Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!att!cbnewsl!wag1 From: wag1@cbnewsl.att.com (d.wagley) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NeXTstation memory upgrade Summary: Thanks to all Keywords: how? Message-ID: <1991May29.194247.18493@cbnewsl.att.com> Date: 29 May 91 19:42:47 GMT References: <1991May21.214625.7143@cbnewsl.att.com> Distribution: na Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 101 In article <1991May21.214625.7143@cbnewsl.att.com>, wag1@cbnewsl.att.com (d.wagley) writes: > > How are people removing simms for memory upgrades? > By hand, or using some sort of tool? > > I've got an 8mg NeXTstation that I want to upgrade. I can get the clips > back, but the simms seem to be seated rather tightly. Any suggestions > or comments would be greatly appreciated. > Thanks to everyone who responded. I didn't have access to the tool that was supplied with the upgrade kit, but did try most of the suggestions. I don't know if my machine was representative of others or not. I got the clips back, but nothing I did would budge the old simms. To the point of practically destroying them. I've upgraded PCs and Suns before with no problem, but have never seen anything this tough. In the end I chickened out and had a service center do the upgrade. Better luck to anyone else who tries it! Thanks again! Doug A few people asked me to post a summary of the responses I received: >From: clark@bruce.nist.gov NeXT suplies a simm removal tool with the 040 upgrade board for the cube. Looks like a thin icepick with point bent at right angles about 1/2 inch bach from the tip. You stick it in the hole on th side of the simm and jiggle it out. I did this and it seems to have worked ok. >From: oceania!johnr@uunet.UU.NET Use an ICE Pick and bend the end 90 degrees. You can then slide it in the hole and pry against the plastic holder. A jewelers screwdriver should also do the trick. >From: isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU (Art Isbell) NeXT provided a SIMM removal tool with the 68040 upgrade kit. It looks like some sort of dental tool. Its working end is a small rod with a right-angle bend about 1/2" from the end. It works by inserting the end through the hole at one end of the SIMM and rocking the tool back so the bend touches the SIMM socket frame. Continuing to rock back results in a prying force that lifts the SIMM out of its socket. Kind of hard to describe, but maybe you get the idea. I'm sure I could find something around the house or garage to do the job. >From: JKTROXE%ERENJ@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU I had the same problem, so not being sure what to do, took the station to a local PC dealer/repair place. The dealer and technician were mystified about the machine (I just brought them the slab) and said things like "nice unit." In fact, I gave them a running technical blitz with the NeXT specs and capabilities. But when I opened up the slab, the technician had no problem recognizing the SIMMS for what they were. What he did was this. He kept the back of the machine facing him. he started with the frontmost SIMM (furthest toward the front of the slab). You'll notice when you examine an unsocketed SIMM that there is a little quarter circle missing on the lower left hand corner as you face the side of the SIMM where the chips are. Well, as the technician was facing the back of the station, this quarter circle was to his RIGHT for all the SIMMs in their sockets. Using a thin screwdriver in one hand, he carefully bent back his LEFT pin of the SIMM socket closest to the front of the machine. Then he took thin needle-nosed pliers in his other hand and gently but firmly pulled straight up on the same LEFT (to him) side of the SIMM. The SIMM came free on that side. I think it was free to pivot on the right side because of the quarter-circle cutout on the SIMM. Then he moved the screwdriver and pliers to the RIGHT side of the SIMM and repeated the maneuver. The SIMM was free. He repeated for the other 3 SIMMs he removed, and then plugged in the new 4 MB SIMMs. This took about 5-10 minutes and cost me $70 for the technician's time (ouch). But at least I didn't ruin the board, and I learned how to do it (or at least how he did it). I took the slab home and it booted right up, calmly informing me that I had 20 meg! (I think this info is visible if you do a verbose boot, and there is another command (I forget which) that also tells you). But I could tell easily by the fact that the machine was a LOT faster. >From: matthews@lewhoosh.umd.edu (Mike Matthews) I used five hands, two paperclips, and a pair of needlenose pliers m'self to get my SIMMs out...... >From: smithw@hamblin.math.byu.edu (Dr. William V. Smith) Try to find somebody that did a cube upgrade to '040 board (they got a special tool to remove simms) or you can use a pair of long handled tweezers to lever them out (put the points of the tweezers in the little hole on one side of the simm and pry them out using the socket as a base). -Bill >From: Hardy Better get a special tool. We did it the hard way: 3 people, paperclips, thin screwdrivers to push the tabs back, gently rocking the simms, trepidations. I kept 4 1 MB simms + 4 4MB ones, for a total of 20. Works nicely