Editing Power Macintosh 9500 Troubleshooting

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[[File:Power Macintosh 9500-132 front.jpg|thumb|300px|Power Macintosh 9500/132. Photo: Thomas Kaiser, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0]]
Fault finding on the [[Power Macintosh 9500]] starts from Apple's symptom charts in the ''Power Macintosh 9500 Series'' Service Source. Apple lists the cures in order of likelihood: try the first, check whether the symptom remains, and refit the original part before moving on (SS p. 39).<ref name="ss">Apple Computer, ''Service Source: Power Macintosh 9500 Series'' (1996), [[:File:Powermac_9500_series.pdf]]; see [[Power Macintosh 9500 Series Service Source]]. Page numbers are PDF pages.</ref> Whenever a chart ends in a logic board replacement, Apple adds that the LED cable must not obstruct the power actuator (pp. 41–60).<ref name="ss" /> Opening the case, the resets and the battery are on [[Power Macintosh 9500 General Maintenance]].

== Power and startup ==
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%;"
|+ '''Power faults (Apple's order of cures)'''
! Symptom !! Cures, in order !! SS page
|-
| Does not power up || Reseat the processor card, the video card and the ROM SIMM if fitted; reset the Cuda chip; reset the logic board; replace the power supply, the processor card, the logic board || 41
|-
| Does not power on; screen black, fan not running, LED off || Check the power cables; plug the monitor into the wall and check it has power; reseat the ROM SIMM and the processor card; reset the Cuda chip and the logic board; replace the power cord, the power supply, the processor card, the logic board || 44
|-
| Clicking, chirping or thumping || Remove all PCI cards and refit them one at a time; remove the hard drive; replace the power supply, the processor card, the logic board, the floppy cable, the floppy drive || 45
|-
| Shuts down intermittently || Clear the vents (thermal protection; allow 30 to 40 minutes); check the power cord; check the fan is plugged in and turning; replace the power cord; check the battery; reset the Cuda chip and the logic board; replace the power supply, the processor card, the logic board || 46
|}
An owner recalls two 9500s that showed no sign of life being traced to the cache, which on the 9500 is soldered to the logic board.<ref name="mla41716">68k Macintosh Liberation Army forum, [https://68kmla.org/bb/threads/dead-8500.41716/ "dead 8500"] (2022), post by Alumamac: 9500s with no signs of life traced to a cache issue in 1999; the 9500's cache is soldered.</ref>

=== Power supply checks ===
The supply connects to the logic board with a 10-pin cable carrying 3.3 V for the processor card and a 22-pin cable carrying 5 V and ±12 V (SS p. 78).<ref name="ss" /> Owners report that the 9500, 8500 and 7500 use the same supply connectors as the 7200, whose pinout from Apple's schematic is on [[Power Macintosh 7200 Troubleshooting]].<ref name="mla38781">68k Macintosh Liberation Army forum, [https://68kmla.org/bb/threads/7500-power-supply-woes.38781/ "7500 Power Supply Woes"] (2021): the 7500, 8500 and 9500 use the same supply connectors as the 7200.</ref> The 9600 board differs from the 9500 board mainly in its supply connectors.<ref name="sch96">Apple Computer, ''SCHEM, PCB, MN LG BD, 9600'' (PCB 820-0865-A), sheet 1 revision notes: initial schematic based on the production 9500, with power supply connectors J39 and J36 changed. Hosted as [[:File:Power Macintosh 9600 logic board schematic (820-0865-A).pdf]].</ref> Apple gives no rail tolerances; measure +5 V, +12 V, −12 V and +3.3 V at the connectors with the computer running, and check trickle 5 V with the supply plugged in. The primary capacitors hold mains-derived voltage; discharge them and confirm with a meter before touching the supply board.

