This article contains the 1.2 GB Firmware Utility document and a link to the 1.2 GB Firmware Utility software.

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North American English	1997-10-21			North American Mac OS
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1.2 GB Firmware Utility Critical Information

This utility is used to update the firmware on a 1.2 GB ATA drive in a Power Macintosh or Performa with firmware version 1.37 and below. This utility can be used on international versions of Mac OS as well as US Mac OS.

This bootable disk image contains a utility to fix a problem with a limited number of 1.2 GB ATA hard drives in some Power Macintosh and Performa configurations that can cause a flashing question mark at startup.

This software consists of a Disk Copy NDIF (New Disk Image Format) compressed image, which requires Disk Copy 6.1 or later to use. Download this software to your hard drive and then double-click it to use it.

Disk Copy 6.1 (or later) is the recommended application to access this disk image.

Note : If you do not have access to Disk Copy 6.1, you can download it from Apple Software Updates: http://www.info.apple.com/swupdates

Overview

Due to an anomaly with some of the 1.2 GB ATA hard drives, a limited number of configurations of the Power Macintosh and Performa models may experience an intermittent flashing question mark from a cold boot or a restart. Restarting the computer may allow the hard drive to boot up properly, but the flashing question mark may return upon the next cold boot.

In order to update the firmware on a hard drive, you must boot the computer from a diskette made from this image. To make a floppy, hold down the option key when opening this disk image in Disk Copy.

Note: Do not lock this diskette, since the utilities need unlocked media to run properly.

Identifying Suspect Units

You can use 1.2 GB Firmware Utility 1.1 or Apple System Profiler to check the firmware version of your drive. To use Apple System Profiler, launch it and go to the Select menu and choose Device Information. The firmware version will be displayed as the Revision Number. The 1.2 GB Firmware Utility 1.1 is not needed unless the firmware version is 1.37 or below. The 1.2 GB Firmware Utility 1.1 also checks the firmware, and will only update the firmware of the appropriate drives.

Note: If you do not have access to Apple System Profiler, you can download it from Apple Software Updates: http://www.info.apple.com/swupdates

If troubleshooting procedures have been performed and there still is an intermittent flashing question mark, use the following hard drive identifying procedure to determine whether the hard drive should be updated or replaced:

1. If the machine is running, shut down.

2. Power off and disconnect all external SCSI devices (if any).

3. Insert the Utility floppy disk and start the Power Macintosh.

4. Double click on the "ATA_Serial_Num" application. If the internal drive is a candidate to be updated, ATA_Serial_Num automatically downloads the firmware. A window will be displayed with the drive information, including the new firmware version.
If the drive is not one of the affected drives, the window will display the drive information and a message stating that the drive does not need to be updated.

5. Choose Quit from the File menu. You can choose to save the drive information window as a text file.

6. Reconnect external SCSI devices.

7. Restart. The Macintosh is now ready for normal operation.

For this issue, the firmware version 1.37 and below are the affected drives. If you find a drive with the firmware version 1.37 or below, then use the firmware update utility. The utility will check the drive firmware version before update. If the drive firmware version does not qualify for the update, the utility will leave the drive untouched.

Replacement Note

If the drive is updated and it is still exhibiting problems, it may be necessary to replace the drive. See an Apple Authorized Service Provider. To locate a Service Provider in your area see: http://www.info.apple.com/