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Quadra 950 has arrived!

Author	Topic
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 06 May 2003 : 13:23:29 The Quadra 950 I got on e-bay has finally arrived. It only cost me 16 Euros and 1 Euro in shipping. But as far as the shipping goes, I got what I paid for. A flimsy box with crunched up newspaper and some styrofoam peanuts. Two of the three upper plastic latches broke off and the case around the floppy is cracked. Now the case won't close. The case also smelled like it has been in someone's basement with the cat box for years and was black with soot - both inside and out. I vacuumed the whole thing and plan on getting some rubbing alcohol tomorrow when the pharmacy opens. The good news - it has 80 Mb of ram - one bank of 4 16 Mb chips and 1 bank of 4 Mb chips. No additional cards though, although it was advertized as a Quadra work station. The worst news - I can't get either of my monitors (one apple 12" b&w and 1 12" color) to hook up to the port in the back. It is inset too deep in the case. The screws on the cable don't even reach. Is this a problem typical for these old monitors, or something unusual about the Quadra? Please don't suggest that I go out and buy a new monitor, as I like the 12" monitors I have. Do I need some kind of adaptor? I don't want to buy an additional graphic card either, as the plan was to set up A/UX and not all cards work. So far I haven't even booted the box up to listen to the chimes. Any suggestions?
Unknown_K Full Member USA 602 Posts	Posted - 06 May 2003 : 13:35:02 Black soot? Better check the power cable for a short to ground before you plug it in. The case door is problematic on alot of q950's. Mine shuts ok but you have to play with it. I ran mine from a mac to pc vga adapter and it fit fine (make sure the motherboard didnt get pushed in during shipment). I am using a thunder 24 card in it now.
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 06 May 2003 : 13:46:36 It doesn't look like the motherboard got pushed in, but I will try and check tomorrow when there is more light. But I don't get it, my monitors are apple monitors. Why should I need a mac to pc adapter? If the motherboard has been dislocated, does that mean I have to take out the power supply? I don't know how to judge if the board is in place or not. The keyboard port fits fine. Only the monitor port doesn't connect.
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 06 May 2003 : 13:48:13 Oh yes, and the soot. That probably comes from the coal that many people keep in their basements for heating here.I get the same thing in our basement appartment. If I want to store anything, it has to be wrapped!
Unknown_K Full Member USA 602 Posts	Posted - 06 May 2003 : 19:55:58 Well first off coal dust can be explosive. I mentioned the vga dapater because its large and bulky but still fits in the slot, so maybe your video slot is pushed in. Check to make sure nothing inside is damaged/cracked before you turn it on.
cory5412 68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms USA 4679 Posts	Posted - 06 May 2003 : 20:18:53 Check to make sure that the motherboard is all the way in the right place... if you slide the motherboard towards the rear or the case the video port should become more accessible... I've had similar problems with my Quadra 840av "workstation" Official 68k videographer Official MLA TourGuide "I'm just a normal computer geek who somehow landed a social life"
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 07 May 2003 : 08:29:54 looked at the box again in the light this morning. The mainboard doesn't look like it has slipped - the plastic clips at the bottom are right at the edge of the grooves in the board. But there is about a 3 mm (whatever that is in inches) gap between the case and the monitor port. It also doesn't help that even if that wasn't there, the slot still wouldn't be flush with the exterior of the case (as it practically is with my Mac IIsi). I guess I have to take the power supply out to have a real look at what is going on. Bought some rubbing alcohol for the filthy case. It will all have to wait till the weekend as a deadline for work has to be met... I turned on the box last night (before I got the advice here to wait)and it gave the normal chime. But I didn't understand that I had to turn the key all the way to the left, and not just back to the center, to turn off the machine. So I ended up pulling the plug. The next time I booted, again without monitor, it didn't chime, but the HD was chugging away. Hope I didn't bust anything!!! Oh well, till the weekend.
