Name:         1.2 GB Firmware Utility
Version:      1.1
Released:     October 21, 1997
Requires:
A 1.2 GB drive on 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.
Description:
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. 1.2 GB Firmware Utility
1.1 will upgrade the firmware on the affected drives and is
only needed for 1.2 GB ATA drives with firmware versions
1.37 and below.

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 is available in
the Utilities folder.

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


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.

Update Note

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/