onlyonemac asked:

I know this is rather long, and I know I could replace the PRAM battery, but I just want to know why it won't boot when I do the double-flick thing and if there's anything I can do about this.

Click to expand...

Every time that you boot the Mac and it gets as far as looking at the hard disk, the Mac logs the fact (on the disk) that it tried to boot. With System 7.5 (?), Mac OS looks at the log and if there are failed boots, it flags the disk for repair. Boot will be slower.

Given that you only own one Mac, you are asking for trouble by experimenting in this way. Sooner or later, the hard disk will stop booting.

Quick-flick on the power switch is a diagnostic method for identifying whether a Mac might work before replacing the PRAM battery. Having verified that the Mac works, sane people replace the PRAM battery.