Re: Problems! Disk ][ drive just whirs and whirs; IIc monitor knob stuck; IIe enhanced not...

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Larry Stedman <stedman@binghamton.edu> wrote:

> Appreciate the fast responses!  Thanks for the //e, 80 col. card history.
> 
> Is there any possibility that a chip was pulled or that something needs
> to be re-seated on the motherboard to restore it to being a //e?

It is a IIe. There is nothing to "restore".

The original IIe firmware says "Apple ][" at startup (distinguishable
from a II+, which says "APPLE ]["). The enhanced IIe firmware says
"Apple //e".

Your IIe has the original firmware ROMs. It might have the original or
enhanced version of the character generator ROM, and it might have
either a 6502 or 65C02 processor.

> I guess I should Google and see what the enhanced motherboard looks like.
> Oh, wait, one of the IIes here is an enhanced.  I'll open 'em and
> compare.

There are two major revisions of the IIe motherboard (and one minor
one).

The original IIe had a "beige" case and no built-in numeric keypad. The
oldest motherboards (from around 1982) don't support double hi-res
graphics. (I've never seen one of these.) A slightly later revision
added double hi-res support.

The enhanced IIe came out in 1985. It used the same motherboard and case
as the original. The only change was in four chips: the two firmware
ROMS (CD and EF), the character generator (replacing a duplicate set of
inverse uppercase characters with mousetext in the alternate character
set) and the processor (65C02 instead of 6502).

Apple also sold an enhancement kit for the original IIe, which included
these four chips and a "65C02 Enhanced" sticker which could be placed
over the power light on the keyboard.

It sounds like someone has put that sticker on your IIe but didn't
install the new firwmare ROMs, or reverted to the original ones for some
reason.

The later revision to the IIe (1988) changed the case colour to
platinum, added a built-in numeric keypad, and revised the motherboard
layout. I think it also has a single ROM containing all of the firmware,
rather than two. This version of the IIe would never be unenhanced,
unless someone went to a reasonably major effort.

> How would I go about cleaning the disk drives?

Usual technique was a 5.25" head cleaning disk, possibly requiring some
isopropyl alcohol.

If you can't find one, another method is to take the drive apart and
apply isopropyl alcohol directly to the drive head using a q-tip,
rubbing gently to get the accumulated oxide off.

> I know in the old days Radio Shack sold disk drive cleaning kits, but I
> can't believe they'd have anything like that anymore!
> 
> I'm tentatively ruling out the cable as both Disk ][ drives have the 
> same problem so it'd have to be a prob with each of their cables!  

It could also be a fault on the controller card, e.g. a dry joint on one
of the chips, or a bad connection to a socket. Try removing and
replacing the socketed chips, and resoldering any pins that look ddogy.

> Does that Track $11, Sector $F  i/o error mean something?

No, that's just where DOS 3.3 was trying to read the catalog.

> I don't get the initial rattling that most Apple II drives give you when
> they're trying to read a disk.  Head issue?  Stepper motor prob?

That is a possibility. If neither drive does it (when they are swapped
around) a controller fault seems more likely.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz