Apple Lisa Troubleshooting
Apple's troubleshooting procedures for the Apple Lisa, Lisa 2 and Macintosh XL are in the Lisa Troubleshooting Guide, part of its Level I technical procedures. They work by module swapping: each procedure lists the modules to replace, in order.[1]
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Before you start
- Remove the I/O board battery pack from any machine that has been in storage; see Battery pack.
- The CRT anode holds about 15,000 V DC after power-off; see CRT Discharge Procedure.[1]
- Remove expansion cards and other attachments and press the reset button before diagnosing start-up faults. If the fault goes away, refit the cards one at a time, restarting after each, until it returns.[1]
- Apple's first troubleshooting step clears parameter memory: remove the back panel and switch SW1 on the I/O board off for about 5 seconds, then back on. This erases the preference settings. The Lisa 2/10 I/O board has no switch.[1]
Normal start-up
Apple's description of a healthy start-up:[1]
- The on/off lamp lights.
- The Lisa is silent for about 3 seconds, then gives a single click.
- About 30 seconds after power-on, as the picture tube warms up, four icons appear for the CPU, I/O, memory and expansion cards, each highlighted in turn as the boot ROM tests it.
- A card that fails is shown with a large X through its icon and error tones sound; or an error icon and error code are displayed.
If the lamp does not light, go to the power repair procedure. If there is no click or unexpected tones sound, press reset on the back panel and, if it still will not boot, go to the start-up repair procedure. If there is no picture after 30 seconds, go to the video repair procedure.[1]
On the Lisa 2 and Macintosh XL the boot ROM and I/O ROM codes appear in the upper right corner of the screen after the icons have been tested: H and A8 on a Lisa 2 or 2/5, H and 88 on a Macintosh XL, with 3A in place of H once the Screen Modification Kit is fitted.[1]
Power repair procedure
Apple's order for a Lisa with power problems:[1]
- Check the cables and power cord.
- Check that the front and back panels are fitted securely so the interlock switches are closed.
- Check the wall outlet.
- Check the ribbon cable from the motherboard to the soft-switch/keyboard assembly.
- Check there is 2 inches (5 cm) of ventilation space around the Lisa.
- If the Lisa may have overheated, unplug it and let it cool for an hour.
- Swap modules in this order: power supply, I/O board, soft-switch/keyboard assembly, front interlock switch, disk drive to card cage connector, motherboard, video board.
The supply's outputs and their permitted variation are tabulated on Apple Lisa General Maintenance, and the capacitor lists are on Apple Lisa Capacitor Replacement Guide.
Start-up repair and error tones
| Symptom | Probable failure, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Incorrect or no video, no clicks, no error tones | CPU; I/O; video (go to video repair); motherboard |
| No clicks, and the display shows the boot ROM test found no problems | Speaker connections; I/O; speaker |
| Blank screen with the start-up clicks | Go to video repair |
| Tones: Lo | CPU; memory 1; memory 2 |
| Tones: Lo, Lo | Memory 2; CPU |
| Tones: Lo, Hi | Card cage (swap boards one at a time) |
| Tones: Lo, Lo, Hi | CPU |
| Tones: Lo, Hi, Lo | I/O |
| Tones: Hi, Hi, Hi | Peripheral card |
| Tones: Lo, Hi, Hi | Memory 1; memory 2 |
| Tones: Hi, Lo, Lo | Expansion boards |
| Tones: Hi, Lo, Hi | Keyboard |
| Tones: Hi, Hi, Lo | Keyboard or mouse disconnected |
Start-up error codes
| Code | Apple's description | Replace, in order |
|---|---|---|
| 22, 23, 25, 38 | Unable to clamp, read or unclamp diskette; no boot file on diskette | See the start-up messages for the bad diskette icon |
| 39 | Disk controller timeout | I/O board, CPU board, motherboard |
| 40 | MMU | CPU board |
| 41 | CPU selection logic | CPU board |
| 42 | Video circuitry | CPU board |
| 43 | Parity circuitry | CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2, motherboard |
| 44 | NMI error | CPU board, I/O board, motherboard |
| 45 | Bus error | I/O board, CPU board, motherboard |
| 46 | Address error | CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2 |
| 47 | Exception | CPU board, motherboard |
| 48 | Illegal instruction | CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2 |
| 49 | 1010 or 1111 trap | CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2 |
| 50 | COPS VIA | I/O board, CPU board, motherboard |
| 51 | Parallel port VIA | I/O board, CPU board, motherboard |
| 52 | I/O board COPS | I/O board |
| 53 | Keyboard COPS | Keyboard, I/O board, keyboard cable, motherboard |
| 54 | Clock error | I/O board |
| 55, 56 | RS-232 port A, port B | I/O board |
| 57 | Disk controller | I/O board, disk drive, disk drive cables, CPU board, motherboard |
| 58 | I/O board access | I/O board, CPU board, motherboard |
| 59 | I/O board COPS code | I/O board |
| 60-69 | I/O or keyboard error | Keyboard, I/O board, keyboard cable, motherboard |
| 70, 71 | Memory data, memory parity | The memory board named by the icon displayed |
| 75 | Boot failure | See the start-up messages for the icon shown |
| 80-85 | ProFile errors | See the start-up messages for the bad ProFile icon |
| 90-93 | Expansion card errors | See the start-up messages for the bad expansion card icon |
Codes 43, 46, 48 and 49 point at the CPU board or a memory board; Apple's order is the CPU board first. The Lisa has no SIMMs: memory is on two plug-in boards (661-93105), and both must be fitted to run the diagnostic diskette.[1] LisaTest starts at customer level; APPLE-SHIFT-S switches it to service level, where individual modules can be tested.[2]
