Macintosh Performa 5400 Troubleshooting

Power Macintosh 5500/275 in graphite. The Performa 5400 series uses the same enclosure.

Fault-finding on the Macintosh Performa 5400 series (5400CD, 5410CD, 5420CD, 5400/160, 5400/180, 5430 and 5440) follows Apple's own charts. Apple serviced these machines by module exchange, and its Service Source gives symptom charts with cures listed in order of likelihood: try the first cure, check the symptom again, and if it persists refit the original module before moving to the next cure.

Safety

The analogue board and CRT carry mains-derived and high voltages, and the CRT holds a charge after the machine is unplugged. Discharge the CRT and remove the anode cap as described in CRT Discharge Procedure before working behind the rear housing. Apple warns against metal alignment tools on the adjustment controls because they are a shock hazard, and against wearing an antistatic wrist strap until the CRT has been discharged.

First checks

Apple's first checklist makes two points. Jitter, faint lines and screen movement can come from outside the machine: other electrical equipment and fluorescent lights. Move the machine to another room to rule this out. A misadjusted screen can mimic an analogue board or CRT failure, so run the adjustment procedures before replacing either.

Many system problems clear with a logic board reset. Remove the power cord, the I/O door and the logic board; unplug the clock battery and lift it off its hook-and-loop base; wait 5 to 10 minutes; refit the battery; press the Cuda reset switch on the logic board with a flat plastic tool; then slide the logic board back in at an upward angle to clear the EMI clips and seat it fully. The reset clears PRAM, so set the date, time and other settings afterwards.

Power and startup

Power and startup (Apple symptom charts)

Symptom	Apple's cures, in order
System does not start up	Reset the logic board; replace the power supply; check the power cord; replace the logic board (keep the customer's DIMMs)
No video, no audio and no drive operation	Connect the power cord; switch the power on; replace the power cord; replace the analogue board; replace the logic board
Starts from the rear power switch but not from the keyboard	Try a known-good keyboard; replace the analogue board
Restarts by itself after Shut Down	Try a known-good keyboard; replace the analogue board
Intermittent crashes or hangs	Check the system software is 7.5 or later and the applications are compatible; reseat any Ethernet card; check there is enough memory for the application
Menu bar flashes or the machine beeps constantly	Check the front-panel buttons are not jammed; check mute is off in the Sound control panel; reseat the drive bezel and front-panel control board
Clicking, chirping or thumping sound	Replace the analogue board; replace the logic board
Smoke or smell	Replace the analogue board; replace the power supply; replace the logic board
Sad Mac icon	Remove any disc from the CD-ROM drive; disconnect external SCSI devices; try starting from a known-good floppy; replace the SCSI drive; replace the DIMMs; replace the logic board
Sad Mac with black vertical lines and a screeching sound	Replace the DIMMs; replace the logic board

Apple's order for smoke or a burning smell puts the analogue board and the power supply first. Switch off and find the source before powering the machine again.

Video

Display faults (Apple symptom charts)

Symptom	Apple's cures, in order
Screen black, too dark or too bright; sound and drives work	Adjust the front-bezel control and the Screen control panel; check the yoke cable; do the video adjustments; replace the analogue/video board assembly; replace the power supply board; replace the CRT
Screen bright and sound present, but no picture	Do the video adjustments; replace the analogue/video board assembly
Single vertical or horizontal line	Replace the analogue/video board assembly; replace the CRT
Strong colour tint, or a colour will not adjust	Check the video board is fully on the CRT socket; check the cables to the analogue/video board; on a Rev. A analogue board, replace the internal RGB cable; replace the analogue/video board and redo the video adjustments; replace the CRT
Picture breaks into diagonal lines or rolls	Do the geometry adjustments; replace the analogue/video board assembly
Out of convergence	Apple says this rarely means a faulty module and some misconvergence at the screen edges is normal; replace the analogue/video board only if it is clearly out of specification
Black spots (burnt phosphor)	Replace the CRT
Jitter or flashing	Move other monitors, scanners and similar equipment away; turn off fluorescent lights; try another room; replace the analogue/video board assembly
Out of focus	Do the focus adjustment; check luminance and do the cutoff and white-balance procedures; replace the analogue/video board assembly
Raster the wrong size	Fit the monitor adjustment cable and set the on-screen controls for a raster 185 mm (7.3 in) high and 240 mm (9.5 in) wide
Poor linearity	Replace the analogue/video board assembly
Raster tilted, shifted, distorted or off-centre	Move metal objects away; do the geometry adjustments; use the on-screen controls with the monitor adjustment cable; for centring, change the setting of the three-position switch SW701; replace the analogue/video board assembly
White areas with blotches of colour	Move the machine away from magnetic fields; degauss with a manual degaussing coil

The controls named in these cures are on the CRT video board and the flyback transformer: VR701 (horizontal shift) with SW701, VR601 (vertical shift), the focus and screen controls on the flyback, and VR301 (sub-contrast), VR302 and VR303 (red and green gain) and VR304 and VR305 (red and green bias) for the video adjustments. The procedures are on Macintosh Performa 5400 General Maintenance.

