Macintosh startup
Encyclopedia
The Macintosh startup behaviors characteristic of Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 computers include the startup chime, Happy Mac, Sad Mac, and Chimes of Death (also known as Hawaiian Death Chimes).

Startup chime

The Macintosh startup chime is the single note or chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

 (depending on model type) played when an Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 computer is turned on. The sound indicates that diagnostic tests run immediately at startup have found no hardware or fundamental software problems.

Mark Lentczner created the code for the arpeggiated chord used on the Macintosh II
Macintosh II
The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintosh line and the first Macintosh to support a color display.- History :...

. Variations of this sound were used until Jim Reekes
Jim Reekes
Jim Reekes was a programmer at Apple Computer for 12 years. His work has significantly affected operating systems, most notably System 7 and QuickTime. He also is responsible for creating many of the system sounds for the Macintosh operating system...

 created the startup chime used on most Macintoshes since the Quadra 840AV. Reekes said, "The startup sound was done in my home studio on a Korg Wavestation
Korg Wavestation
The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which different PCM waveform data are played successively,...

. It's a C major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall)." The Macintosh LC
Macintosh LC
The Macintosh LC was Apple Computer's product family of low-end consumer Macintosh personal computers in the early 1990s. The original Macintosh LC was released in 1990 and was the first affordable color-capable Macintosh. Due to its affordability and Apple II compatibility the LC was adopted...

, LC II, and Macintosh Classic II
Macintosh Classic II
The Apple Macintosh Classic II replaced the Macintosh SE/30 in the compact Macintosh line in 1991. Like the SE/30, the Classic II was powered by a 16 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU and 40 or 80 MB hard disk, but in contrast to its predecessor, it was limited by a 16-bit data bus and a 10 MB memory...

 use an F major chord instead of C major. The first generation of Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...

 computers do not use the Reekes chime, instead using a chord strummed on a Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...

 12-string acoustic guitar by jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....

. Also, the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
Apple's Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh is a limited-edition personal computer that was released in 1997 in celebration of the company's 20th birthday....

 features a variant of the chime not used on any other Macintosh model. The Apple eMate 300 and all the Message Pads had a startup sound that quite different and strange.

For models built prior to the introduction of the Power Macintosh in 1994, a Sad Mac icon and error code, accompanied by unusual startup tones, are displayed on failure of initial self-diagnostic tests; this is referred to as the "Chimes of Death","Chords of Doom", or "Chimes of Doom".

The chime for all Mac computers since 1997 is the same chime used first in the Power Macintosh 9600
Power Macintosh 9600
The Power Macintosh 9600 is a personal computer that is a part of Apple Computer's Power Macintosh series of Macintosh computers...

 (although some of the earlier "beige" models used the previous sound). The chord is a G flat/F sharp major chord instead of C major, and was produced by pitch-shifting the 840AV's sound.

In the 2008 film WALL-E
WALL-E
WALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL•E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...

 the Mac startup chime is featured when the robot named WALL-E is fully recharged by solar panels.

Happy Mac

A Happy Mac is the normal bootup
Booting
In computing, booting is a process that begins when a user turns on a computer system and prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. On modern computers, this typically involves loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the...

 (startup) icon
Computer icon
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...

 of an Apple Macintosh computer running older versions of the Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...

 operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

. It was designed by Susan Kare
Susan Kare
Susan Kare is an artist and graphic designer who created many of the interface elements for the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s. She was also one of the original employees of NeXT , working as the Creative Director.-Background:Kare was born in Ithaca, New York and is the sister of aerospace engineer...

 in the early 1980s. It resembles models of the Compact Macintosh
Compact Macintosh
"Compact Macintosh" or "Classic Macintosh" are informal terms that refer to the direct descendants of the original Macintosh personal computer case design by Apple Computer, Inc. All of them are all-in-one desktop computer designs with the display integrated in the computer case, but not the...

 series. The icon remained unchanged until the introduction of the PowerPC Macs, when it was updated to 8-bit color. Adaption of this new icon was not universal for all Macs, however, as some late PowerPC Macs still had black and white "Happy Mac". The Happy Mac indicates that booting has successfully begun, whereas a Sad Mac (along with the "Chimes of Death" melody or one or more beeps) indicates a hardware problem.
When a Macintosh boots into Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...

 or lower, the system will play its startup chime, the screen will turn gray, and the Happy Mac icon will appear, followed by the Mac OS splash screen
Splash screen
A splash screen is an image that appears while a game or program is loading. It may also be used to describe an introduction page on a website. Splash screens sometimes do not cover the entire screen, but only a rectangle near the center...

