bangs@husc8.UUCP (08/18/87)
*--* I am interested in buying some Mac SE's with hard drives built-in, and I was wondering about leaving a Mac on for 24hrs. If I've got a fan on it, is it ok? I realize that some Mac's have flaky power supplies and thus might be more vulnerable to failure. Anyone out there always leave theirs on? My boss did and found out that one time he could not turn up the brightness-- something has blown. Alex Bangs Harvard Robotics Lab bangs@metatron.harvard.edu
keith@uhccux.UUCP (Keith Kinoshita) (08/19/87)
In article <2693@husc6.UUCP> bangs@metatron.harvard.edu (Alex Bangs) writes: >*--* >I am interested in buying some Mac SE's with hard drives built-in, and >I was wondering about leaving a Mac on for 24hrs. If I've got a fan on it, >is it ok? I realize that some Mac's have flaky power supplies and thus might >be more vulnerable to failure. Anyone out there always leave theirs on? My >boss did and found out that one time he could not turn up the brightness-- >something has blown. > >Alex Bangs Harvard Robotics Lab bangs@metatron.harvard.edu I used to routinely keep my Mac+ on for days, sometimes weeks on end, and it's still functioning as good as when it came out of the box. However, HECO (Hawaiian Electric Co) has seen fit recently to provide my computer with numerous blackouts, power fluctuations, and other nasty power beasties. So I have now adopted the "turn it off in case of a real beaut" policy. If the power problems die out, I'll probably go back to leaving it on. (Oh yeah, I keep my Mac cool with an IBM fan. Yessiree, IBM makes great fans) With you getting a hard disk, power problems are more acute, but I don't think you were talking about my type of "power supply" problems, were you? :-) BTW, Mac SEs have bigger, more robust power supplies, so that's one in your favor. I'd say leave it on. -- Keith Kinoshita; c/o UHCC; 2565 The Mall, Keller Hall; Honolulu, HI 96822 UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!nosc!uhccux!keith ARPA: uhccux!keith@nosc.MIL INTERNET: keith@uhccux.UHCC.HAWAII.EDU PLATO:keith/uhcc/hawaii
anson@elrond.CalComp.COM (Ed Anson) (08/19/87)
In article <2693@husc6.UUCP> bangs@metatron.harvard.edu (Alex Bangs) writes: >*--* >I am interested in buying some Mac SE's with hard drives built-in, and >I was wondering about leaving a Mac on for 24hrs. If I've got a fan on it, >is it ok? We have had a Mac running 24 hours a day for a couple of years now, with few problems. It started life as a 512K w/HyperDrive, and was recently upgraded to a virtual Plus. It has no fan, but probably should now that it's a Plus. The SE with internal hard drive also includes a fan, so you're ok. -- ===================================================================== Ed Anson, Calcomp Display Products Division, Hudson NH 03051 (603) 885-8712, anson@elrond.CalComp.COM
dudek@utai.UUCP (08/20/87)
I've been leaving my Mac+ on 24hrs since I got it about a
year ago with now problems. It's not even in an air conditioned room.
I have noticed, however, that if I do turn it off for a while
the screen gets all "jumpy" for about 10 or 20 minutes until it
seems to get nice and cookin' again inside.
--
Dept. of Computer Science (vision group) University of Toronto
Usenet: {linus, ihnp4, allegra, decvax, floyd}!utcsri!dudek
CSNET: dudek@ai.toronto.edu ARPA: dudek%ai.toronto.edu@csnet-relay
DELPHI: GDUDEK
Paper mail: Dept. of Comp Sci, Univ of Toronto, Toronto, Canada lyang%scherzo@Sun.COM (Larry Yang) (08/21/87)
In article <4042@utai.UUCP> dudek@ai.UUCP (Gregory Dudek) writes: > I've been leaving my Mac+ on 24hrs since I got it about a >year ago with now problems. It's not even in an air conditioned room. I'm not so convinced that leaving a Mac on all the time is such a good idea. I own a Mac+, and after even a few hours of operation, the side of the mac (the side with the analog board) feels *very* hot. I'm not convinced that the Mac's thermal design was done very well; I know that Steve Jobs dictated the 'computers should be seen and not heard' philosophy, and so not having a fan was one of the first decision the designers made. I've heard of Macs going down hard with just one of those tiny vents blocked. Being concerned about riding on the thermal edge like that, I bought a fan for it. Now it operates at a much more comfortable temperature. (Comfortable for my peace of mind, that is.) I've seen many flaky Macs; I didn't want to give mine any reason to flake out, too. ******************************************************************************** --Larry Yang [lyang@sun.com,{backbone}!sun!lyang]| A REAL _|> /\ | Sun Microsystems, Inc., Mountain View, CA | signature | | | /-\ |-\ /-\ Hobbes: "Why do we play war and not peace?" | <|_/ \_| \_/\| |_\_| Calvin: "Too few role models." | _/ _/
prgclb@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Blesch) (08/21/87)
In article <4042@utai.UUCP>, dudek@utai.UUCP (Gregory Dudek) writes: > > I've been leaving my Mac+ on 24hrs since I got it about a > year ago with now problems. It's not even in an air conditioned room. > I have noticed, however, that if I do turn it off for a while > the screen gets all "jumpy" for about 10 or 20 minutes until it > seems to get nice and cookin' again inside. I just got a new power supply in my Mac 512K enhanced (I've heard from more than one Mac owner that power supplies aren't the most rugged component, to put it tactfully), and I noticed the same thing. The screen is fuzzy for the first several minutes. Patterns with dots close together (like the desktop and the scrolling bars) shimmer, and letters aren't very crisp. After a while, things look okay. One other oddity -- not really a problem, but an annoyance -- the screen image is not truly centered on the CRT -- it's slightly off to the left. I see the whole image, but there's a narrower "margin" on the left side than the right. Are these things normal? I'm going to ask the repair person, but I'd like to collect other informed opinions . . . Thanks, Carl Blesch
sysop@stech.UUCP (Jan Harrington) (08/22/87)
