On Thu, 27 Jul 2000, Ben Allums wrote:

> On 7/27/00 at 9:16 AM, matt@3am-software.com (Matt Thomas) wrote:
> > At 05:04 AM 7/27/2000 -0700, Laurent de Segur wrote:
> > >There is no need to reflash OF when you don't erase it in the first
> > >place. OF keeps a copy of the default env vars in its rom and there
> > >is a procedure in one Tech note to reset the machine completly. The
> > >option-command P R would do the trick.
> > 
> > Execpt when the machine is hosed, o-c-P-R does not do anything.  The
> > machine is still dead.  Basically, the pismo gets to the point when it
> > doesn't bong and the display doesn't start.  Cap-lock works and the
> > power button but that's it.
> 
> Haven't run into this problem on my PowerBook, but I have seen it on my
> 5400/120 that I was trying to get NetBSD installed on to.
> 
> At one point I set "read-base" to something bad and my machine wouldn't
> boot at all.
> 
> Solution?
> 
> Disconnect the battery that refreshes PRAM memory.  Wait about 30
> seconds just to make certain it's really clear.
> 
> Don't know how to do this on the PowerBook, but certainly it must be
> possible.

There should be a key combination that resets this much earlier in the
boot.  It's generally called a PMU reset, but it amounts to the same
thing.  The PMU resets the PRAM, etc. to factory defaults, but it occurs
entirely in hardware, i.e. you don't have to be booting at the time.  It's
the PMU equivalent to the motherboard reset button on the 5400.

I don't know the key combination on the Pismo, but on the older machines
it was function-control-shift-power.  If you open the back panel flap,
there are probably instructions painted to the left of where you plug
cables in.


David

---------------------------------------------------------------------
A brief Haiku:

Microsoft is bad.
It seems secure at first glance.
Then you read your mail.