Rankins@DOCKMASTER.ARPA (07/13/87)
I am interested in upgrading my //e to an enhaced //e (I know I'm a little
behind the times but I haven't had a need to upgrade until now and I
can't afford a //gs upgrade) and was hoping someone could give me some
information on it.
1. How can I tell for sure if my //e is enhanced or not? (maybe
I already have an enhanced //e and its the software giving me
problems)
2. What exactly does this upgrade consist of? What specific
components are replaced and what specifically are they replaced
with? Is this something I could do myself or should I break
down and pay a dealer the $70 to have it done for me? Where
could I get the necessary parts if I were to do it myself and
how much approximately would they cost?
Thanks for any help you can give me on this. You can post the info to this
forum or email to Rankins@Dockmaster.arpa.
Raybinder@fizbin.DEC.COM (Whadja do with my razor blade? 15-Jul-1987 0758) (07/15/87)
From Ray Rankins (Rankins@DOCKMASTER.arpa): > I am interested in upgrading my //e... > > 1. How can I tell for sure if my //e is enhanced or not? Look at the 6502 microprocessor chip on the motherboard. If it's a 65C02, and if you or a previous owner didn't change it, your machine is enhanced. A less sure sign is to look for the word ENHANCED in black type on the little power-light panel next to the open-apple key. > 2. What exactly does this upgrade consist of? What specific > components are replaced and what specifically are they replaced > with? Is this something I could do myself or should I break > down and pay a dealer the $70 to have it done for me? Where > could I get the necessary parts if I were to do it myself and > how much approximately would they cost? The microprocessor and a couple of ROM chips are changed. The microprocessor, is changerd, as I said, from a 6502 to a 65C02. One of the ROMs is the character generator - it replaces a duplicate character set with Mousetext. The other is the CD ROM, (memory tells me) and it provides some enhanced screen and interrupt handling. Sure, you could do it yourself - all you need is the parts, which you can get legally only from an Apple dealer, or from a dealer or mailorder house that will sell you the kit. I have seen the kit advertised in A+ for $45.00. If you're not certain of your ability to change chips without mucking it up, pay the $70.00 for your peace of mind. If you pay it, then your Apple dealer will support the machine if something goes wrong. It's cheap goodwill. Cheers, Dick Binder (The Stainless Steel Rat) DEC Enet: FIZBIN::BINDER UUCP: { decvax, allegra, ucbvax... }!decwrl!fizbin.dec.com!binder ARPA: binder%fizbin.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM
dickow@ui3.UUCP (07/24/87)
In comp.sys.apple, Rankins@DOCKMASTER.ARPA asks about enhancing a IIe: >1. How can I tell for sure if my //e is enhanced or not? You can tell through software. Location $FBC0 holds $EA if original ROMS, $E0 for enhanced ROMS, and $00 for a IIc. >2. ... Is this something I could do myself or... > ...how much approximately would they cost?... I did it. It helps if you know how to handle chips. Also, I actually found enhancement kits at the Crescent dept. store in Spokane for $5.00 (!). I bought two of them and gave them to friends. I installed one for one friend but the other one did it on his own, bent a bunch of pins and blew a drive chip somehow. He destroyed his enhancement and spent $40 bucks for repairs. Caveat Emptor. If you do it yourself, it actually is very simple. Just be very patient with removing the old chips, slowly prying them up with a small screwdriver, being careful only to pry up the chips and not the sockets, then very carefully inserting the new chips by putting in one side, then applying slight sideways pressure until the next side of pins are lined up enough to apply downward pressure to seat the chip in the socket. Bob Dickow (...egg-id!ui3!dickow)
amos@csri.toronto.EDU (Tak Ariga) (07/24/87)
The upgrade consists of a few hardware changes. Basically, it means swapping the CPU, replacing the 6502(A) with the CMOS version 65C02. That adds a bit of speed and a few extra instructions. Also, ROMs must be changed. The system ROM, which is the boot up routine, etc. in the firmware, and the Character Generator. The Char Gen. has the MouseText characters in it. This is the part that is a little difficult. If you do it yourself, you will either have to get the upgrade kit from a dealer, which they usually are reluctant to do. Apparently, they have an agreement with Apple to do the installation themselves, and not give the kits out to the custormers. But, I have heard of people coaxing the dealer into letting them do the modifications themselves. Of