cohen@dasys1.UUCP (David Cohen) (01/14/88)
Hello. My boss finally got the video card he needed for his new mac II so
I figured it would be only a manner of minutes before we were up and running.
Unfortunately this was not the case. After opening the cover, which for
some reason seemed to be a bit difficult to do (the front side wouldn't lift
off even after the rest of it did), we put the card in and then closed the
case. Then, when we tried to boot up, the power wouldn't go on--that is to
say, the machine began to start but as soon as we let go of the button it
didn't "catch" so it just died. Holding the button in didn't help. Finally
I removed the cover again and found that if I pressed the metal contacts
at the front of the unit where the cover normally goes, that the power
would "catch" and then we could use the machine. Trouble is, that after
the cover went back on, it would crash unexpectedly--the power went out.
It seems to have happened whenever the disk was read (either floppy or
hard, after we initialized it and all) after the finder had been loaded.
That is, we got the desktop OK but then if we tried to boot up a program
it often wouldn't work and the system would crash--not always--sometimes
it would take a while, but invariably it would crash. After each crash it
was difficult to start up again since the switch wouldn't "catch".
When we left the cover off things were better--once we started the machine
it didn't seem to crash and when we wanted to start after shutting down,
the contacts at the front were easily pushed or whatever to get it to
start. As you all can understand, this is completely unacceptable but
we need to know if the problem is correctable or if we have a defective
unit. I know that as I opened the unit I saw that some of the contacts
were bent a tad, but there seeemed to be plenty of contact anyway.
Since I haven't seen anything like this discussed here I suspect this
isn't a usual problem that most mac II owners face. Did those of you who
have gone inside a Mac II have trouble with the front of the cover also
or is this just our unit? Any ideas out there?
Thanks in advance for your help.
__
DC
--
David Cohen {uunet}!mstan\
Big Electric Cat Public Unix {bellcore,cmcl2}!cucard!dasys1!cohen
New York, NY, USA {sun}!hoptoad/ cm450s02@uhccux.UUCP (Jeff T. Segawa) (01/15/88)
The fact that touching the metal shielding sometimes affects whether or not the machine crashes, makes me wonder if you're missing the paper that fits under the motherboard and acts as insulation, and whether your earth ground connection is OK. If that checks out OK, try and get the thing repaired or replaced under warranty. I've been using a II for the past 5 months, and have never encountered such a problem.
curry@nsc.nsc.com (Ray Curry) (01/19/88)
As to the MacII cover, I had trouble getting it off the first time because there was no explanation as to what to expect. I got real nervous when I had to lift the back so far, fearing the torque reaction might break something. It turns out that is exactly what you are supposed to do (lift not break). There are three rectangular plastic fingers (for a lack of a better name) across the front with holes in them that allow a snap in ridge in the base to hold on to. As you lift the back of the cover, these three fingers are supposed to slip off the fingers that stick in the holes. --------------------- ||--|| \ || || \ ||--|| -- ------ The torque reaction is supposed to force the bottom of the cover finger to slide backward from the wedge shapped ridge. Mine were a little tight. Anyway with one hand lifting the back of the cover, I pushed on the front of the cover to pop the fingers lose and with load grind, the RFI shielding finally let lose and the cover came off. I was a little disappointed in the construction but can see the logic considering the safety issues with UL. I was supprised to find the electronic power switch because of UL, but UL does allow the power cord to be used in lieu of a mechanical break. I just haven't ever seen anyone else take that approach. As to the orginal posting of the power on problem, I can't offer any suggestions there. Because the II uses an electonic switch, it seems like it ought to work or there is a hard failure. I hate to be insulting, but hopefully you checked to make sure the power cord was firmly attached.
mo@well.UUCP (Maurice Weitman) (01/20/88)
cohen@dasys1.UUCP (David Cohen) writes: [ about having trouble getting new Mac II to stay on ] David, are you using the power on key on the keyboard? It's the key with the left-facing triangle on it. If you're using the key on the back of the II, I can understand a bit what you're talking about, since that switch (I believe) pulls a relay which, if the key is held in for too long, will drop again, causing the behavior you mantioned. The key on the keyboard doesn't do that since it's an on-only key, while the button on the back is on and off. If that's not what you were talking about, never mind. -- Maurice Weitman ..!{dual,hplabs,lll-crg,ptsfa,glacier}!well!mo | <- this is not a pipe POBox 10019 Berkeley, CA 94709 (415)549-0280 Quote: "If we're not listening, we'd have to be pretty blind." J-L Gassee Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, tact or fact are transmission errors.
cosmos@druhi.ATT.COM (GuestRA) (01/20/88)
I seem to remember reading in one of the sometimes accurate Mac magazines that if the battery on the motherboard dies you can't turn the machine on? Is my memory correct on this? Did anyone else see/hear something like this? Ronald A. Guest ...!ihnp4!druhi!cosmos Supervisor AT&T Laboratories 12110 N. Pecos St. Denver, Colorado 80234 (303) 538-4896