Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Last week, I finished installing new sockets into COMPUTER, my MCA Apple ][+ Clone, and then put all the logic chips back into place. I thought it would just power up, and it did, but it looked like the processor was not running code.
I put a modified Applesoft ROM Card into the system, which is hard-wired to boot Adrian Black's memory test ROM, and the memory test did start to run. However, it would always crash soon thereafter. Seems like there's a problem in the memory section of the motherboard...
Thanks to having a second clone motherboard which is in working condition, I have a motherboard to test the RAM chips in to make sure they are all good. I can also check the chips responsible for addressing and accessing memory - one or more may be bad. But most importantly, this feels like Mission: Possible at this point!
Will COMPUTER boot? How many more bad chips will I add to the collection of bad chips from COMPUTER? Will I get to play a game? You'll have to watch to find out!
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Last week, I finished installing new sockets into COMPUTER, my MCA Apple ][+ Clone, and then put all the logic chips back into place. I thought it would just power up, and it did, but it looked like the processor was not running code.
I put a modified Applesoft ROM Card into the system, which is hard-wired to boot Adrian Black's memory test ROM, and the memory test did start to run. However, it would always crash soon thereafter. Seems like there's a problem in the memory section of the motherboard...
Thanks to having a second clone motherboard which is in working condition, I have a motherboard to test the RAM chips in to make sure they are all good. I can also check the chips responsible for addressing and accessing memory - one or more may be bad. But most importantly, this feels like Mission: Possible at this point!
Will COMPUTER boot? How many more bad chips will I add to the collection of bad chips from COMPUTER? Will I get to play a game? You'll have to watch to find out!
*
Use discount code JUSTINTIME for for 5% off all Computerized Start™ merchandise at https://shop.jdmcs.com.
*
Ways to Support the Channel:
☕️ Tips or Support via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/jdmcs
🈷️ Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/jdmcs
📦 Amazon Wishlist: jdmcs.net/wishlist
... or simply do the YouTube things: Like/Dislike, Comment, Subscribe, Enable Notifications, and participate in the Chat. These things help the channel, too!
**
Read Computerized Start™, my Official Blog: jdmcs.net/myblog
Follow me on Instagram: jdmcs.net/myinstagram
Follow me on Twitter: jdmcs.net/mytwitter










![The Macintosh IIsi: Can I Find the Broken Trace(s) on Either Logic Board? (Computerized Start™ Live)
The Macintosh IIsi was launched as a lower-cost alternative in the Macintosh II series. To keep costs down, Apple used more electrolytic capacitors, and the surface-mount electrolytic capacitors from the early 90s are past their expected lifetime. In addition, despite the power supply being made by Sony, the capacitors in it are also known to leak (though I cant help think cost tweaking by Apple led Sony to use lower grade capacitors).
When the capacitors seal fails, the leaking electrolyte can and will cause damage to the board. Component damage is possible, but I think I cleaned the electrolyte off before this could happen on either logic board (but well keep that possibility in mind). More likely, electrolyte seeped under a chip and worked its way under the solder mask to corrode one or more traces. The break could even be small enough to not be apparent without magnification... or a multimeter.
Get ready to embrace the beep of the multimeter in continuity mode, as we have 32 data and nearly as many address lines to check at multiple end points... IIsigh.
Will we find trace damage on either logic board? Will I have to remove the most difficult to solder parts (looking at you 68030 and RBV chips)? Will I have at least one working logic board by the end of the stream? Youll have to watch to find out!
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Table of Contents
0:00:00 Pre-Roll
0:02:39 Greetings and Announcements
0:04:20 Things You All Have Given Me & NoVA Meetup Pickups
0:12:32 Wheel of Regrets™ (Who comes up with these titles anyway?)
0:12:55 Wheel of Regrets™: Dell 4/33 Motherboard (for my Dell 4/25P)
0:21:12 Wheel of Regrets™: Eight Tested 8MB EDO SIMMs
0:23:40 Wheel of Regrets™: [More] Macintosh Plus/SE/etc. Case Screws
0:24:42 Wheel of Regrets™: Nintendo SNS-CPU-RGB-02 Motherboard (for SNES)
0:28:14 Wheel of Regrets™: ATI EGA Wonder (replacement for the weird text card)
0:31:55 Wheel of Regrets™: Iomega Zip 100 5.25 Blue Internal SCSI Drive (originally for Amiga?)
0:43:30 Wheel of Regrets™: Testing the SNES Motherboard
1:01:00 A Whole Lot of Me Finding and Setting Up Parts to Test Video Cards
1:10:30 Trouble with the RGBtoHDMIs microSD Card...
1:37:50 Wheel of Regrets™: Testing Two EGA Cards, including the ATI EGA Wonder
2:15:22 Clearing the Workbench so We Can IIsigh...
2:22:15 The Great IIsi Broken Trace Search (from IIsi number 1 and IIsi number 2)
3:53:59 Closing Thoughts
3:55:49 Outro
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☕️ Tips or Support via Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jdmcs
🈷️ Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jdmcs
📦 Amazon Wishlist: https://jdmcs.net/wishlist
... or simply do the YouTube things: Like/Dislike, Comment, Subscribe, Enable Notifications, and participate in the Chat. These things help the channel, too!
**
Read Computerized Start™, my Official Blog: https://jdmcs.net/myblog
Follow me on Instagram: https://jdmcs.net/myinstagram
Follow me on Twitter: https://jdmcs.net/mytwitter The Macintosh IIsi: Can I Find the Broken Trace(s) on Either Logic Board? (Computerized Start™ Live)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IuZV7pyZL-U/mqdefault.jpg)