Apple Macintosh 6500 - Manual (Page 128)

When you start up, a disk icon with a blinking question mark appears in the middle of
the screen.
This icon indicates that your Macintosh cannot find the system software it
needs to start up. One of the following is probably the cause:
m Your computer may be having a problem recognizing external SCSI (Small
Computer System Interface) equipment, such as hard disks, CD-ROM
drives, and scanners that you may have connected to your computer.
Shut down your computer, turn off all external SCSI equipment, and
disconnect the first SCSI device in the chain from your computer’s SCSI
port. Then restart the computer. If the computer starts up after you
disconnect your SCSI equipment, refer both to the manuals that came with
the equipment and Chapter 3 of this manual, which has information on the
proper way to connect SCSI equipment and assign SCSI ID numbers.
If you have a printer connected to your computer’s SCSI port, make sure
your printer is connected properly. Most printers connect to the printer
port, not the SCSI port. Check the manuals that came with your printer for
information on how to connect it properly.
m System software is not installed on the startup hard disk, the system
software is damaged, or the hard disk is not working properly.
Start up your computer using the CD-ROM disc that contains system
software. Do this by inserting the CD-ROM disc into the CD-ROM drive
and holding down the C key while you restart the computer. (See the
section “Starting Up From a CD-ROM Disc” later in this chapter if you
need more help.) Then follow the instructions in “Repairing a Damaged
Disk” later in this chapter to test your startup hard disk and repair any
damage.
If repairing the disk doesn’t help, follow the instructions in “Installing or
Reinstalling System Software” later in this chapter to reinstall system
software on your startup hard disk.
128 Chapter 9