Thread
Upgrading RAM in SE
Ok, I'll try harder.
Here are some ways to assist the pinch/wiggle/lift.
Once the floppy and hard drive cables are removed, the logic board, with power and speaker wires still connected, can be unlatched at the sheetmetal tabs at the two lower case screw points and slid back still in its track until the power connector is as far to the rear as the metal chassis cutout allows, giving you a bit more room. Removing the hard drive power and ribbon cables, and the metal frame holding the option slot cable bulkhead (three screws) will give you still more room, but this is probably unnecessary once you have slid the logic board back.
With the computer resting on the analog board side, you can reach in from the opposite side with any long object to press the release latch while you wiggle and pull to start backing out the connector. Once a separation crack is visible and the latch is past the latch point, you can insert a screwdriver in the separation crack between the removable connector body and the base and twist so each subsequent wiggle makes positive progress and the connector body walks out under control.
Once the floppy and hard drive cables are removed, the logic board, with power and speaker wires still connected, can be unlatched at the sheetmetal tabs at the two lower case screw points and slid back still in its track until the power connector is as far to the rear as the metal chassis cutout allows, giving you a bit more room. Removing the hard drive power and ribbon cables, and the metal frame holding the option slot cable bulkhead (three screws) will give you still more room, but this is probably unnecessary once you have slid the logic board back.
With the computer resting on the analog board side, you can reach in from the opposite side with any long object to press the release latch while you wiggle and pull to start backing out the connector. Once a separation crack is visible and the latch is past the latch point, you can insert a screwdriver in the separation crack between the removable connector body and the base and twist so each subsequent wiggle makes positive progress and the connector body walks out under control.
I installed the three 1 megabyte RAM sticks! But now I see there were four 256 kilobyte installed, instead of one 1 megabyte… Now I have to pay more WeLoveMacs shipping for one more 1 megabyte stick… Oh well…
But installing the RAM destroyed my thumbnails…
But installing the RAM destroyed my thumbnails…
It's too late to help you, so this is mainly for some future poster with a similar predicament. Simms in compacts must come in pairs, so a 1MB configuration automatically tells you that there had to have been 4 simms, not one. The reason is that each simm is 8-bits wide, but the bus is 16-bits wide. So, you need two simms just to handle the full two-byte width.
Glad you got it apart... should be easier to unplug when you receive the correct memory. 
Equill took a long time getting to it, but when removing the logic board from an SE or other (pre-Colour) compact Mac, you are more likely to kill the Mac than yourself. A few simple concepts:
1. The compact Mac case contains (high voltage, high power) analogue board/PSU, (low voltage, low power) digital circuits and a (high voltage, high power) CRT. All are physically separated but there are cables joining them.
2. Cables going between the CRT and analogue board/PSU *may* contain high voltages and may deliver high power. Ignore them for this exercise, because you don't need to touch them.
3. Low voltage/power cables going anywhere... We don't care about them, because they won't hurt you. Even the connectors from the PSU to the logic board are harmless. Your hands will not go near the high voltage circuit when working with the logic board or floppy drive.
4. For the Plus and related models, the (low voltage, low power) interface from the analogue board to the logic board is a slide-on pin connector. It has an *internal* security tab that needs to be relaxed before you tug on the cables. Just put your thumb between the male and female connectors on the security tab side, and it is easy to pull apart. But still read the notes under point 5.
5. For the SE and SE/30, the (low voltage, low power) interface from the analogue board to the logic board is an evil Molex connector. It has an *external* security tab which does not open easily. The metal work in your particular SE chassis may improve or reduce access to the Molex connector.
Prepare yourself by pulling the Molex power connector between an ATX PSU and motherboard with your eyes closed. *Remove external power before trying this.* The ATX PSU connector is a big Molex with an external tab, but it is functionally similar to a Molex on an SE.
With your eyes closed, could you find the release tab? After pressing the release tab and wiggling a bit, did you feel that the Molex was free? When pulling the connector off, did you feel a progressive release or an "I'm free" release.
6. The "I'm free" release sensation is not desirable in a compact Mac. When your hand suddenly moves, you are likely to hit the neck of the CRT. That means a dead CRT which cannot be rescued. Work slowly and gently when opening plug connectors. If necessary, get some light on the Molex connector to check whether it is open.
