Re-flashing BIOs (open firmware)

How do you do this on OS X 10.5?
Thanks a lot.

"Hold down the power button until the power indicator light flashes, then release it. A long tone will be heard, then a gray screen with an Apple logo appears. There is a progress bar under the logo. As the progress bar moves, your firmware is being updated."
When I hold down the power button, the power indicator light does not flash nor do I see any flashes or tones, how can I get the firmware restoration cd to update? All it does it go to the desktop, no updates!
Thanks

Similar Messages

Z77A-GD65 flash bios & ME firmware

Hi,
ive z77a-gd65, with bios v10.11 but with old ME Firmware.
Please tell me how can i update that ME Firmware, using MSI Flash tool?
xmad writes in 1st post smth about that i need to ask for a proper file to write?
Im asking because i dont want to brick the board.
I know how to update bios but i didn't know that i need to flash ME firmware too, and how to do this?
Thanks

there is instructions:
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=163874.msg1267801#msg1267801

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.

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.

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

Flashing bios + ME ofZ87-G45 Gaming Mainboard from 1.5 to the latest 1.9.

I have been reading and watching a lot of videos on the subject..including the general threads here.
So my understanding has become ... do not use liveupdate 6 (mine can't even tell what I have installed). M-flash is the official way to flash bios and it works well if you choose uefi + ME.
I want to flash my bios because my USB 3 front ports have always been flaky and hoping for a bit more system stability (4 cpu hardware corrected errors since put together system in march) and in ultra rare case system will become unresponsive. Plus, will have room to upgrade to new cpu in future.
I did not enable the overclocking in the bios, but it is enabled. From what I have read ..is it then true that I must disable this before flashing?
I have also downloaded the 1.9 bios for my Z87-G45 Gaming Mainboard and placed it on a USB 2.0 flash drive that must be plugged into a back usb 2.0 port (though mouse and keyboard are in the legacy ports).
My understanding is that I simply have to boot into the bios ...with the usb stick plugged in .. disable the overclocking and then choose upgrade uefi bios + ME. choose the file listed and wait. When it is flashed, it will reboot and then flash ME.
My question here is .. how will it flash ME? does the bios file also have the ME information?
And after the bios is successfully updated and set back to how it was set before the flash ... the last step, I understand ..is to install the ME driver package ... I have the ME10 zip of 75 meg ready.
Do I understand this correctly ... other than needing to know how ME gets flashed from the one bios file (which is E7821IMS.190)?
Is there anything else I need to ask to make this update foolproof?
TIA for the help )

To make it foolproof follow the below, it will update bios and ME firmware. After flashing ME driver needs to be reinstalled in Windows too.
>>Use the MSI HQ Forum USB flasher<<
A.) Download the attached archive (E7817IMS_660.rar.rar) and place it on your desktop. Do not decompress.
B.) Download and install the Forum flash tool.
C.) Insert your FAT32 formatted usb stick.
D.) Make sure that all win 8 options are disabled. (Fast Boot etc) Also make sure the legacy USB is enabled.
E.) Start the forum flash tool and select option 1. Then point the tool at the compressed archive we downloaded earlier. Then to your USB Flash Drive.
F.) Boot to the USB
G.) Now follow the directions and let the tool flash
H.) After flashing reinstall ME drivers in Windows: http://download.msi.com/dvr_exe/intel_amt90_mb.zip

Start-up Problem - White Screen Open Firmware

Hi
Just turned my eMAc on and got a new beeping sound, the little light on the front flashed several times and then the screen went completely white with the following message;
Apple PowerMac 6,4 4.8.2f1 BootROM built on 03/11/04 at 09:18:55
Copyroght 1994 - 2004 Apple Computer, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Welcome to Open Firmware, the system time and date is: 07:26:35 10/20/2006
To continue booting, type "mac-boot" and press return
To shut down, type "shut-down" and press return
ok
0 >
I typed in 'mac-boot' and return and everything starts and 'appears' to work as normal.
I have shut down and restarted twice and the same thing happens. I also noticed that the push button switch seems to be sticking.
My question is - Is this a hardware issue (the start button is faulty) or is it a software (firmware, corrupt file)?
Many thanks for help and advice
Mick

It's possible it's a hardware problem, but first I'd suggest you try resetting Open Firmware:
At the 0 > prompt, type:
reset-nvram
and press Return
At the 0 > prompt, type:
set-defaults
and press Return
At the 0 > prompt, type:
reset-all
and press Return.
With luck, that will clear things and you'll be back to booting normally.
Hope this helps.

