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Performa 6200 does not want to boot (6360 in fact!!)

meall

Well-known member
Hi,

I've been given a Performa 6200. I remember seeing this computer 4 years ago, and I know it was booting then. I also know it may not have been used since, except for being moved around.

When I boot it, I can hear the starting chime but then nothing happen. I plugged it to a 14" display of the Mac II era. Nothing n the screen. I cannot hear the HD booting up too.

Any advise as to where to look for what's wrong?

Thanks

 
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The Macster

Well-known member
If the internal battery is dead, which it most likely is, you might need to try the trick of starting it up, and then quickly turning it off and straight back on again.

 

meall

Well-known member
If the internal battery is dead, which it most likely is, you might need to try the trick of starting it up, and then quickly turning it off and straight back on again.
May be it. But this model does not have a physical power switch (only the keyboard). So I tried power it on, then dis-re-connecting the cable and power on again, same thing.

I removed the MB and disconnected the battery. I'll wait a bit, so the power will be gone, and try again.

I do not have that kind of battery in spare, so I cannot easily test another one. Are they easy to find?

 

The Macster

Well-known member
Ah ok then, maybe that trick only applies to the hard-power Macs. The little half-AA batteries are relatively easy to find, electronics stores tend to stock them, though it'll cost you the equivalent of about £5 (at least that's what they seem to be round here).

 

meall

Well-known member
Ah ok then, maybe that trick only applies to the hard-power Macs. The little half-AA batteries are relatively easy to find, electronics stores tend to stock them, though it'll cost you the equivalent of about £5 (at least that's what they seem to be round here).
This is where the problem start for me. This is not a 3.6V half AA battery. It is a large cubic 4.5V battery. First time I ever see that in my life.

Even at first, I was searching a round battery and did not find one. Then I realized I had the battery under my nose for all that time, never realized it was it!

 

dragonboy

Member
meall, did the original-and-dead cubic battery says its a Raytek in red letters?

if so...yeah these are still purchaseable but rather a bit expensive, if you're not the type to have the original 'interior' look preserved you always could just take a 4-AA (or AAA) battery holder and put three batteries in then solder/tape the fourth one with a straight wire and it'll do the same 4.5V task without an issue as far as I've heard of this from a few online sources

just my money's worth here ;)

 

meall

Well-known member
meall, did the original-and-dead cubic battery says its a Raytek in red letters?
It is written Rayovac (in red) - Computer battery clock (in white)

if so...yeah these are still purchasable but rather a bit expensive, if you're not the type to have the original 'interior' look preserved you always could just take a 4-AA (or AAA) battery holder and put three batteries in then solder/tape the fourth one with a straight wire and it'll do the same 4.5V task without an issue as far as I've heard of this from a few online sources
just my money's worth here ;)
Sounds like fun!

How much those battery could cost?

If I'm going with your trick, I'll have to find out a battery older (Radio Shack maybe??) and understand the last bit of your explanation! :)

One could also buy battery with soldering tabs and figure out a way to install it in the computer without too much problem. But then again, finding them is the trick!

 

MacMan

Well-known member
4.5V lantern batteries with solder tabs used to be quite widely available if I remember correctly. Like this one for example. They are basically made from 3xAA batteries contained in a cardboard case with long tabs at the top. Only cost a couple of quid.

I have done the 3xAA battery holder trick with my 5400 and Colour Classic and they both work very well. If you go along that line then clip the wires off the old Rayovac battery and attach them to the new battery holder, so it is easy to connect it to the motherboard.

 

Big Bird

Well-known member
I believe this model has a CUDA reset button. Try pressing and holding it for at least 30 seconds, then try booting the machine again. If the battery has gotten too dead before it has been replaced, this can sometimes affect the PRAM and cause it to need to be reset.

I have also had good luck leaving batteries out of machines for up to a week or two and then having the Mac start working again. It's certainly worth a shot!

 

meall

Well-known member
4.5V lantern batteries with solder tabs used to be quite widely available if I remember correctly. Like this one for example. They are basically made from 3xAA batteries contained in a cardboard case with long tabs at the top. Only cost a couple of quid.
I have done the 3xAA battery holder trick with my 5400 and Colour Classic and they both work very well. If you go along that line then clip the wires off the old Rayovac battery and attach them to the new battery holder, so it is easy to connect it to the motherboard.
Any idea where this could be found in Canada? At that price for a battery, I'm not sure it worths making a case manually.

 

MacMan

Well-known member
Any idea where this could be found in Canada? At that price for a battery, I'm not sure it worths making a case manually.
Not sure I'm afraid. :/ They may just be UK specific but I doubt it somehow. Quite alot of supermarkets and general hardware shops used to stock them and some still do. I have never found anything that takes that kind of battery but I have bought a few of them in the past as power supplies for electronics projects. It'll probably be worth having a look around a few shops first too see if you can find one but as I say I have no idea if they are available in Canada.