 (or the small "Welcome to Macintosh" screen
Welcome to Macintosh
The term "Welcome to Macintosh" comes from the boot-up splash screen of the original Macintosh computer, made by Apple Computer, Inc. .- Abstract :...

 in System 7.1 and earlier), which underwent several stylistic changes. Mac OS versions after 8.6 also included the version number in this splash screen i.e. "Welcome to Mac OS 8.6".

On early Macs that had no internal hard drive, the computer would boot up to a point where it would need to load the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

 from a floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...

. A standard installation of System 7
System 7
System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...

 was too big for a floppy disk, so Macs that don't support hard disks can only boot up to System 6.0.8. Until the user inserted the correct disk, the Mac would display a floppy icon with a blinking question mark. In later Macs, a folder icon with a question mark that repeatedly changes to the Finder icon
Macintosh Finder
The Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...

 is shown if a valid System Folder
System Folder
The System Folder is the directory in classic versions of Mac OS that holds various files required for the system to operate, such as fonts, system extensions, control panels, and preferences....

 cannot be found.

With Mac OS X 10.1, Puma
Mac OS X v10.1
Mac OS X version 10.1, code named "Puma", is the second major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.0 and preceded Mac OS X v10.2. Version 10.1 was released on 25 September 2001 as a 'free update' to version 10.0...

, a new Happy Mac was included. This is also the last version that had a Happy Mac logo.

With the introduction of Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, the Sad Mac icon was replaced with the prohibition icon
No symbol
The no symbol is a circle with a diagonal line through it , surrounding a pictogram used to indicate something is not permitted...

, the bomb screen
Bomb (symbol)
A bomb symbol is an image used to represent a bomb. It has several different applications, specifically in computing.- In computing :-Mac OS:...

 was replaced with a Kernel panic
Kernel panic
A kernel panic is an action taken by an operating system upon detecting an internal fatal error from which it cannot safely recover. The term is largely specific to Unix and Unix-like systems; for Microsoft Windows operating systems the equivalent term is "Bug check" .The kernel routines that...

 (which was originally coloured white but was changed to black in version 10.3
Mac OS X v10.3
Mac OS X Panther is the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" and preceded Mac OS X Tiger...

) and, in version 10.2
Mac OS X v10.2
Mac OS X version 10.2 "Jaguar" is the third major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.1 code name Puma and preceded Mac OS X Panther...

, the Happy Mac symbol was replaced with the Apple logo.

Sad Mac

A Sad Mac is an iconic
Icon (computing)
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...

 symbol used by older-generation Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 computers (hardware using the Old World ROM
Old World ROM
Old World ROM Macintosh computers are the Macintosh models that use a Macintosh Toolbox ROM chip, usually in a socket . All Macs prior to the iMac use Old World ROM, while the iMac and all subsequent models until the introduction of the Intel-based EFI Models are New World ROM machines...

), starting with the original 128K Macintosh, to indicate a severe hardware or software problem that prevented startup from occurring successfully. The Sad Mac icon was displayed, along with a set of hexadecimal
Hexadecimal
In mathematics and computer science, hexadecimal is a positional numeral system with a radix, or base, of 16. It uses sixteen distinct symbols, most often the symbols 0–9 to represent values zero to nine, and A, B, C, D, E, F to represent values ten to fifteen...

 codes that indicated the type of problem at startup. Different codes were for different errors. This was used in place of the normal Happy Mac icon, which indicated that the startup-time hardware tests were successful. In 68k models made after the Macintosh II
Macintosh II
The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintosh line and the first Macintosh to support a color display.- History :...

, a tune (Chimes of Death) was played.
The MC68000-based machines (those models earlier than the Macintosh II
Macintosh II
The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintosh line and the first Macintosh to support a color display.- History :...

 as well as the original Macintosh Classic
Macintosh Classic
The Macintosh Classic was a personal computer manufactured by Apple Computer. Introduced on October 15, 1990, it was the first Apple Macintosh to sell for less than US$1,000. Production of the Classic was prompted by the success of the Macintosh Plus and the SE...

) crashed silently and displayed the Sad Mac, without playing any music. PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...

 Macs played a sound effect of a car crash.

