NEXTcube, now what?

From: Mark Gregory <gregorym_at_cadvision.com>
Date: Wed Dec 6 18:51:56 2000

>
> OK I opened it up. Everything inside has been disconnected.
> The main board seems to be missing all the RAM and cache.
>
> Did NEXT put RAM on the MB like Apple did?
>

IIRC, the Cubes used 30 pin non-parity SIMMs, either 1M or 4M, in banks of
4. Each bank has to have the same type of RAM. The memory is auto-detected
by the OS; no jumpers to set.

> The second board is also missing RAM and has a large I860
> chip and RAMDAC on it with another connector in the center
> with nothing on it.
>

I don't know what this second board is; it's not related to the mainboard.
The Cube has everything on one mainboard. Maybe someone else can recognize
it from the description.

> Any sites showing the internals of a CUBE?
>
> There is a square air filter? Where does this go?

Not sure; best guess, either in front of the fan, or behind the MO disk.
The NeXT's drew air from the front of the system (through the vents and the
MO drive aperture), over the mainboard, and out the fan at the back of the
case. Dust drawn into the MO drive by this airflow is a major reason for
those drives to fail. Many just need a good cleaning.

>
> If the drive is a OM then why did I only get CD's ?
>

In later years, NeXT switched definitively to CDs, and it became very hard
to find software on MO disk. Probably the previous owner got an OS upgrade
kit that came on CD, and lost the MO carts with the earlier OS revs on it.

> There seems to be a cut-out in the grill work above the OM
> is this a door for the floppy mentioned in the manual or
> just a cut-out for a possible floppy?
>

Depending on the age of the Cube, it could be a floppy cutout (found on
later Cubes only), but more likely it's a blank for a second MO drive. NeXT
thought these drives were the wave of the future, and assumed that everyone
would want two. Most floppies for Cubes were external SCSI floppies. AFAIK,
there were never any Cubes made with internal CD-ROM drives; only the Slabs
had those, but I might be wrong.

Mark.
Received on Wed Dec 06 2000 - 18:51:56 GMT