Can't boot SE from external BlueSCSI V2 sad Mac and flashing "?" Mark results

[9646gt]

Just clean them again. It's a common issue. Rub them with something mildly abrasive like paper towel. And spray in the sockets too.

Really common to have RAM issues after reseating them. Sorry. You'll be fine.

I don't know if that would be the reason I get no power at all though right? I mean nothing happens at all haha. No fan no nothing. I turned it on and tested the connector that supplies power to the internal HDD which is disconnected and not being used and got no voltage at all. I'm assuming a fuse or something popped in the PSU since the Sony units are supposed to be really good and it's been recapped. I REALLY don't want to tear this thing all apart again to get the PSU out. Ugh!

 

[9646gt]

Oh, 1MB SIMMs are easy to find. Everyone other than SE and Plus users upgrade from 1MB. Plus they only need 150ns or faster which is dog slow, so you don't have to worry about speed grade.

What continent are you on?

Oh I didn't realize that! I'm in the US actually

 

[Forrest]

I noticed those SIMM slots have plastic retention tabs. I’ve seen these become unreliable on other computers after many years. The slots no longer provide enough force to keep the contacts in the slot in contact with the SIMMs. The thickness of the PCB used to make the SIMM seems to be a factor also.

 

[9646gt]

I noticed those SIMM slots have plastic retention tabs. I’ve seen these become unreliable on other computers after many years. The slots no longer provide enough force to keep the contacts in the slot in contact with the SIMMs. The thickness of the PCB used to make the SIMM seems to be a factor also.

Yeah my slots do have a single broken tab

 

[Phipli]

I don't know if that would be the reason I get no power at all though right? I mean nothing happens at all haha. No fan no nothing. I turned it on and tested the connector that supplies power to the internal HDD which is disconnected and not being used and got no voltage at all. I'm assuming a fuse or something popped in the PSU since the Sony units are supposed to be really good and it's been recapped. I REALLY don't want to tear this thing all apart again to get the PSU out. Ugh!

Ah, ok. In that case... Hum. I'd start by removing the board again. Did you reconnect everything?

Then, if it isn't that, I recommend putting it away until tomorrow to let everything discharge some. Toggle the switch with the power not plugged in before you do.

Then, tomorrow, check that all the cables onto the analogue board are properly seated. If they are... You'll need to dig deeper.

Be warned, the analogue board and CRT are very high voltage. Do not touch the board on the back of the CRT neck because it is super delicate and high voltage.

Letting the charge drain out over night is a good start, but technically you should also discharge the CRT. There are instructions for doing this on YouTube.

 

[Phipli]

Oh I didn't realize that! I'm in the US actually

You might want to make a Wanted trading post and ask if anyone is willing to send you two working 1MB 30 pin SIMMs. Say where in the country you are in case someone is reasonably local to you.

 

[Forrest]

Yeah my slots do have a single broken tab

That’s going to be a problem. The only fix I know of is to remove the bad SIMM slot and replace it with one that has a metal retention tab. This is a difficult repair and requires desoldering equipment.

 

[Phipli]

That’s going to be a problem. The only fix I know of is to remove the bad SIMM slot and replace it with one that has a metal retention tab. This is a difficult repair and requires desoldering equipment.

The easiest solution is to ignore it to be honest. It's not what is stopping their computer powering on and it was working fine previously.

 

[9646gt]

That’s going to be a problem. The only fix I know of is to remove the bad SIMM slot and replace it with one that has a metal retention tab. This is a difficult repair and requires desoldering equipment.

It seems to still be very well seated. I'll focus on getting power first and see if it causes an issue. I think I might be up to the challenge of replacing it if so. I've learned a lot recapping all these PITA Macs it seems haha

 

[9646gt]

Ah, ok. In that case... Hum. I'd start by removing the board again. Did you reconnect everything?

Then, if it isn't that, I recommend putting it away until tomorrow to let everything discharge some. Toggle the switch with the power not plugged in before you do.

Then, tomorrow, check that all the cables onto the analogue board are properly seated. If they are... You'll need to dig deeper.

