605 & Floating Point Error
Sophie Wade
of System Crashes on the Q605 that the Floating Point Processor is not
installed. The crash occurs in nearly any app on the mac, e.g. MS Mail,
Word, Excel, Finder, etc. We are running System 7.1 with hardware updater
3. System extensions include GraceLan 3.1.2, MacTCP 2.0.4 and LAT 1.2b4.
Is anybody else experiencing these system crashes with the Q605's.
Zapping PRAM and System reinstalls do not seem to fix the problem.
Phil Wade (phil...@yes.optus.com.au)
Alex Kac
Storage and then redoing a System Installation. Then compare the new
System Folder with Storage for any added extentions or cps and move
them over. DO NOT MOVE ANY SYSTEM SOFTWARE THAT SEEMS MISSING BACK.
Finally, delete the Storage folder. Do a desktop rebuild. Finally, make
sure that you do not have any other extensions of questionable
reliablity.
---------------------------
A Warrior in Christ.
Aleksei M. Kac
ak...@mail.utexas.edu
-------------------------------
Robin Macrae
> ima...@mpx.com.au (Sophie Wade) wrote:
>
> > I am in charge of a mac site of approx 2500 macs and we are getting a lot
> > of System Crashes on the Q605 that the Floating Point Processor is not
> > 3. System extensions include GraceLan 3.1.2, MacTCP 2.0.4 and LAT 1.2b4.
> > Is anybody else experiencing these system crashes with the Q605's.
> > Zapping PRAM and System reinstalls do not seem to fix the problem.
>
Quote from the documentation to Software FPU 3.02 the accuracy of which I
do not know:
John Neil & Associates [the shareware author]
P.O. Box 2156
Cupertino, CA 95015
Orders: (800) 663-2943
Fax: (415) 661-2944
john...@netcom.com
68LC040 CPU Chip Bug
The 68LC040 CPU chip has a bug in it which prevents SoftwareFPU from
working properly with many FPU applications. Unfortunately there is no
work-around for this bug. If you have SoftwareFPU installed on a 68LC040
Macintosh (such as the Centris 610, LC 475 & 575, Performa 475, 476, 575,
577, & 578, PowerBook 520, 540, PowerBook Duo 280, and Quadra 605 and
610), you will have to test each FPU application you use to see whether it
will work on your machine. If the application crashes, it is probably due
to the 68LC040 CPU chip bug. To verify the cause of the crash, test the
same application on a regular 68040 Macintosh. If the application
operates correctly on a 68040 Macintosh, the CPU bug is causing the
application to crash on your 68LC040 Macintosh. If the application
crashes on the 68040 Macintosh, the CPU bug is not the cause of the
68LC040 crash.
Motorola is preparing a revised version of the 68LC040 CPU which
supposedly fixes the CPU bug. The new version should be available
sometime in fourth quarter 1994. The revised CPU will have a mask
revision number of 03E23G or higher. To check the mask revision of the
CPU in your Macintosh, open your Macintosh (check to make sure you are not
voiding your warranty first), and locate the 68LC040 chip. The mask
revision number is printed on the top of the chip, on the second line.
The mask revision number reads from left to right, and each series of
numeric or alphabetic characters is a different field. Reading left to
right, if any of the fields are less than the corresponding field in
03E23G, your CPU has the bug that affects SoftwareFPU. For information on
when the revised chip will be incorporated in new 68LC040 Macintoshes,
please contact Apple Computer.
If your program crashes because of the 68LC040 CPU bug, your options
are: a) replace your FPU application(s) with a version that does not
require an FPU, b) replace the 68LC040 CPU chip in your Macintosh with a
68040 CPU, or c) replace your 68LC040 CPU chip with the revised chip (when
available).
Robin Macrae, Toronto, 416-255-7022, men...@hookup.net
"Those are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others."
Groucho Marx
Ali Rezaian
> of System Crashes on the Q605 that the Floating Point Processor is not
> 3. System extensions include GraceLan 3.1.2, MacTCP 2.0.4 and LAT 1.2b4.
> Is anybody else experiencing these system crashes with the Q605's.
> Zapping PRAM and System reinstalls do not seem to fix the problem.
I am having the same problem with my 605s. I too have GraceLan 3.1.2
and MacTCP 2.0.4 installed on all of my machines. I thought that
installing the Hardware Update 3.0 would solve the problem, but I still
have sporadic crashes.
Karin Pack
> I am in charge of a mac site of approx 2500 macs and we are getting a lot
> of System Crashes on the Q605 that the Floating Point Processor is not
> installed. The crash occurs in nearly any hardware updater
> 3. System extensions include GraceLan 3.1.2, MacTCP 2.0.4 and LAT 1.2b4.
> Is anybody else experiencing these system crashes with the Q605's.
> Zapping PRAM and System reinstalls do not seem to fix the problem.
I believe the problem is with the MC68L040 microprocessor, not with the
system software itself. The computer was not built with an FPU and any
software that requires an fpu may either not work properly, not as fast,
or not at all. The software fix (softwarefpu) probably will not work,
although I'd try it anyway.
I don't believe the software programs you are running require an fpu, so
there might be something in your system software that wants to see a
floating point unit.
--
Standard disclaimer stuff...