Can't start SS after bungled system install

About SheepShaver, a PPC Mac emulator for Windows, MacOS X, and Linux that can run System 7.5.3 to MacOS 9.0.4.

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bg4gls
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Can't start SS after bungled system install

Post by bg4gls »

I followed your set-up instructions (http://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/she ... os_x_setup) all the way through "Booting SS and installing the system." I got the OS 8 desktop with the appropriate icons. However, at that point, I guess I failed to do anything to "install" the system from the CD on the virtual icon. I then followed the rest of the instructions, shutting down the emulated machine and quitting SS.

Now SS will not reopen. I tried trashing SS and downloading it again to start over, but the newly downloaded copy will not start either. Ideas?

My configuration: Mac Mini 1.83 Core 2 Duo; OS 10.5.8; OS 8.1 CD; "old world" Mac ROM; 25-10-2009 build of SheepShaver.
emendelson
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Post by emendelson »

Open a terminal (search the web if you don't know how to do this). Very carefully enter the following command in the terminal:

rm ~/.sheep*

Notice that the three characters after rm and space are a tilde (~), a forward slash and a dot, then (without any spaces) "sheep" followed immediately by an asterisk. The dot is very important; don't omit it!

This will remove the hidden files created by Sheepshaver when you first ran it. Then you should be able to start over.
bg4gls
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tried terminal

Post by bg4gls »

Thanks for trying to help.

I opened Terminal, selected New Command and put rm ~/.sheep* in the window and clicked Run. Terminal said:

-rm: ~/.sheep*: No such file or directory
[Process completed]

Tried SS and it still doesn't open was I supposed to do a restart in there somewhere?
emendelson
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Post by emendelson »

The previous message said "enter the following command in the terminal." That meant type the command IN the terminal itself, not from any menu, like this:

Open Terminal again. Do NOT use any menu. Do NOT use "New Command" or anything else on the menu. Instead, click inside the terminal window and type directly IN the terminal, where the block cursor is in the terminal window, waiting for you to type something:

rm ~/.sheep*

and then press Return. If the command performed correctly, then the terminal will NOT respond, but will simply show you a new prompt on the next line. That is exactly what you WANT to see, because it means the command was performed correctly.

Close the terminal.

(By the way, the reason you can't use "New command" here is that "rm" is a command that's built into the system, not a separate program; a separate program can be run from "New command" but "rm" will fail. Of course, the terminal doesn't tell you this!)
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

As 'emendelson' indicated, you need to delete the prefs file to be able to start the setup again. Instead of entering the command in Terminal, you can also simply run the "Delete Prefs File" script that you can download here: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ronaldpr/sheepsha ... cripts.zip

However, not being able to launch SheepShaver after a failure to install the system is not expected behavior. If the rom file is still present, it should launch just like the first time, showing the floppy icon with blinking question mark. But if the rom file is not present or does not have the right file name, SheepShaver will quit on launch.

What do you mean with "SS will not reopen" and "will not start". What does happen exactly?
bg4gls
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two steps forward, one step back

Post by bg4gls »

I used the terminal command a second time and got SS to open. (thank you) I redid the preferences, installed the OS8.1 CD and started SS. I got the Welcome to Mac OS screen but on top of that is a "bomb" placard saying "illegal instruction." What now?
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

It is not clear from your description whether the "bomb" appears while booting from the 8.1 CD or while booting, after installing the system, from the installed system.
bg4gls
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Post by bg4gls »

while booting from the 8.1 CD
bg4gls
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Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:48 am

Post by bg4gls »

I figured out that the problem was that I was using a new world rom with 8.1. So I found an old world rom (quadra650) and restarted the process. All went fine until about 1/2 way thru the system install when SS quit. Now it wont restart. (It flashes and then quits.)

What now? Do I have to go back to "~/.sheep*" in Terminal and start all over?
emendelson
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Post by emendelson »

bg4gls wrote:What now? Do I have to go back to "~/.sheep*" in Terminal and start all over?
I don't know, and I doubt anyone else does. Why not just try it and see what happens?

Also, make sure that all your other files are correct, and that you're using a generic, commercial copy of 8.1, not one that came with any specific machine or that has the name of any specific machine on the label. If you're using an image of a CD, and not an actual CD, then the image may have been badly made - something that happens in surprisingly many cases.
bg4gls
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thanks very much

Post by bg4gls »

emendelson & Ronald,
I finally got SS running on the last day of the year. I almost gave up.
Now I can use my beloved Canvas 3.5 in 2010.
Thanks so much for your help.
Happy New Year, Bob in LA
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