emulatorII-list

Hi everyone:

I realize this is somewhat off-topic, as this is mainly a discussion board for EII technical issues, but I was hoping someone could help with a serious problem I encountered on a Macintosh SE/30. I purchased this unit second hand for use with my Emulator II+ HD,  and it came fully loaded with the OMI library, the E-mu library, the Sound Designer software, etc. Hence, I'm very concerned about recovering this data... even moreso than I am recovering the computer itself.

In any case, the computer operated normally for the first few days after I bought it. Then, however, it developed a strange pattern at start-up:

http://www.biwa.ne.jp/%7Eshamada/fullmac/repairEng.html#SimasiMac

I started to see the "zebra-like" horizontal rasters a few days ago, but eventually the machine would boot to the desktop as normal. Now, however, the stripes appear for about five minutes, and then the smiley Mac appears, but then it goes away for 5 seconds and comes back ad infinitum, never completing the boot procedure.

It appears as if some people have found solutions to SimasiMac, but have any of you dealt with this specific problem, or worked inside one of these machines? I'm under the impression that the CRT monitor retains a very dangerous voltage even after the unit has been unplugged, so I'm wary of opening it up and unseating or reseating any chips.  It also looks like - under a worst-case scenario - I might have to replace some capacitors, which is beyond my current soldering ability.

Last night I powered the machine off, unplugged it and let it sit overnight, but the problem persisted this morning.  I also tried it in a different electrical outlet to no avail.

If anyone has advice as to how I might solve this, I would be most appreciative. At a minimum, I would love to salvage the contents of the hard drive... in addition to the rare libraries that came with the machine, I had just finished transferring my entire library of 5" floppy disks.

Thank you!
Brandt

P.S. - I cross-posted this inquiry to the eiiiforum.com Web site, so if any of you are reading this for the second time, my apologies.

You can also ask here: http://68kmla.net/forums/

> At a minimum, I would love to salvage the contents of the hard drive

If things dont work out, you may be able to recover your data by moving the HD to another Mac.

I've read about this particular pattern on the Mac screen on other forums a while ago.
As far as I remember the most common cause is a weak battery.
Replacing the battery is also one of the hints given in the website you are referring to.

If I were you I would try that first.
I have replaced mine two years ago and it's a "managable" job to do (no soldering, but you'll have to disconnect some boards and temporarily remove them to get access to the battery - well at least this was the case with my Mac Classic II). It's true that the tube of the screen has high voltages on it, but it's perfectly possible to avoid touching it :-)

///E-Synthesist


--- In emulatorII-list@yahoogroups.com, "ditabeardmemo" <brandt@...> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone:
> 
> I realize this is somewhat off-topic, as this is mainly a discussion board for EII technical issues, but I was hoping someone could help with a serious problem I encountered on a Macintosh SE/30. I purchased this unit second hand for use with my Emulator II+ HD,  and it came fully loaded with the OMI library, the E-mu library, the Sound Designer software, etc. Hence, I'm very concerned about recovering this data... even moreso than I am recovering the computer itself.
> 
> In any case, the computer operated normally for the first few days after I bought it. Then, however, it developed a strange pattern at start-up:
> 
> http://www.biwa.ne.jp/%7Eshamada/fullmac/repairEng.html#SimasiMac
> 
> I started to see the "zebra-like" horizontal rasters a few days ago, but eventually the machine would boot to the desktop as normal. Now, however, the stripes appear for about five minutes, and then the smiley Mac appears, but then it goes away for 5 seconds and comes back ad infinitum, never completing the boot procedure.
> 
> It appears as if some people have found solutions to SimasiMac, but have any of you dealt with this specific problem, or worked inside one of these machines? I'm under the impression that the CRT monitor retains a very dangerous voltage even after the unit has been unplugged, so I'm wary of opening it up and unseating or reseating any chips.  It also looks like - under a worst-case scenario - I might have to replace some capacitors, which is beyond my current soldering ability.
> 
> Last night I powered the machine off, unplugged it and let it sit overnight, but the problem persisted this morning.  I also tried it in a different electrical outlet to no avail.
> 
> If anyone has advice as to how I might solve this, I would be most appreciative. At a minimum, I would love to salvage the contents of the hard drive... in addition to the rare libraries that came with the machine, I had just finished transferring my entire library of 5" floppy disks.
> 
> Thank you!
> Brandt
> 
> P.S. - I cross-posted this inquiry to the eiiiforum.com Web site, so if any of you are reading this for the second time, my apologies.
>

Hi Brandt,

I only can confirm what already has been said.  I had the same problem recently with my Classic. After replacing the battery the problem was gone.  It's not very hard to do. I don't consider myself a hardcore-techie either. If I remember right all I had to do after opening the case, was to remove the memory strips, remove the power cable and the mainboard should pull out like a drawer. And then you can work on it without being near the CRT. Just be really careful to stay away from the tube, if in doubt take it to a tech.  The battery was $5 at Fry's Electronics and is a 4.5V lithium. It looks like half an AA battery. I think the same is used for photos also. Also, as E-Synthesist already mentioned...  68kmla.net is an excellent source for tips on this issue.

