Editing Sad Mac Error Codes (section)

== Additional Notes ==

* '''Always cross-reference Sad Mac codes with physical inspection.''' On any compact Mac old enough to have wet-electrolytic SMD capacitors ([[Macintosh SE/30|SE/30]], [[Macintosh Classic II|Classic II]], [[Macintosh Color Classic|Color Classic]], [[Macintosh LC|LC family]], [[Macintosh Quadra 605|Quadra 605]], etc.), capacitor leakage is the single most common cause of any of the codes on this page and will produce false positives across multiple subsystems.
* '''Use caution with bench diagnostics.''' Running the full SCSI test ({{code|*T008800010000}}) on a board with a damaged NCR 5380 can latch the bus and require a power cycle. Some tests can also write to PRAM — clear PRAM ({{code|Cmd-Opt-P-R}}) after extensive testing.
* '''The codes are register dumps, not error names.''' If a published table contradicts what you're seeing, prefer first the value you can read off the machine, then the [[#Test Manager (Serial Diagnostic Mode)|Test Manager]] output over serial, and only then any third-party table. Apple's own Developer Notes for the Portable are known to contain transcription errors that have propagated to most reference sites.
* '''The format does not directly apply to [[New World ROM]] machines.''' The original [[iMac G3|iMac]] (1998) and later use audio beep codes (Mac Beep Codes) rather than Sad Mac. PCI Power Macs sit in an awkward middle ground — they play the [[#By family|"glass shattering" Chime of Death]] but draw no icon.