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.

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.

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.

Regarding Open Firmware. Serious issue regarding Load Base change.

Hello.
Okay, i have purchased a Mac Mini G4 quite some time ago, and i recently sold it to a friend.
This friend is trying to port MorphOS to the Mini for fun.
In doing this he wanted to change the load base setting in the Open Firmware.
At first he set it higher, den twice as high and now to:
0x1000000 and then: 0x2000000.
After this the Mini displayed some text about flashing ROM and then turned off. After this it would not turn on..
Holding down the power button gives the <CHORD> sound plus some squeeking sounds, but nothing else happens.. Nothing is initiated, not even USB.
In my head the only possible solution now is to reflash the OF ROM.
What I need from you guys is info on how to do this and what tools is required.
Also if you have any experience with bustet OF setups, how could they be fixed.
This is quite a major issue as the Mini is almost completely DEAD as it is now. It doesn't boot, it doesn't move the DVD drive.. It goes <CHORD> and then nothing.
Please, help :P
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.7)

unfortunately i cannot open any windows, no. the color wheel spins for an indefinite period of time. any program i try to open essentially freezes. i also cannot successfully restart the computer via the apple menu, the only ways i can restart are if i use the power button directly or if i restart from the login screen. i can't open anything, really. it tries to open the programs and starts to but after a while seems to time out. it indicates that it's still trying but after a few minutes shows no progress. if my screensaver goes on and i wake my computer up again, it freezes on the screensaver and can't get out of it. i tried starting up from the tiger disk but that wasn't working either (when i start up from any disk that isn't my hard drive, my monitor resolution isn't recognized, so it won't display anything - so every time i've had to upgrade in the past i've borrowed another monitor for the process).

Starts in Open Firmware. No OS

Short story,
When I turn on the Pismo, I get open firmware. I beleive the Hard Drive was formatted, and maybe partitioned eternally through a PC program called Macdrive. I have the software Restore Disc, and the software Install Disc. Neither will boot. I have reset the Pram, and Nvram through open firmware. All i get is a blinking '?' on Boot. How can i install the OS 9 back on this Mac?
Long Story,
I was given two G3 Pismo's and told to wipe them clean, and donate them. They would not powerup, as they had been sitting a long time. I took the hard drives out, and cleaned them (deleted files that seemed private) with a PC program called Macdrive. I then learned to Unplug the Pram Battery and this would powerup the Mac, and then boot to OS 9.1. I can't remember, but I may have used Macdrive to Reformat and/or Repartition the Hard drive.
I then became hooked on Mac, and decided to keep one of them. Now when I power it up, I end up getting open firmware, and I cannot boot into OS 9.1 I'm not familiar with Mac Commands, so how can I boot from the Software CD?
Holding down C while powerup does not work.

slow horse,
Until the issue of why you are booting into OF is solved, installing a fresh OS on the HD will not help; the boot into OF occurs long before any software loads. A normal cold start will produce the startup chime, then the raster (gray screen), then either a flashing '?' (no bootable volume found) or it starts to load the OS. I don't know why you are getting into OF. If the powerbook worked normally before you removed the HD, remove it again (and leave it out), then see if you can start to a normal startup chime and get to the flashing '?'. If you can, then see if it will boot a CD. If this is a successful test, then something may be wrong with the HD and/or HD ribbon cable.
However, assuming you solve the OF issue, this article discusses the differences between the Restore CD and the System Install CD. You should be able to boot to either barring any hardware problem.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=31204
If you cannot boot to the CDs, you can connect the Pismo to your iBook via FireWire Target Disk Mode:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
You of course can also remove the HD, place it in an external FireWire or USB HD case and install software from the iBook.
If you have access to a FireWire CDRW or DVD burner, you can in most cases boot to a CD or DVD when connecting to the Pismo's FireWire port. Use the option key startup in this case.
If you connect to an iBook, you will not be able to use your Powerbook G3 Software CDs; the installer on the Powerbook CD sees an iBook, not a Pismo. If connected via FireWire Target Disk Mode, the Pismo is seen as just another external HD, nothing else. Depending on which version iBook you have, you can follow one of two procedures, and both will work regardless of how you connect the Pismo's HD to the iBook.
1. If the Pismo's HD mounts on the iBook's desktop, use 9.x's Drive Setup to initialize the HD; this will also automatically update the HD driver. If using 10.x's Disk Utility to initialize the HD, make sure you check the option 'Install MacOS 9 HD Driver'; if you do not, your Pismo will not boot to 9.x. When initializing with 10.x, be SURE to select the topmost name in the list in the left column; this is the HD's model number...do not select the HD's user-given name.
2. If the iBook has 9.1 > 9.2.2 installed, you should be able to drag-copy the System Folder from the iBook to the Pismo's HD. Be sure the System Folder is "blessed" after dragging it over to the HD: Open the System Folder icon, double-click the System file (suitcase), then close all windows.
3. You can also use the iBook's System CDs to install software on the Pismo's HD. Depending on what version software came with the iBook:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42929
If the above instructions are not the correct version, please let me know exactly what OS came with the iBook.

