I have a G3 running sytem 8.6 (upgraded recently from OS 8.5). Yesterday, my computer would not boot. I was able to get it to boot from the CD. I took it to local Mac store. The reinstalled drivers (they said) and it worked OK. Today, it starts to boot but stalls at the "Starting Up" screen. I assume there is something wrong in the system folder. Any ideas? I was going to reinstall the system from the CD yesterday, but the local store tech discouraged me from doing that (said it was risky). Is there any reason not to reinstall the system? Any help will be appr

-- Joan Schilling (JoanHSS@aol.com), December 30, 2000

Answers

Hi there,

First of all I would suggest that you find another local dealer/technician. To state that reinstalling the Mac OS from CD is "risky" is incorrect and misleading. And it sounds to me like they didn't fix anything and probably charged you regardless. Unfortunately most dealers/techs are bad, but it's worth your while to try and find a better one if you have the time.

Your hunch is right - you probably need to do a CLEAN install of OS 8.6 from the CD. Don't install 8.5 and then update, and don't do a standard install of 8.6. Do a clean install. The installer should give you an option to do so. Keep in mind that after doing a clean install, you will need to copy over extensions, fonts, control panels, and other such items from your old system folder. It can be time consuming but it is the only sure-fire way to fix problems such as the one you discuss.

Please let me know if you have any problems. Yours,

--Ev

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Evan Trent Technical Wizard etrent@atpm.com About This Particular Macintosh http://www.atpm.com An e-zine about the personal computing experience.

-- Evan Trent (etrent@atpm.com), December 30, 2000.