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| Macintosh SE/30 Ram upgrade |
Posted by: Nepnep on 2022-10-02 16:09:41
Hello, I have recently gotten a Macintosh SE/30 from a family member for the wonderful price of free! It’s been recapped and works very well, and I would like to do a Ram upgrade on it to around 32mb. However, one of the sets of sticks I got (the 16mb PurpleRAM set) doesn’t seem to be compatible, as all I get is a samasimac pattern. I tried the sticks in both bank 2 and bank 1. I know these SE/30s are very picky when it comes to Ram, and if someone can give me some advice on which sticks would work in an SE/30 would be greatly appreciated, or if these sticks do work and I’m doing something wrong. |
Posted by: Siliconinsider on 2022-10-02 16:18:32
SE/30 RAM sockets have very bad plastic retention clip and SIMMs can sit loose in them. My SIMMs are slightly thinner (1.20mm) than normal (1.27mm) which does not help on making good contact. They do work in the SE/30. |
Posted by: Nepnep on 2022-10-02 21:24:16
Gotcha. I’m guessing I just really have to push them into the socket without breaking the clips? |
Posted by: Phipli on 2022-10-03 02:12:32
Gotcha. I’m guessing I just really have to push them into the socket without breaking the clips? Take the RAM out carefully, spray deoxit in the sockets. Leave it a little while, but the RAM back in, wiggle them a little bit and see if it boots 🙂 |
Posted by: Nepnep on 2022-10-03 11:59:58
Take the RAM out carefully, spray deoxit in the sockets. Leave it a little while, but the RAM back in, wiggle them a little bit and see if it boots 🙂 Okay, I’ll do that sometime this week and report back on what happened. I wonder, would cleaning the slots with IPA and a toothbrush work as well? |
Posted by: Phipli on 2022-10-03 14:16:44
Okay, I’ll do that sometime this week and report back on what happened. I wonder, would cleaning the slots with IPA and a toothbrush work as well? Contact cleaner is better and I don't like putting brushes inside RAM slots incase it damages something. |
Posted by: aeberbach on 2022-10-03 14:24:49
What can work is to look at the SIMM sockets and note which side contact is made on, usually the one toward which you push the SIMM to engage the "click". Build up the opposite side of the SIMM with one or even two strips of kapton tape - depending on the thickness of the tape you buy, and it does come in various thicknesses, at least the real DuPont stuff does. That's the orange transparent stuff that is used for insulation and heat protection in electronics. This will make the modern substrate that measures 1.20mm closer to the old 1.27mm substrate that the clips were designed to hold. |
Posted by: Nepnep on 2022-10-03 22:00:42
If I’m reading this correctly, and sorry if I sound dumb, but I should put the tape on the blank side of the SIMM, so the side without any chips. |
Posted by: aeberbach on 2022-10-05 13:35:30
Yes, it should be obvious from the contacts and the slight markings they make on the 30 PCB connections where electrical contact is made - just put the tape on the other side, i.e. don't insulate the SIMM completely! |
Posted by: Nepnep on 2022-10-11 20:19:00
Update: I’ve tried using Deoxit and that didn’t work. One method came up with and tried is wedging pieces of folded up paper between the modules, but that didn’t work either. I don’t have Kapton yet, so I can’t try that method. |
Posted by: tcole on 2022-12-30 11:27:03
Update: I’ve tried using Deoxit and that didn’t work. One method came up with and tried is wedging pieces of folded up paper between the modules, but that didn’t work either. I don’t have Kapton yet, so I can’t try that method.
Where you ever able to resolve this?
I'm running into a similar issue with my SE/30. I'm using this RAM: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/30PS16MB/ I bought a set of 8, and put 4 of them in my Quadra 700, where they are working just fine. But when I put the other 4 in my SE/30 it does a samasimac.
I put all 4 of them in the first bank.
I guess the next step for me would be to take the 4 out of my Quadra 700 and try those.
The logic board has just been through a ultrasonic cleaner, so I doubt deoxit is going to be helpful. |
Posted by: Aeroform on 2022-12-30 12:26:06
@tcole I have the same issue with one of my SE/30 boards. The other works perfectly. Might be due to a faulty muxer (probably one of the F253’s I’ve been told).
Other things to check is the contact issue mentioned above, and also to ensure you’re filling both banks (I believe this is a must with 16MB sims), and that you are trying the 16MB sims in both bank A and B (can’t remember which one it should be, but only one will work in combination with smaller sticks). |
Posted by: dramirez on 2023-01-02 20:09:14
For the 32Mb you were trying to get, I believe a cheaper and more reliable way to do it in the SE/30, should be getting eight 4Mb SIMMs. |
Posted by: ironborn65 on 2023-01-05 01:25:19
https://www.printables.com/model/35592-macintosh-se30-rom-clips
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Posted by: rjkucia on 2023-01-05 05:44:53
https://www.printables.com/model/35592-macintosh-se30-rom-clips
I can confirm these are great for the ROM, but do they work for the RAM as well? |
Posted by: ironborn65 on 2023-01-05 07:28:57
I insert a piece of paper folded twice at every end |
Posted by: tcole on 2023-01-24 14:33:28
@tcole I have the same issue with one of my SE/30 boards. The other works perfectly. Might be due to a faulty muxer (probably one of the F253’s I’ve been told).
Other things to check is the contact issue mentioned above, and also to ensure you’re filling both banks (I believe this is a must with 16MB sims), and that you are trying the 16MB sims in both bank A and B (can’t remember which one it should be, but only one will work in combination with smaller sticks).
I got a full set of 16MB SIMMs and it worked no problem. My issue was that I was trying to do 16MB SIMMs in just bank A. You're right, they have to be in both bank A and B. Once I did that, no problems. |
Posted by: Aeroform on 2023-01-24 22:18:55
I got a full set of 16MB SIMMs and it worked no problem. My issue was that I was trying to do 16MB SIMMs in just bank A. You're right, they have to be in both bank A and B. Once I did that, no problems.
Great that you got it working! FYI it does not have to be 16MB sims in both for it to work. You can mix sizes as long as you do it in groups of four (ie. 4x16 + 4x4 works too). |
Posted by: smrieck511 on 2023-03-11 09:43:19
Great that you got it working! FYI it does not have to be 16MB sims in both for it to work. You can mix sizes as long as you do it in groups of four (ie. 4x16 + 4x4 works too). I just ordered 4x16mb simms for Bank A of my SE/30 without realizing this.
Do you suppose the original 4 x 256k simms in Bank B would suffice? |
Posted by: mikes-macs on 2023-03-11 10:17:18
I have never tried that memory configuration in my se/30. IMO 256 k is a wasted slot.
However I do know that (4x16) in A, plus (4x4 or 4x1) in B works fine. 2 mb SIMMs do not work in se/30. 80 MB is where I left mine at. |
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