Re: GS memory problem

[Stephen Shaw <stephen@junkbuster.zzn.com>]

On Sat, 22 Jun 2002 21:53:52 -0400, jim pendarvis wrote:

> In article <af2bkb$gpc$1@venus.itns.co.za>, Stephen Shaw
> <stephen@apple2.org.invalid.za> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 14 Jun 2002 09:29:31 -0400, Jim Pendarvis wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > Thanks David for your informative response.
>> >
>> > The memory card is Apple. The error # is 308.
>> >
>> > I've tried reseating the chips, but that didn't help. 2 banks are TI, 1
>> > bank is Oki, and the other is a mix of TI and Oki. I don't know if that
>> > would matter.
>>
>> Shouldn't matter but there is many a slip 'twixt cup and lip. Try putting
all
>> TI or all OKI.
>>
>> >
>> > Would someone please send me a copy of the memory test program
>> > "MemoryTest.CL" that David mentions below?
>>
>> I wonder if the AE test would help?
>>
>
> I assume it would. The tester for ramworks seems to work pretty well. I'm
> not sure if I have AE's tester for GS.
>
> Meanwhile. I have checked a couple of stores for chips. The first, a store
> specializing in used computer stuff (where I noticed that used doesn't
> necessarily equal cheap). They didn't have any. Then I tried MicroCenter
> (large warehouse store like CompUSA). I asked in the service department
> where I would have thought they might have encountered 256k chips at some
> point or another, say on an old video card, but they had absolutely no
> idea what I was talking about.

What sort of memory does it use - 511000,44164,4464,41256,44256? Maybe I can
help. I always knew keeping those old XTs would come in useful some day.

>
> Right now my son uses the GS to play some DOS games. So it can be be put
> to use. And even if I can get the memory card fixed, I don't think 1.25mb
> is going to get me very far running GS software.
>
> jim
>
>
>
>
>
>> >
>> > thanks, jim
>> >
>> > On Thu, 13 Jun 2002, David Empson wrote:
>> >
>> >> Jim Pendarvis <jpendarv@patriot.net> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > I picked up a Rom 1 GS this weekend. The memory card is fully
populated.
>> >> > The control panel recognizes the memory. Running the built-in system
test
>
>> >> > ends with "system good".
>> >>
>> >> Unfortunately, the built in test doesn't test the memory expansion card,
>> >> only the motherboard RAM.  You will need a separate memory test program
>> >> to do it properly.
>> >>
>> >> What brand is the memory expansion card?  Apple never supplied any
>> >> memory testing software for their 1MB card, but most third party cards
>> >> included test software which were able to show the location of the fault
>> >> on a picture of the card.
>> >>
>> >> > But I can't run GS-OS. Sometimes it just beeps and hangs. Other times I
>> >> > get an error message (#307?) about trashed memory. A few times I've
ended
>
>> >> > up in the monitor.
>> >> >
>> >> > I suspect a memory problem.
>> >>
>> >> Me too.  System error 0308 is one of the classic symptoms of a faulty
>> >> chip on your memory expansion card (or some other fault on the card).
>> >>
>> >> It could  be a memory corrupting bug in your system software or an
>> >> application, but this isn't very likely.
>> >>
>> >> The other classic symptoms of memory corruption are system errors 0681
>> >> and 0682.
>> >>
>> >> Error 0307 ("unsuccessful firmware task") is pretty unlikely to occur,
>> >> so I assume you misquoted the number and it was actually 0308 ("damaged
>> >> heartbeat queue").
>> >>
>> >> > How can I tell for sure? and how would I identify the problem chip(s)?
>> >>
>> >> A memory tester run for a while should reveal a fault.  The only program
>> >> I can suggest off the top of my head is "MemoryTest.CL", which is
>> >> supplied with AppleWorks GS.  I seem to recall it being very reliable at
>> >> finding faults.
>> >>
>> >> It can pinpoint a fault to a bank number (and might indicate which bit
>> >> within the byte is faulty - I don't recall).
>> >>
>> >> Once you have the bank number, you need to identify which physical row
>> >> on the card is affected, and which chip within the row.  The best way to
>> >> handle this is to get the information from someone else who has the same
>> >> card and knows how it is laid out.  If necessary, you can locate the
>> >> faulty chip with systematic swapping and rearrangement (assuming there
>> >> is only one faulty chip).
>> >>
>> >> It might be as simple as a poor connection between one chip and its
>> >> socket - try removing and reinserting all of the RAM chips (observing
>> >> the usual antistatic precautions, of course).
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> David Empson
>> >> dempson@actrix.gen.nz
>> >>

-- 
--

Real email address : stephen (at) apple2 (dot) org (dot) za

... Back when I was a boy, we carved our own ICs out of wood.