Re: GS memory problem

[jpendarv@patriot.net (jim pendarvis)]

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. 

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
> >>