== Startup sounds and video ==
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%;"
|+ '''Error chords and video faults'''
! Symptom !! Cures, in order !! SS page
|-
| One-part error chord || Disconnect the SCSI cable from the hard drive and restart; if the startup is then normal, initialise the drive with Drive Setup, run the Drive Setup Updater and test again, replacing the drive if the chord returns. Disconnect the floppy cable and restart; replace the floppy drive if the startup is then normal. Reseat, then replace, the processor card; replace the logic board || 42
|-
| Eight-part chord (death chimes) || Check that DRAM is fitted from A6 and B6 first, then A5 and B5, with A1 and B1 left empty until the others are full; test the DIMMs one at a time; replace the logic board || 43
|-
| Screen black; boot tone, drive working, fan running, LED lit || Turn up the brightness; clear PRAM; check a video card is fitted and reseat it; reset the Cuda chip and the logic board; replace the video cable; test the DIMMs one at a time; replace the video card; try a known-good monitor; replace the processor card, the logic board || 49
|-
| Screen black; no boot tone, drive not working, fan running, LED lit || Reset the Cuda chip and the logic board; test the DIMMs one at a time; replace the processor card, the logic board, the power supply || 50
|-
| Boot tone; screen lights but shows nothing || Reset the Cuda chip and the logic board; replace the video cable, the video card; try a known-good monitor; replace the processor card, the logic board || 51
|}
The 9500 has no video circuit on the logic board, so the video card must be present for a picture; the 9500/132 shipped without one (SS pp. 31, 33).<ref name="ss" />

== Crashes and system software ==
For intermittent crashes or hangs, Apple's order is: check the system software is at least 7.5.2 (9500/120, 9500/132) or 7.5.3 (9500/150); check the DIMMs are noncomposite; do a clean install; check the software is compatible and try starting with extensions off; clear PRAM; test the DIMMs one at a time; replace the processor card, then the logic board (SS p. 47).<ref name="ss" /> The 9500/180MP and 9500/200 need 7.5.3 Revision 2 (p. 28).<ref name="ss" /> 180 MHz and faster processor cards cause errors when floppies are initialised, or leave a 1.4 MB disk showing only 1 MB free; system software 7.5.4 or the Power Mac Format Patch cures it (p. 63).<ref name="ss" />

== Drives and peripherals ==
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%;"
|+ '''Drive and peripheral faults'''
! Symptom !! Cures, in order !! SS page
|-
| Floppy drive does not work, runs continuously, or ejects the disk with a blinking X || Try a known-good disk; replace the floppy cable, the drive, the processor card, the logic board || 52, 54
|-
| Single internal hard drive does not spin || Replace the drive power cable, the drive (then reinstall the driver and system), the power supply || 55
|-
| No internal SCSI drive works || Check for duplicate SCSI IDs; disconnect external devices and check termination (only the last device on each chain); replace the SCSI cable, the power supply, the processor card, the logic board || 55
|-
| Drive does not appear on the desktop || Check SCSI IDs; update the driver with Drive Setup and run the Drive Setup Updater and Disk First Aid; replace the cable; initialise; try a known-good drive; replace the logic board || 56
|-
| AppleCD 600i stutters on CD+ or CD-R discs, or a disc will not mount || Replace the CD-ROM drive || 61
|-
| No sound from the speaker || Check the volume is 1 or above; clear PRAM; check the speaker is plugged into the logic board; replace the speaker, the logic board || 62
|}
PCI card faults can come from residue on the card's edge connector; clean it with a pencil eraser (SS p. 40).<ref name="ss" /> See [[Hard Drive Maintenance and Repair]] and [[Floppy Drive Repair]].

== Related pages ==
* [[Power Macintosh 9500]]
* [[Power Macintosh 9500 General Maintenance]]
* [[Power Macintosh 9600 Troubleshooting]]
* [[Power Macintosh 8500 Troubleshooting]]
* [[Sad Mac Error Codes]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Apple Vintage Computers]]
[[Category:Troubleshooting Guides]]
[[Category:Apple Troubleshooting Guides]]
{{Navbox-AppleVintage|state=collapsed}}