course, buying the kit from the dealer is likely to cost you the same amount as to having the dealer do it for you... to actually save money, you will probably have to get the ROMs bootlegged. Which is illegal, and if not that, immoral. (I doubt that it's fattening though.) :-) This involves copying the ROMs in an enhanced //e, and burning it into a blank 4164 EPROM. You will need an EPROM copyier for that. So, in my opinion, $70 is reasonable, unless you own an EPROM programmer, or can borrow one... in which case, the parts themselves will cost less than half that. --Tak --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ++ Dictionary of Old English == University of Toronto == Toronto, Canada ++ Internet: amos@csri.toronto.edu oldeng@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu BITNET: oldeng@UTORGPU ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
kamath@reed.UUCP (Sean Kamath) (07/25/87)
In article <8707241404.AA02377@finch.csri.toronto.edu> amos@csri.toronto.EDU (Tak Ariga) writes: > >a blank 4164 EPROM. You will need an EPROM copyier for that. ---------^^^^^^^^^^ a 4164 is not an EPROM, its a RAM chip. Unlike the original Apple ]['s, the ROM is an unmodified 2764. The old ]['s used 2316's, which most EPROM programmers didn' support. Not only that, you have to make sure that you get the right type of 2764. It has to have 40 pins, and should have a 21v burn in, not a 12.5 or somesuch. I forget exactly, but I can tell you this: Radio Shack started selling the right kind for uner $6.00 ( I think. I forget.) They're sorta expensive, but then, that's Radio Shack. :-( sean kamath -- UUCP: {decvax allegra ucbcad ucbvax hplabs ihnp4}!tektronix!reed!kamath CSNET: reed!kamath@Tektronix.CSNET || BITNET: reed!kamath@Berkeley.BITNET ARPA: tektronix!reed!kamath@Berkeley <or> reed!kamath@hplabs US Snail: 3934 SE Boise, Portland, OR 97202 (I hate 4 line .sigs!)
dr@ski.UUCP (David Robins) (07/27/87)
In article <> dickow@ui3.UUCP writes: >In comp.sys.apple, Rankins@DOCKMASTER.ARPA asks about enhancing a IIe: > > the chips and not the sockets, then very carefully inserting > the new chips by putting in one side, then applying slight > sideways pressure until the next side of pins are lined up > enough to apply downward pressure to seat the chip in the > socket. >Bob Dickow (...egg-id!ui3!dickow) IC's are somewhat bent outwards, I believe for retension in auto-insertion equipment. I find a good way for manual insertion is to hold the IC on its side, with the pins lying on a flat surface. By holding the chip body by the ends, I can bend all the pins at the same time, reducing their obtuse angle to a right angle. I do the same on the other side, and I end up with all the pins at a right angle, which mates into the socket without any sideways pressure, and less chance of bending any of them. -- ==================================================================== David Robins, M.D. Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Foundation (previously known as: Smith-Kettlewell Institute of Visual Sciences) 2232 Webster St; San Francisco CA 94115 415/561-1705 (voice) {ihnp4,qantel,dual}!ptsfa!ski!dr The opinions expressed herein do not reflect the opinion of the Institute!
tra@j.cc.purdue.edu (T.R. Arnold) (07/28/87)
>> [...] the chips and not the sockets, then very carefully inserting >> the new chips by putting in one side, then applying slight >> sideways pressure until the next side of pins are lined up >> enough to apply downward pressure to seat the chip in the >> socket. >>Bob Dickow (...egg-id!ui3!dickow) It's very easy to cripple your chips this way. One slip and the whole side is bent, or, if not that, then it flips over and nails you in the thumb (or worse: under the fingernail!!) > [...] I find a good way for manual insertion is >to hold the IC on its side, with the pins lying on a flat surface. By >holding the chip body by the ends, I can bend all the pins at the same >time, reducing their obtuse angle to a right angle. I do the same on >the other side, and I end up with all the pins at a right angle, which >mates into the socket without any sideways pressure, and less chance >of bending any of them. > >David Robins, M.D. You will also find that if you use the method as described above (by Dr. Robins) that the chips are less likely to come loose. When a computer heats up and has tension on them from not being bent, they tend to work themselves free of the socket (kinda like stored energy in a spring). Working at a computer store I found that in some cases a computer could be fixed by pushing down on all of the chips, thereby re-seating ones that worked themselves loose. Ahhhh, computers: Gotta love 'em! Tom Arnold -- tra@j.cc.purdue.edu