5260/120 issue

[Phipli]

Also noteworthy is that the system boots fines without the PRAM battery, which is NOT what you read online

Yeah, my similar machines boot without a battery, but it is worth noting that we have found before that some machines will and others won't if the same type. Or at least, @joshc and I both claim to have similar machines that do the opposite

 

[pinto_guy]

Well, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that in the end, it was one of the two 8MB RAM modules (or both): I plugged in the 32MB one that came with the replacement 6300CD board, and it worked like a charm. I lightly sanded the contacts of the 8MB ones, reseated them, and it did not help. So I went ahead and bought a 32MB module, and I guess I'll put the 6300CD board for sale again on eBay, unless someone wants it on this BB.

Also, for documentation sake, here are the events during the boot process:

- After pressing the ON key on the keyboard, chime is heard in less than one second
- We can then hear the HDD do its self-test for 1-2 seconds
- Only after 9-10s can we hear the CRT degauss event (thump) followed by the HDD boot actuation
- Shortly afterwards (~2s) we see the CRT come on with the OS boot screen

I hope this helps future Mac tinkerers

 

[mikes-macs]

What puzzled me most about the 5260 was that the display resolution seemed to be limited to 640x480. Was that really true?

800 x 600

 

[Phipli]

Well, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that in the end, it was one of the two 8MB RAM modules (or both): I plugged in the 32MB one that came with the replacement 6300CD board, and it worked like a charm. I lightly sanded the contacts of the 8MB ones, reseated them, and it did not help. So I went ahead and bought a 32MB module, and I guess I'll put the 6300CD board for sale again on eBay, unless someone wants it on this BB.

Also, for documentation sake, here are the events during the boot process:

- After pressing the ON key on the keyboard, chime is heard in less than one second
- We can then hear the HDD do its self-test for 1-2 seconds
- Only after 9-10s can we hear the CRT degauss event (thump) followed by the HDD boot actuation
- Shortly afterwards (~2s) we see the CRT come on with the OS boot screen

I hope this helps future Mac tinkerers

This is interesting - I'm wondering... I'm wondering if this family of machines don't do a proper memory test. My 6200 starts way too quickly for having tested 64MB of RAM. Although the times you mentioned do seem reasonable for a memory test (the test happens between the chime and the screen turning on - the more RAM you have the longer it takes for the screen).

Something weird anyhow.

 

[pinto_guy]

What's also weird is that the ROM does not tell you anything. In the compact Macs, when the RAM is faulty, a death chime is heard, with a sad Mac showing an error code. Here, you're in complete darkness, so to speak, and left guessing what's really happening.

 

[Phipli]

What's also weird is that the ROM does not tell you anything. In the compact Macs, when the RAM is faulty, a death chime is heard, with a sad Mac showing an error code. Here, you're in complete darkness, so to speak, and left guessing what's really happening.

Yeah, later macs don't do that. They do give debug stuff out of the modem port though. Not human readable.