7. Before replacing the analogue to logic board cable on an SE or SE/30, remove the tab that secures the Molex connector to the logic board. The interference fit on the Molex connectors is sufficient to ensure a secure connection, and the tab is unnecessary. Leave the remains of the tab to indicate how the connector is intended to be located.
Your biggest fear in an SE will be the resistor or jumper, depending on what board you have. You'll have to set that correctly. The danger of shock is almost nothing if you're working on the logic board exclusively.
I broke the SE!!!! :'(
I installed the RAM, replugged all connections, and switched it on. It does its happy bong, the hard drive lights up permanently, and the CRT doesn't come on. What have I done?! I did all the jumper stuff, and replugged my connections.
I installed the RAM, replugged all connections, and switched it on. It does its happy bong, the hard drive lights up permanently, and the CRT doesn't come on. What have I done?! I did all the jumper stuff, and replugged my connections.
The SE does still spit out blank disks if loaded when I switch it on, if that helps.
Anybody know how to fix it?
Anybody know how to fix it?
Whether you remember touching the brightness control or not, check that the front-accessible brightness control is not fully anticlockwise. A quote from Apple for AASPs:
'Screen is dark; audio and drive operate:
1 Turn brightness control clockwise.
2 Check video cable connections.
3 Replace analog board.
4 Replace video board.
5 Replace logic board. Retain customer’s SIMMs.
6 Replace CRT.'
de
'Screen is dark; audio and drive operate:
1 Turn brightness control clockwise.
2 Check video cable connections.
3 Replace analog board.
4 Replace video board.
5 Replace logic board. Retain customer’s SIMMs.
6 Replace CRT.'
de
Tried That
Will try that now.
Hope I didn't break one of those…
Video connections all seem good. Guess I'll have to throw the mac away.
Don't give up quite yet. First, take a break. Watch a dumb sitcom. Eat some donuts.
After you return refreshed from that mental health break, double-check your work. Did you properly reconnect every cable that you disconnected? Make sure that you didn't reverse or offset anything. Also, verify that you properly set the memory configuration jumpers for the amount of ram you now have.
In stubborn cases, when troubleshooting this sort of problem, it's a good idea to roll back to the last known good configuration. Put the original ram back in (reset the jumpers, too), and see if it starts working again. It may be helpful also to disconnect things that are not strictly necessary for basic power up. Disconnect the HD, for instance, and see if that makes a difference.
Check the most common cause of a blank display: degraded solder joints at the 4-pin yoke connector. If they were marginal to begin with, they could've failed as a result of the amount of jiggling you inevitably had to produce to disassemble the thing. It's a good policy to freshen up those connections (and the flyback solder joints, too) while you have it open.
"Never give up. Never surrender." -- Galaxy Quest
After you return refreshed from that mental health break, double-check your work. Did you properly reconnect every cable that you disconnected? Make sure that you didn't reverse or offset anything. Also, verify that you properly set the memory configuration jumpers for the amount of ram you now have.
In stubborn cases, when troubleshooting this sort of problem, it's a good idea to roll back to the last known good configuration. Put the original ram back in (reset the jumpers, too), and see if it starts working again. It may be helpful also to disconnect things that are not strictly necessary for basic power up. Disconnect the HD, for instance, and see if that makes a difference.
Check the most common cause of a blank display: degraded solder joints at the 4-pin yoke connector. If they were marginal to begin with, they could've failed as a result of the amount of jiggling you inevitably had to produce to disassemble the thing. It's a good policy to freshen up those connections (and the flyback solder joints, too) while you have it open.
"Never give up. Never surrender." -- Galaxy Quest
I'll try those things tomorrow. Tonight, it's Nick at Nite and a box of Pop'Ems. 
Now *that's* a plan!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
That was great. Now I'm going to open up the SE. What cable lets the CRT and motherboard interact?
There are several cables that do the job. One goes to the small square PC board at the base of the crt. That one is easy to dislodge, so check it carefully. Make sure it's seated firmly. It also marginally protects the "exhaust nipple" used to seal the crt after pumping down to a hard vacuum. If the nipple gets cracked, you'll hear an angry hiss for a few tense seconds as air fills the crt, killing it. If you didn't hear the hiss, you didn't crack it.