Video repair
Apple opens its video repair procedures with a warning: "If you have never been taught how to adjust and replace the Lisa video modules do not attempt to do video repairs." The adjustments are made with the power on.[1]
| Symptom | Fixes, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| A sizzling noise from the Lisa | Replace power supply; adjust brightness; adjust contrast (hardware); replace video board; replace flyback |
| Power supply trips (turns off and on) | Adjust brightness; adjust contrast (hardware); replace power supply; replace video board; replace flyback |
| Blank screen, CRT filament not lit | Check connections; adjust brightness and contrast; replace video board, CPU board, I/O board, power supply, flyback, CRT, motherboard |
| Blank screen, CRT filament lit | Check connections; set the hardware contrast to mid-range; replace power supply, video board, CRT, flyback, CPU board, motherboard |
| Unable to adjust brightness | Replace power supply, video board, CRT, CPU board |
| Unable to adjust contrast by software | Replace I/O board, CPU board, video board; check the keyboard with keyboard diagnostics; replace motherboard |
| Blurred screen | Adjust focus |
| Unable to adjust focus | Replace power supply, video board, CRT; check connections; replace flyback |
| Rolling screen | Adjust vertical hold |
| Small picture | Adjust height and width; adjust brightness and contrast; replace video board, flyback |
| Only a horizontal line on screen | Lower brightness and contrast; replace video board, CRT |
Let the Lisa warm up for 10-15 minutes before making video adjustments.[1]
Mouse, keyboard and hard disk
| Symptom | Apple's procedure |
|---|---|
| No cursor | Remove and reinsert the mouse plug; replace the mouse |
| Mouse movement or button does nothing | Reinsert the mouse plug; try the keyboard. If the keyboard works, replace the mouse; if neither works, replace the I/O board, CPU board, motherboard |
| Pointer moves only vertically or only horizontally | Reinsert the mouse plug; replace the mouse; replace the I/O board |
| No keyboard input | Reinsert the keyboard plug; try the mouse. If the mouse works, replace the keyboard. If neither works, press the power button: if the Lisa turns off, reseat and then swap the I/O board, CPU board and motherboard; if it does not, go to the system hang procedure |
| Some keys do not work | Replace the keyboard |
| ProFile or internal hard disk error icon at boot | Check the disk is attached (never connect or disconnect a ProFile with either unit switched on). Switch off, power the disk up and watch its ready light: it flickers during the self-check and then stays on. If it does not, replace the disk. Test it with LisaTest |
A Lisa that ignores all input can usually be recovered without losing work: try the keyboard equivalents, press the disk-release buttons, press the on/off button once, and only then press reset. If it still hangs, unplug it, switch on again and listen for error tones.[1]
Battery pack
The I/O board's 4.8 V NiCd pack leaks with age and corrodes the I/O board around it.[3] Remove it before powering up a stored machine. A Lisa that loses its clock with a good pack may just have the battery switch off: Apple's set-up procedure has the switch set to ON, toward the left.[1]
Twiggy drives (Lisa 1)
The original Lisa has two 5.25-inch FileWare ("Twiggy") drives, 871 KB formatted each; Apple's drive module part number is 661-93110.[4][2] The Computer History Museum describes the in-house Twiggy drive as unreliable; the Lisa 2 replaced it with a single Sony 3.5-inch drive.[5]
Documentation
- Apple Service Technical Procedures Lisa/Macintosh XL: the full Lisa Troubleshooting Guide (section 6) and the Lisa 2/Macintosh XL troubleshooting section.
- Apple Lisa Level 1 Technical Procedures Mar85: an earlier state of the same manual.
- Service Support Tranning Programs Laserwriter Technical Procedures Jan 1985: a training binder that includes a partial extract of the Lisa troubleshooting guide (rev. 5/17/83).
- Apple Lisa 2 Owners Guide 1984: the owner's troubleshooting procedures (chapter 2) and automatic start-up tests (Appendix B).
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Apple Computer, Apple Service Technical Procedures: Lisa/Macintosh XL (Lisa Level I Technical Procedures, #072-0085, pages revised to June 1987): Lisa 1.0 Set-up §C p. 2.6; Lisa Troubleshooting Guide pp. 6.3-6.4 (troubleshooting steps), 6.11 (power repair), 6.12-6.13 (start-up repair and error tones), 6.19-6.21 (video repair), 6.24-6.28 (mouse, system hang, hard disk and keyboard); Lisa 2 Video Take-Apart p. 3.3; Lisa Video Adjustments p. 4.4; Diagnostics pp. 5.2-5.2.1; Lisa/Macintosh XL Troubleshooting pp. 6.16-6.18 (error codes). Hosted as Apple Service Technical Procedures Lisa/Macintosh XL (PDF).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Apple Computer, Lisa Level 1 Technical Procedures, #072-0085, March 1985: Diagnostics (LisaTest service level); Illustrated Parts Lists. Hosted as Apple Lisa Level 1 Technical Procedures Mar85.
- ↑ Apple Computer, drawing 050-4008 rev. K, "Schematic, System I/O, Lisa", sheet 5. Hosted as File:Apple Lisa I-O Board Schematic 050-4008-K.pdf.
- ↑ Apple Computer, Lisa Owner's Guide (1983), Appendix 5, "Hardware Specifications", pp. 119-120. Hosted as Apple Lisa Owners Guide 1983.
- ↑ Hansen Hsu, "The Lisa: Apple's Most Influential Failure", Computer History Museum, January 19, 2023.
Related pages
- Apple Lisa
- Apple Lisa General Maintenance
- Apple Lisa Capacitor Replacement Guide
- CRT Discharge Procedure