Apple Macintosh Powermac Performa WS8550 Service Manual

K

Service Source

Power Macintosh 8200 and

8500 Series/WS 8550

Power Macintosh 8200 Series (Europe Only), 8500

Series, and WS 8550 Series

K

Service Source

Basics

Power Macintosh 8200 and 8500

Series/WS 8550 Series

Basics Overview - 1

Overview

This manual covers the Power Macintosh 8200 Series
(available only in Europe), the Power Macintosh 8500
Series, and the WorkGroup Server 8550 Series computers.
These computers all share the same form factor as the
earlier Power Macintosh 8100.

Power Macintosh 8200 Series

The Power Macintosh 8200 Series computers are available
only in Europe. There are two versions of the Power
Macintosh 8200, the Power Macintosh 8200/100 and the
8200/120. Features of the Power Macintosh 8200 Series
include

• A 100 or 120 MHz PowerPC™ 601 microprocessor on
the logic board with built-in FPU and 32K on-chip cache

Basics Overview - 2

• 256K level 2 cache

• 16 MB of DRAM, expandable to 256 MB

• Three PCI expansion slots

• SCSI DMA bus that supports up to four external and
three internal SCSI devices

• Built-in AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet support

• Support for AppleTalk and TCP/IP networking protocols

• Two GeoPort serial ports

• AppleCD™ 600i 4x CD-ROM drive

• 16-bit stereo sound input/output

• 1 MB of soldered VRAM

• Mac™ OS system software 7.5.3

Basics Overview - 3

Power Macintosh 8500/WS 8550

The Power Macintosh 8500 and Workgroup Server 8550
feature three PCI expansion slots, a removable 604
microprocessor card, and, in addition, the Power Macintosh
8500 features video in and out functionality standard.

The list of features for the Power Macintosh 8500 includes

• A 120, 132, 150, or 180 MHz PowerPC™ 604
microprocessor card with built-in FPU and 32K on­chip cache

• Three PCI expansion slots

• One Digital Audio Video (DAV) slot

• 10 MB per second internal SCSI channel, 5 MB per
second external SCSI channel

• 256 K Level 2 cache

• DRAM expansion up to 512 MB using 168-pin, 70 ns,
64-bit DIMMs

Basics Overview - 4

• 2 MB of VRAM, expandable to 4 MB

• 24-bit composite and S-video input and output

• Built-in AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet

• Two GeoPort serial ports

• AppleCD™ 600i 4x CD-ROM drive or 1200i 8x CD-ROM
drive (8500/150 8x CD and 8500/180)

• 1.4 MB floppy drive

• CD-quality stereo sound in/out

• Mac™ OS system software 7.5.2 (8500/120) or 7.5.3
(8500/132 and 8500/150) or 7.5.3 Revision 2
(8500/150 8x-CD and 8500/180)

The list of features for the Workgroup Server 8550 Series
computers includes

• A 132 MHz or 200 MHz PowerPC™ 604 microprocessor
card with built-in FPU and 32K on-chip cache

• 512K Level 2 cache

Basics Overview - 5

• 24 MB of DRAM, expandable to 512 MB using 168-pin,
70 ns, 64-bit DIMMs

• Two SCSI DMA buses supporting up to eight SCSI devices
and transfers up to 10 MB/s (internal bus only)

• Three PCI expansion slots

• Built-in AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet

• Two GeoPort serial ports

• AppleCD™ 600i or 1200i CD-ROM drive

• 2 GB hard drive, with bracket and cable for a second
drive (support for array drives)

• DDS-2 DAT drive (optional)

• 1.4 MB floppy drive

• CD-quality stereo sound in/out

• Built-in 2 MB VRAM display support

• Support for TCP/IP networking software with Apple
Open Transport

• Mac™ OS system software 7.5.3 (8550/132) or 7.5.3
Revision 2 (8550/200)

Basics Configurations - 6

Configurations

The Power Macintosh 8500/120 comes standard with

• 120 MHz PowerPC 604 microprocessor card

• 16 MB of DRAM

• 256K Level 2 cache DIMM

• 1 GB or 2 GB hard drive

• AppleCD 600i CD-ROM drive

• 2 MB of VRAM

The Power Macintosh 8500/132, 8500/150, and
8500/180 come standard with

• 132, 150, or 180 MHz PowerPC 604 microprocessor
card

• 16 MB of DRAM (8500/132) and 16 or 32 MB of DRAM
(8500/150 and 8500/180)

