Weird Mac behavior; any clues?

[acg]

My Mac started acting up yesterday, and although I fixed part of the problem, I thought I'd post it here to see if anyone has an idea of why this may be happening.

I was using OS 9.1 on my Pismo 500 but a few days ago I upgraded to 9.2.1 due to the purchase of an  iPod (btw, one of the coolest gadgets I have seen/owned).  Everything went well for about a week.

Suddenly yesterday as I was opening a web page (don't know if it has something to do with the problem) IE quit, Finder quit and all icons disappeared from the screen and the computer froze on me.  I did a restart and got the following message:

"This startup disk will not work on this Macintosh model.  Use the latest installer to update the disk for this model"

The only option was Restart which I did a couple of times and kept getting the same message.

I went back and connected my external Backup disk on which I had last week's OS 9.1.  Restarted holding option and even though my internal disk with OS 9.2.1 (the problem disk) was available as a startup option when I selected it I got the same message.  So I booted with 9.1 from the external disk, then I trashed 9.2.1 and dropped the old 9.1 system on to my internal HD.  Restarted and everything worked fine.  Upgraded to 9.2.1 again and it now works fine EXCEPT:

a.  Everytime it starts up, before seeing the Happy mac icon I momentarily see a question mark folder which immediately turns to a System Folder and then the regular Happy Mac.  Then it boots up fine.

b.  Once after the 9.2.1 upgrade I got the following message from which I could not get out of.  Kept pressing OK and kept getting the same message:

"Unexpected error because of a type -110 error" or something to that effect.  I can't remember the exact phrase but that was the gist.  Restarted and all was OK.

That's about it I guess. (ooh, long post, sorry   )

Oh, last thing... When I booted up from 9.1 from my external drive, I checked the Startup Disk control panel to see what is available.  Instead of Mac OS 9.2.1 on my internal drive, I saw Mac OS followed by giberrish %$##^*&^% kind of like that.

Any clues?

[JoeDu]

I'm sure tacit will chime in with detailed facts, but it sounds to me like you might need a low-level format on your problem disk. Have you ran Disk First Aid?

Make sure everything is backed up (as I'm sure you have) boot from the CD and perform a low-level format with Drive Setup, then reinstall all system software.. After reformatting, consider  purchasing Norton Utilities and periodically run the Dick Doctor.

Also, try running Software Updater to see if there have been any firmware updates - there have been, but I don't know if they apply to your Mac.
 
 [ 02-06-2003, 08:57 AM: Message edited by: JoeDu ]

[kelly]

Maybe something like this happened?  

"Do not under any circumstances use the Password Security control panel with the "Pismo" PowerBook or with any PowerBook running Mac OS 9 (see Apple TIL #58612) -- it will render your PowerBook inoperable. The only fix is to put the drive in an older PowerBook, open Password Security, go to Setup, and click the Reset button, then put the drive back in your Pismo."

http://new.lowendmac.com/pb2/pismo.shtml

[tacit]

"Suddenly yesterday as I was opening a web page (don't know if it has something to do with the problem) IE quit, Finder quit and all icons disappeared from the screen and the computer froze on me. I did a restart and got the following message:
"This startup disk will not work on this Macintosh model. Use the latest installer to update the disk for this model""

This happened because the crash damaged the System file in a way that made the System file unable to recognize your Mac's hardware model.

"a. Everytime it starts up, before seeing the Happy mac icon I momentarily see a question mark folder which immediately turns to a System Folder and then the regular Happy Mac. Then it boots up fine."

You can solve this problem by using the Startup Disk control panel to re-set your startup disk to be your internal hard drive.

"b. Once after the 9.2.1 upgrade I got the following message from which I could not get out of. Kept pressing OK and kept getting the same message:
"Unexpected error because of a type -110 error" or something to that effect. I can't remember the exact phrase but that was the gist. Restarted and all was OK."

Your hard disk directory is still damaged.

Error -110 indicates a very, very serious problem with your directory. This is just about the worst filesystem error you can ever have. Even programs like DiskWarrior are sometimes unable to fix this kind of filesystem error.

Back up critical data AT ONCE and run a commercial disk repair program like DiskWarrior on your hard disk. If the disk repair program can't fix the problem, you'll need to reformat the disk.

Sorry...

[acg]

Thanks everyone:) I knew I could count on this incredible group to get intelligent answers.  I am proud to hand in here:)

Kelly, I did not use the Password Security control panel; actually I don't even have it and I have no clue what it does.

I did run Norton Disk Doctor which found "Major Problems" with my disk, went on to correct them and so far so good.

I set the startup disk to 9.2.1 in the control panel and I am not getting the ? Folder and the System Folder before the happy mac anymore either.

All appears to be fine and I am keeping my fingers crossed here, but I have backed up all critical files too, just to be on the safe side.

Anyway, I think it is about time to pass on this baby to my wife and get my hands on the new 17" powerbook and move to OS X in the process.  Needless to say, I am much more excited for the hardware than I am for the software...

Thanks again:)