Subject: RE: 1040stfm now only has 512k of memory?!
Author: Anthony Green (msocache.anu.edu.au)
Date: 06-12-2007 04:13
From what I recall of the 1040STFM a few possibilities exist:
1. Dry joints or component failure for the IC's (memory DRAM). They are unlikely to be socketed, which can make changing the IC's challenging if you are not experienced with a soldering iron. If the fault is simply a dry joint it should be easy to fix by applying the soldering iron to melt the solder on the affected pins.
2. Joint or resistor failure for one of the three resistors that are added for the upper bank of 512kB of memory.
3. I recall there are three solder jumpers (blobs of solder acting as a joint between solder "pads" on the board surface), which may have failed due to thermal cycling over time.
Sounds like the machine is ok and one of the above has occurred. Best to check out option 2 and 3 first as they are single failure points and much easier to fix than a faulty IC. Only when 2 and 3 are verified ok should you spent time investigating 1. When inspecting, get a good magnifying glass. Often these cracks are easy to see under strong magnification. I had to do this with my Hades 060 a few years back.
