CompuServe Messages

I was hanging back from trying it on my main system, since that's a 1.3 which would likely turn up results not relevant to Joan's problem. But .. let's dig further. When all else fails, read the documentation .. I quote from the Amiga Hard Drive User's Guide: "3.4. The Install Disk Utility Programs… "PrepHD (caution .. this one completely reformats and partitions, and will wipe ALL the disk contents)… "FormatHD. This utility formats the partitions created by PrepHD, so that they are ready to have the system software installed… "InstallHD. This is the program you use to install your system software to the hard disk. InstallHD, once started, requests the insertion of software disks into the floppy drive…" Most likely InstallHD is the one that puts the boot sector in place [anyone know this for sure?] .. in which case, Joan should go back to the Install disk and run InstallHD. Since this will wipe existing files, she should backup any data she doesn't want to lose. From appendix A: "Symptom: When you boot your system from the hard disk, you see a screen requesting a Workbench disk. Solution: Reboot your system by pressing the Ctrl, the Left Amiga, and the right Amiga keys simultaneously. If you still see the Workbench disk screen, you may need to rebuild your hard disk". This doesn't *quite* match the symptom Joan reported: she gets a blank screen. But it's the closest I can find in the table, and may be the best thing for us to try next. Is it possible that her hard disk has not stabilized, and that's why she hangs on a HD boot? (Also, as I recall, Joan told us that she doesn't have a full set of the Install disks .. so if she needs to go the Install route, she'll need to get fixed up on that count). JOAN, ARE YOU LISTENING? If so, try the three-key reboot as indicated a few paragraphs above, and tell us if anything interesting happens. Also: could you refresh my memory on Install disks? –Jim