Help! zapping PRAM has lost my drive!

I was working my way through various trouble-shooting routines and read something here which led me to try zapping the PRAM (control-optionP+R on restart) which gave me the expected two chimes but left me with a blinking disk icon with a question mark on it. I remember this from OS9 days as a 'no startup disk found' alert. Neither a normal 'hard' restart or power-down/power-up has fixed it. What's going on?
I should mention this is a Quicksilver G4 running 10.3.6 and the issue I was trying to fix was the occasional defaulting to VGA screen resolution on start-up. The flashing '?' icon is appearing in VGA resolution too. Can anyone help?

Ok, following a long search of various mac fora, in which I realised that the problem is a missing system folder rather than startup disk, I discovered that booting while holding the option key down lets you choose between available system folders.. and it did! HUGE sigh of relief!
I still have the original problem(s) though.. could all this weird behaviour - VGA startup screen / blinking '?' after zapping PRAM / some (unresolved) issues with the firewire bus - point to a problem with the PRAM battery?
Thanks in advance of any reply.

Similar Messages

HT4798 My macbookair 11ich has lost the drive that go into it for a new pass word

My macbookair 11inch for a new password have lost my drive that go into it and with my apple iPad
The password must go into my macbookair as well yes or no
Is it still the way with Mac OS X
To restart
Aim out of the UK in Cyprus can you help me put a new pass word in with no the software reinstall drive
Stephen sharwin

If the phone is restored, it's like a brand new phone software/data-wise. You cannot track it.

HELP - New 3GS has lost all sounds

I have no sound at all, no phone ring, no keyboard sounds, no text message sounds, no sound when I unlock. In other words, NO SOUNDS AT ALL.
I have only had it for a week, and already having the same problem I did with my 1st generation iPhone.
I have done a reset on it twice, and fully charged it. Sound is at full capacity, and I have checked all the settings.

MsPea wrote:
I have no sound at all, no phone ring, no keyboard sounds, no text message sounds, no sound when I unlock. In other words, NO SOUNDS AT ALL.
Just those sounds? What about music and such?
If just those, do check the ringer mute switch. And go to Settings > Sounds and see what you have set there (I have keyboard clicks off, for example).
Phil

Reset-all and zap PRam

What is the difference between zapping PRam and giving the following commands in open firmware?
reset-nvram
set-defaults
reset-all

I'm certainly not aware of that being the case for PowerMacs. Zapping PRAM has been long a recommended procedure by Apple for clearing out data corruption in the permanent RAM. I have read claims that allowing three consecutive chimes would clear out parts of PRAM that one cycle would not. But I've not seen anything from Apple to that effect (not that there may not be.)
A guaranteed way to completely clear the permanent RAM area is to simply remove all power to the computer or remove the PRAM battery if the computer has one.
Zapping PRAM is not a cure all. It only does specific things. It removes the data that the OS stores in the permanent RAM.
This document: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238 details what is stored in PRAM on Macs using OS 9.
This document: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86194 details what's stored on Macs using OS X.

Drives stopped mounting with FW800, but FW400 is OK. Worked OK before, but won't now. Tried new cables, zapping pram, Disk Repair Utility. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Drives stopped mounting with FW800, but FW400 is OK. Worked OK before, but won't now. Tried new cables, zapping pram, Disk Repair Utility. Any suggestions? Thanks.

If your external drive does not have an independent power supply, you may wish to consider a couple of lower-cost options before tossing the drive. Bus-powered drives have no external power source and must get all their power from the computer. They can exceed the computer's USB energy budget.
Cheapest option:
1 Meter USB 2.0 A to 5 Pin Mini B Cable - Auxiliary USB "Y" Power Design for external hard drives.
This gets power from two of the computers USB porst sna can provide enough power to wake up an under-performaing bus-powered drive.
If you don't have enough ports to use this, try the next cheapest option:
Newer Technology 7 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Hub with Power Adapter for Mac & PC
Such a hub has a an independent power supply to make up for wahat the comptuer fails to provide.

I run my iTunes via a external hard drive, however it has lost all it's contents and I haven't backed up! What can I do?

I run my iTunes via a external hard drive, however it has lost all it's contents and I haven't backed up! What can I do?
My iPad contents probably 75% of my iTunes library, but I'm scared to sync just in case in wipes the entire contents. I know I should of backed up but it was one of them jobs I never got round too (will def do now if my problem is solved)
Can anyone help with a solution?
Many thanks
Cobwebs73

If all of your media is from iTunes, don't worry about it. You can either transfer everything on your iPad from your iPad to your commputer; and/or you can redownload from iTunes all music and apps, and most of everything else.
If any of your media is from other sources, that's not so easily recoverable. If it's on your iPad, you can transfer it to your computer via a third-party application such as Senuti. (There are many alternatives to Senuti, some work just as well and are free.) Anything from non-iTunes sources and not on your iPad is completely gone, unless you have CDs or other physical media from which you obtained it stored somewhere.
At least now you know how important it is to have a backup.

I can not attach any files to email or Facebook. When I go to "browse" the window comes up and disappears immediately. I updated browser and Adobe Flash. Restarted computer and zapped pram. any ideas? Please help!

I can not attach any files to email or Facebook. When I go to "browse" the window comes up and disappears immediately. I updated browser and Adobe Flash. Restarted computer and zapped pram. any ideas? Please help!

