Note: Remember to use either a Disk Tools floppy or the CD-ROM that came with the computer. Powerbook floppy drives, because they use a different mechanism than desktop units, are particularly sensitive to badly-formatted disks. These disks may work fine on a desktop unit or even another Powerbook but may still cause problems in a Powerbook floppy drive that is functioning within specficiations.
The following troubleshooting steps are ordered according to level of difficulty. After every step insert a Disk Tools disk or a System CD into the drive to test it.
Troubleshooting steps:
1. Reseat the drive. (Remove and re-insert).
2. Reset PRAM. (Remember that resetting the PRAM from shutdown on a Powerbook 190, 5300, or 1400 series computer will put the computer into a sleep mode. To get it to start up at this point, press the reset button on the I/O panel for a couple of seconds.)
3. Try starting up from the CD-ROM* or Disk Tools Disk. If you get the disk to boot, go to step 4. If the disk does not boot, go to step 6. (You will know that the PowerBook is booted from your Disk Tools disk or CD if the icon for the Disk Tools disk or the CD appears on the desktop in the upper right corner, ABOVE the icon for the hard drive.)
4. Run Disk First Aid. If there are no problems found (or after you repair any problems found), run Drive Setup. Select the hard drive, and update the hard drive drivers (under the "Functions" menu). Quit Drive Setup. Then reboot from the hard drive so that the new hard drive drivers will be active and test the media-bay device.
5. If nothing in Step 4 resolves the problem, then the issue lies with some element of the system software or the hard drive. To further troubleshoot a system problem use normal system software troubleshooting: boot with extensions off�?, system extensions only, extensions troubleshooting, and, as a last resort, perform a clean install of system software. If a clean install (with NO additional 3rd party applications or extensions installed) does not resolve the problem (and the system boots from the expansion bay module -- see step 3 above), then it may be necessary to reformat the hard drive because there may be a corruption or error on the hard drive that Disk First Aid cannot resolve.
6. If you cannot get the module to boot from the Disk Tools Disk or a System CD-ROM try replacing the module with another like module (floppy for floppy or CD-ROM for CD-ROM -- they use different connectors to the logic board on both the 1400 and 3400 series computers). It may be necessary to go to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider to find another drive to test in the unit. Also remember that the Powerbook 190, 5300, and 3400 series computers use the same floppy drive module and are interchangeable. If another module works in the questionable Powerbook then the problem lies with the module, which can be advance replaced (by calling Apple Computer directly or through an Apple-Authorized Service Provider). If another known-good module does not work in the Powerbook, service is indicated for the Powerbook because the problem lies on the logic board or its connection to the expansion bay module.
* To boot from a CD-ROM on a PowerBook1400 series computer, simultaneously hold down the command, option, shift, and delete keys until the "Happy Mac" icon appears on the screen. Do not hold down the keys too long if you want the hard drive to mount after the CD-ROM (necessary if you want to run Disk First Aid).
* To boot from the CD-ROM on a PowerBook 3400 series computer, hold down the "C" key.
�? With a CD-ROM module, a minimal extensions set with just the following extensions is needed to mount the drive: Apple CD-ROM and Foreign File Access. No extensions are necessary for the floppy drive to function normally.