Open Firmware Password..oops

Today I decided to see if the startup disc on my external HD was working properly. I went to System Preferences and clicked over to the Maxtor as my prefered choice. I did not click the lock at the bottom. I then clicked Restart, everything on the desktop dismounted and the screen went dark and then came back up with the gray screen with the spinning wheel....and stayed there.
I noticed that there was a circle with a line through it and then I noticed that my iPod was still connected, it was dismounted and charging.
I shut off the power, to the iMac, disconnected the iPod and turned the power back on, and the gray screen with flashing folder with a question mark appeared.
I went to the MacBook and did a search in the discussions and the only thing I could find out was that I needed to boot from the install discs, hence the oops.
I have Undercover installed, and part of their setup is to enable the Open Firmware Password.
How can I get my iMac up and running if I can't use the install discs or target disc mode?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

ddougYo, I have the Orbicule software on 5 MAcs (it nearly got one that was stolen back for me too) and also had its predecessor, Lapcop which also used the Open Firmware Password utility.
You are not going to be able to boot up until you can get through the Firmware Password Utility and there are only two ways: the password itself, or the method that Baltwo has suggested. If the password is not working then you have possibly not entered it correctly.
If, for some strange (unidentified) reason that is not the case, then Baltwo's solution is all you have left. Have a look at the manual: getting the iMac's RAM out should not be hard. Do you have one or two modules? If one, try putting it in the other slot.

HELP NEEDED URGENTLY .... please! (open firmware password vs. startup disc)

Hi
1. Macbook Pro 2.33 - I had Bootcamp installed.
2. Decided to delete it... went through Bootcamp procedure
3. Mac restarted - then came up with a flashing folder icon, meaning it couldn't find the startup drive.
4. Forced restart again... and tried pressing ALT key to select Macintosh_HD - it asked for my OPEN FIRMWARE PASSWORD - i only ever use 1 password - I know exactly what this is, as I had turned it on/off before by going to utilities>open firmware.
I don't want to take RAM out... is there another way? I thought if a CD was put in it could trick firmware... by pressing the space bar... though it didn't work
I'm stumped! Anybody willing to help?
Thanks loads in advance!
Pixel.

Boot from Install DVD1 holding down 'C'
Then 'Reset Password' ?
or ...
1. Start up into Open Firmware by pressing and
holding the Command-Option-O-F key combination
during startup.
2. At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-nvram
3. Press Return.
4. When prompted for your password, enter it and
press the Return key.
5. It responds OK.
6. At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-all
7. Press Return.
This only works with PPC Macs. I have been looking for a way to do something similar with my MBP and have been unsuccessful thus far.
Frank

Powerbook won't boot, freezes or goes to "open firmware"

My roommate's powerbook died the other day. It freezes on the apple logo. Tried to get into single user mode or boot to an external firewire drive via holding option, both times it went into something called "open firmware", never seen that before. Also, when it is powered on, it gives a long low toned beep and the white light on the front flashes a bunch very rapidly, maybe 5-10 times.
What the heck happened?

Hi Sean,
Ensure the memory modules are correctly seated in their holders. Remove them and re-install them if necessary. Restart and see if the problem is still present. If the symptoms still persist then remove one of the modules, restart and if necessary repeat by replacing the removed module and removing the other one.
More details on "beeps" and "flashing" can be found here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58442
Are you able to start up your roomate's powerbook in Firewire Target Disk Mode (FTDM)? If you can then you will be able to backup the data to your Mac.
Kryten

Re-flashing BIOs (open firmware)

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