Mar 90 Mousehole
Volume Number: 6
Issue Number: 3
Column Tag: Mousehole Report
System 7.0 and Memory 
By Larry Nedry, Contributing Editor
From: Sysop
Re: finding source code to articles
The monthly sources from MacTutor are now available in the File Library. Each file is
a Stuffit file containing all of the sources for a given article. There is a $5.00 charge
for each file downloaded.
From: Walrus
Re: Think C and System 7.0 and...
Maybe some of the Symantec folks can answer this. System 7.0 is due to require 2
megs. Think C 4.0 with Debugger requires 2 megs. When the new system comes out,
how much will I need to run C, 4 megs? Could I squeak by with 3?
On a related subject, how difficult is it to self-install SIMMs in a Mac SE? What if
you’re strong suit is NOT hardware? Since I’m in Silicon Valley I do suppose I can find
dealers to do this, but I might be interested in doing it myself. Any horror stories out
there about memory expansion?
From: Btoback
Re: Think C and System 7.0 and...
I’ve installed SIMMs and Radius expansion cards into my SE, as well as changing the
disc drive. The hardest part is removing the back. The second hardest part is getting
all the cables plugged back into the motherboard without removing most of the skin on
your knuckles. The third hardest part is waiting for the self-test to complete after you
put the system back together - e specially since the self-test takes longer after you put
more memory in!
There are some locking connectors on cables that need special care, as does the
connector on the back of the CRT. The only thing you may need to force is the back: if
you force anything else, you’re about to break it. In short, you don’t have to be a
hardware expert, but some mechanical intuition helps. If you don’t know about proper
static precautions, ask someone first. And you’ll get a good look at one the most compact
and clever packaging jobs around.
From: Siegel
Re: Think C and System 7.0 and...
THINK C will probably work on a minimal System 7.0 configuration, but it’ll be sort
of like running it on a 1MB system is now; you won’t be able to write or debug really
huge programs. You can’t have 3MB in your system; the hardware architecture
doesn’t allow for that.
From: Noisy
Re: Think C and System 7.0 and...
Can’t help you with the 2-3-4 megs question, but I will pass on a fable about a
software developer who decided that the hardware jocks were overpaid, and he could
put SIMMs in his Mac+ all by himself, thank you very much. They’re not overpaid...I
destroyed a rack of SIMM pins on the motherboard and ended up paying for a new
motherboard...just to save a $25 installation fee. Let an expert do it - they’ve got to
eat too.
From: Walrus
Re: Thanks for the Memory (advice)
I know, that’s a bad pun, but what could I do?
Many thanks to the people that responded to my memory/Think C/System 7.0 question.
I now have a Mac SE with 2.5 megs (I got the old .5 chip cards for old times’ sake) and
it is wonderful. By the way, I did not do it myself. I have been busily learning the
Toolbox AND the C language at the same time (I know Pascal, but C is the current
wave) and not having a source level debugger to lean on is toooooo much (MS-DOS C
neophytes can use “printf” statements, the most common debugging tool. That method
is not so simple for the Mac programmer (yeah, maybe open another window, but that
ain’t so easy at the beginner level). So, if you are a Mac C beginner, USE A DEBUGGER!
I stepped thru a problem I was having in a program, and it was like my IQ went up by
about 20 points. Even if $$$ is holding you back, get it anyway, you will save hours
and hours of your time, and your progress will go much faster. (A method of using
Think C and the Debugger in 1 meg that was posted was tried, but I just couldn’t get it
to go.)
From: Matt
Re: Well, I’ve got these SIMM’s...
I just bought 2 1meg SIMMs (Microtech International, $75 each). But now what?
When I try to install them I run into MAJOR problems. If I put one of them in SIMM
slot 1, my Mac doesn’t find the other 75meg! If I put both of them in (slots 1&2),
with or without the .5meg in the front slots, the system won’t start up - it gives me a
sad-Mac and 0000 00003 0000 FFFF !?*@#! What do I do?
From: Matt
Re: And I’ve got these other SIMMs.....
Well, now that I’m installing 2meg in my SE, I have 2 1mBit SIMMs. Is there any
market for them? Should I just throw them in a closet? How much are they worth?
From: Apage
Re: Well, I’ve got these SIMM’s...
First of which flavor of Mac are we talking about? Mac II, Mac Plus, Mac SE, or
SE/30? This makes a big difference. For Mac IIs, there is a certain order that the
SIMMS must go in, I think that it is the largest SIMMs goes in the first bank, and you
must install them in sets of 4. For pluses and SEs (not the SE/30) you can install in
sets of two, but there is also a resistor that must be moved from one location to
another. I do not have my hardware reference manual from Addison Wesley, and a good
idea if you see yourself doing a lot of this) my slime ball best friend borrowed it and
has yet to return it. Otherwise I could tell you how these devices should be set. Good
Luck. Let me know how it turns out.
From: Matt
Re: Well, I’ve got these SIMM’s...
Hm... Addison-Wesley... In fact Inside Mac V has a chapter on SIMMs in SE’s and II’s,
which details exactly which resistor must be removed (Labeled “256k Bit” in the
“RAM Size” area of the SE motherboard). That’ll teach me to read the manuals before
asking dumb questions.
From: Guido
Re: VBL/Sound
Help!!! I’m am currently writing my own sound routines (because Apple’s have just a
little too much overhead for me!!!) and am coming across a little problem with my VBL
task (I believe). My sound routines simply take a sampled sound and play it back. My
VBL task simply takes 370 bytes from my buffer and crams them into the sound
buffer. When I reach the end of my buffer, I fill the rest of the buffer with 0x80. This
Referenced by (2):