24 Jul
1997
24 Jul
'97
12:59 p.m.
Or otherwise stated: What to do when the cost of
reviving a rescued
computer is as much as buying one of the same model?
To explain, I recently rescued a Mac+ (2.5/40) which was being thrown
out by my employer. When I got it, it would give intermittant Sad Mac
errors. No problem, I figure I can replace the RAM with some surplus
PC SIMMs. This fixes the Sad Macs, but after it heats up it dies with
an "Address Error" bomb. Some board switching points to the motherboard
(more specifically, the ROMs) as being the fault.
Hmmm... My first thought is to fix the old board :
Since the ROMs work OK when cold, you should be able to make a good copy of
them onto disk. Then blow them into EPROMs, and modify the Mac+ to use said
EPROMs (I believe a very small mod is needed, alas, but I don't know that much
about the Mac+ hardware).
IMHO that's not piracy - it's simply using a backup copy on new media since the
original media failed.
However, a pair of EPROMs would probably cost about $15, so that's no solution
either.
In the past I _have_ spent more on repairing/restoring a machine than buying a
new one would cost. The reason is simple - I enjoy doing said repairs. A hobby
doesn't have to make financial sense.
[...]
Thanks in advance... <<<John>>>
P.S. Anybody also know of a source for a LaserWriter Plus logic board, too?
What's wrong with the old one. From the pictures I've seen of said board
(Sorry, I don't have one, only a CX-VDO (same engine, but with no logic board)
and a Laserwriter 2NT), it looks to be mostly standard components, and should
be repairable.
-tony