Macintosh SE trying to make them live!

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Level 1

5 points

Macintosh SE trying to make them live!

HI! I'm having problems with my Macintosh SE. This amazing mac still works! But it has a problem the mouse and keyboard it's not recognized. I think it was a long time ago I had one bad mouse and for some reason make the mac have a problem. So whrn I power up it's all fine! But can't use the mouse or keybord. Maybe the ports are dead? Is there any way to sove this?

In the other hand, I have found a friend that has a Macintosh SE very very similar to mine! He give it to me as a present but the OS it not working it has the diskette with the question mark. Maybe the hd it's dead.... Don't dont know.... But the good news it's that the mouse it's moving! So maybe the ports are good. Any idea if I can use them in my other Macintosh SE? The diskette of this one it's also dead I think, I try to insert a 800K diskette but it's not even fix well inside..

amy ideas what can I do with both macs? I would love tI make them alive (or at least 1 of them)

thanks in advance,

carlos

Macintosh SE

Posted on Jan 5, 2015 4:35 PM

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Answer 1

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,183 points

Jan 5, 2015 7:05 PM in response to Carloselvis

Hi Carlos,

See my reply to your other topic (under Older Hardware) about the ADB ports.

Regarding the second Macintosh SE, do you have access to an external SCSI hard drive (with an appropriate operating system) that you could connect to the SCSI port? That would allow you to boot the computer even if a floppy disk cannot be read.

As you know, the floppy icon with a flashing question-mark means that the machine cannot locate a valid system folder. Are you sure that the 800K (DSDD/2DD) diskette is OK, and that it contains a system suitable for the SE? Also, if needed, you can find information on the Internet about cleaning/repairing a floppy drive. It may also be worth resetting the PRAM and checking the logic board battery voltage.

If nothing else helps, it may be possible to swap parts between the two computers.

A warning: Opening a compact Macintosh computer can be very dangerous because of high-voltage circuits in certain areas, and must only be carried out by someone with the necessary expertise. Charges can remain in the CRT and in various capacitors for a long time after the computer has been turned off and disconnected from the mains.

Jan

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Answer 2

Jan 7, 2015 2:44 PM in response to Carloselvis

Carlos,

Jan mentioned the external SCSI port. That is your key to playing with older macs. If you can find an external Zip drive (make sure they guarantee that it works or your money back) then you can load any operating system you want onto it and trade back and forth between the two SE computers. In fact, you can boot the first SE from the Zip Drive and see if the mouse and keyboard work. If so, then you know that it is a software issue and not a hardware issue. An external SCSI drive will let you isolate many problems.

Post back with where you are in the world - name of the largest city near you is enough, not anything local or personal - and that will help us help you with ideas. We are near Seattle, Washington, USA and you can buy zip drives easily. Otherwise, you may need to buy online. At some point, you will have to decide how much it is worth living in the past.

Ji~m

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Answer 3

Carloselvis Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 9, 2015 2:09 PM in response to Appaloosa mac man

thabks in for your help! I kind of solve the problem buying a new motherbotad, but I have a new problem, its not making any video: it looks like this:

http://postimg.org/image/ob8jk83hl/

any ideas? Please! I want to have her alive!

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Answer 4

Carloselvis Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 9, 2015 4:30 PM in response to Carloselvis

Here i upolad a video of the problem with the new motherborad. This is very strange:

http://youtu.be/dDHZri1TyKA

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Answer 5

Mar 10, 2015 9:08 AM in response to Carloselvis

motherboard is likely bad. reset the clock battery, reseat ram and try again

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Answer 6

Carloselvis Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 10, 2015 10:09 AM in response to Joy Wendell-Coplon

how can i do that? how can i reset the battery and the ram?

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Answer 7

Mar 13, 2015 9:27 AM in response to Carloselvis

battery is 1/2 aa on the logic board- requires discharging the crt and is rather risky since theres a huge capacitor that could hurt you- no recommended \ unless you know what you're doing. you can try resetting pram too. don't need to take apart for that.

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Answer 8

voidcom

Level 1

21 points

Mar 15, 2015 6:17 AM in response to Carloselvis

You probably do not want to let the computer run unattended. Some electronic components have a limited lifespan and can damage the system. Electrolytic capacitors, for example, evaporate and can go bad after some years. The maximum lifespan depends, but anything older than 10 years is at risk. What usually goes bad first are the large capacitors in the power supply, which can go bad even a after a few years.

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