Audio

Audio faults (Apple symptom charts)

Symptom	Apple's cures, in order
Distorted sound from both speakers	Replace the analogue/video board assembly
Distorted sound from one speaker	Replace that speaker; replace the analogue/video board assembly
No sound from the speakers	Check the sound source; check the speaker cable at P803 on the analogue board; reseat the drive bezel and front-panel control board
Crackling on sounds other than system beeps	If the noise changes with the Sound control panel volume, install Audio Volume Extension 1.1 or later; replace the logic board
No sound from known-good external speakers	Check the volume; unplug headphones; check the speaker connections; replace the logic board
Headphone jack faulty	Reseat the headphone jack; replace the front-panel control board; replace the chassis wiring harness

The internal speakers are driven from the analogue/video board, which is why Apple sends distorted speaker sound there and not to the logic board.

Drives

Floppy, hard drive and CD-ROM faults (Apple symptom charts)

Symptom	Apple's cures, in order
Floppy drive does not work (sound and video present)	Try a known-good disk; replace the floppy drive; replace the logic board
Disk ejects and a blinking X icon appears	Try a known-good system disk; replace the floppy drive; replace the logic board
Disk will not go in, or will not eject	Push an opened paper clip into the hole beside the drive; switch on with the mouse button held down to finish the eject cycle; replace the floppy drive
Floppy drive runs continuously	Try a known-good disk; replace the floppy drive; replace the logic board
Hard drive does not work	Check the drive connections; check external SCSI termination; reseat the logic board; replace the IDE drive; replace the chassis wiring harness; replace the logic board
Hard drive runs continuously	Check the system is 7.5 or later; replace the drive cable; replace the drive; replace the logic board
Hard drive not found when started from CD	Use Drive Setup 1.03 to mount it
Flashing question mark at startup, cured by a restart (5400/120, /180 or /200 with 1.6 GB ATA drive 661-1107)	Check the system software is intact; if the drive serial number is from XXX6099XXXXX to XXX6131XXXXX, replace the drive
CD-ROM drive will not accept a disc	Try another disc; replace the CD-ROM mechanism; replace the SCSI data cable
Known-good CD-ROM drive will not mount	Reseat the CD-ROM adapters; check the drive's SCSI ID (factory setting 3); replace the drive; replace the chassis wiring harness
CD-ROM eject button sticks	Replace the front bezel, 922-1857
Vibration noise from a 12× CD-ROM drive	Normal for that drive
CD Plus discs stutter or will not mount	Replace the CD-ROM drive

The internal hard drive is IDE and must be replaced like for like. It takes no SCSI ID, and up to seven external SCSI devices can be chained from the DB-25 port. For the drives themselves see Macintosh Floppy Drive Maintenance and Hard Drive Maintenance and Repair.

Keyboard, mouse and printers

Input and peripheral faults (Apple symptom charts)

Symptom	Apple's cures, in order
Cursor does not move	Restart; check the mouse connection; move the mouse from the keyboard to the rear ADB port to isolate the keyboard or mouse; reseat the logic board; replace the logic board
Cursor moves but the button does nothing	Replace the mouse; reseat the logic board; replace the logic board
Double-click does not open items	Remove extra System files; check the mouse speed setting; unplug the 4.5 V battery for 20 seconds and restart; isolate keyboard and mouse as above; replace the logic board
No response to the keyboard	Check the system is 7.5 or later; check the ADB connection; replace the keyboard; reseat the logic board; replace the logic board
StyleWriter or ImageWriter will not print	Check Chooser and Control Panel settings, driver and system; check the printer DIP switches; replace the cable; replace the logic board
SCSI device not recognised	Check termination and the cable; install the device's software; on a 5400, run the 6360/64xx/54xx Update disk, which corrects a SCSI timing problem
Rattle at startup with the Apple External Video Connector fitted	Fold the video cable away from the fan blades

Voltages

Apple publishes no per-rail voltages or tolerances for the 5400 series. The one voltage it gives is the high-voltage adjustment: with the monitor warmed up for 10 minutes and the crosshatch pattern displayed, 29.5 V DC ± 0.1 V at the cathode of D713 (Rev. A analogue board) or D703 (Rev. B), set with VR501 or VR702. Apple calls for it after the CRT or deflection board is replaced. The full procedure is on Macintosh Performa 5400 General Maintenance. The supply is rated 100–240 V AC, 47–63 Hz, 125 W.

Clock battery

The battery is a 4.5 V alkaline pack on a hook-and-loop base on the logic board, reached by removing the I/O door and pulling out the logic board. Apple's test is to measure it on the 10 V DC range and replace it below 3.0 V. Apple's chart for double-click faults includes unplugging it for 20 seconds. If the pack has leaked, the residue is alkaline: clean it with dilute white vinegar and check the nearby traces. See Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.

Related pages

• Macintosh Performa 5400
• Macintosh Performa 5400 General Maintenance
• Macintosh Performa 5400 Capacitor Replacement Guide
• CRT Discharge Procedure
• Sad Mac Error Codes