IIci cache card - three tone chime

[GondolinOnMyMind]

All,

I have a recapped cache card for IIci, but that won't work. When inserted and powered up the computer chimes normally and then there is a three tone chime. Then is .. nothing. An audio file is attached for reference.
I have read that there are plenty of issues with these cache cards. I just need to know what this tone indicates and is it reasonably easy to repair. My capabilities and resources are limited to hot air / soldering.
Note that after the three tone chime I have not waited extended periods of time. Just the amount of time I would expect to boot without the cache card.

 

[rikerjoe]

I take it that your IIci does not play those chimes without the cache card? In my experience those chimes indicate bad RAM. Interesting that with my bad cache card I don’t get the chimes, just a hang during the boot process with the IIci stuck on a black screen. Paging @Garrett to weigh in on his bad cache card and what it does.

 

[GondolinOnMyMind]

I take it that your IIci does not play those chimes without the cache card? In my experience those chimes indicate bad RAM. Interesting that with my bad cache card I don’t get the chimes, just a hang during the boot process with the IIci stuck on a black screen. Paging @Garrett to weigh in on his bad cache card and what it does.

You are correct. Without cache card there is only the normal chime. With cache, extra chimes and then freeze.
The extra chimes are kinda nice though

 

[croissantking]

I’m not a cache card expert, but if you’ve recapped it and it still doesn’t work, it could indicate a failed SRAM chip - in which case the best thing to do is obtain another cache card.

Have you made sure the card’s connector is clean, and the pins straight? Maybe you could spray some contact cleaner fluid into this plus the PDS socket as well.

 

[Garrett]

I take it that your IIci does not play those chimes without the cache card? In my experience those chimes indicate bad RAM. Interesting that with my bad cache card I don’t get the chimes, just a hang during the boot process with the IIci stuck on a black screen. Paging @Garrett to weigh in on his bad cache card and what it does.

If I remember I'll pull out the card and test it again after work. From what I recall, the IIci would happy chime, then just hang (never displaying any video). With the card removed, all was back to normal. I think a card that gives a death chime may be indicative of some bad RAM on the card. Maybe I don't get the death chimes because the RAM on my card is fine, but a different component on the card has failed.

I think I have one or two more cache cards I can try. The chances they all work are slim, so may I have one that does what yours is doing!

 

[speakers]

... From what I recall, the IIci would happy chime, then just hang (never displaying any video). With the card removed, all was back to normal. I think a card that gives a death chime may be indicative of some bad RAM on the card. Maybe I don't get the death chimes because the RAM on my card is fine, but a different component on the card has failed.

My dead cache card also caused the machine to hang with a gray screen after giving a good boot chime. This card had bad tag cache SRAM chips which I successfully replaced. This 3-tone chime may indicate something else wrong with the card -- like a bad data SARM chips or the main ASIC. Since the 3-tone chime usually indicates bad main RAM, I'd guess bad SRAM chips.

 

[Garrett]

To come full circle, I did end up repairing my cache cards ( I had two that weren’t working after a recap). A careful examination of the SRAM chip traces near the cap at the lower right corner revealed a few breaks. Removing the chip, I found even more.

Here’s a photo of said chip so you know where each trace goes. I took this to aid once the chip was back on to see what needed to be patched. Spoiler, it was nasty!

After I had cleaned up the pads the best I could, I soldered the chip back down. Repair ended up looking like this photo below. I ran wires above the chip so I could verify they wouldn’t cause any shorts under the chip. Not the prettiest, but happy to report I now have two working cache cards. Wasn’t the SRAM chips at all. Conductive cap juice strikes again!

 

[croissantking]

How do you test whether a card works or not?

 

[Garrett]

How do you test whether a card works or not?

GREAT QUESTION!

I couldn’t find any utilities out there that would tell me “yup, you have 32k of cache memory”. I resorted to running a couple benchmarks before and after the card installation. Using Apple Personal Diagnostics, results are below. This is System 7.1.1, 32 bit addressing, 256 colors built in video. Notice the difference. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say that if the machine boots with the card installed, it works.

I find it odd that even with the cache installed, it’s “slower” than a IIci? Benchmarks are weird, but regardless it shows the card is working.

 

[rikerjoe]

How do you test whether a card works or not?

In my case, my IIci shows a black screen and no boot chime at startup with a bad cache card installed. Without the card, the IIci chimes and boots normally. From there, running a tool such as what @Garrett used or a benchmark tool to verify performance.

 

[Kai Robinson]

Tattletech should tell you if you have the cache or not.