shaktiman Senior Member United Kingdom 1226 Posts	Posted - 08 May 2003 : 12:26:51 I would too advise seeing if the motherboard has slipped, replacing the motherboard can be very awkward & 2 or 3 times I have replaced it, thought I had it replaced right, only to find that it wasn't sitting quite right. shaktiman Quadra 840av, prettymuchmaxedout8xcd drive os 8.1 128 meg ram, 500 meg hard drive PPC7600/132, 4.23Gig & 500 Meg drives, 8X cd os 8.6 Performa400(deadintheattick) 3 monitors 15" & 14" & 14"
G4from128k Full Member USA 873 Posts	Posted - 08 May 2003 : 12:36:18 I bet shaktiman is right because I have had similar experiences with my 8500. The mobo can look like it is sitting properly on the little plastic tabs when , in reality , it needs to shift to the rear a few mm. On the 8500, when the mobo is in place, the tab overlaps the mobo a little and the one can see through the end of the slot a bit. G4From128k by Day: Mild-Mannered Engineer and Trapeze(tm) Artist by Night: Colonel of Truth, Justice, and the Macintosh Way Reserve Officer in 68kMLA Cantankerous Coot Contingent
cory5412 68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms USA 4679 Posts	Posted - 09 May 2003 : 06:13:18 yeah... any machine that begins with an 8 is like that i guess because my 840av has had problems like that with the monitor cord not going in and/or falling out. It's really bad when I had it because I have one of those really heavy AudioVision things... (it also doesn't help that my machine didn't have the little screwey inneys) Official 68k videographer Official MLA TourGuide "I'm just a normal computer geek who somehow landed a social life"
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 06:11:30 I have taken apart the Quadra! It was so full of soot and spiderwebs that I have already gone through half a bottle of rubbing alcohol. It does look like the logic board is not in right. There was a pleasant surprise though - the hard drive is huge - an IBM D D R S - 3 4 5 6 0 4560MB. I wonder what is on it! It took me 1 1/2 hours to clean the drive shelf assembly and I had to replace the floppy drive with an old one I had from a busted lc. I am now about to clean the power supply and fan. I sure hope this thing works!!! I am almost tempted to buy a second one on e-bay (Germany) that will be going in 1 hour (still sitting at 7.50 euros!! in case this one turns out to be busted. One big question while the logic board is open to see. I have 1 256 MB VRAM from the above-mentioned LC. Can I plug it in alone, or do all 4 banks have to be filled at once? They are currently all empty, meaning there is only the 1 MB soldered VRAM.
maclover5 LC Doctor/Hot Rodder Australia 5830 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 06:17:50 quote: I bet shaktiman is right because I have had similar experiences with my 8500. The mobo can look like it is sitting properly on the little plastic tabs when , in reality , it needs to shift to the rear a few mm. On the 8500, when the mobo is in place, the tab overlaps the mobo a little and the one can see through the end of the slot a bit. Same goes with the PM8100. There are those times when that silly case and myself don't really get along. -------------------------- Give your dreams a chance.� - Apple in the mid '90s Warrior maclover5 68k Macintosh Liberation Army Number of 68ks Liberated: 7 Number of Contraband (PPC) Liberated from the Dumpster: 1
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 06:55:43 BIG BIG QUESTION I just took off the fan and had a look inside the power box. The whole thing is filled with soot!! What should I do? I have heard that it is not wise to open up the power box for whatever reason, as there could be residual charge. Any suggestions? My wife justed nixed the idea of buying a second Q950 when she saw the mess on the floor. Rats!
maclover5 LC Doctor/Hot Rodder Australia 5830 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 07:04:39 quote: BIG BIG QUESTION I just took off the fan and had a look inside the power box. The whole thing is filled with soot!! What should I do? I have heard that it is not wise to open up the power box for whatever reason, as there could be residual charge. Any suggestions? My wife justed nixed the idea of buying a second Q950 when she saw the mess on the floor. Rats! Black soot INSIDE the power supply????? Maybe there's been a bit of a flame inside the power supply at one stage. DON'T TURN IT ON! The power supply may be dangerous, if ther's soot inside the power supply unit. As for opening up the power supply, obviously it's a wise idea to disconnect it from both the mobo and the wall socket, but as long as it's been left for a while to discharge, (say, 2 or 3 days), it should be ok, as long as you don't go silly with it. However, one thing that Dad once told me about, that may be a good idea would be to have the power switch in the ON position, WITH EVERYTHING DISCONNECTED FROM THE POWER SUPPLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for a while, as that will help to "flatten", or discharge the capacitors, which tend to hold a charge for a while. -------------------------- Give your dreams a chance.� - Apple in the mid '90s Warrior maclover5 68k Macintosh Liberation Army Number of 68ks Liberated: 7 Number of Contraband (PPC) Liberated from the Dumpster: 1
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 07:52:00 The soot is coal dust as I mentioned in the first post. The former owner must have stored the Quadra unwrapped next to the coal bin (many stilll heat with coal). Question 1 - The quadra has been unplugged since wednesday and it now is completely disassembled. The question is how to handle the Power box (carefully!)? Should I also rub some alcohol over parts of the power unit - all the capacators are caked and covered in coal dust and spider webs? Question 2 - VRAM: Can I plug in just 1 256 VRAM from the old LC or does the quadra demand that all banks be filled at once? And if 1 is OK, then will the LC VRAM be ok? It has a sticker on it that says "only for LC". Thanks for all the advice!
