On Sunday, September 9, 2001, at 07:02 AM, smop@... wrote:
> --- In emax@y..., Scott Ruda <scottr@e...> wrote:
>> [...]
>> I have the "Soundmemorysize Error" with 5mb rackmount Emax II
> after a
>>> move.
>>
>> You've answered your own question. You moved it ;-)
> I meant specifically..
> and when trying to reseat it and it still is not working..
> (is it just dust between the contacts ?)
>
>
Sorry, I was just joking around a bit ;-)
From what I remember (I worked in Service when the Emax II came out),
yes, the board is prone to pop off it's mounts sometimes when the unit
got shipped around, but it usually takes a pretty good bump to dislodge
it. Hopefully your unit was not dropped really badly causing more damage
than just popping the card off.
I remember that the hard part installing the memory card was when trying
to get the card lined up with headers in the first place from scratch.
You had to stick your fingers under the board and kind of feel the
alignment of the headers on the board and how they were coming down and
mating to the connectors on the mother board. I think in later boards
there were holes added to the daughter card to help see the connectors
as you seat it. There was also some kind of additional retaining that
was added - an extra screw or a double-stick stickdown or something like
that to give it a bit more holding power.
So the lesson was don't -fully- remove it if you don't have to, because
the initial alignment is the key problem. If only one corner pops up, I
think it was just a matter of pushing that corner back down as it would
be pretty much aligned already in general. I remember also that there
was a definitive 'click' feeling when the thing really seats all the way
into the connectors, requiring a rather firm 'squeeze'. When you press
down you want to press hard, but not too hard that you might crack
something. The touch was slow and firm, not requiring a hammer or
anything like that, but a bit more than you might normally expect.
Sometimes, like all connectors, and especially if your environment is
yucky (like a studio where someone smokes) you may need to pull the
board all the way off and clean the contacts by spraying some contact
cleaner like Cramolin on the contacts. Dust per se is not a problem, it
would be more some kind of corrosion or oxidation or oil that makes the
electrical contact poor. Be sparing with any cleaners - don't make the
contacts dripping wet - the cleaner does the job through chemical
reaction without having to scrub it or make it dripping wet. I would
only recommend this as a last resort, as it is usually not the problem,
and to do that you have to take the daughter card all the way off, which
is what you want to avoid if you can. It's just a matter of trial and
error to get that last 'click' to make the good connection
Good luck,
Scott