IIsi boot issue

[oldmacs]

Hi All-

Just got a Macintosh IIsi with issues. It chimes, and then starts reading the hard drive and I can hear it make an error noise once it has finished loading (Presumably for not shutting it down properly. However I get no display on my known working VGA monitor with cable. It turns but says no signal. The one thing it doesn't have is a PRAM battery. Can this cause these symptoms?

Thanks

~Oldmacs

 

[bibilit]

The one thing it doesn't have is a PRAM battery. Can this cause these symptoms?

Probably not, i have got two of those...and i don't have any PRAM battery.

Try removing the hard drive...can be related to a bad PSU or leaking caps.

 

[JRL1511844959]

VGA adapters/monitors can be really picky with the IIsi's video - older LCDs may not support sync-on-green. Try messing around with different settings. I use a Viewsonic VA2323wm LCD with adapter for my IIsis and it works great.

In either case you'd be way better off in the long run doing a recap.

 

[uniserver]

Yes, i agree with the others, and i'd like to add my 2 cents.

I bought a lot of 5 IIsi's

They all worked mostly when i had received them.

However, Only one had working sound.

And the other one had oddness with the PSU, where you could turn it on,

but the only way to turn it off was unplug it.

The caps were terrible on these.

Alot of time when people re-cap mac boards they leave out the big round 220uf and 470uf caps.

( because they are not leaking )

All of the 5 IIsi machines the 220uf caps were leaking. Witch is bad because those big caps have lots of trace rotting electrolyte in them.

Also i would like to add my experience with the IIcx and IIci----- Even if they are not leaking, Trust me they are bad change all The caps on the main board, even the big 220uf and 470uf ones.

 

[oldmacs]

I will be eventually replacing caps

I've ordered a new video adaptor with switches as I won't have access to my proper Macintosh CRT. All three of my IIsis do the same things. Sound works, they boot, monitor turns on. Its really weird!

 

[RickNel]

When you get your adapter with switches, use a setting for composite sync. Some Macs of this vintage use sync on green, but the dev notes for the 11si quite clearly say composite synch, and my experience supports that. [you can always try both].

There are lots of threads on this topic to review - but the adapter settings are very specific to different Mac models.

Rick

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

IIsi Video is, by far, the least forgiving in terms of the Monitors with which it deigns to work of all the Macs in my collection.

 

[uniserver]

When I overclocked my IIsi , the video came alive, as if it had been sleeping.

I was shocked.

Here is the video only benchmark.



also, my db15 to VGA ADAPTOR has 6 dip switches, the only way i can make the IIsi video work with my LCD

is 1on and 54321 all off.

 

[oldmacs]

My dip switch VGA adaptor got here- a mitsubishi ad-a205, However still none of my 3 IIsis will work with it. It has a IIsi configuration but that doesn't work. The adaptor itself works fine with my LC II. GRRRRRRRRRR

 

[oldmacs]

Oh would the fact that none of these macs have anything in the ROM slot be an issue?

 

[volvo242gt]

Shouldn't be. Unless, they're the rare IIsi machines that require a ROM SIMM. To see if the ROM chips are bad, you could grab a IIfx ROM SIMM and pop that in. You'll probably lose the ability to record audio using the built-in microphone jack, but, the rest of the ROM should be pretty much the same.

-J

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I 've ordered a new video adaptor with switches as I won't have access to my proper Macintosh CRT. All three of my IIsis do the same things. Sound works, they boot, monitor turns on. Its really weird!

It's not strange at all really, for the IIsi anyway. Now that you've all but eliminated the adapter as the problem, it's time to check out the monitor you're using. From your description, it sounds like your monitor is getting a signal, but it can't sync to it. Is that what you mean by "the monitor turns on?"

It's my guess that you're using an LCD that requires a 60Hz signal, not a MultiSync. But if it is, you probably need to use the adapter settings for 13"/14" RGB to get it to work if you haven't tried that yet. I've got a 17" Sony Trinitron and Liberty Adapter combo that has displayed just about anything I've ever thrown at it, but that's the only setting it will Sync to from the IIsi. The 12" RGB setting gives an out of range error and both LC settings result in a couple of barely audible clicks, but not even the sync range error. The Portrait setting, the IIsi's only usable output for a graphics production or word processing environment as far as I'm concerned, works with my silver bullet combo after a fashion . . .

. . . but a wide and squat, dim, incredibly cobalt blue image on the trusty Trinitron isn't what I'd describe as particularly WYSYWYG! )

When Apple hobbled the IIsi, they well and truly borked the maximum memory allotment and its vampire video subsystem's output both.

 

[oldmacs]

Sometimes the monitor seems to turn on (It seems to auto turn on when it finds a signal- but then it says no signal. I've tried all the adaptor settings but it hasn't helped.

Its a view sonic monitor that I was given free a few years back. It works with all my other stuff

I have a Macintosh Colour Plus monitor and I'll try and retrieve from storage and try that