Install OS 10.2 on B&W G3 300

Question

Hi All
I gave up trying to install 10.3 on my G3 300, and have decided to have a go with 10.2. I note that I had to use this command to get the G3 to boot from the 10.3 CD: boot cd:,\\\\:tbxi (I got to use that by holding down OptApple+OF) This command doesn't work with 10.3 - but I can't find the command after 30 mins of trolling thru the 'net. Does anyone know how to get a G3 to boot on to the 10.2 CD using the standard Apple CD-ROM drive?
Thanks

Answer 1

Ok, I've finally got the battery installed. I ran a thorough read / write test on the HDD using my PC using TuffTest - it came thru with no errors after 5 hours of testing. I tested the RAM in a spare PC using MemTest - 6 passes with no errors. So, that rules out the RAM & the HDD as potential problems. However, it took 3 goes to get the OS up and running, and even now, trying to change the Time / Date usually won't work - I keep getting "unexpectedly quit" error messages. Fortunately, I kept at trying to open the Date / Time and eventually managed to get it open (after 12 goes) and alter the time date from 1976 to today. Apple Profiler won't open (same error), Mail & QuickTime Player will. The Pref Control Panel opens fine, and most of the items in there open quickly and with no fuss (although I haven't checked them all).
What I note now - and this has been a "symptom" the whole way along - is that the HDD spends quite a bit of time "grinding". However, sometimes it just works quickly and happily making normal HDD noises, the rest of the time (notably just before spitting out an "unexpectedly quit" error), it grinds like it is having to read and re-read the data on the HDD. Since the soak read/write test rules out an HDD error, and I've changed the IDE cable, does that point to a faulty logic board or IDE connector? I'm just running a "Repair Disk Permissions" now, and it has found / fixed a number of errors. Again, the HDD has been doing a lot of grinding. I tried a different HDD (a 30GB), and it did the same, as did a 20GB. I also tried partitioning the 40GB into 2 x 20GB, and that hasn't helped. I also just did a "Repair Disk" and, despite the HDD making some of those grinding noises, it completed with no errors.
I did wonder if installing the OS on the 2nd partition rather than the 1st might enable a diff area of the physical HDD to be used, and whether that might in some weird way stop the "grinding"? However, if it's a logic board problem or the IDE connector, presumably the "grinding" will happen even on the 2nd partition (as I'm guessing that the grinding is being caused by faulty data read or writes).
So the short of it is that OS 10.2 is installed, although it is not what I'd call usable or stable (although it is stable in the sense that the OS doesn't crash, per se, even if I leave it sitting there for an hour or more). Clearly though, if I can't trust the system to run software without errors 99% of the time, it's pretty much land-fill material.
I did wonder if there might be a firmware upgrade that might help? Also, would applying all the 10.2 updates help in any way? I know Macs are different from PCs, in that they don't have hardware driver updates available as such, so I can't apply a different / newer HDD controller driver to see if that might help - is that right?
Any more suggestions / hints / help (not criticism or flames because I'm mainly a PC user...) welcome. Thanks.