• 256K Level 2 cache DIMM

Basics Configurations - 7

• 1.2 GB or 2 GB hard drive

• AppleCD 600i 4x CD-ROM drive (8500/120, 8500/
132, and 8500/150) or 1200i 8x CD-ROM drive
(8500/150 8x-CD and 8500/180)

• 2 MB of VRAM

The WS 8550/132 and 8550/200 come standard with

• 132 MHz (8550/132) or 200 MHz (8550/200)
PowerPC 604 microprocessor card

• 24 MB of DRAM

• 512K Level 2 cache DIMM

• 2 GB hard drive

• AppleCD 600i (8550/132) or 1200i (8550/200)
CD-ROM drive

• 2 MB of VRAM

Basics PowerPC 601 Microprocessor - 8

PowerPC 601 Microprocessor

The Power Macintosh 8200 Series computers feature the
PowerPC 601 RISC microprocessor built onto the logic
board. Features of this microprocessor include

• Full RISC processor architecture

• 32-bit addressing

• 64-bit data bus

• Built-in FPU

• 32K cache for data and instructions

• Internal Memory Management Unit (MMU)

• Advanced branching techniques for improved throughput

Basics PowerPC 604 Microprocessor - 9

PowerPC 604 Microprocessor

The Power Macintosh 8500 and WS 8550 computers feature
the PowerPC 604 RISC microprocessor. The PowerPC 604
microprocessor is installed via a card that plugs into the
logic board, allowing for maximum flexibility with future
upgrades.

Features of this microprocessor include

• Full RISC processing architecture

• Parallel processing units: one load-store unit, two
integer units, one complex integer unit, and one floating
point unit

• Separate built-in caches for data and instructions, 16
KB each, four-way set associative

• Advanced branching techniques for improved throughput

Basics Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) - 10

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)

The Power Macintosh 8200 Series, Power Macintosh 8500
Series, and WS 8550 computers offer a Peripheral
Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion bus. Because the
PCI bus is an industry standard, most existing PCI 2.0­compliant cards (with the addition of a Mac OS-specific
software driver) will work in these computers.

PCI offers significantly higher performance than the NuBus
architecture used in previous Macintosh models. Running at
33 MHz, the PCI bus is up to three times faster than NuBus,
offering overall enhanced system performance, particularly
in the areas of video and networking.

Basics Dual In-Line Memory Modules (DIMMs) - 11

Dual In-Line Memory Modules (DIMMs)

The Power Macintosh 8200 Series, Power Macintosh 8500
Series, and WS 8550 computers use DRAM Dual In-Line
Memory Modules (DIMMs) instead of DRAM SIMMs.
Whereas SIMMs have 72 pins, DIMMs have 168 pins. The
extra pins provide a 64-bit data path, compared to a 32-bit
data path for SIMMs. In addition, DIMMs do not have to be
installed in pairs like the SIMMs on earlier Macintosh
models. (However, to take advantage of memory
interleaving, the DIMMs should be installed in paired slots.
See "Memory Configurations" in Basics for more
information.)

Important:

used in previous Macintosh models are
these computers.

The Single In-Line Memory Modules (SIMMs)

not

compatible with

Basics Memory Configurations - 12

Important

pin 70 ns or faster) instead of VRAM SIMMs. The VRAM
SIMMs used in earlier Power Macintosh models are
compatible.

: These computers also use VRAM DIMMs (112-

not

Memory Configurations

Following is the memory configuration information for the
computers covered in this manual.

Power Macintosh 8200 Series

The Power Macintosh 8200 Series logic boards have four
DRAM DIMM slots, each with a 64-bit data bus. You can
increase the computer’s DRAM to a total of 256 MB using 5­volt, 64-bit-wide, 168-pin fast-paged mode, 70 ns
DIMMs.

Basics Memory Configurations - 13

Note:

These computers do not have any main memory
soldered to the logic board. At least one DRAM DIMM must be
present for the computer to operate.

