Gulp.. thanks for the info.

I should have said that my 540c has been upgraded with a PowerPC processor and does run 8.6. I was given it about a year ago.

The 160 FD drive misalignment may be a possibility. However, I tried disk tools on another FD i found and this time i got the happy Mac face but then FD icon did not appear nor did it spin.

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re: get hold of the 160's HDD in SCSI disk mode from a Mac desktop

This sounds feasible as I have a friend with a 8500 sitting around. We have a number of SCSI cables around. I need to read about this and how to do it.

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re: send your 160's HDD to someone who can install 7.5.5 for you.

again possible though I need to read up on how to opne and disconnect HDD but I have done many later Macs (desktops and PowerBooks (G3/ G4).

I can't check RAM but I recall there being 4 MB so probably no expansion.

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I have ordered a new battery too as I am eager to get this baby up and running.

THANK YOU so much for your time helping me so far. Again, when you have time any other advice is most welcome.

Michael