Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!apple!radius!lemke
From: lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Software patch for Dirty ROMs from Connectix?
Message-ID: <1455@radius.com>
Date: 9 May 91 16:33:11 GMT
References: <1991May7.131921.7077@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu> <17861@venera.isi.edu> <1452@radius.com> <1991May9.050124.28893@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
Lines: 34

des7f@fulton.seas.Virginia.EDU (David E. Sappington) writes:

}I seriously considered buying a Rocket for one of our IIx's but ending up
}buying a new fx instead.  Though it's nice to get another Mac, a major reason
}for rejecting the Rocket was that we still wouldn't be able to directly access
}lots o' RAM (i.e. >16M) from within our apps because our ROMs were "unclean." 
}We've got several other IIx's that would be good candidates for a Rocket if
}cleanliness wasn't a problem.  Seems to me that Radius and Connectix should
}have a serious pow-wow (if they haven't already) to figure out compatibility
}issues ASAP.

While I cannot comment (of course) on unreleased products or updates (either
from Connectix *or* Radius), rest assured, the thought *HAS* crossed our mind.
If and/or when there's something to report, you'll hear it here first...

}Shifting from the Rocket back to the IIx and the II for that matter, does 
}anyone know if there are 4Mb SIMMs out there which work in these machines? 
}Last  I heard (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm getting this n-th hand), there was
}something about those Macs not implementing the test mode of the 4Mb chips 
}correctly which ultimately prevented the Macs from booting.

Sort of.  Basically, the refresh circuit in the Mac II can trigger the test
mode of standard 4mb simmms.  This is because the Mac II was designed before
there was a standard for 4mb simms.  This can be fixed with special 4mb simms.

However, since you only leave 1mb on the motherboard when you install Rocket,
and since Rocket uses *STANDARD* 4mb simms, this is *NOT* an issue when using
more than 8mb of RAM on a Rocket in a Mac II.  The only issue will be software
to either clean the Mac II ROM (!) or to use the memory like Maxima does.

-- 
----- Steve Lemke, KC6QDT - Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose -----
----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com -- U.C. Santa Barbara ECE Class of '89 -----
----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." -----