Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!think!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!bbn!uwmcsd1!marque!studsys!jetzer
From: jetzer@studsys.mu.edu (jetzer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Help- Fried Apples & Dumplings
Message-ID: <189@studsys.mu.edu>
Date: 3 May 88 15:52:41 GMT
References: <5718@sigi.Colorado.EDU>
Organization: Marquette University - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Lines: 41
Keywords: ][+ //e Dead

In article <5718@sigi.Colorado.EDU>, williamm@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Michael Williams) writes:
> ][+ : It was given to me dead, so I am not sure what the immediate
>       cause of failure was.  When the machine is turned on, no card
>       is accessed (not the disk controller at least), and the screen
>       has a static display of '?'s, ' 's, and 'F's.  Nothing else.
>       I am pretty sure that the power supply has nothing to do with it
>       (for I replaced it temporarily with a good one).

> //e : I saw this one bite it.  I was playing a game and was pulling 
>       a loose joystick cable out from the machine (it was not plugged
>       in, but just sitting there looking stupid) when ALAS, my screen
>       became filled with columns alternating between normal and inverse
>       spaces (rows of black and white).  Turning the machine off and then

I work for a school district over the summer, and do *simple* repair type
stuff.

We had a similar problem with a ][+.  It seems that just pressing down
on any chip near the back right corner of the motherboard made it work
properly, for about 5 minutes.  Made me think that some of the chip/socket
connections were corroded or something.  But, ][+'s have a very low priority,
and we had an extra (good) motherboard laying around, and swapped it.

Also had a similar problem with a couple of //e's at various times.  Once
someone tried to plug in a joystick, but the disk controller was in the
way ... so he removed the card from the slot (while the power was still
on!).  Same type of mess, although it was usually lores graphics.  Swapped
every chip on the motherboard, and determined that one of the RAMs was bad.
Surprised me that a bad RAM would do this, but ...

Another time someone in the electronics class was making an interface
card for a robot arm.  Got two wires mixed up, and fried the //e (they
now use ][+'s in the robotics class  :-).  What was really interesting
was that it gave 80 columns of garbage, even though there was no 80-col
card in it at the time.  This one was an enhanced motherboard, and all the
RAMs were soldered in.  Had to send this one out, and when it came back,
one RAM and another chip (sorry, don't remember which one) were replaced.

Hope this helps
-- 
Mike Jetzer
"Hack first, ask questions later."