I got a vintage Macintosh SE/30 at an estate sale and when powered on it shows a blank screen. I’m wondering if anyone knows about why this could be happening? I don’t know how to repair, I just want to see if I can try to get an easy fix. Either way, it’s just for show. I hear the fans and I believe the hard drive when it’s on.
Earlier Mac models
Not 100 % sure what is up, but that model had two known mechanical issues with 40 and 80MB Quantum FireBall hard drives that Apple used.
One was a "sticky actuator" in the HDD that failed to move the read head at startup. The other was seized platter bearings that stopped startup.
I recall our SE/30 did the chines and went no farther. Those issues "created" two of the oddest "bush-fix"Mac procedures:
1) Turn the Mac on its head, then try starting. The idea was that inversion changes the gravity load on the platter bearings enough to let the platter spin up.
2) If the actuator, what became known as "Whack-a-Mac." Users were directed to slap one side of the case just before startup.
If either gets a start, leave the Mac running. Forever.
Yea, weird, but they sometimes worked.
I got a vintage Macintosh SE/30 at an estate sale...
Both drive symptoms were common in SE/30s that had been sitting unused for a while. That is why I mention these odd failures.
PS: Our SE/30 is still "stuck." I've never gotten rid of it because it was our first Mac, bought about 1990.
Allan
Hi again. I have printed emails from 1994 saying that the disk had stuck. It seems like they got it to work and gave a sort of solution but I don’t really understand how to do it. Maybe you could help with that? I tried turning it over and slapping it before power on and the light flashed quickly then slowed down for the remaining time it was on. I'm not sure what that means. Maybe the quick flashing is just when it's starting up? I hadn't noticed it before. I'm not sure about keeping it running forever because I've seen online that they may need to be "recapped" and I'm afraid that might be dangerous. Here's the email:
A properly-working Mac will initialize the screen, CHIME, and draw an icon in the center of the screen indicating what is going on. if it detects an error, a Sad Mac icon will appear, possibly with some codes. It will do this even if NO Hard drive is present.
if a hard drive is present, its data connector and power connector should Both be connected to terminate the bus.
If boot-up continues, the solid Apple will be loaded off the drive with the first 'blob' of software, and appear in the center of the screen.
If no boot drive is detected, a question mark icon should appear, possibly alternating with a folder icon.
FYI, having the Mac open like that is extremely dangerous.....you could kill yourself from the high voltage even when that device is unplugged. You should not have any computer with CRT open like that unless you know how to deal with it safely.
There are red warning labels on that CRT. Take those warning seriously. This device is not meant to be serviced by an untrained individual.
I read this before: https://lowendmac.com/2007/the-truth-about-crts-and-shock-danger/. I never serviced the Mac and don't plan to. Don't even have the tools to do anything like that. Just checked to see if there was a hard drive and get a picture for the forums. Also I fear the red warning labels don't cover what you're saying. They only mention that you should not mess with it if the original protection is not still there.
I don't know about older Macs but I believe the screen might have burned out after beening used for a long time the last time it powered on.
<< it shows a blank screen. >>
please clarify:
it shows a BLANK white screen with raster ? are the corners rounded?
OR
the screen stay BLACK, with no sign of life whatsoever?
I apologize. It is completely white. Corners are not rounded. The menu bar is burnt into the screen so it must've been used a lot.
How to fix Mac SE/30 blank screen
