Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!jarthur!nntp-server.caltech.edu!blair
From: blair@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Blair Zajac)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Help needed: Flaky Mac II crashes with unknown causes
Keywords: inconsistent crashes, video board
Message-ID: <1991May30.064315.23769@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Date: 30 May 91 06:43:15 GMT
Sender: news@nntp-server.caltech.edu
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Lines: 62

Howdy,
   I'm wondering if there are any hardware experts out there who can answer
these questions he sent me:

> As I told you, the Mac II has been hanging up from time to time. The
> last time it was at the UW computer repair shop, they could not find
> anything definite bad with it. The only thing that I was told is that
> when the (memory?) chips in the video board were jiggled, the problem
> went away. Of course, the question is when and if our Mac II will finally
> konk out.

> Today it went out again, but this time I was able to track down a
> reaction sequence. Does the following information sequence make any
> sense as to being the video or the main board that is causing the problem.

> The machine was running Word and I noted that it did not respond to
> clicking the arrow cursor to change to another program (I was going to
> look at the mail.) The following sequence and reactions are noted:

>  1) The screen saver still operated when the arrow cursor was placed in
> the corner that commanded immediate dimming.

> 2) The Word text cursor (line) did not blink.

> 3) The machine did not react to anything on the keyboard. Note, however,
> the arrow cursor did continue to move around as normal.

> 4) Next, the machine did not respond to the programmer's reset button
> (the back one). Normally it would show a window whereby you could
> enter direct commands to the processor, such as G FINDER, which would
> bring you to the Finder. However, upon pushing the back button, the
> arrow cursor disappeared and could not be found.

> As I had stated earlier, is this a video board problem or is it a main
> board problem?

> Also, is any significant difference between the old video versus the new
> video boards by Apple. The new boards can be upgraded to the 24 bit color
> capability, whereas the old boards are not. Are the new boards faster
> than the old ones?


And that's the message I got. For further clarification, the Mac has its good
weeks where it will not crash once and at other times it will crash a couple
of times a day. Could the fact that the machine is kept in a colder room
that it heated up when the Mac needs to be used have any effect on the
hardware?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot,
Blair Zajac

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Blair Zajac			Div. of Geological and Planetary Sciences
blair@seismo.gps.caltech.edu	California Institute of Technology
(818) 356-6974			MS 252-21, Pasadena, CA  91125
-- 
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Blair Zajac			Div. of Geological and Planetary Sciences
blair@seismo.gps.caltech.edu	California Institute of Technology
(818) 356-6974			MS 252-21, Pasadena, CA  91125