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Tech Tips: Hardware Hell
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How to repair and maintain that troublesome hardware
How can I clear my Mac's PRAM settings?
When I turn my Mac on I get a sad Mac icon and two lines of numbers - help!
What's the 'dishwasher trick'?
[Q]: How can I clear my Mac's PRAM settings?
[A]: This depends on your machine. For a Mac Plus (or earlier), open the battery compartment at the back of the machine, remove the battery and leave it for 15 minutes. On OS 6 machines hold down Command-Option-Shift and choose the Control Panel DA (you'll get a warning message checking that you want to clear the PRAM). On OS 7 machines, hold down Command-Option-P-R on startup and then release them when you hear the SECOND startup chime.
[Q]: When I turn my Mac on I get a sad Mac icon and two lines of numbers - help!
[A]: Your Mac is in serious trouble but there are some things that you can try before giving up on it. Firstly try a reboot - it could be that you've just hit a 'glitch'. Secondly power down and remove any RAM modules - damaged/invalid RAM can often cause this problem. If the machine boots, try to identify the dodgy module and replace it. The last thing that you can try is checking the motherboard for electrolyte leakage (which can happen, especially in Classics and Classic II's) - clean off any leakage with a dry cloth (or try the dishwasher trick) and try a reboot.
[Q]: What's the 'dishwasher trick'?
[A]: Sometimes Apple's choice of component was ot brilliant and sometimes old age can take its toll. This is especially true of capacitors mounted on the motherboard and they can leak electrolyte which can cause all sorts of problems. The 'dishwasher trick' can sometimes fix this but it's not for the fainthearted. You need to remove your motherboard, renove any RAM modules, ROM cards etc. and then either wash the motherboard in soapy water (rinsing when finished) or pop it into your dishwasher. It then needs to be left until totally dry (anything up to 2 days). Amazingly this can solve a wide range of problems.
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