Remove open firmware

How do I remove open firmware? I have found out it is more of a hassel than protection.

Just to be clear, are you asking how to remove an "Open Firmware Password"? The actual "Open Firmware" is software installed on the chips inside your computer (not on the hard drive, but on the chips on the logic board or components themselves). You can't remove the Open Firmware there. However, it is possible to turn off the Open Firmware password.
You can find the instructions for enabling (and disabling by unchecking the option) the Open Firmware Password application in Knowledge Base Article #106482.
-Doug
P.S. It can be removed by force if you have physical access to the computer. I know how, but you can't post the instructions here!

Similar Messages

  • Fix for RAM removable Open Firmware Password?

    Hello people from Apple Discussions,
    I have a burning question that has been tormenting me for years.
    Mac OSX is branded as supposedly the safest operating system around today.
    What completely astounds me though is that any user password can be quickly hacked, by booting into the Single User Mode where you immediately gain root access.
    In my search for a fix I have come across semi-solutions like:
    "install an open firmware password!"
    I felt relieved, reassured and assumed my problem was solved.
    Unfortunately this is bloody useless because one could remove a RAM module and voila! Gone is the Open Firmware Password.
    What alternative (other than to permanently glue to ram module in place) is there to this security hole that exists today?
    Thank you all very much for reading.
    I hope this gets fixed, for the sake of all mac users.
    Very Kind regards,
    Luuc.

    I don't believe Open Firmware passwords are stored in RAM. I believe it's an electrically programmable EAROM. Pulling a RAM module shouldn't affect the security of the computer.
    You can take it to ridiculous levels. What's to stop someone from just removing the disk drives? If someone has physical access to your computer then they can get into it and see anything that's not encrypted.

  • Removing open firmware password -- too easy?

    I've had an open firmware password set on my computer for the last two years to provide some protection for client data stored on it. But last night I had to do some troubleshooting using startup commands, so I wanted to temporarily remove the password. I found instructions for removing it by booting into open firmware (command-option-o-f), but this startup sequence did nothing.
    Eventually I booted from the Snow Leopard system CD and opened the Open Firmware Password utility. This utility had a simple checkbox that let me remove the password, without entering the current password. Is it really that easy to remove the open firmware password? If so, I don't think it's worth the occasional inconvenience of keeping it on there.

    There's nothing you can do to prevent a determined hacker with physical access to your machine from getting access to everything on your hard drive. What you should do, however, is make sure that any information that is sensitive is encrypted. You could use an encrypted disk image made with Disk Utility for this purpose... many do. Also, note that your keychain is encrypted and thus passwords and other things stored there are safe... but only as long as you do not auto-login with an auto-unlocking keychain or leave yourself logged in with the keychain unlocked. Although your account password could be reset by someone with the right knowledge who wanted in, this does NOT affect the keychain password.

  • How the heck do you remove the Open Firmware?

    Ok so here is the problem. I have a Powerbook G4 (the A1095 model). Now first off ever since I got the thing the second ram slot never worked. But my main problem is that anytime I try to boot form a DVD, use the Firewire, or reset the PRAM and NVRAM I keep getting asked for some password and a big lock button shows up.
    Now after many weeks and almost completely giving up I found out that somehow open firmware was used to put in a password. Now I have tried absolutely every password I have ever used, and even some other things and nothing works.
    I honestly don't know how this was even set but if it was from me it was obviously an accident. Now the other thing is that I don't have any ADMIN password. I have it set to blank so you just hit enter to login/install things. I wonder if this has anything to do with the open firmware issue???
    I have tried as I said searching apple.com and many many many many many other places to find a way to fix this problem but can't find anything even close to a possible solution. I have 3 OSX boot disks, I have even tried using an Umbuntu CD to attempt to use the disk utility on there but nothing works.
    To anyone out there I have tried letting the main batter AND the PRAM battery run dead and that still seams to change nothing. So I imagine its a saved file someplace on the main board. Oh and I also removed the Hard drive, and PRAM battery and attempted to boot like that but still nothing works.
    I can boot up and use the computer just fine. Surfing the web, installing programs, etc. all work fine. I just can't use the FireWire transfer or Boot from anything but the main HD.
    Please someone help me with this. I need to get my personal information off this computer and reinstall OSX on it. Oh and last thing, Im not sure if it has anything to do with it but the rear two fans do not seem to work either. My other G4 Powerbook seemed to have the same problem too though. Replacing the fans on that one fixed the issue.
    Anyway I waisted over $500 to get another laptop (one model newer) all because of this problem and I really need to fix this so I don't have to worry about my personal information and I can finally either use it or sell it. This is such a frustrating issue, what can I do???
    THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP OR AT LEAST POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION (PLEASE DON'T TELL ME TO GO TO THE APPLE STORE. I HAVE FIXED PROBLEMS THEY COULDN'T BEFORE AND I CAN'T AFFORD THE $300 BILL TO HAVE THEM INSPECT IT, PLUS THIS MODEL IS OUT OF DATE AND THEY WON'T FIX THEM ANYMORE ANYWAY. FYI TO ALL YOU EARLY MODEL G4 USERS!)

