cja@max.ifs.umich.edu (Charles J. Antonelli) (02/13/91)
the other day i turned on my 3b1 and was rewarded with a screen full of dots (not periods; on close inspection, it seemed that nearly every other pixel or so was turned on). the dots come into view as the screen warms up, they don't get written afterwards. my 3b1 doesn't put up the asterisk box with the 'system loader' logo. it doesn't try to read the floppy. it doesn't try to read the hard disk; in fact, there's no noise from the hard disk at all except for an initial clunk that it's always made. the reset button in the back does nothing. all of the little led's inside the left side of the housing come on and stay on when i turn the power on. turning off the 3b1 and turning it on again at the power switch causes this behavior to repeat. oh boy. now what do i do? has anyone been there? what did you do? @@@ charles j. antonelli internet: cja@citi.umich.edu institutional file system project uucp: uunet!sharkey!eecs.umich.edu!cja the university of michigan phone: 313-763-0607
micro@micrtk.CACTUS.ORG (Ray Schafer) (02/14/91)
In article <1991Feb12.234150.29718@terminator.cc.umich.edu> cja@max.ifs.umich.edu (Charles J. Antonelli) writes: >the other day i turned on my 3b1 and was rewarded with a screen full >of dots (not periods; on close inspection, it seemed that nearly every >other pixel or so was turned on). >[...] >the reset button in the back does nothing. all >of the little led's inside the left side of the housing come on and >stay on when i turn the power on. turning off the 3b1 and turning it >on again at the power switch causes this behavior to repeat. > >oh boy. > >now what do i do? has anyone been there? what did you do? Yeah, you hit the reset button and you hear that "click" but the screen doesn't change, right? That happened to me as well. I opened up the case and reseated some of the socketed chips on the motherboard. That fixed it for me. -- Ray Schafer |Internet: 5004 Emerald Forest Circle |micro@micrtk.cactus.org Austin, Texas 78745 |UUCP:..!cs.utexas.edu!bigtex!micrtk!micro +1 (512) 441-1010 |"All we are saying is give peace a chance"
jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) (02/21/91)
In article <1991Feb12.234150.29718@terminator.cc.umich.edu> cja@max.ifs.umich.edu (Charles J. Antonelli) writes: >the other day i turned on my 3b1 and was rewarded with a screen full >of dots (not periods; on close inspection, it seemed that nearly every >other pixel or so was turned on). the dots come into view as the >now what do i do? has anyone been there? what did you do? Power it down, wait for the disk to stop spinning and then.... .... Pick it up about two inches and then drop it. (I'm not kidding.) -- AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville Il. JC Sucilla IX Room 1F-210, (708) 979-0599 jcs@ixstar.att.com
murphyn@motcid.UUCP (Neal P. Murphy) (02/23/91)
jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: >In article <1991Feb12.234150.29718@terminator.cc.umich.edu> cja@max.ifs.umich.edu (Charles J. Antonelli) writes: >>the other day i turned on my 3b1 and was rewarded with a screen full >>of dots (not periods; on close inspection, it seemed that nearly every >>other pixel or so was turned on). the dots come into view as the >>now what do i do? has anyone been there? what did you do? >Power it down, wait for the disk to stop spinning and then.... >.... Pick it up about two inches and then drop it. >(I'm not kidding.) Yes, your name isn't Shirley, but you do jest. Dropping the system two inches is a good way to break things. Open the case (by removing the appropriate 10-16 screws) and disconnect and reconnect every connection you can find (after unplugging the AC mains, of course.) It should boot after that. NPN
jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) (02/24/91)
ward@tsnews.Convergent.COM (Ward Griffiths) writes: >jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: >>.... Pick it up about two inches and then drop it. >This is not a guaranteed fix. All I can say is: "Works for me (and many others)." >I have one machine in my cubicle here at CT >that I have dropped from every height between >two and twenty-four inches and that same exact >symptom continues to exist. Heh.... I don't think I'd drop one from more than 2 inches... How do you keep the monitor from breaking its neck when you drop it from that height??? A friend of mines UPC once started refusing to boot, it even ignored the 2" method as you described yours doing. We opened it up and found that the power connector on the motherboard end had a pin go dirty, built up a large resistance and overheated to the point of partially melting the connectors hood. We had to clean up the spike and female end with an abrasive. It worked fine after that. -- AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville Il. JC Sucilla IX Room 1F-210, (708) 979-0599 jcs@ixstar.att.com
jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) (02/24/91)
