GregMcDonald
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: How do I get an SE/30 working again?

I lent my SE/30 to a friend a few years ago. When I got it back, it wouldn't work. I've forgotten what the error message was and wouldn't know where to start, in terms of getting it working again. Would I be able to take it into an Apple Store and ask a Genius to reboot it and reinstall the original software?!!

Macintosh SE/30, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier

Posted on Jun 23, 2012 6:02 AM

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GregMcDonald

Q: How do I get an SE/30 working again?

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  • by JustSomeGuy,

    JustSomeGuy JustSomeGuy Jun 23, 2012 3:01 PM in response to GregMcDonald
    Level 3 (586 points)
    Jun 23, 2012 3:01 PM in response to GregMcDonald 
    GregMcDonald wrote:
     
    I lent my SE/30 to a friend a few years ago. When I got it back, it wouldn't work. I've forgotten what the error message was and wouldn't know where to start, in terms of getting it working again.

    You will need to plug it in, turn it on, and let us know what shows up on the screen, if anything.  Lots and lots of things might be wrong, none of which we can tell without some more info.  Your new favorite website wil be this one:

    http://www.biwa.ne.jp/~shamada/fullmac/repairEng.html

    (Before everyone gets all wiggy about CRT discharge, don't worry, that's the first thing the page talks about.)

    You can compare what you see to the troubleshooting section of the site.

     

    GregMcDonald wrote:
     
    Would I be able to take it into an Apple Store and ask a Genius to reboot it and reinstall the original software?!!

    No, not at all.  The SE/30 is about as old as the average "Genius" is.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Jun 25, 2012 7:33 PM in response to GregMcDonald
    Level 8 (35,176 points)
    iPad
    Jun 25, 2012 7:33 PM in response to GregMcDonald

    SE/30s had a lot of hard drive problems. Many had 40MB and 80MB Quantum Fireballs that suffered serious problems: The most common was bad platter bearings--after sitting, the drive's bearing on the shaft would try to seize in its seat, making startup difficult. The suggested cure was to invert the computer so it's sitting on its top and then turn it on. The reasoning was that there is always a little vertical play in the bearings and upending it took the weight of the flaky lower bearing.

     

    Worth a try.

     

    Of course, as this thing has been off power forever, the internal backup battery is surely dead. That can cause startup problems in some Macs; fortunately, the SE series is not quite as finicky about a dead backup battery as some subsequent models.

     

    Our first Mac was an SE/30 bought about 1990 and had a 40MB Fireball drive so was a b***head about starting aftera about 18 months. By 1993, its daily use status was usurped by a newer Mac and the SE/30 was off power and sat a while. We managed to get it restarted using the inversion technique and then left it on for over two years. Finally, one of the kids need a power strip and tookl the one on the Se/30 and it never started again. It's still here, though. Hard to toss your first Mac!