    Since http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352 says:
    Warning: The Open Firmware Password can be reset and changed by any one of the following (except MacBook Air):
    1-By any administrator user, as designated in the Accounts preferences (or in Server Admin).
    2-Via physical access to the inside of the computer.
    3-When the computer is started up in Mac OS 9.
    I would try this suggestion: http://maczealots.com/tutorials/security/

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Beige G3 boot from **** problem; open firmware issues; bad motherboard?

    Dear all,
    I'm having huge boot/startup problems with my beige G3 that had been happily running OSX 10.3.9, but for purposes of this discussion we can (mostly) revert to OS 9. Originally, the machine was a G3 @300; was upgraded more than a year ago to a ZIF G4 @500.
    To make a long story short, it won't boot from any hard drives, will not boot from any OS X CD, and will only occasionally boot from a 9.x startup CD (whether Apple or Norton Utilities). I think it's an open firmware issue, possibly caused by a bad motherboard (rev. 2).
    All this started happening after I used techtool pro, but I think that's coincidence (even though I acknowledge that, for cops and computer users, there are no coincidences.) Also, as discussed below, I'm having the same problems with an HD that wasn't even in the computer when all these things began.
    Here are some of the things I've done.
    --repeatedly reset PRAM, both with key combinations and removing battery. The only time it will boot from a 9.x CD is after resetting PRAM.
    --removed all add-on PCI cards.
    --removed additional VRAM
    --removed all memory cards and tried replacing one at a time.
    --disconnected both existing hard drives and replaced with an older OS 9.x hard drive (approx 60 mb) that I'd used before. Also tried different ribbon cables.
    --unplugged floppy drive
    --disconnected PCI ATA disk controller that I'd been using for running a large (1.8 gb) hard drive.
    --regarding open firmware: readenv usually shows totally normal default AND installed settings. Using reset-all works fine -- at least it makes the machine reboot, but doesn't solve the problem. reset-nvram does NOT work -- says it's an "unknown word."
    --using startup keys like holding down the option key, or shift key, or X key or cmd-option plus two others I can't remember, has no effect. Again, after I've tried any kind of reboot, the ONLY way to get the C-key at startup to boot the CD is by resetting the pram (key combination). Otherwise, the usual result of these experiments is a dark screen on startup -- nothing at all (and the LCD monitor tells me "no input.")
    --regarding OSX: sometimes (and I emphasize sometimes) I can get the machine to start booting from an OSX 10.2 CD, but it won't complete the process. Sometimes I get a "prohibited" (as in no-parking, no-smoking) icon; sometimes it will start booting (grey screen, OS X Apple icon), then crash (horizontal grey and white jagged bars); sometimes it will show the OS 9 start icon (the tiny smiling Mac SE), but not boot at all.
    --when I get the mac successfully booted with an OS 9.x CD (again, this works sometimes, but not always), the old hard drive with two partitions does show on the desktop and can be accessed. Using either disk repair or Norton Utilities shows the 9.2 system partition on the hard drive to be fine. But if I go to the startup disk control panel, confidently set the 9.2 partition as my startup disk, then reboot, there's no change. It won't boot and I'm back at square one.
    --even when I do get successfully booted with 9.x, the machine will still occasionally crash for no reason -- ie when I'm moving a Window.
    --the only thing I haven't done is slowed down the processor. It's a ZIF G4 bought more than a year ago from XLR8 your Mac. I'm running at the default 500 mhz, and it's never given me any trouble.
    So I think it's a bad motherboard or ROM. Thoughts?
    Thanks.

