Re: Help for dead //c

[freeze@minn.net (Matthew Fries)]

Luc Metras <metras@alcor.concordia.ca> wrote:

>I have an Apple //c that got a lot of use from myself and my family.  
>After my last move it sat unused for awhile before I set it up again.  I 
>connected everything and turned it on.  The power light came on but 
>that's all.  The disk drive doesn't start, the screen remains blank.  
>Before turning it over to a technician (it could be expensive and who 
>knows if I can find one that ever saw a //c) I figured I should ask here 
>if you have any idea of what I could check out.  I don't mind opening it 
>up but I need some instructions on what to look for.

Well, I AM a technician, and I have worked on a few Apple //c
machines. The most common problems I have seen are: Bad memory chips,
and REALLY FLAKY MOTHERBOARDS (someone dropped it). 

If you open it, look for corrosion due to spilled liquids on the
board. (Pepsi, most likely).

Bad memory will often times still allow the system to boot, but you
get flickery characters on the screen. If your screen is blank, you
get no beep, and not disk, then there is something wrong with CPU,
IOU, MMU, or one (or several) of the associated support chips. 

Sometimes the //c can be FUN to repair. Sometimes it can be a
NIGHTMARE!

Don't spend too much money fixing it....