Be warned, the analogue board and CRT are very high voltage. Do not touch the board on the back of the CRT neck because it is super delicate and high voltage.

Letting the charge drain out over night is a good start, but technically you should also discharge the CRT. There are instructions for doing this on YouTube.

I removed and reinstalled the board. I also reflowed the PSU connector on the board. I'm going to try and reflow where it goes into the analog board points as well and if nothing changes I'll have to open the PSU I guess.

 

[Phipli]

I removed and reinstalled the board. I also reflowed the PSU connector on the board. I'm going to try and reflow where it goes into the analog board points as well and if nothing changes I'll have to open the PSU I guess.

Yes, but remember there is like 15,000V on the CRT and analogue board, so don't work on it while caps are charged.

 

[9646gt]

Yes, but remember there is like 15,000V on the CRT and analogue board, so don't work on it while caps are charged.

Yeah it makes me nervous as is haha. I usually discharge for a couple days before messing that deep. I did however reflow the two connectors on the AB and she fired right up. There were some weak looking joints. Now back to the original troubleshooting

 

[Phipli]

Yeah it makes me nervous as is haha. I usually discharge for a couple days before messing that deep. I did however reflow the two connectors on the AB and she fired right up. There were some weak looking joints. Now back to the original troubleshooting

Good news

I don't normally touch the analogue board at all if it has been powered on that day, just in case I accidentally touch something spicy and the discharge resistor isn't working. Mine have been pretty reliable though to be honest.

 

[9646gt]

Good news

I don't normally touch the analogue board at all if it has been powered on that day, just in case I accidentally touch something spicy and the discharge resistor isn't working. Mine have been pretty reliable though to be honest.

It scares me, but honestly after having to messa all around with the running CRT yesterday to get it properly adjusted I am less scared of the analog board I guess haha.

Still will not boot any image I try. Just the flashing ?Any ideas guys? Anything inparticular about my SD card or anything? It's formatted in ExFAT just like my other macs.

 

[Phipli]

BlueSCSI Support -

• Open Retro SCSI Discord
• TinkerDifferent Forum
• GitHub Discussions

Is the best thing for BlueSCSI issues, they should know all the common machine specific issues.

 

[9646gt]

Is the best thing for BlueSCSI issues, they should know all the common machine specific issues.

Ill give it a try. I hate discord with a passion haha. I even tried to create a system disk with the infinitemac online emulator but no go.

 

[Phipli]

Ill give it a try. I hate discord with a passion haha. I even tried to create a system disk with the infinitemac online emulator but no go.

A pre-made image is your best bet, one specifically listed as for the BlueSCSI or ZuluSCSI, and with 6.0.8 really, given you only have 2.5MB of RAM.

How do you have SCSI termination set?

 

[9646gt]

A pre-made image is your best bet, one specifically listed as for the BlueSCSI or ZuluSCSI, and with 6.0.8 really, given you only have 2.5MB of RAM.

How do you have SCSI termination set?

I don't think there is a setting for termination is there? I removed the internal HDD completely. I even used Disc Jockey from BlueSCSI just now to make a blank 40mb image that i specifically marked compatibility for SE and booted off my floppy drive and it still does not show on the desktop when I boot the floppy. Also, I checked my images with disc jockey and they state they are using the 4.3 SCSI driver

 

[Phipli]

I don't think there is a setting for termination is there? I removed the internal HDD completely. I even used Disc Jockey from BlueSCSI just now to make a blank 40mb image that i specifically marked compatibility for SE and booted off my floppy drive and it still does not show on the desktop when I boot the floppy. Also, I checked my images with disc jockey and they state they are using the 4.3 SCSI driver

Termination:

Board Jumpers & Config - BlueSCSI v2 Documentation

BlueSCSI v2 Documentation.

bluescsi.com

4.3 is a bit new, I don't know if that would cause issues or not. I assume not.

 

[9646gt]

Problem solved! The discord said to format the card with the SD formatter utility from their WIKI to make sure it'c completely fresh and that seems to have worked!