G4from128k Full Member USA 873 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 14:16:31 quote: Question 1 - The quadra has been unplugged since wednesday and it now is completely disassembled. The question is how to handle the Power box (carefully!)? Should I also rub some alcohol over parts of the power unit - all the capacators are caked and covered in coal dust and spider webs? The capacitors in a power supply discharge fairly quickly, unlike those in a CRT. It should be totally safe. It is possible for electrolytic capacitors to slightly recharge after sitting in an open circuit, but I would expect the power supply to have enough load to keep them drained. If you are worried, check the voltage on the leads coming from the power supply. The voltage should be neglible. If it is not, plug the supply into the motherboard for a few minutes to bleed off the charge. G4From128k by Day: Mild-Mannered Engineer and Trapeze(tm) Artist by Night: Colonel of Truth, Justice, and the Macintosh Way Reserve Officer in 68kMLA Cantankerous Coot Contingent
maclover5 LC Doctor/Hot Rodder Australia 5830 Posts	Posted - 11 May 2003 : 15:37:08 quote: Question 2 - VRAM: Can I plug in just 1 256 VRAM from the old LC or does the quadra demand that all banks be filled at once? And if 1 is OK, then will the LC VRAM be ok? It has a sticker on it that says "only for LC". Thanks for all the advice! IIRC, you have to have both sockets filled for it to recognise the extra VRAM. That's how it is on the Quadra 700, anyway. -------------------------- Give your dreams a chance.� - Apple in the mid '90s Warrior maclover5 68k Macintosh Liberation Army Number of 68ks Liberated: 7 Number of Contraband (PPC) Liberated from the Dumpster: 1
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 12 May 2003 : 13:53:20 END OF STORY (SO FAR...) I spent the whole day cleaning the coal dust out of the quadra. The hardest part, of course, was the power box. The inside was caked with dust 3-4 mm thick. I used a fine paint brush and the vacuum cleaner to get it all out - althought beforehand it was very difficult to get the power box open. Anyway, the whole thing is sparkling clean, the monitor port fit, and I was feeling mighty proud till I plugged everything in. No sound at all. I checked all the contacts and everything seems plugged in all right. Perhaps something got unplugged in the power box. I will start again tomorrow and see if I have overlooked something. Not looking forward to opening the power box up again. Tried taking out all the ram and putting it back in. Checked the battery. I just don't know. It was working, as I wrote in my second post in this topic. So either I damaged something while cleaning, or something is just not plugged in. What a drag.
cory5412 68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms USA 4679 Posts	Posted - 12 May 2003 : 14:32:56 COOL! except the sound Maybe the speaker didn't get plugged back in right? Official 68k videographer Official MLA TourGuide "I'm just a normal computer geek who somehow landed a social life"
maclover5 LC Doctor/Hot Rodder Australia 5830 Posts	Posted - 12 May 2003 : 19:53:33 Damn! Does it even work at all? -------------------------- Give your dreams a chance.� - Apple in the mid '90s Warrior maclover5 68k Macintosh Liberation Army Number of 68ks Liberated: 7 Number of Contraband (PPC) Liberated from the Dumpster: 1
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 12 May 2003 : 23:30:07 nope. not at all! dead. I will try in the next couple of days to see if I can get it to work. If not, I will take out the memory and hard disk and the rest will unfortunately go to the home for wayward macs in the basement. (where I of course wrap things up so they don't get full of dust!) Thanks for all the encouragement nonetheless. If I get any positive results, I will start a new topic, as this one is getting pretty long.
maclover5 LC Doctor/Hot Rodder Australia 5830 Posts	Posted - 13 May 2003 : 01:25:46 Hmm....tried a new PRAM battery? -------------------------- Give your dreams a chance.� - Apple in the mid '90s Warrior maclover5 68k Macintosh Liberation Army Number of 68ks Liberated: 7 Number of Contraband (PPC) Liberated from the Dumpster: 1
muzhok New Member Germany 91 Posts	Posted - 13 May 2003 : 03:10:40 The PRAM must be ok, as it started once when I got it last Wednesday before the cleaning this weekend. I can only think of 3 reasons why NOTHING is working. 1. Something blew when I pulled the plug on first booting last Wednesday. 2. I broke something when cleaning it this weekend. 3. I forgot to replug some connection (and then ONLY inside the powerbox, as I see no other unplugged connections)when I cleaned the box of the coal dust. If all else fails, I will have a very fast Mac IIsi thanks to the 4 x 16MB simms and a big HD waiting for a new box. Sob...
G4from128k Full Member USA 873 Posts	Posted - 13 May 2003 : 04:12:01 Its also possible that a bit of coal dust is still on some of the contacts. You could try washng the boards in warm soapy water, rinsing well with regular water, rinsing finally with distilled water, and then letting it dry completely in a dust-free place. You might have fried something by using a paintbrush or the brush on the vacuum cleaner. Brush bristles can easily generate static electricity. I hope that this did not happen to you. I hope your Quadra 950 works. G4From128k by Day: Mild-Mannered Engineer and Trapeze(tm) Artist by Night: Colonel of Truth, Justice, and the Macintosh Way Reserve Officer in 68kMLA Cantankerous Coot Contingent

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