PowerBook 1400: Not An HFS Disk & Installation Errors

TECHINFO-0020781

TOPIC

I just got a new PowerBook 1400 series computer. I started up with extensions off. Then I tried to install some software, but it kept crashing and freezing during the installation process. The same installation disks work with my other PowerBook 1400. I ran Disk First Aid on the internal hard drive and it says, "this is not an HFS disk." What could be wrong?

DISCUSSION

ISSUE

A limited number of PowerBook 1400 series computers were shipped out with their hard drives not formatted properly. If you run Disk First Aid on your PowerBook computer and get the message that "this is not an HFS disk", then your computer's hard drive has this formatting problem. Another symptom of not having the hard drive formatted correctly is that software cannot install properly onto the hard drive.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue you need to download and install the PowerBook 1400 HD Updater. It is available free from Apple on a variety of online services.

What Is the PowerBook 1400 HD Updater?

The PowerBook 1400 HD Updater is designed to provide a reference file that may not have been copied onto the hard disks of some Macintosh PowerBook 1400 series computers. The reference file is not needed for normal operation of the PowerBook computer.

Disk utility programs, such as Disk First Aid, look for the reference file. If the file is not on the hard disk and you use Disk First Aid or another disk utility, you will see a message reporting that the hard disk is not an HFS volume and cannot be checked by the program. (The message may be somewhat different with a disk utility other than Disk First Aid.)

Who Needs to Use the Updater?

If the reference file is not on your computer's hard disk, you should use the PowerBook 1400 HD Updater to copy the file on the disk. To determine whether you need to use the Updater, follow these steps.

Checking Your Hard Disk

1. Locate Disk First Aid (in the Utilities folder on your hard disk) and open it by double-clicking its icon.

2. Click the icon of the hard disk to select it.

3. If you see a message that you can't repair the startup disk, click OK. (You want to verify the disk, which can be done on the startup disk.)

4. Click Verify.

5. If you see a message "This drive is not an HFS disk," you need to use the PowerBook 1400 HD Updater. (If a status message appears reporting the progress of verification, you do not need to use the Updater. You can click Stop to end the verification process.)

Using the PowerBook 1400 HD Updater

1. Copy the Updater to your computer's hard disk.

2. Double-click the Updater's icon to open it. The Updater automatically copies the reference file on your hard disk.

3. Click OK to quit the Updater.

It is a good idea to check your hard disk after using the Updater. To do this, run Disk First Aid and select the Verify option. If Disk First Aid reports a problem, follow the instructions on the screen. You can also use the Drive Setup program (in the Utilities folder) to check the hard disk. See "Testing Your Hard Disk" in Chapter 7 of the PowerBook 1400 manual for your computer for more information about testing the drive.

Using the Updater will not cause any problem if the reference file is already on the hard disk.

The software update mentioned here can be found in Apple Software Updates areas of many online services within the next couple of days. Follow this pathway to find the software:

Apple SW Updates > US > Macintosh > PowerBook > PB 1400 > PB 1400 HD Updater 1.0 > PB 1400 HD Updater 1.0.sea

On the WWW this software will appear on the "What's New?" page as soon as it is available at:

http://www.info.apple.com/

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