Mac performa 200

[Togglehead]

Hey guys....im fairly new to mac, after a 12 year break from it, i think its about time to get back into it.

I dug my performa 200 out of storage recently, and the bad boy worked FINE when it was put into storage (almost 8 years ago) but i am NOT suprised that something doesnt work now....lol

Go easy on me....im a doofus with macs....thats why im here.

Anyway so i powered it on, and i get nothing but a B&W checkered screen. I know it has those two buttons on the side of it....one is a command button....one does something else....something bad i remember.....neither of them do anything with the checkered screen.....

Where should i start?

 

[DougTheImpaler]

Do you actually get an icon in the middle of the screen, like a floppy disk wiht a ? on it?

 

[Togglehead]

no no..long before that.....just powered on...then B&W checkers....thats it

 

[macEfan]

that has happened to my Classic II before. I usually turn it on, then filip the switch back to off after the checkers apear on the screen. Then, after about 1 second, i turn the computer back on. I hear that this problem is related to the motherboard, does yours have any leaking capictors or anything?

 

[Togglehead]

that has happened to my Classic II before. I usually turn it on, then filip the switch back to off after the checkers apear on the screen. Then, after about 1 second, i turn the computer back on. I hear that this problem is related to the motherboard, does yours have any leaking capictors or anything?

ooo boy i dunno....its been moved around a lot so a myriad things could be wrong....i'll check that out, see if i can see any at a glance....

*digs out soldering iron* lets see if my smokers hands are still steady enough....lol

 

[dpaanlka]

Isn't this the machine with a system folder built into ROM, accesable (spelling?) by hitting command + option + x + o or something like that on startup?

 

[Togglehead]

i really dont think its even getting that far....

as far as i remember yes....it did not need a boot disk....it always gave me the little mac with a smile....and booted to finder

now...power on....and by the time the screen gets juice....i could be playing checkers on it

 

[CanadaRAM]

First step with any machine that old is to replace the PRAM battery, I can't remember off the top but it is probably a 1.2AA 3.6V Lithium battery, available at Radioshack for about $10.

Then you have to determine if the hard disk is actually spinning. The small (40 Mb) SCSI hard drives from that era had a problem with "stiction" where the grease used to lubricate the drive actually solidified and prevented the motion from starting. If you broke the inertia (with a carefully placed whack with a screwdriver handle), then they would sometimes staart, and run long enough to copy the data off.

 

[Togglehead]

ooo good info...ill get back to you

 

[chatin]

Sounds like a part is failing on the analog video board. You can board level repair the flyback, if you are old school soilder and flux friendly.

Be careful... They call it a flyback, because if you touch it without discharging it, you can fly back - out of your seat!

 

[DougTheImpaler]

Isn't this the machine with a system folder built into ROM, accesable (spelling?) by hitting command + option + x + o or something like that on startup?

Only on a Classic, IIRC...or some other compact Mac

 

[Togglehead]

video board huh?

you think that would cause the machine not to boot though? That different from PCs....sometimes they will still boot, but with no video

I'll crack her open this week and let you guys know if i see anything on it

 

[Spock]

Only on a Classic, IIRC...or some other compact Mac

The Performa 200 is a rebrand of the Classic II

 

[Togglehead]

i dont see anything out of the ordinary in there (i know sometimes you cant see things, but a glance cant hurt)

what are somethings i can do to try and get her booted assuming the MB is NOT blown.....

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Then you have to determine if the hard disk is actually spinning. The small (40 Mb) SCSI hard drives from that era had a problem with "stiction" where the grease used to lubricate the drive actually solidified and prevented the motion from starting. If you broke the inertia (with a carefully placed whack with a screwdriver handle), then they would sometimes staart, and run long enough to copy the data off.

I had that same issue with an extremely old Zenith Data Systems laptop MFM hard drive...I was able to partially dissasemble the drive and give the motor a little push. It actually worked for a few years after that.

I'll wager that the PRAM battery is dead on that Performa - definitely replace it before trying to do any further troubleshooting.

 

[Togglehead]

cool cool....yeah i figured that too.....ill do that...thanks!