Jailed SE/30

[joewhk]

I got a SE/30 which has a dead Floppy Drive and Hard Drive. But there were no vertcal bars (jail bars) on the screen. Things just going wrong and I don't know why it has vertical bars on the screen now.

I tried to reseat and replace RAM but it doesn't help. Any other possibilities for this problem?

Originally it has 8 256K RAM and I tried to install only four of them (same brand) in bank A (SIM1, SIM2). Later I replaced them with RAM from my dead IIci, same brand with unknown capacity (reported to be n*4=16MB)

(ref.: http://www.biwa.ne.jp/~shamada/fullmac/repairEng.html#JailBar)

Now I can boot the Mac with the floppy drive I dug from the IIci... since the mother board of my IIci is dead.

Ideas? Thanks

 

[equill]

Welcome back to the barracks.

What System have you on the startup volume? Is it a Disk Tools floppy disk? or a full System, such as 6.0.8?

Even if your IIci gave you 4 x 1MB of RAM for Bank A, and you added the 4 x 256kB from the SE/30 to Bank B, 5MB total is bare-bones for getting into System 7. The SE/30 can run 7.5.5, with coaxing, which means adequate RAM. It also means four identical cards in each Bank, with larger SIMMs in Bank A. Do the chip numbers and SIMM layouts match exactly in each 'set' of RAM cards? If the IIci gave you 4 x 4MB the same considerations apply, but you will have much more room to play.

Does the logic board show globby deposits around the capacitors? If you can boot from the FDD, this may not be an acute problem at the moment. Decent RAM will be your first necessity. You can download System 6.0.8 here.

When you are sure about RAM, a decent boot floppy and a serviceable PRAM battery, it will be time to consider video malfunction, if it persists.

de

 

[joewhk]

Thanks

I took eight RAM modules from the IIci and each four of them are manufactured by Samsung and OKI. So I installed the four OKI 4MB RAM into the SE/30 and so it has 16MB.

Since the internal HD is dead, I boot System 6.0.8L from Boot Disk (System Startup). The vertical bars appears when you switch on the computer. So it appears before, at, after the happy mac. Same case in System 7.0.1 and 7.5 Boot Disk.

Capacitors does matter? Let me have a check later but it should be alright. PRAM Battery should be dead. Does that matter?

Also, the power supply is very weak and I have to wait for a couple of minutes to get it started.

oh, em.. I broke the RAM clips on SIMM 4 (Bank B, Last slot) so I can't install RAM on that slot...

 

[Quadraman]

Oh, nevermind, you found the site I was thinking of already.

 

[equill]

... PRAM Battery should be dead. Does that matter? ... Also, the power supply is very weak and I have to wait for a couple of minutes to get it started. ... I broke the RAM clips on SIMM 4 (Bank B, Last slot) so I can't install RAM on that slot...

Have you a meter to test the PRAM battery's voltage? If you have no new one (3.67V), and if the present one is under 3V, it is better to remove it entirely and go on without one. The SE/30's PRAM will not keep its settings, but that should not affect startup from a floppy disk.

What is 'weak' about the PSU? Your filter/capacitors could be defective if it takes time to reach operating voltages. You may need a new PSU, or to replace the capacitors. Don't poke about in the PSU if you don't know your way around in there. You have far more chance of a serious 'bite' in the PSU than from charge on the CRT.

Your 8-bit SIMMs must be installed in sets of four to get 32-bit width, even if the SE/30 is working in 24-bit mode because of System 6. If you cannot fudge a reliable connection for the B/4 SIMM, you must leave bank B completely empty. Just make sure that SIMMs in bank A have clean contacts and are well-seated. That Mac, as do other 1-bit B&W AIOs, uses Vampire Video, ie, part of system RAM is used for video. Poor contacts may cause display defects, which will show as normal video broken by changing anomalies. You may also have defective video contacts at the rear of the CRT, needing cleaning at least or resoldering at worst.

System 6.0.8L is a cut-down version for special purposes. You are better off with a Plain-Jane 6.0.7, or 6.0.8 from the link that I gave you, for the SE/30.

de

 

[joewhk]

I installed four 4MB RAM into bank A (SIM1, SIM2)

The result is the same.

It can't remember the time. So PRAM battery is dead.

Vertical lines still appear after I clean the RAM and slot with alcohol.

Mystery unsolved. Could be motherboard problem. I've put it back on the shelf as decoration again...

Thanks everyone

 

[TylerEss]

Have you tried washing the mobo? (I'm not kidding; ask about "the dishwasher treatment")