Picked up a IIfx..and some questions immediately arose.

[tor77]

Hello world,

I picked up IIfx for 10 dollars - its not working at the moment. So I thought I'd give it a go restoring it.

It has a wonderful 5 1/4 HDD with 80 MB..

MB has mostly tantal caps - and should not be a problem i presume.

However, the battery has leaked substantially.. I suspect that is culprit ( i know it is - bacause i took it out and it will not start without it). 

I've some questions if anyone care to answer, I will GREATLY appreciate it.

1. Is the lack of pram battery not starting issue bypassable at all?
2. Any tips on how to proceed with battery leakage - or is it fixable at all?
3. Also, the front says only Mac II, but under the computer it says IIfx - is this normal for some of these - or is it wrong case?
4. I was given some loose RAM chips - any idea on how to check if these are IIfx ram?

I adore the '030 in this mac..

I'll do some pics soon as a follow up.

 

[nyef]

For powering up without PRAM batteries, google for "jumpstarting a macintosh ii". Long story short, touch 5v between a specific pin on the power supply connector and ground, and it should wake up.

For dealing with the battery leakage... I had best not proffer advice at this time. I still haven't gotten my own IIfx PRAM/capacitor issues completely sorted yet.

As far as the case badge goes, putting an IIfx mainboard in an II or IIx case was a sanctioned upgrade path at the time.

And for the loose RAM modules, IIfx RAM uses 64 pin modules, and are installed in banks of four.  AFAIK, only two other pieces of hardware used RAM modules like this.  If they physically fit, they're probably compatible.

 

[olePigeon]

You can take the motherboard out, remove the batteries, remove any socketed chips, then give it a good scrub with some hot water and baking soda to neutralize the acid.

Make sure it's nice and clean, remove excess water (preferably using an air compressor or at least one of those cheap cans of compressed air), then set it to dry with a fan blowing directly on it.  I'd recommend letting it dry over night just to be sure, keeping the fan on it.

 

[360alaska]

If it has leaked substantially you are screwed! That's it! Post your pics and we'll confirm but most likely you are screwed!