    The beige Mac is now operating happily again. My original tentative diagnosis remains the same (although still tentative): corrupted PRAM from bad battery, compounded by bad cables that wrote corrupted data to hard drives, and also (possibly) allowing Tech Tool Pro (a utility that I now regard with deep suspicion) to create a "virtual" startup partition.
    A few things I've learned along the way that hopefully may be useful:
    --remember that the Ex Post Facto utility can be used to help OS X startup, not just installation. This applies to hard drives, emergency CDs, installation CDs, etc. If you can boot into any working hard drive partition (OS 9 or a backup OS 10), then run Ex Post Facto (same program runs on either OS 9 or X -- don't ask me how) and tell it what system you want to start up from. Also, the utility has sometimes told me that the startup extensions on the disc that I wanted to boot up from were bad, and offered to fix them (which works).
    --at least on my Mac (beige, v. 2 motherboard), resetting the CUDA button, resetting the PRAM, resetting Open Firmware and "draining" the memory by unplugging the computer and disconnecting the battery for several hours ALL DO DIFFERENT THINGS.
    Specifically, if I'm having trouble booting (from a hard drive or a CD), the FIRST thing I do is restart and resetting the PRAM on the fly -- holding down command, option, P and R at startup, and waiting for the chimes (preferably at least 3-4 times).
    If I do that and DON'T hear the chimes, that's my cue for my SECOND action -- restarting into open firmware (command, option O and F keys on startup). That should bring up the black text on white background open firmware screen. View other posts or apple support for details, but if you do PRINTENV and see a bunch of weird gibberish after the default/installed lists, you know that it was messed up and you need to clear it through reset nvram and reset all commands. Be aware some of these commands do or do not work depending upon what version of Open Firmware you have.
    After I've rebooted with Open Firmware, then on restart I should be able to reset the PRAM on the fly. If that works, then either let the machine run and see what happens, or hold down the C command and see if it will boot from the CD
    Usually, if I've fixed everything as above, the machine will boot into whatever version of OS 9 it finds on a hard drive. That's fine with me -- at that point, use Ex Post Facto to reboot into your OS X. (Before I forget: I used the shareware startup CD creator program BootCD to make an emergency boot CD based on OS 10.2.8 (which theoretically will support a beige mac in native fashion) and Disk Warrior, the god of disk repair utilities. Even though the CD should boot just by holding down the C key on startup, it doesn't -- but if I use Ex Post Facto to boot it, no problems (although the process is very slow -- be patient). Then I can fix almost anything using Disk Warrior.)
    If none of the above works, then I'll try resetting the CUDA (on my beige minitower, it's a very small black button inconveniently located between a PCI slot and the side of the computer housing). Hold it down for 15 seconds. That should REALLY clear the PRAM. I know this does something different from the previous steps because this is the only action (except the battery disconnect -- next) that clears the date and time from the memory.
    If all else fails, I will unplug the computer and disconnect the battery, then push the CUDA button for 15 seconds and let the machine sit overnight.
    One final finding -- I thought I'd fixed everything, but both my hard drives suddenly quit working, I discovered that during all this repeated connect/disconnect of things, one of the male pins inside one of the connectors on my Acard ATA PCI card had broken off. Not good. Fortunately, the card had a second connector, which works fine. And I did some extensive shaking of the computer to make sure (I hope) that the broken pin hadn't landed on a circuit board.
    All this took more than two weeks, and the advice of this board was much appreciated. Now I'm on to my next adventure -- trying to figure out why a combo Firewire/USB PCI card won't mount an external drive on Firewire, but will on USB. I've tried two cards with same result -- but a Firewire-only card works just fine.)
    Regards to all,
    Graham

  • 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> .
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    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.
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    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:
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    and after that reset PRAM in your unit, here is the kbase:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
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    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.
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    Flippo

  • 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?
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    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.
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    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=31204
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  • Apple Hardware Test launches Open Firmware window

    At work, I have a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core G5. When I run Apple Hardware Test [Extended], it generates an Open Firmware window in the lower-left corner at 11 minutes.
    Has anyone else seen this?

    I DID read the link - you should re-read my post. I have a G5 [the article refers to G4's] and a later version of AHT [which the article recommends updating to]. As soon as I removed the questionable RAM, the problem went away.

  • 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,
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    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.
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  • Turn off open firmware password without OS CD, or transfer account?

    I've got the open firmware password turned on on the iBook I use for work. The laptop's CD drive recently stopped working, and I don't have access to an external CD drive. I need to bring the laptop in for repair, but want to move my account onto another iBook while this one is in the shop. Because the open firmware password is on, I can't use the migration application. Because the CD drive doesn't work, I can't use the OS CD to turn off the password.
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    Many thanks!

    Change your RAM configuration (add or remove a RAM module). Then reset the PRAM by holding down command, option, P, and R. Keep them down until you hear the third startup bong. That will defeat the firmware password protection.
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  • Intel iMac, Open Firmware Password Protection and booting from CD

    I have an Intel iMac I'm setting up for use in a public library. I want to prevent single user login with the Open Firmware Password Protection utility, but if I do, how do I boot from the OS disc, zap PRAM, etc? The OFPP page has instructions on removing the OF password, but it does not work on Intel Mac's. Also, is there an alternative way to prevent single user login?

    No, you were right, I just misunderstood. Technically it's called single-user mode. But, you were right.
    Anyway,
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    In Simple Finder the user can not restart or shutdown. They can only sleep and log out.
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