in article <5180@ihlpa.ATT.COM>, prgclb@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Blesch) says: > > I just got a new power supply in my Mac 512K enhanced (I've heard > from more than one Mac owner that power supplies aren't the most > rugged component, to put it tactfully), and I noticed the same thing. > The screen is fuzzy for the first several minutes. Patterns with dots > close together (like the desktop and the scrolling bars) shimmer, and > letters aren't very crisp. After a while, things look okay. > > Are these things normal? I'm going to ask the repair person, but Normal? No way. The symptoms you describe are generally associated with a power supply that's going to fail. Please take that Mac of yours back to the repair shop post haste. Get the technician to adjust the power supply and whatever other components necessary to get rid of your video problem. You see, the video driver and the power supply are on the same board ... One of the most common systems of a power supply that's about to go to Mac heaven is oddities in the video. Something isn't right, even though it straightens itself out once the macine warms up. Jan Harrington, sysop Scholastech Telecommunications seismo!husc6!amcad!stech!sysop
wmartin@ut-ngp.UUCP (Wiley Sanders) (08/24/87)
>Normal? No way. The symptoms you describe are generally associated with >a power supply that's going to fail. Please take that Mac of yours back >to the repair shop post haste. Get the technician to adjust the power supply Not normal but not unusual. Judging from the traffic on this newsgroup, a _lot_ of Macs have failed this way. Also, I don't think there is any adjustment that can be made that will get rid of the twitching screen. You just have to wait until it fails completely or else is so bad you can't stand it any more, then gat another board. I know from experience; I've had two fail in the last three years and my third is on the way... -w -- Wiley Sanders, Civil Engineering Dept, UT-Austin secret NSA CIA anti Soviet Iran terrorist nuclear drug decoder ring - take THAT, NSA line-eater!
bangs@husc8.HARVARD.EDU (Alex Bangs) (08/24/87)
Thanks to everyone who replied. Everyone who replied (as far as I can remember) said that it is ok to do, especially with a fan. Also, people said that problems are more likely to crop up on computers turned on and off everyday than those left on for a year. The one essential for these systems, however, is a screen saver. Thanks for the help. Alex
patm@omepd (Pat Mead) (08/25/87)
In article <6014@ut-ngp.UUCP> wmartin@ngp.UUCP (Wiley Sanders) writes: > > Not normal but not unusual. Judging from the traffic on this newsgroup, >a _lot_ of Macs have failed this way. Also, I don't think there is any >adjustment that can be made that will get rid of the twitching screen. >You just have to wait until it fails completely or else is so bad you >can't stand it any more, then gat another board. I know >from experience; I've had two fail in >the last three years and my third is on the way... > I have seen this happen in many cases also but in my and others cases it could be stopped without a analog board replacement. In most cases (not all but most) the reason for this is that the solder joints on the connector that you plug the wires from the logic board into get cracked and no longer make a proper connection. The prime first sign of this is video problems that go away when the mac warms up (the metal expands with heat and good contact is made). This will get worse until it looks like your lost your analog board. A new board will take care of the problem but so will re-soldering your connections. While your at it also check the solder joints on the flyback transformer and all other solder joints. If you see little cracks in the solder or bad solder joints re-solder them or have someone you know can solder do it for you. I know from mine and others experince that this works. My original 3 year old mac is still going strong on it's original analog board. If your mac is having problems with the analog board try this before spending the bucks on a new board. If it fails then you lost nothing in trying but if this is your problem (and it most likely will be) you saved money and the hassle of taking your mac in for repairs. *********************************************************** usual disclaimers--- Patrick Mead ogcvax!inteloa!omepd!patm ***********************************************************
kopaz@rdlvax.RDL.COM (John 'Echo' Kopaz) (08/27/87)
Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.47.2 of Thu Aug 13 1987 on rdlvax (berkeley-unix) >The screen is fuzzy for the first several minutes. Patterns with dots >close together (like the desktop and the scrolling bars) shimmer, and >letters aren't very crisp. After a while, things look okay. >screen image is not truly centered on the CRT -- it's slightly off >to the left. I see the whole image, but there's a narrower "margin" >on the left side than the right. >Are these things normal? I'm going to ask the repair person, but this sounds to me like a case of EMI! checking the connections is a good place to start, but if your power supply is radiating that badly it might need to be shielded from the crt. i would check the specs on the power supply to see if it has tolerable radiated emissions and maybe do some field measurements..... if you have the equipment. i think that an inspection of the wiring and connections by a qualified person is the first step. for further info on EMI check your freshman physics E&M text. .echo -- john a. kopaz [aka echo.] associate research scientist / software engineer / test specimen voice: 213-410-1244 -- fax: 213-216-5940 -- corporeal: rdl arpa : kopaz@rdlvax.rdl.com 5721 w. slauson ave. uucp : ...!{psivax,csun,sdcrdcf,ttidca}!rdlvax!kopaz culver city, ca 90320
kck@wdl1.UUCP (08/28/87)
I leave mine on all the time for the various reasons listed in the responses to the same question re IBM PCs. It is warm on the top left, but not hot, in spite of the fact that my study is not airconditioned. I use Macsbug to keep from wearing out the phosphor. I hate to listen to see if a disk will spin up. It has gone through a couple of powerouts ok, but I would really prefer to have a power strip/protector which just leaves it down til I come back it the power drops out.