Another is the 4-wire "yoke" connector I mentioned earlier. There's an assembly around the neck of the crt -- that's the yoke. A four-wire cable runs from it to the analog board. The connector end that resides on the analog board is infamous for failing over time. Just resoldering -- with fresh solder -- the four joints often fixes things. While you're at it, refresh the semicircle of flyback transformer connections, too. All of these joints can fail in ways that are not obvious to the naked eye -- hairline cracks can be very small, so just solder, even if you don't think there's a need. Can't hurt, and it could help.
Yet another is the wide connector that you found difficult to pull out. That conveys signals between the analog board and the logic board. Make sure that it's seated properly. Make sure that it's not shifted by one pin, and make sure that in your efforts to remove it that no wires got pulled loose out of the assembly (rare, but it happens).
Hope the Pop 'Ems were tasty. Now you're ready for some troubleshooting!
Another is the 4-wire "yoke" connector I mentioned earlier. There's an assembly around the neck of the crt -- that's the yoke. A four-wire cable runs from it to the analog board. The connector end that resides on the analog board is infamous for failing over time. Just resoldering -- with fresh solder -- the four joints often fixes things. While you're at it, refresh the semicircle of flyback transformer connections, too. All of these joints can fail in ways that are not obvious to the naked eye -- hairline cracks can be very small, so just solder, even if you don't think there's a need. Can't hurt, and it could help.
Yet another is the wide connector that you found difficult to pull out. That conveys signals between the analog board and the logic board. Make sure that it's seated properly. Make sure that it's not shifted by one pin, and make sure that in your efforts to remove it that no wires got pulled loose out of the assembly (rare, but it happens).
Hope the Pop 'Ems were tasty. Now you're ready for some troubleshooting!
I never heard a hiss. [] ]'> Right now, I'm trying to put it back together with old RAM, and floppy/hard drive disconnected. While I was doing that the other end of that hard-to-get-out wiggly plug with a clip came out from the other end by itself. The looseness may have been causing the problem. But I don't know where the other end of that plug plugs in.
] ]'> Right now, I'm trying to put it back together with old RAM, and floppy/hard drive disconnected. While I was doing that the other end of that hard-to-get-out wiggly plug with a clip came out from the other end by itself. The looseness may have been causing the problem. But I don't know where the other end of that plug plugs in.
Nevermind! Just got it in! Now to see if it works.
It works! ;D
But now the HD is finally dead after many almost-deaths. :-/ hohum.
I'm NOT replacing the HD because I'd have to put my hand VERY near, possibly on, the CRT. I'll just get an external.
I'm NOT replacing the HD because I'd have to put my hand VERY near, possibly on, the CRT. I'll just get an external.
Congratulations on getting it back up and running! Score another success for persistence (and TV + junk food).
Don't worry about the CRT. I know it's a scary thing (because many people make it out to be that way), but really, there is no danger as long as you have pulled out the power cord. All the HV bits are extremely well insulated, further reducing the already-small likelihood of a human-HV encounter.
This is a good opportunity to put a multi-GB drive into that compact. Go find one, partition into <2GB chunks, and you'll have a sweet little mac!
Don't worry about the CRT. I know it's a scary thing (because many people make it out to be that way), but really, there is no danger as long as you have pulled out the power cord. All the HV bits are extremely well insulated, further reducing the already-small likelihood of a human-HV encounter.
This is a good opportunity to put a multi-GB drive into that compact. Go find one, partition into <2GB chunks, and you'll have a sweet little mac!
I'm just getting a 160mb one. I wouldn't use up all that space.
I'd like to back up what Tom Lee said about the CRT...although i've never worked in an SE, i've had the HD out of my Classic II many times, and i never ever had to handle the CRT, or put my hands anywhere near it, and it has the HD in the exact same place as the SE. Even so, the HV parts you'll be working near are very well insulated...i've touched the back of a few CRTs before, and no shock. Just keep away from obviously uninsulated parts (such as the deflection coil) and you should be fine. Even so...just touching the back of a CRT isn't really going to give you that great a risk of shock...lets face it, you can't get a shock by touching the glass on the front of a CRT, right? Same for most of the glass at the back.
Good to hear! See, we said it was easy!
Turns out I'll be getting a 500mb one. Plenty for System 6, right?
Heaps! Hell..even a 40 is hard to fill up with System 6!
It will take you a *long* time to fill up a half-gig drive with system 6 apps! That's plenty of space for all of your favorite apps, as well as for ones you will never, ever use.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
The HD came today. It's initializing right now! :b&w: It doesn't have the LED connector thingamagigger. But that doesn't matter. I don't need a light!