Good luck!

George

--- In emulatorII-list@yahoogroups.com, "ditabeardmemo" <brandt@...> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone:
> 
> I realize this is somewhat off-topic, as this is mainly a discussion board for EII technical issues, but I was hoping someone could help with a serious problem I encountered on a Macintosh SE/30. I purchased this unit second hand for use with my Emulator II+ HD,  and it came fully loaded with the OMI library, the E-mu library, the Sound Designer software, etc. Hence, I'm very concerned about recovering this data... even moreso than I am recovering the computer itself.
> 
> In any case, the computer operated normally for the first few days after I bought it. Then, however, it developed a strange pattern at start-up:
> 
> http://www.biwa.ne.jp/%7Eshamada/fullmac/repairEng.html#SimasiMac
> 
> I started to see the "zebra-like" horizontal rasters a few days ago, but eventually the machine would boot to the desktop as normal. Now, however, the stripes appear for about five minutes, and then the smiley Mac appears, but then it goes away for 5 seconds and comes back ad infinitum, never completing the boot procedure.
> 
> It appears as if some people have found solutions to SimasiMac, but have any of you dealt with this specific problem, or worked inside one of these machines? I'm under the impression that the CRT monitor retains a very dangerous voltage even after the unit has been unplugged, so I'm wary of opening it up and unseating or reseating any chips.  It also looks like - under a worst-case scenario - I might have to replace some capacitors, which is beyond my current soldering ability.
> 
> Last night I powered the machine off, unplugged it and let it sit overnight, but the problem persisted this morning.  I also tried it in a different electrical outlet to no avail.
> 
> If anyone has advice as to how I might solve this, I would be most appreciative. At a minimum, I would love to salvage the contents of the hard drive... in addition to the rare libraries that came with the machine, I had just finished transferring my entire library of 5" floppy disks.
> 
> Thank you!
> Brandt
> 
> P.S. - I cross-posted this inquiry to the eiiiforum.com Web site, so if any of you are reading this for the second time, my apologies.
>

While not 'exactly' the same as my fault..
 
My mac would sometimes boot up, and hang on a "checker board" type screen.
 
After fishing around on the 68KMLA forum (You should search around there) It appears this is quite a common fault with mac classics.. the capacitors on the digital board 'leak' and eventually cause wierd problems with the mac.
The easiest fix is to open the mac up, and remove the digital board, and wash the digital board gently to remove the very fine layer of sticky residue.
(The more perfect but much more elaborate fix is to replace the capacitors)
Make sure the board is 100% dry (hair dryer and a few days in the sun) before plugging back in & powering up.
 
I did this to mine and the fault never happened again.
 
The hardest part of all this was finding a long enought torx driver to open up the mac.
 
Regards
Mike


--- On Mon, 27/7/09, ditabeardmemo <brandt@...> wrote:


From: ditabeardmemo <brandt@...>
Subject: [emulatorII-list] Help! "SimasiMac" on an SE/30 connected to an EII+ HD
To: emulatorII-list@yahoogroups.com
Received: Monday, 27 July, 2009, 10:21 PM


  



Hi everyone:

I realize this is somewhat off-topic, as this is mainly a discussion board for EII technical issues, but I was hoping someone could help with a serious problem I encountered on a Macintosh SE/30. I purchased this unit second hand for use with my Emulator II+ HD, and it came fully loaded with the OMI library, the E-mu library, the Sound Designer software, etc. Hence, I'm very concerned about recovering this data... even moreso than I am recovering the computer itself.

In any case, the computer operated normally for the first few days after I bought it. Then, however, it developed a strange pattern at start-up:

http://www.biwa. ne.jp/%7Eshamada /fullmac/ repairEng. html#SimasiMac

I started to see the "zebra-like" horizontal rasters a few days ago, but eventually the machine would boot to the desktop as normal. Now, however, the stripes appear for about five minutes, and then the smiley Mac appears, but then it goes away for 5 seconds and comes back ad infinitum, never completing the boot procedure.

It appears as if some people have found solutions to SimasiMac, but have any of you dealt with this specific problem, or worked inside one of these machines? I'm under the impression that the CRT monitor retains a very dangerous voltage even after the unit has been unplugged, so I'm wary of opening it up and unseating or reseating any chips. It also looks like - under a worst-case scenario - I might have to replace some capacitors, which is beyond my current soldering ability.

Last night I powered the machine off, unplugged it and let it sit overnight, but the problem persisted this morning. I also tried it in a different electrical outlet to no avail.

If anyone has advice as to how I might solve this, I would be most appreciative. At a minimum, I would love to salvage the contents of the hard drive... in addition to the rare libraries that came with the machine, I had just finished transferring my entire library of 5" floppy disks.

Thank you!
Brandt

P.S. - I cross-posted this inquiry to the eiiiforum.com Web site, so if any of you are reading this for the second time, my apologies.

















      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Access Yahoo!7 Mail on your mobile. Anytime. Anywhere.
Show me how: http://au.mobile.yahoo.com/mail

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]