IIci 64MB memory upgrade issues. Do I have the wrong RAM?

[danny.gonzalez.0861@gmai]

Hello friends!

Recently purchased a 64MB memory upgrade and I can't successfully boot with the new memory modules.

My IIci came with 5MB, x4 1MB modules and and additional x4 256KB. I had the 1MB on Bank B and the smaller 256 on Bank A. That worked great and still does.

I have tried just the new RAM which are x4 16MB modules in Bank A and nothing in Bank B, all I get are some faint click sounds from the speaker.

Also tried the 256's and 1k in Bank A with these new ones in B with the exact same results.

Here are my new modules:



And here are the working originals:



Is it the fact that the new RAM has 8 memory modules while the old ones are just 2? The place I purchased them said it was compatible with IIci but anything is possible.

Thanks as usual!

 

[dougg3]

Hello! How long are you waiting before powering the machine off? With more RAM, the startup memory test takes quite a bit longer than you might think. I'd expect you'd at least hear the "chimes of death" eventually if there was something wrong with the RAM.

That's one of the advantages of the custom ROM SIMMs that a lot of people use in this era of machines -- they disable the RAM test. If you know you have good RAM, it's definitely a time saver.

 

[danny.gonzalez.0861@gmai]

Hello! How long are you waiting before powering the machine off? With more RAM, the startup memory test takes quite a bit longer than you might think. I'd expect you'd at least hear the "chimes of death" eventually if there was something wrong with the RAM.

That's one of the advantages of the custom ROM SIMMs that a lot of people use in this era of machines -- they disable the RAM test. If you know you have good RAM, it's definitely a time saver.

Hello and thank you for such a a quick response!!

Unfortunately I don't even get LED activity with the new memory modules installed. All I get are a few faint clicks from the speaker. Leaving it alone for a few minutes doesn't do anything and pressing the power button just reproduces the same faint clicks as before.

Thanks!

 

[dougg3]

Unfortunately I don't even get LED activity with the new memory modules installed.

Ahh, you don’t even get a startup chime? Hmmm, that makes me wonder if one of the new modules has a short circuit on it or something. Might be worth removing one at a time (yes I know the RAM test will fail and it won’t boot) to see if you can narrow it down to a single new RAM module that is preventing LED activity and boot chimes.

 

[dougg3]

Looking in more depth at your pictures, the chips on those new SIMMs are so freaking close together. I wouldn't be surprised if a set of adjacent chips has a pin (or multiple pins) touching each other. That could definitely cause issues because the address and data buses are shared with the ROM, so it could interfere with even allowing the ROM to execute.

For example, it might just be the angle, but these kind of look like they're touching:

 

[croissantking]

I have a set of these exact same modules and I have used them successfully with my SE/30 so they should also work on a IIci. The modules are very close together but definitely not touching on mine.

 

[joshc]

The memory masters RAM should work fine, I’ve got some as well and they work ok.

 

[volvo242gt]

My old IIci had those in it as well. I've since moved them to the Quadra 950. Still working perfectly. In fact, for a while, I had eight in it as well.


Took a while to boot.

I wonder if your machine might have another issue causing it to not show any activity with the SIMMs, yet be ok with the original parts.

 

[croissantking]

I wonder if your machine might have another issue causing it to not show any activity with the SIMMs, yet be ok with the original parts.

This is possible if for example there is a damaged trace on one of the upper address lines.

I’d suggest physically inspecting the RAM as @dougg3 mentioned.

 

[danny.gonzalez.0861@gmai]

Well, here is a recap this far.

Memory Masters requires me to send back the bad Modules and once they receive them they will process a new order and reship the replacement modules. I don't think that is quite fair and even asked if they would consider shipping once they saw movement of my return to which they declined. Well then...

My IIci was never in bad condition especially around the RAM so broken traces were not suspect. I still looked around for a couple of hours and found no broken traces around the memory SIMMs. I wasn't about to start troubleshooting the memory modules since they were supposed to be new and working, heck that's what I paid for so hence why I returned them without seeing if they were shorted. Not my problemo.

I'm fairly impatient so I found a company on good'ole eBay that has fast shipping so I bought them. I liked that they were the same "2 chip" format vs the "8 chip" design from Memory Masters.

They arrived today and went straight into the IIci and would you know it. IT WORKS!!

Here are the modules that worked for future reference:




Needless to say I am way happier with these cards. They are even gold plated vs the cheaper solder pad versions; Not only the originals but also the Memory Masters as well. Granted performance is not affected by this but longevity if repeatedly removed will definitely be improved.

Let's see what I get back from MM and if they work, my IIci will have a ridiculous 128MB of RAM.

Yes I have a problem as it seems we all share in common

Thanks for the help everyone! Happy Macs for ever!!

