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Gabe86 · 11:07 PM

Hello,

I have an old BW Classic II that I recently pulled out of storage, after about 9 years wrapped up in a few cotton pillow cases and an old blanket in a sturdy plastic rubbermaid bin, stacked in a cool dry basement it turns on, spins up the HDD, no bong, and hangs at a black screen with random white artifacts on the display. I've tried power cycling it, command+option+P+R, inserting system 7 boot floppy, but nothing. Each time I turn it on it acts differently, at first it will display a dim white box in the middle of the screen and then it will gradually get brighter after two or three power cycles with assorted artifacts scattered around it.
Pics below:

Macintosh Classic II 2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Macintosh Classic II 1 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Any help with this would be great. This machine was originally used to feed CAD drawings to an old CNC back in the day. It would be great if I could get it running again. I have read allot of cautionary tales about opening these little guys up so any advice on the safest/best way to go about doing this would be great. I would rather not mess with the CRT if possible.

Thanks!

reader50 · Mar 29, 2010, 05:13 PM

My first guess would be dried out electrolytic capacitors on the power board. That the aged components are causing the Mac to be power starved. You'd have to pull the caps one at a time, test capacity, and replace ones that register significantly low.

Gabe86 · Mar 29, 2010, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by reader50

My first guess would be dried out electrolytic capacitors on the power board. That the aged components are causing the Mac to be power starved. You'd have to pull the caps one at a time, test capacity, and replace ones that register significantly low.

Thanks reader for your reply.

Is it safe to work on my Classic II without discharging the CRT first? I plugged it in from about 3am to 12pm this afternoon, and for a few minutes later on in the day, other than that it has been 9 years. Could it have built up a significant charge within that time frame?

reader50 · 05:24 AM

I'd rather you wait for other opinions before opening it up. It would be nice to hear from someone who's actually worked on one.

In the meantime, here's an inline posting of pic #2.

macaddict0001 · Mar 29, 2010, 10:24 PM

If the screen is on it has built up a charge.

Eriamjh · Mar 30, 2010, 07:39 AM

I recommend a thorough cleaning. Blow out any dust with compressed air. Do not touch anything without it being unplugged, wear thick gloves, or find an old tube-TV-man who knows how to discharge the CRT.

You have random shorts in the video sweep circuitry. There could be dendritic growth on the PCB or just conductive dust.

There should be some tear-down guides on the internet available if you look hard enough. Be cautious and you should be able to restore video.

Gabe86 · Mar 30, 2010, 02:45 PM

Thanks Eriamjh for your reply.

I've researched the process a bit more and have found a good step by step guide to assist me in the tear down.

Syrinx Homepage - Mac Classic II disassembly

Including the original service manual from Apple

Apple Manual for classic ii.performa 200 (pdf document) free file download at fliiby.com

I'll post back if I run into any issues. Thanks

Big Mac · Mar 30, 2010, 04:16 PM

Good find. I must have completely forgotten the point in time when they tried to sell it as the Performa 200.

Spheric Harlot · Mar 30, 2010, 04:25 PM

I think most of us did their best to forget the time they tried to sell anything as a Performa.

Eriamjh · Apr 10, 2010, 03:16 PM

Any updates on this? I'd like to know if this Mac is still alive.

Gabe86 · Apr 11, 2010, 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by Eriamjh

Any updates on this? I'd like to know if this Mac is still alive.

Haven't touched it yet.. Too busy with work.

seanc · Apr 11, 2010, 08:07 AM

I've still got my Performa 475!
I must backup that old SCSI drive.

msuper69 · Apr 11, 2010, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by Eriamjh

... Do not touch anything without it being unplugged, wear thick gloves, or find an old tube-TV-man who knows how to discharge the CRT.

As an old TV repairman, take a well-insulated flat-bladed screwdriver, touch the screwdriver to ground and touch the high-voltage lead. That will discharge the CRT. If you do get shocked, it will hurt but scraping your arm on the metal chassis will hurt more!