 

meall

Well-known member
I believe this model has a CUDA reset button. Try pressing and holding it for at least 30 seconds, then try booting the machine again. If the battery has gotten too dead before it has been replaced, this can sometimes affect the PRAM and cause it to need to be reset.
Found the CUDA near the RAM slots. I think for this to work, one needs to remove the battery before, right? That's what I did, battery is removed since yesterday. But even after 30 seconds, do not boot yet.

I have also had good luck leaving batteries out of machines for up to a week or two and then having the Mac start working again. It's certainly worth a shot!
I may also try this.

I tested the battery with a multimeter (at 20VDC) and, maybe I do it wrong, it show up (after a few seconds) 1 on the display... Not sure what that mean... Not an electronic expert here!

 

~tl

68kMLA Admin Emeritus
I tested the battery with a multimeter (at 20VDC) and, maybe I do it wrong, it show up (after a few seconds) 1 on the display... Not sure what that mean... Not an electronic expert here!
On the (el cheapo) multimeter I have, a 1 on the left side of the display is used to show an open circuit when it's in resistance mode. That seems to be the same behaviour on a few models that I've used over the years, so I'm guessing it's the same with yours. Make sure you have it set to the DC voltage and not to resistance.

 

meall

Well-known member
I tested the battery with a multimeter (at 20VDC) and, maybe I do it wrong, it show up (after a few seconds) 1 on the display... Not sure what that mean... Not an electronic expert here!
On the (el cheapo) multimeter I have, a 1 on the left side of the display is used to show an open circuit when it's in resistance mode. That seems to be the same behaviour on a few models that I've used over the years, so I'm guessing it's the same with yours. Make sure you have it set to the DC voltage and not to resistance.
Like I said, I'm on the setting 20 V DC, so I'm not in resistance mode (which is, if memory serve, OHM mode). What happen, is that it begans at around 17.5 then grow up to up to 20 then 1. Just tried it again, now it stocks at 14V. For a 4.5 volt battery that a lot ;)

Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Or maybe if the battery is dead or melting from the inside, there is a short in it. possible?

 

meall

Well-known member
Reading the tech manual, I was surprise to read that the 6200 series has a PDS slot. Mine have a PCI one. So I looked at the casing to realized it is a 6360 model, the only one in this series to have a PCI slot :)

Still not working, but I upgraded it from one model to another just by opening my eyes! :)

 

~tl

68kMLA Admin Emeritus
Like I said, I'm on the setting 20 V DC, so I'm not in resistance mode (which is, if memory serve, OHM mode). What happen, is that it begans at around 17.5 then grow up to up to 20 then 1. Just tried it again, now it stocks at 14V. For a 4.5 volt battery that a lot ;)
Ah yes, of course. It'll be because the voltage is too big for the scale -- anything over 20V on that scale will just display a 1 on the screen. I forgot they did that! I'm used to using fancy meters in the labs at Uni that auto-switch their scale.

However, you shouldn't be getting anything over 20V out of a 4.5V battery, as you said! Could it be on a mV scale rather than a V? 14mV out of a 4.5V battery is conceivable...

 

meall

Well-known member
Like I said, I'm on the setting 20 V DC, so I'm not in resistance mode (which is, if memory serve, OHM mode). What happen, is that it begans at around 17.5 then grow up to up to 20 then 1. Just tried it again, now it stocks at 14V. For a 4.5 volt battery that a lot ;)
Ah yes, of course. It'll be because the voltage is too big for the scale -- anything over 20V on that scale will just display a 1 on the screen. I forgot they did that! I'm used to using fancy meters in the labs at Uni that auto-switch their scale.

However, you shouldn't be getting anything over 20V out of a 4.5V battery, as you said! Could it be on a mV scale rather than a V? 14mV out of a 4.5V battery is conceivable...
My multimeter have 5 V DC positions: 200m, 2000m, 20, 200, 1000. So, unless I do not understand something, when I put in in mode 20 (or 200 as last time) is it displaying around 14. I suppose that mean 14V! Or maybe my Mastercraft multimeter is not working fine! Also, to be sure you know, I'm plugged to the COM (ground) and V-OHM (red) plugged on it. Not using the 10A plugged.

 

meall

Well-known member
Hi,

I'm beginning to see the light.

When I realized I had a 6360, I also saw that it has 16 meg onboard. So, I removed the 2 memory sticks, the PCI Ethernet card, the CD-ROM, the floppy and the HD. I realized at that moment that one memory stick was not well seated, could be it, but continue reading.

Then, I started the computer. I could see the disk icon stating that it cannot found a boot disk. Good news, after 2 days!

Then, I plugged the HD in. Black screen when rebooted.

Plugged the floppy. Icon searching boot disk. Inserted a 7.1 floppy (not compatible). Was ejected automatically. Good news here.

Then plugged the CD-ROM, with the floppy still in. Searching boot disk. I inserted A OS 8 CD-ROM in, it booted up with the CD no problem. Good news again.

Then I plugged back the HD, black screen again... Removed the HD (other components still in), black screen.

So, even with the good news, there is still a few problems to come by. But at least, I know it is not completely dead.

I have to had, this was done when the battery was removed from the MB.

Any thought?

 
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