 

[croissantking]

Wow, I have never seen 2-chip 16MB 30-pin modules before. Didn’t even know it was possible.

 

[danny.gonzalez.0861@gmai]

Wow, I have never seen 2-chip 16MB 30-pin modules before. Didn’t even know it was possible.

This is all new to me!! I simply trusted the eBay listing and didn't think twice.

I guess I'm glad it worked out.

Honestly, I like the feel of these, they just seem like better quality, they even click into the SIMMs with ease.

I'm a total newbie so take all of that with a grain of salt (I think that's how the saying goes lol).

Thank you for suggesting looking at the traces, now I know for sure those traces are fine and I took the opportunity to install a CR2032 in lue of the original battery holder.

Hope all is well!

 

[croissantking]

What graphics card do you have in there btw? I noticed a lot of VRAM.

 

[dougg3]

Those are nice-looking 2-chip SIMMs!

Yeah, I'll bet one (or more) of those Memory Masters SIMMs is defective and shorting something on the address or data bus. That would perfectly explain why it won't even chime, because it would prevent the ROM from executing properly.

 

[danny.gonzalez.0861@gmai]

It is a SuperMac Spectrum 24 PDQ.

Another eBay find that I thought was too cheap to be true but sent an offer and it auto accepted. Seller took a bit to ship and in transit got a little damaged so the seller sweetened the deal even more.

Thanks to the amazing plethora of help on this site I was able to get it fixed and running on my IIci which was in itself and adventure and learning processes which I enjoy.

Here is the thread in case you want to see better photos and the issues I had:

IIci w/ Supermac Spectrum 24 PDQ - No Video Output

Hi everyone, I am fairly new to the 68k Mac world and I managed to grab a Supermac Spectrum PDQ 24 for my IIci and 13" High Resolution Display. The display works fine with the onboard graphics but nothing from the Supermac. I am having issues sourcing the SuperVideo v2.7.5 that is supposed to...

68kmla.org

Thanks again!

 

[danny.gonzalez.0861@gmai]

Those are nice-looking 2-chip SIMMs!

Yeah, I'll bet one (or more) of those Memory Masters SIMMs is defective and shorting something on the address or data bus. That would perfectly explain why it won't even chime, because it would prevent the ROM from executing properly.

Thank you

I was so close to following your suggestion of inspecting the modules for shorts but it would have required me to remove the sticker on the cards which would have voided the warranty. That was the literal moment when my brain told itself, "What the heck are you doing! These are under warranty!".

The rest is history. I do wish they would have sent new ones sooner but it is what it is.

You are all a great group of people and I honestly am honored to be part of this group.

Thanks again!

 

[dougg3]

I was so close to following your suggestion of inspecting the modules for shorts but it would have required me to remove the sticker on the cards which would have voided the warranty.

Haha, that makes perfect sense. Glad you got something up and running either way!

 

[Guy Madison]

Well, here is a recap this far.

Memory Masters requires me to send back the bad Modules and once they receive them they will process a new order and reship the replacement modules. I don't think that is quite fair and even asked if they would consider shipping once they saw movement of my return to which they declined. Well then...

My IIci was never in bad condition especially around the RAM so broken traces were not suspect. I still looked around for a couple of hours and found no broken traces around the memory SIMMs. I wasn't about to start troubleshooting the memory modules since they were supposed to be new and working, heck that's what I paid for so hence why I returned them without seeing if they were shorted. Not my problemo.

I'm fairly impatient so I found a company on good'ole eBay that has fast shipping so I bought them. I liked that they were the same "2 chip" format vs the "8 chip" design from Memory Masters.

They arrived today and went straight into the IIci and would you know it. IT WORKS!!View attachment 69307

Here are the modules that worked for future reference:

View attachment 69308
View attachment 69309

Needless to say I am way happier with these cards. They are even gold plated vs the cheaper solder pad versions; Not only the originals but also the Memory Masters as well. Granted performance is not affected by this but longevity if repeatedly removed will definitely be improved.

Let's see what I get back from MM and if they work, my IIci will have a ridiculous 128MB of RAM.

Yes I have a problem as it seems we all share in common

Thanks for the help everyone! Happy Macs for ever!!

Yes the Slaton modules work great, other than the long memory test... and it took only 2 days to show up on my doorstep!

 

[Unknown_K]

I think there are issues with corrosion between gold SIMMs and tin sockets.

http://ps-2.kev009.com/pcpartnerinfo/ctstips/dbce.htm

 

[Guy Madison]

I think there are issues with corrosion between gold SIMMs and tin sockets.

http://ps-2.kev009.com/pcpartnerinfo/ctstips/dbce.htm

You are correct, thanks for bringing that up. Dissimilar metals have different galvanic voltages, the greater the distance in galvanic voltages causes corrosion at a higher rate.