HD Locked on Macintosh SE

[defjam]

I recently acquired a Macintosh SE which has 4MB of RAM, a SuperDrive, and an unknown capacity HD. It boots up to System 6.0.7 but I can't make any chances to it because I am told various things are locked (such as the Control Panel). I can't drag files around to delete anything (or, for that matter, move anything).

When I boot the system there is a lock extension which appears, it's initially unlocked and then closes before the next extension loads. I assume this means that some locking method is being enabled. I thought I would remove this extension but when I look in the extensions folder I don't see anything (the same applies to the Control Panel folder).

I thought I would boot from floppy and wipe the drive using HD Setup. However it appears the floppy is bad. I do have an Apple 3.5" disk drive for my IIGS but the system doesn't want to boot from that drive (though it sees it when it's booted from the HD). The floppy disks I have are 800KB floppies and should work in either drive (the Mac floppy is a SuperDrive, the external 3.5" drive is 800KB).

I am unfamiliar with System 6.0 so any advice on how to proceed would be helpful.

 

[DeltaMac]

You might have a Mac that has some kind of locking software (prevents most changes to the system), maybe "kiosk" (public user access, but pretty locked down for other use)

What happens if you try to boot to Safe Boot mode? (Restart, holding the shift key) Do you get a window that asks for a password?

 

[defjam]

You might have a Mac that has some kind of locking software (prevents most changes to the system), maybe "kiosk" (public user access, but pretty locked down for other use)

What happens if you try to boot to Safe Boot mode? (Restart, holding the shift key) Do you get a window that asks for a password?

I assume there's some locking software installed but I cannot figure out what it is. There was no change in startup when holding down the shift key. I'm not sure that was something available on System 6.0 but rather appeared on System 7.0.

 

[DeltaMac]

I assume there's some locking software installed but I cannot figure out what it is. There was no change in startup when holding down the shift key. I'm not sure that was something available on System 6.0 but rather appeared on System 7.0.

Ah, OK. I think you are on the right track. Been a while since I have thought about System 6.
My idea, however, is that there is something in that particular install that is protected, a hidden area that prevents modification to the system. All you should need is an erase, then reinstall 6.

I can think of a couple of possibilities that are going to be a challenge for you.
The internal floppy won't read any disks, is that correct?
If you connect the GS floppy drive, then insert one of the installer disks, can you view the contents of the disk?

Did some searching, and I think that the Apple IIGS floppy drive should also work on a Mac that has the correct connector.
If it will mount the system 6 diskette (so you can read files on that diskette), that, in itself, doesn't necessarily mean that you can also boot to that diskette. I'm just not sure. Maybe someone else with actual knowledge about that will post on your thread.
Might be worth a test to disconnect the internal floppy drive, so the external is the only boot device...

 

[MacTech68]

Maybe a picture of the extension on bootup might assist.

 

[defjam]

Maybe a picture of the extension on bootup might assist.

Excellent idea. Here it is:

[doublepost=1568643251][/doublepost]

Ah, OK. I think you are on the right track. Been a while since I have thought about System 6.
My idea, however, is that there is something in that particular install that is protected, a hidden area that prevents modification to the system. All you should need is an erase, then reinstall 6.

I can think of a couple of possibilities that are going to be a challenge for you.
The internal floppy won't read any disks, is that correct?
If you connect the GS floppy drive, then insert one of the installer disks, can you view the contents of the disk?

Did some searching, and I think that the Apple IIGS floppy drive should also work on a Mac that has the correct connector.
If it will mount the system 6 diskette (so you can read files on that diskette), that, in itself, doesn't necessarily mean that you can also boot to that diskette. I'm just not sure. Maybe someone else with actual knowledge about that will post on your thread.
Might be worth a test to disconnect the internal floppy drive, so the external is the only boot device...

I don't have much experience with System 6 or these older Macs. I had the same thought as you about an erase and install. Unfortunately I think that's hindered by a bad floppy drive. That or the system has been configured to avoid booting from floppy (not sure if that was possible on an SE).

To answer your questions:

1. No, the internal floppy does not appear to read any disks. When I attempt to format a disk it appears to work most of the way but always ends up failing. So I think the floppy is bad (I did clean the heads).
2. Yes, I can view the contents of the installer disks (they're 800KB floppies) when the external 3.5" drive is connected. I can't seem to boot from the external disk though. I found a key combination, Shift-Command-Option-Delete, which is supposed to force booting from an external drive but that doesn't appear to work.

The Apple 3.5" floppy drive does work on both the GS and Macintosh. I verified that before trying (I think I read somewhere there's a particular combination that doesn't work and will damage either the drive or the system so I made sure to verity that would not be the case here). As an FYI I have confirmed the System 6 floppies can boot.

 

[DeltaMac]

Run the Font/DA Mover utility. It will be on any of the system 6 floppy diskettes, and probably on the hard drive
It will list desk accessories (DA), which are small apps that can run concurrently with your system, and the locking software might be among those DAs listed. You may be able to move that off of your hard drive.

 

[defjam]

I ran the Font/DA Mover utility and didn't see anything that I could remove that would unlock the disk. I think I discovered what it is. Possibly something called "FoolProof". There's a control panel which I can run but it's password protected so I can't do anything with it.

I think my best bet is to just wipe the drive in some way. Either pull it out and install it on one of my other Macs or obtain a new floppy drive. What are the odds the HD is locked and the floppy drive doesn't work so I can't wipe it!

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Yep, FoolProof is an old access-security extension. You pretty much have to have a brand new System Folder to get around it. You'll have to boot to a different disk to do anything.

 

[MacTech68]

You could try various common passwords - you never know.

 

[defjam]

You could try various common passwords - you never know.

Already did some of the basics. Since I'm not concerned with what is currently on the drive I think the best course of action is to wipe it clean (which is typically what I do when I get any used hard disk) and reinstall. I'd have already done it if the floppy drive was working.

 

[defjam]

Obtained a new floppy drive, installed it, and I can now boot from the System 6 installer disk. Ran HD Setup and wiped the HD clean.