Q800 preventative maintenance checklist

[kokorozashi]

My Q800 seems to work fine. I can't think of anything wrong with it. Oh, wait. Yes I can. The clock battery is dead.

In any case, I'm realizing that if I'm going to invest any more in this machine then I had better ensure it has a long life ahead of it.

I'm particularly interested in ensuring no component self-destructs and takes others with it, but that's not the limit of my interest.

Can anyone give me a simple checklist for actions to take for this particular model? (apart from replacing the clock battery, of course)

 

[360alaska]

The 800 has solid state caps on the logic board,if you want to you can change the caps in the power supply. Other than that and the pram battery maybe a dusting?

 

[techknight]

bake the PCB at a lower temperature to drive out the moisture from the ICs. thats about the only thing I can think of. 

 

[kokorozashi]

That's excellent news about the logic board caps.

Replacing the caps in the power supply sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if is within my powers. I am more of a software guy…

I've pulled the PRAM battery already since it was doing me no good dead and might start to leak. Managed not to break anything, apparently, because we still boot and it's still a little after midnight.

I see a lot of options for replacement PRAM batteries on Amazon. Are there any we like more than others? The one I removed is labelled INORGANIC LITHIUM BATTERY • Size 1/2 AA • 3.6 VOLTS • SL - 150. Conspicuously absent is any mention of mA, which is why I didn't yet order anything.

Yes, things do seem to need dusting. Maybe more. Yick. Any recommendations for cleaning products/rituals?

How does one "bake the PCB at a lower temperature"? (I know what a PCB is, of course.)

Thanks to all who've responded so far — it's much appreciated!

 

[360alaska]

Many people here can replace caps, myself included... CC333 is closer, and Uniserver makes a business of it...

 

[dcr]

I was just thinking, and I don't know who would be "in charge" of doing it, but this kind of information could be useful for the wiki.  That is, the wiki has a list of all the Apple computer models.  If, on each entry, there was also maintenance information, that could be a huge time saver.  Of course, it wouldn't be for whoever would have to type it all in.

 

[kokorozashi]

That seems like an excellent idea to me, though from my perspective possessing information is more of a challenge than typing it.