For months, PowerComputing said that Apple said that MacOS 7.6.1 would fix two principal issues-- modem access after sta

For months, PowerComputing said that Apple said that MacOS 7.6.1 would fix two principal issues-- modem access after startup and hard disk access (blinking "?") on restarts (warm boots) on these computers sharing Apple's "Alchemy" motherboard. Read the details about them here.

The results from installing MacOS 7.6.1 are:

1. Modem Access Issue

Fixed. Modems can be turned on at anytime after startup and accessed as always.

2. HD Access, i.e. Blinking "?" on Restart (warm reboot) Issue

Fixed, provided the internal HD is reselected in the Startup Disk control panel. Reselection might have to be done more often than the first time. This issue is not to be confused with the blinking "?" on a startup (cold start).

3. Slow Performance

MacOS 7.6.1 indefensibly disables the L2 cache, if installed, in these computers so download and install the 54xx/64xx L2 Cache Reset extension.

4. Slow Startup, Restart or Shutdown

MacOS 7.6.1 with the L2 Cache Reset extension installed takes significantly longer to boot and shutdown than does MacOS 7.6, especially if the internal HD becomes inexplicably deselected in the Startup Disk control panel, and seems to perform somewhat more slowly than with MacOS 7.6. Reselect the internal HD and live with the slowness or reinstall (clean install) MacOS 7.6.

5. More Crashes Using 54xx/64xx L2 Cache Reset

In my experience and that reported by many others, there appears to be a significant increase in system crashes with MacOS 7.6.1 and 54xx/64xx L2 Cache Reset installed. The solution is to reinstall (clean install) MacOS 7.6.

The bottom line is that if one has an Alchemy board computer, then one one is faced with using MacOS 7.6, a fast and very stable system version, and living with having to turn on the modem before startup just like SCSI devices and selecting the internal HD in the Startup Disk control panel occasionally, especially after the installation of any software. Or one can install MacOS 7.6.1 with the L2 Cache Reset extension and live with slower startups, restarts and shutdowns, more crashes and a similar Startup Disk problem. I switched back to MacOS 7.6, ultimately doing a clean install to eliminate some lingering problems. With high hopes, I will wait eagerly for MacOS 8.

[P.S. -- MacOS 7.6.1 is running fine on my Powerbook 3400, 7100/80 and Quadra 605.]

David Engstrom e-mailed me that "[t]here have been over 75 additional Pages of information relating to Mac and Mac Clones added to the Mac and Mac Clone Performance Comparison Page."

NEWS.COM has a domain name issue update.