A Sad Mac may be deliberately generated at startup by pressing the interrupt switch
Programmer's key
The Programmer's Key, or interrupt button, is a button or switch on a computer which causes an asynchronous interrupt request to be sent to the processor. If a debugger is installed on the machine, it is activated when the interrupt request is processed, allowing the user to view and usually...

 on Macintoshes that had one installed, or by pressing Command and Power keys shortly after the startup chime. On some Macintoshes (e.g. PowerBook 540c) if the user presses the command and power keys before the screen comes up, it will play the chimes of death; the chimes are a fraction of normal speed and there is no Sad Mac displayed.

Sad iPod

On the iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...

, if damage or an error occurs in the hardware or the firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...

, for example, if its files are deleted, a Sad iPod appears. This is similar to the Sad Mac, but instead of a computer, there is an iPod, and it doesn't play a Death Chime. The icon also lacks a nose, and the trail off is on the other side.

Chimes of Death

The Chimes of Death, also known as Hawaiian Death Chimes, are the Macintosh equivalent of an IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...

 POST error beep.
Most of the time, the Chimes of Death are accompanied by a Sad Mac icon in the middle of the screen.

Different Macintosh series used different death chime
Chime
-Musical instrument or tone:* Chime , an array of large bells, typically housed in a tower and played from a keyboard.** An instrument of this kind with 23 bells or more is known as a carillon...

s. The Macintosh II was the first to use death chimes (an upward major arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...

, with different chimes on many models). The Macintosh Quadra
Macintosh Quadra
The Macintosh Quadra series was Apple Computer's product family of professional high-end Apple Macintosh personal computers built using the Motorola 68040 CPU. The first two models in the Quadra line were introduced in 1991, and the name was used until the Power Mac was introduced in 1994...

, Centris
Macintosh Centris
Macintosh Centris is a line of Macintosh computers, introduced in 1993, that were built around the Motorola 68LC040 and 68040 CPUs. The name was chosen to indicate that the consumer was selecting a Macintosh in the center of Apple's product line: lower performance than the Quadra computers, but...

, Performa, LC
Macintosh LC
The Macintosh LC was Apple Computer's product family of low-end consumer Macintosh personal computers in the early 1990s. The original Macintosh LC was released in 1990 and was the first affordable color-capable Macintosh. Due to its affordability and Apple II compatibility the LC was adopted...

 and the Macintosh Classic
Macintosh Classic
The Macintosh Classic was a personal computer manufactured by Apple Computer. Introduced on October 15, 1990, it was the first Apple Macintosh to sell for less than US$1,000. Production of the Classic was prompted by the success of the Macintosh Plus and the SE...

 played the upward major arpeggio with four dissonant notes added to the end, again with slight variations depending on the series. The Macintosh Quadra AV600 and Centris AV600 used a sound of a single pass of Roland D-50
Roland D-50
The Roland D-50 is a polyphonic 61-key synthesizer produced by Roland. It was released in 1987. Its features include Linear Arithmetic synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland PG-1000 Programmer could also be...

's "Digital Native Dance" sample loop, while the Performa 6100 series used a car crash sound. The Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...

 and Performa 6200 and 6300 series, along with the Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...

 upgrade card, used a 3-note brass fanfare. The pre-G3 PCI Power Macs, the beige G3 Power Macs and the G3 All-In-One used a sound of a firecracker mixed with a metal pipe being struck, making it sound like something just exploded inside the machine when power was applied. The PowerBook100
and Macintosh Portable
Macintosh Portable
The Macintosh Portable was Apple Inc.'s first attempt at making a battery-powered portable Macintosh personal computer that held the power of a desktop Macintosh...

 used a death chime that was quite similar to the first death chimes, but was more similar to the Macintosh LLCX and Macintosh LLCI.

Since the introduction of the iMac
IMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....

 in 1998, the Chimes of Death are no longer used.

Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, released in early 2001 doesn't use the Sad Mac logo at all. Instead, there is a new symbol called the prohibitory sign
No symbol
The no symbol is a circle with a diagonal line through it , surrounding a pictogram used to indicate something is not permitted...

.

One can hear the death chimes of any Mac by downloading Mactracker
Mactracker
Mactracker is a freeware application containing a complete database of all Apple Macintosh hardware, including the Lisa , all versions of Mac OS, cameras, iPods, AirPort, printers, scanners, startup chimes, death chimes, and Macintosh clones. Sources for the history and text used in Mactracker are...

, a program with information about older Macs, including a sample of any Mac's start-up and death chimes by clicking the computer icon. To play a death chime, click the computer picture and hold the option button at the same time.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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