murphyn@motcid.UUCP (Neal P. Murphy) writes: >jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: >>Power it down, wait for the disk to stop spinning and then.... >>.... Pick it up about two inches and then drop it. >>(I'm not kidding.) >Yes, your name isn't Shirley, but you do jest. Dropping the system two >inches is a good way to break things. No, I *don't* jest. I've been doing it for years. A LOT of people use this "quick fix" method to get the box to come back up. It was standard procedure in the old days. >Open the case (by removing the appropriate 10-16 screws) and disconnect >and reconnect every connection you can find (after unplugging the AC mains, >of course.) It should boot after that. I've tried it, *this* is also not a garanteed fixed. The correct way is to open the thing up and thoroughly clean the motherboard and all connectors. I hear the board is extremely sensitive to static buildup caused by the massive amount of dust the design inherently pulls in. One of these days, if I keep it, I'm going to get in there and solder all the connections, including the devices on sockets (except memory, natch). -- AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville Il. JC Sucilla IX Room 1F-210, (708) 979-0599 jcs@ixstar.att.com
Mariusz@fbits.ttank.com (Mariusz Stanczak) (02/24/91)
In article <1991Feb24.004641.7462@cbfsb.att.com> jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: > >Heh.... I don't think I'd drop one from more than 2 inches... >How do you keep the monitor from breaking its neck when you drop it >from that height??? Sounds like nothing could hurt it (any)more... seriously, over "woodoo", anytime, I prefer finding a screwdriver for those umph'teen screws. [...] >We opened it up and found >that the power connector on the motherboard end had a pin go dirty, >built up a large resistance and overheated to the point of partially >melting the connectors hood. We had to clean up the spike and female Sounds (and looks) familiar... it was soldering time for the connector. One of the leads completely worked its self loose, and an interminent circut break had developed... the machine would shut down in warm weather when the fans were kicking in on higher speed. It was quite a puzzle. -- INET: Mariusz@fbits.ttank.com CIS : 71601.2430@compuserve.com UUCP: ..!uunet!zardoz!ttank!fbits!Mariusz
Mariusz@fbits.ttank.com (Mariusz Stanczak) (02/24/91)
In article <1991Feb24.010016.7578@cbfsb.att.com> jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: >murphyn@motcid.UUCP (Neal P. Murphy) writes: >>jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: [...] >>>.... Pick it up about two inches and then drop it. > >>Yes, your name isn't Shirley, but you do jest. Dropping the system two >>inches is a good way to break things. > >No, I *don't* jest. I've been doing it for years. A LOT of people use this >"quick fix" method to get the box to come back up. It was standard >procedure in the old days. Now I understand why the metal case on my machine (bought used) sunk in so much... I had problems putting in cards. The whole "card cage" is bent, probably from a repeted aplication of such rituals ;-) (or could it be that just time loosened up the joints, and the whole structure sunk in under its own weight?) > >>Open the case (by removing the appropriate 10-16 screws) and disconnect >>and reconnect every connection you can find (after unplugging the AC mains, >>of course.) It should boot after that. > >I've tried it, *this* is also not a garanteed fixed. What is? (especially if one can't even hope to know... as in understanding) ;-) But somewhat things are more sain if one makes an effort to systematicaly attempt to find out what's flaking out. A chance for maybe even a permanent fix instead of a lottery approach. In one, it takes time to "win", in the other it's just a chance. >The correct way is to open the thing up and thoroughly clean the motherboard >and all connectors. I hear the board is extremely sensitive to static The voice of sense... no other long term way. -- INET: Mariusz@fbits.ttank.com CIS : 71601.2430@compuserve.com UUCP: ..!uunet!zardoz!ttank!fbits!Mariusz
david@twg.com (David S. Herron) (02/27/91)
In article <1991Feb24.004641.7462@cbfsb.att.com> jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: >ward@tsnews.Convergent.COM (Ward Griffiths) writes: >>jcs@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (John "C". Sucilla) writes: > >>>.... Pick it up about two inches and then drop it. > >>This is not a guaranteed fix. > >All I can say is: "Works for me (and many others)." Hmm.. You pick *my* 3b1 up and the top of the case'll come off! Somehow I don't think this is the recommended fix. Oh, and make sure you turn your machine off first ;-). (in case it's not obvious that is). -- <- David Herron, an MMDF & WIN/MHS guy, <david@twg.com> <- Formerly: David Herron -- NonResident E-Mail Hack <david@ms.uky.edu> <- <- MS-DOS ... The ultimate computer virus.