagram -
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9686/qsdalogicbd8aa.jpg
Note the warning about pressing the PMU button only once. Holding it down for a few seconds (5 to 10 or so) is okay, but do not press it again until the machine has been power-cycled.
In addition, if the battery in that machine has never been replaced it is time to do so - it has an expected life of only 4 to 5 years under ideal conditions. A too-weak or dead battery can cause booting problems. You can get a replacement at places like Radio Shack for about US$16, cheaper on-line.

Console Mode with third-party PCI card w/ open firmware bios,Open Boot Info

PPC macs used open firmware to boot, and their videocards contained forth code in their rom. There are even custom roms for PC video cards which contain code for the PPC mac open firmware.
Could such a card be initialized as the primary display device on an Ultra 5?
I'm betting I'm going to be answered with 'use a sun branded card'. I can't imagine the rom on these cards is so much different than that used on the PPC mac?
What exactly does Open Boot do to find a videocard? Are there any documents on this? I assume it finds some forth routine in the cards rom and runs that to initialize it and identify it's capabilities? Again, I would really appreciate some direction on where to look for docs.
I'm confused on the difference between openfirmware (apparently a spec), and open boot (sun's implementation? Are all implementations compatible with eachother?)
http://www.openbios.org/Welcome_to_OpenBIOS
"Open Firmware is found on many servers and workstations and there are several commercial implementations from SUN, Firmworks, CodeGen, Apple, IBM and others."
Additionaly, what is the sun4u architecture? sun4v architecture? Which workstations are which? System handbook doesn't seem to say under 'hardware specs'.
So, if all else fails and using a card with an openfirmware rom doesn't help me, how do I go about doing this myself?
I know how to work VGA console mode via the stardard vga registers, Is there a way to get open boot to do exactly what I tell it in terms of registers and addresses?
Can I get an uncompiled form of my Open Boot Prom for my Ultra 5?
All I'm really looking for is good docs/source on how Open Boot/ Open Firmware work, specificly conerning PCI video devices.
Thanks for any tips.

I haven't looked at anything beyond the OpenBoot level.
I've been neglecting this project for some time.
I just wanted to let anyone else in my situation know that the sun OpenBoot documentation was very helpfull in my sucessfully setting a mode with the card.
I don't know how the OS and later OpenWidows interact with the card, or with the information OpenBoot has about it, and it's current mode.
I hadn't really looked at any of that yet. Though this information will probably show up as soon as I bother to look for it, it'd be nice if some one recommends a specific doc, or has a short answer about the topic.
There happens to be an open source driver for my card, for XFree86 and Xorg, however, I've had enough of a challenge merely using OpenWindows.
/etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/XFree86.conf
Where are simmilar files for OpenWindows? Again, it's probably in some docs I haven't bothered to read yet.
Sparcy: Weird that the card has Fcode and OpenBoot doesn't add it's package to the device tree. I assume it treats it like a non Fcode PCI card? Does it recognize the contents of the PCI base address registers? Try proding it's PCI registers and see if they behave as expected.
If the card is actually working and you can read the expansion rom I don't see why the Fcode didn't work. Maybe it has a later incompatible Fcode revision? Open boot 4.x 5.x? sun4u as opposed to something else? Or maybe the Fcode was designed to lock the card to a certain type of system (I doubt that).
http://www.sunshack.org/data/bootroms.html
Newer versions of openboot, and new hardware series listed at that link. Where's a more complete list?
Oh well, I guess I should bother to read up on this more thoroughly and finish the job.
Let me know if you find out what the problem was, or if you try that MAC card. Thanks.

ATI X800 Launches open firmware at startup ?!?

I've just installed my new graphics card, and whenever I boot the machine, I get an unfamiliar beep, a longish pause with a black screen, and then the open firmware screen. From here, I'm prompted to type "mac-boot," and once I do, the machine seems to start up normally.
Is it supposed to do that? I'm pretty sure I've got the most up-to-date driver (the August 2005 update from ATI) and the most recent ATI Displays utility...
Any Ideas?
Thanks in advance...
PowerMac G5 Dual 2 Ghz (June 2004) Mac OS X (10.4.3) 3gb RAM, ATI x 800 XT Mac Edition

That figures (re:ATI tech support). I was surprised that I couldn't find any other posts about this problem on the web. I hadn't installed the card until after I'd already done the 10.4.4 upgrade, so I was guessing it was a new problem with 10.4.4, but I see you're still running 10.4.3. I don't hold out much hope for repair/replacement since we're seeing the exact same problem, on essentially the exact same computer (June '04 2x2 G5, 3.5 GB ram in mine, 3 in yours). I'll post back here if I learn anything new.
-Ed

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