Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!oliveb!apple!jdevoto
From: jdevoto@Apple.COM (Jeanne A. E. DeVoto)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: DataFrame 20 acting flakey ... HELP!
Keywords: Mac+, DataFrame, problem
Message-ID: <27952@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 28 Mar 89 02:14:18 GMT
References: <214@sppy00.UUCP>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 24

In article <214@sppy00.UUCP> glf@sppy00.UUCP (Hill) writes:
>[...] 
>     A couple of months ago, it stopped recognizing the drive.  The Mac 
>would just sit there waiting for a valid boot drive.  After some playing 
>around I figured out that if I turned on the drive first, and let it come 
>up to speed, and wait for the access lights on the drive to stop blinking, 
>and *then* turned on the Mac, all went well. 
> 
>     Now, however, every third or forth time I turn on the system (using 
>the new method) the Mac refuses to recognize the drive.  I turn everything 
>off and on again a few times, and eventually it takes.  As it takes, 
>though, the Mac shows the smiley face, and then the drive grinds away by 
>itself for about 30-45 seconds before it actually starts transferring stuff 
>to the Mac. 

A question: when you shut down the system, are you using the Shut Down
command in the Finder's Special menu, or just switching off the power?
The 30-45 second "grinding away" may be due to the drive's having to
recalibrate after a power-off.

Another question: are you sure that power is getting to the drive (green
light on) during these problems? It's possible that the power supply has
a problem (e.g. an under-spec component) that is sometimes preventing
the drive from starting up.