Mac Color Display Problemo D:

[Academician]

I have my Centris 610 hooked up to a 14" (13" viewable) Color Display that came with it when I bought it.

Last night I finally got some RAM that I bought for it to max the thing out at 64Mb so I could install OS 7.6.

I installed the RAM, powered up the system, and all went fine. I noticed that the RAM was only showing 32Mb installed (36Mb with the onboard).

So, I pulled open the case (putting my monitor on the floor as usual due to the fact its on a chair atm) to find I had installed one of the modules incorrectly, and fixed that. I then turned back on the machine, and found that I was getting no video, at all. I checked the power, cables, etc, and all seemed good but I got no joy. I tried removing the RAM, and still nothing, so reinstalled it since it wasn't the problem.

I assumed the monitor was dead, and due to my Apple ][e problems last night just decided to leave everything as is and deal with it in the morning. Today I got the same symptoms, and while I was working on putting my Apple ][e keyboard back together I figured I would leave the monitor and Centris on for s&g.

Oddly enough, about 30 minutes later I looked and the screen was showing what appeared to be a desktop, so I adjusted the contrast and brightness (since they had been messed with last night to see if that was causing the problem) and I got a screen. I took the opportunity of course to install the long awaited 7.6 (which was possible since all 64Mb of RAM was now registering 100%) and got it on the internet before doing a test to make sure it was the monitor at fault.

I powered down the system and the monitor, turned them back on, and to my chagrin it took ~30 seconds for the monitor to actually show the bootup screen (which by this time was at the Mac OS face logo). If you looked hard before this you could see some random lines across the screen, but nothing definitive.

I really don't want to buy another monitor for this thing at the moment, so I was wondering what's everyone thoughts on the problem. I am considering taking it to a local TV repair shop, and pray it's something simple. I can only assume that if I don't do anything that the problem will just get worse, and the monitor will eventually just not power up at all.

-Academician

 

[Kami]

Its been a while since I had a 610 so someone may need to chime in on this one...

If the PRAM battery doesn't provide enough power it may cause a problem with the display. Similar to the LC 475 if you power on, power off, power on then you get a video display. Replace the current battery with a new(er) one and see if this helps

 

[Dan 7.1]

i think the problem is simply all the RAM you have installed. On every mac i have that uses EDO ram, everytime i go above 64MB i have to wait a good 30 seconds + before it actually starts booting up.

a simple way to test this theory is to boot it up then do the reset command on the keyboard, if it comes up much quicker then there is no problem other than the large amount of ram the system is checking before it boots up.

if that isn't the case, well...i'd try it with just one stick each, its possible one of the bits of ram is partly bad or something.

 

[Academician]

I've already ruled out the battery being the problem, actually.

I had seen someones post about that video problem and decided to see if the battery was indeed the problem. I used a multimeter and I get a nice steady reading of 3.56, which considering the max is 3.6, tells me that the battery is doing aok.

I tested it when I originally got it as well to ensure it was fine, and I was getting the same reading, so I think that the problem is either the monitor port itself, or more likely, the monitor.

I say that because it is exhibiting other odd symptoms like color flashes and such when it turns on (green, purple, white). I wish I has another db-15 monitor around here to test it but I don't. My RGB Color Monitor for my GS uses the same D connector but it uses fewer wires and they are incompatible as far as I can tell.

-Academician

 

[Academician]

i think the problem is simply all the RAM you have installed. On every mac i have that uses EDO ram, everytime i go above 64MB i have to wait a good 30 seconds + before it actually starts booting up.
a simple way to test this theory is to boot it up then do the reset command on the keyboard, if it comes up much quicker then there is no problem other than the large amount of ram the system is checking before it boots up.

if that isn't the case, well...i'd try it with just one stick each, its possible one of the bits of ram is partly bad or something.

I've actually tried taking the RAM out entirely, and that didn't help at all, but I'll give it a shot anyway...

-Academician

 

[Academician]

I did a small test based on your advice Dan, and I'm starting to wonder exactly what is going on here :?:

I turned on the Centris, and let it go for about 10 minutes without the monitor on. I then turned on the monitor, and about 10 seconds later it flashed on to a boot screen, yes, the machine was still booting. So that certainly points to a more likely machine problem/situation than monitor.

I'm going to do the exact opposite test after I let the Centris and monitor sit for a while. I'll turn on the monitor for about 10 minutes, and flip on the Centris, and see what happens. I'm beginning to think this thing is trying to play tricks on me :-x

-Academician

Addendum:

Did my test, it took ~30 seconds to get the monitor to display, and the system booted up just nicely from that point on.

Either the RAM is just taking a bit to get tested or both the motherboard and monitor or playing evil tricks on me. Either way it doesn't seem like any permanent or problematic damage has been done... I guess I'll just have to learn to live with the slow booting

Thanks for all the help [] ]'>

 

[Dan 7.1]

yeah unfortunately i'm unsure of a way around the initial boot ram test. its just that first boot too, every soft restart afterwards comes up instantly.

i'm sure theres a way around it but i haven't bothered to find one.