6 May
2001
6 May
'01
3:38 p.m.
Can we get back ON TOPIC and talk old computers, such as how to coax a dead
mac portable to power up? I have one and can get a cracking sound out of the
speaker but nothing else.
--
DB Young Team OS/2
old computers, hot rod pinto and more at:
www.nothingtodo.org
6 May
6 May
4:03 p.m.
On Sun, 6 May 2001 SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com wrote:
Subject: Re: Seriously OT: Firearms (was RE:
Interesting show on the
Computer Garage)
Can we get back ON TOPIC and talk old computers, such as how to coax a dead
mac portable to power up? I have one and can get a cracking sound out of the
speaker but nothing else.
Sure, just point a rifle full of buckshot at it...
More seriously, have you cheched the power supply, disconnected and
reconnected possibly oxidated connectors and reseated chips?
--
Copyright (C) 2001 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals:
All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature &
rdd(a)perqlogic.com 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such
http://www.perqlogic.com/rdd beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.
4:24 p.m.
New subject: Mac Portable (Was Re: Seriously OT: Firearms)
Can we get back ON TOPIC and talk old computers, such
as how to coax a dead
mac portable to power up? I have one and can get a cracking sound out of the
speaker but nothing else.
If you aren't getting at least the startup chime you have
problems. If you're getting no video and such, the first thing I'd
check and likely replace on a Mac of that vintage is the PRAM
battery. According to LowendMac, it is a 9V battery of some sort,
not the more common 1/2 AA battery found in most other Mac's. Most
of the Mac's I've had won't chime, provide video or anything else
with a dead PRAM battery. After that, I'd check the normal cables
and such to make sure everything is still tight.
Jeff
--
Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems:
Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757
12:57 p.m.
New subject: Mac Portable (Was Re: Seriously OT: Firearms)
Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 21:24:17 -0400
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
From: Jeff Hellige <jhellige(a)earthlink.net>
Subject: Mac Portable (Was Re: Seriously OT: Firearms)
Reply-to: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Can we get back
ON TOPIC and talk old computers, such as how to coax a dead
mac portable to power up? I have one and can get a cracking sound out of the
speaker but nothing else.
If you aren't getting at least the startup chime you have
problems. If you're getting no video and such, the first thing I'd
check and likely replace on a Mac of that vintage is the PRAM
battery. According to LowendMac, it is a 9V battery of some sort,
not the more common 1/2 AA battery found in most other Mac's. Most
of the Mac's I've had won't chime, provide video or anything else
with a dead PRAM battery. After that, I'd check the normal cables
and such to make sure everything is still tight. 
10:57 p.m.
New subject: Mac Portable (Was Re: Seriously OT: Firearms)
Yes, that 3.6V AA1/2 is rare and OVERPRICED around
here. 16.xx to
20 ea CDN. Still searching for cheaper sources in canada. Must it
I buy them for about a buck at the swapmeet, maybe not brand brand new, but
not used and typically within the expected 5 year or so shelf life. Plenty
of people sell them new on Ebay for $6, so I don't bother.
I will mention that I still have a few hunderd of the 4.5v alkalines for $5
or less in quantity.
10:51 p.m.
Can we get back ON TOPIC and talk old computers, such
as how to coax a dead
mac portable to power up? I have one and can get a cracking sound out of the
speaker but nothing else.
My first suspect is often the pram battery or the main battery. If you mean
the original mac portable the main battery and/or PS are always suspect.
BTW an idea I have for the portable is to rebuild the battery using fairly
large capacitors instead of cells, maybe with some sort of current
limiting. The idea is that the batteries will ALWAYS ultimately be a PITA,
and that if I resign myself to always using the AC adapter all I really
need is a bit of smoothing and kick to get the hard drive spinning.
2:11 p.m.
New subject: Pram battery
What in tunket is a pram battery? My pram was manually
operated... fully Y2K
compliant, too!
> My first suspect is often the pram battery
The closest analogy I can make concerning what a PRAM battery
is would be that it's the Mac version of the PC's BIOS settings. The
Mac keeps various setting data in a small RAM area and the battery
retains the info. WIthout the info, the Mac generally won't even
boot until the battery is replaced.
Jeff
--
Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems:
Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757
3:42 p.m.
New subject: Pram battery
Yes, the lithium batteries that are 3.6V and about half the length of a double-A
and
just as wide. The older Mac IIs used two, whereas the more modern systems use
one.
Radio $hack wants $10 a piece for them (when they have them), most outlet
electronics
stores sell them for $5.
Eric
P.S. I used to repair Macs and as Jeff stated the Macs wouldn't even boot without
them.
Needless to say, many repairs that I did were to replace said battery.
Jeff Hellige wrote:
What in tunket
is a pram battery? My pram was manually operated... fully Y2K
compliant, too!
> My first suspect is often the pram battery
The closest analogy I can make concerning what a PRAM battery
is would be that it's the Mac version of the PC's BIOS settings. The
Mac keeps various setting data in a small RAM area and the battery
retains the info. WIthout the info, the Mac generally won't even
boot until the battery is replaced.
Jeff
--
Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems:
Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757
4:50 p.m.
New subject: Pram battery
P.S. I used to repair Macs and as Jeff stated the Macs
wouldn't even
boot without
them.
Needless to say, many repairs that I did were to replace said battery.
One interesting thing I've found though is that the LC-575
with it's 4.5V alkaline PRAM battery will still boot, even if the
battery is dead. I've got a LC-575 mainboard in my Color Classic and
it has a dead (or nearly so) 4.5V PRAM battery but it works fine...it
just complains about the clock everytime you turn it on. I rarely
have much trouble finding the 3.6 Lithium 1/2AA types, though they
are a bit expensive, but I don't have any of the 4.5V types.
Jeff
--
Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems:
Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757
8480
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participants (7)
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chomko＠greenbelt.com -
jhellige＠earthlink.net -
jpero＠sympatico.ca -
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mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
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SUPRDAVE＠aol.com