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only Guest login created by Find My Mac.
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem(s)?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in Mac OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The Guest login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

I use Lightroom 5 (update)on my PC. Now I want to use Lightroom also on my notebook but it has no CD-drive. Can you help me - Wilhelm Habermalz

I use Lightroom 5 (update)on my PC. Now I want to use Lightroom also on my notebook but it has no CD-drive. Who can help me - Wilhelm Habermalz

The easiest way would be to download the trial version, and then use your existing serial number to activate. Or, if you have already downloaded the update to use to update your original installation, you could copy the file that you downloaded to a flash drive and use it on your other computer.

I have a mid-2010 27" Quad Core i5 iMac running 10.8.3. Startup disk recognizes the primary hard drive as a startup volume but will not boot from it. Have tried zapping PRAM, ran disk utility. No errors reported Any thoughts?

I have a mid-2010 27" Quad Core i5 iMac running 10.8.3. Startup disk recognizes the primary hard drive as a startup volume but will not boot from it. Have tried zapping PRAM, ran disk utility. No errors reported Any thoughts?

My bad Eric. The startup preference recognizes the primary as a 10.8.3 startup volume but when u select it the system does not boot. I can only boot from my external backup drive

HT4436 My mom has lost her iphone - need help finding it

My Mom has lost her iphone, and I think she had the "find my iphone" turned on, but I can't seem to get an icloud account set up for her. Help!

If she had 'Find my iPhone' turned on she must have an iCloud account; you would need to sign into that at http://icloud.com and go to the 'Find My iPhone' page.
If she doesn't know what the ID is, go to http://appleid.apple.com and click 'Find your Apple ID'.
If she knows the ID but doesn't know the password, go to http://iforgot.apple.com and sign in with your iCloud login. A new password will be sent to your associated email address. If this doesn't work you will have to contact Support. Go to https://getsupport.apple.com; click' See all products and services', then 'More Products and Services, then 'Apple ID', then 'Other Apple ID Topics' then 'Lost or forgotten Apple ID password'.

My project has lost the audio track. I imported tracks from iTunes, they are in the project but do not play, please help?

Hi...my movie project has lost the audio track. I can see it but nothing plays.
The movie record has its audio but the imported iTunes track is silent.

This might sound weird, but here's an idea which worked for me re music that was newly added to itunes and showed up in my ipod but wouldn't play - I simply played the tracks in itunes first, just a second of time or so will do it, not the whole track, then connect the ipod and sync again and this time they played - hope this helps.

Help. I lost my driver disk that came with my ipod.

I lost the driver disk that came with my ipod mini brfore i instaled it onto my computer. is there anyone that can help me by directing me to a place where i can download one online or can i get a new one sent to me. thankyou for all your help. I have a 4 gb ipod serial number 4J5188FPS41

You can download both iTunes and the iPod updater from Apple's website; no other software from the CD is required to use the iPod.
(9572)

Recovered data to new hard drive, imovie has lost locations- how to repoint

Hi,
My external hard disk recently failed that has all of my video files on. In iMovie08 i had built many projects with the project files on my laptop drive, but the source videos in the external drive.
I have recovered all the data from a backup drive to a new replacement hard drive. However even though i have given the new drive the same drive name, imovie has lost all of the video - so all of the projects are broken, and edit "reveal in finder" fails to locate them. How do i repoint the project events to the new hard disk hence salvaging all of my project work?
Cheers,
Russ
[email protected]

Some easy things to try:
iMovie will be looking in the iMovie Events folder in the root directory on your external drive. Is that where your Events are?
More advanced things to try:
You will need to have your Events in the exact same location (and path) that they were before. You can determine what iMovie thinks these should be by opening the Project File (.RCPROJECT) with a text editor such as BBEDIT that handles hexadecimal well.

My Firefox has lost the "go back to the previous site" arrow. PLEASE HELP

My Mozilla Firefox browser has lost the "back arrow" in the toolbar.
I have no way to go back to the previous website I visited.
PLEASE HELP.
THANKS

If the menu bar is hidden then press the F10 key or hold down the Alt key, that should make the menu bar appear.
Make sure that toolbars like the "Navigation Toolbar" and the "Bookmarks Toolbar" are visible: "View > Toolbars"
* If items are missing then open the Customize window via "View > Toolbars > Customize" or via "Firefox > Options > Toolbar Layout" (Linux, Windows)
* If a missing item is in the toolbar palette then drag it back from the Customize window on the toolbar
* If you do not see an item on a toolbar and in the toolbar palette then click the "Restore Default Set" button to restore the default toolbar set up.
See also:
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Toolbar_customization
* https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Back+and+forward+or+other+toolbar+items+are+missing

I have an Imac running snow leopard and have recently installed a cannon i-sensys lbp7750Cdn printer since then I can't get the printer working and the air port has lost the DNS servers; if it ever had them!!! but it dose not look happy. Can any one help

I have an Imac running snow leopard and have recently installed a cannon i-sensys lbp7750Cdn printer since then I can't get the printer working and the air port has lost the DNS servers; if it ever had them!!! but it dose not look happy and it is telling me so. Can any one help please?

Snow Leopard breaks quite a few drivers - my Canon exhibited the same problem.
I eventually found updated drivers on the Canon website. You can try that with the HP, but if the all-in-one is more than a year or so old, don't hold your breath.
You can also try Software Update to see if it will offer new drivers, or failing that go to the Support Downloads site and search for HP updates.
In fact there's a new one for HP at the top of the list just now.
You may not necessarily want the latest one, though - check the specs to see if your model is covered; if not, search for the previous update etc.

Help! zapping PRAM has lost my drive!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for