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I need help diagnosing problems of some compact macs


Poopopyo

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You may have seen my topic about me finding these macs and I want to find out how to fix them. The macs and problems are:

 

a standard SE

 

Whenever I turn it on it says "The disk "untitled" needs minor repairs. Do you want to repair it?" When I click OK or cancel the system just reboots and says the same thing.

 

an SE with 2 disk drives

 

When I turn it on a picture shows up with a floppy disk and a question mark on it. I could see inside one of the slots that something is plugged out and I assume that the disk drive is plugged out. There is also some rattling inside.

 

Another SE with 2 disk drives

 

Same problem as the last one, but I didn't see anything plugged out nor hear any rattling.

 

SE FDHD with 2 disk drives

 

When I turn it on a white vertical line appears across the screen.

 

Mac Plus

 

same problem as the SE with 2 disk drives and sometimes there is an X over the picture. the monitor takes a long time turning on and I think i need to put in a PRAM battery in the back. When I take off the battery panel there is nothing there. The case is kind of sticky too. I also need a special mouse and keyboard. The computer doesn't make any noises.

 

Could anyone diagnose the real problems and tell me how to fix them? Is it safe to open the case of these macs? What precautions should I take when opening it if I can?

Edited by Poopopyo
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You may have seen my topic about me finding these macs and I want to find out how to fix them. The macs and problems are:

 

a standard SE

 

Whenever I turn it on it says "The disk "untitled" needs minor repairs. Do you want to repair it?" When I click OK or cancel the system just reboots and says the same thing.

 

an SE with 2 disk drives

 

When I turn it on a picture shows up with a floppy disk and a question mark on it. I could see inside one of the slots that something is plugged out and I assume that the disk drive is plugged out. There is also some rattling inside.

 

Another SE with 2 disk drives

 

Same problem as the last one, but I didn't see anything plugged out nor hear any rattling.

 

SE FDHD with 2 disk drives

 

When I turn it on a white vertical line appears across the screen.

 

Mac Plus

 

same problem as the SE with 2 disk drives and sometimes there is an X over the picture. the monitor takes a long time turning on and I think i need to put in a PRAM battery in the back. When I take off the battery panel there is nothing there. The case is kind of sticky too. I also need a special mouse and keyboard. The computer doesn't make any noises.

 

Could anyone diagnose the real problems and tell me how to fix them? Is it safe to open the case of these macs? What precautions should I take when opening it if I can?

SE FDHD vertical line problem is likely as it appears,vertical collapse. the vert circuit driver has probably failed, not expensive if you can get the part or swap out the board from another one as long as they match.

 

If not ot make a great fish tank, just back light it and it's really cool! ;)

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Now where will I find vert circuit drivers and boot disks? Other than Ebay of course.

If the video circuitry of the SE is blown, I doubt it's worth your while to fix it. It would be cheaper to just find another computer.

 

System software for these Macs is still available for download from Apple.

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA48312?viewlocale=en_US

 

For booting from a floppy-only system, System 6.0.8 is probably your best bet. With a hard drive, try system 7.5.5. It was the last legacy OS to support 68000 based Macs. If a 7.5.5. boot disk will fit onto a single floppy (I honestly can't remember if it will), you could also use that with the duo-drive SE's.

Edited by Christophero Sly
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There has to be a way to get at least one fully working machine out of those four SEs. Were you able to make or get a boot disk? I think at least some of the iterations of System 7 fit on a floppy, though as the PP said, System 6 is probably the best choice for these machines.

 

I still haven't been able to get a boot disk. My aunt might have one though.

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There has to be a way to get at least one fully working machine out of those four SEs. Were you able to make or get a boot disk? I think at least some of the iterations of System 7 fit on a floppy, though as the PP said, System 6 is probably the best choice for these machines.

 

Yes, and no. System 6 is much better for booting from floppy. You can't fit a full install of any flavor of System 7 on a floppy. If you just want the computer to boot, you could try a System 7.x Disk Tools disk, but the OS is far from complete and there is really no room for programs.

 

The Plus doesn't make any noise, because there is no cooling fan. :)

 

It is safe, but tricky to open the case. If you look at the pictures in my collection (in my sig) I have a Classic II sitting wide open on my workbench. :D After you remove the screws you need a wide putty knife or something similar to pry the case apart. As many times as I have opened them, I still hate it.

 

EDIT: I should note that when the case is open you should use the same precaution that you would for opening a regular monitor or TV. BEWARE THE HIGH VOLTAGE BITS!

Edited by aftermac
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There has to be a way to get at least one fully working machine out of those four SEs. Were you able to make or get a boot disk? I think at least some of the iterations of System 7 fit on a floppy, though as the PP said, System 6 is probably the best choice for these machines.

 

I still haven't been able to get a boot disk. My aunt might have one though.

 

If you can't come up with anything else, I can make you some boot disks... just send me some 800k floppies (BTW, most of those computers have 800k floppy drives, not 1.4 MB) and I'll put System 6 on them.

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Yes, and no. System 6 is much better for booting from floppy. You can't fit a full install of any flavor of System 7 on a floppy. If you just want the computer to boot, you could try a System 7.x Disk Tools disk, but the OS is far from complete and there is really no room for programs.

Thanks for the clarification/correction. I think I must have been remembering installing System 7 from floppies (plural), and/or booting from floppy in an emergency situation.

 

The Plus doesn't make any noise, because there is no cooling fan. :)

It's great! The compact Macs are excellent machines for writing, and the ones without fans or hard drives are dead silent when they're not loading or saving files. Plus they don't invite distraction, especially with the older versions of the Mac OS which don't encourage multitasking. Many writers kept a compact Mac around well into the '90s (or even the '00s) for those reasons. I'm told that the older versions of Microsoft Word are surprisingly fast.

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