DRAM DIMMs can be installed individually or in pairs. These
computers support linear memory only; therefore, no
memory gains are seen when two DIMMs of the same size are
installed (that is, memory interleaving is not supported on
the Power Macintosh 8200 Series computers).

Note: DIMMs purchased from different manufacturers can

be paired; However, Apple recommends that you use DIMMs
of the same size and speed.

The drawing on the next page illustrates where the DRAM
slots are located on the Power Macintosh 8200 Series logic
boards and how they are numbered. DRAM can be installed in
any order.

Basics Memory Configurations - 14

4
3
2
1

Figure: PM 8200 Series DRAM DIMM Slots

Basics Memory Configurations - 15

Power Macintosh 8500 Series/WS 8550

The Power Macintosh 8500 and WS 8550 logic boards have
eight DRAM DIMM slots, each with a 64-bit data bus. You
can increase the DRAM to a total of 512 MB using 5-volt,
64-bit-wide, 168-pin fast-paged mode, 70 ns DIMMs.

Note:

These computers do not have any main memory
soldered to the logic board. At least one RAM DIMM must be
present for the computers to operate. DRAM DIMMs can be
installed individually; however, if you wish to take
advantage of the computer’s interleaving* capability, which
provides maximum performance, you must install the
DIMMs in matching pairs and in paired slots (A4 and B4, A3
and B3, and so on).

* Memory interleaving allows the computer to read or write
to its memory while other memory reads or writes are
occurring, thus providing for faster performance.

Basics Memory Configurations - 16

For a pair of DIMMs to function as a single 128-bit wide
pair, they must be the same type and size.

Note:

DIMMs purchased from different manufacturers can

be paired as long as they are the same size and speed.

The drawing on the next page illustrates where the DRAM
slots are located on the Power Macintosh 8500 and WS
8500 logic boards and how they are numbered.

Basics Memory Configurations - 17

B4 slot
B3 slot
B2 slot
B1 slot
A4 slot

A3 slot
A2 slot

A1 slot

(front of computer)

Figure: PM 8500 and WS 8550 DRAM DIMM Slots

Basics Ethernet Support - 18

Ethernet Support

There are two Ethernet ports on the Power Macintosh 8200,
Power Macintosh 8500, and WS 8550 logic boards: an AAUI
port and a 10BASE-T port. You can use only one Ethernet
port at one time, however. If you have cables plugged into
both Ethernet ports, the computer uses the 10BASE-T port
by default.

AV Support

The Power Macintosh 8500 comes standard with an AV
module that provides support for: composite video input and
output, S-video input and output, audio input (left and
right), and audio output (left and right).

Basics GeoPort - 19

GeoPort

Geoport is a hardware and software communications
architecture that has been optimized for computer­telephony integration. It has three main attributes:

• It lets any computer connect to any telephone (analog or

digital, public or private) anywhere in the world.

• Once connected, it supports an arbitrary number of

independent data streams up to a total bandwidth of
2 MB/second.

• Unlike traditional asynchronous data communications

(such as AppleTalk), GeoPort also supports isochronous
data streams (such as real-time voice and video) and
provides the real-time Application Program Interfaces
(APIs) necessary to hide the implementation details
from both the recipient and the sender.

Basics PC Compatibility Cards - 20

By attaching an Apple GeoPort Telecom Adapter to these
computers, you can enjoy all the features of a 14.4 modem,
including data, fax, send and receive, and voice capabilities.
The GeoPort Telecom Adapter serves as a line interface to
standard (analog) telephone lines. The adapter is capable of
sending or receiving data at up to 14.4 kbps and faxes at up
to 9600 bps using the GeoPort Telecom Adapter software.

PC Compatibility Cards

Apple computer offers two PC Compatibility Card upgrade
kits that bring full DOS functionality to the Macintosh
computer. Two versions of the PC Compatibility card are
available: a 7" card and a 12" card. The cards plug into any
available PCI slot on the logic board. Refer to the Upgrades
chapter in this manual for installation instructions.

Basics The Cuda Chip - 21

The Cuda Chip

The Cuda is a microcontroller chip. Its function is to

• Turn system power on and off

• Manage system resets from various commands

• Maintain parameter RAM (PRAM)

• Manage the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB)

• Manage the real-time clock

Many system problems can be resolved by resetting the Cuda
chip (see Symptom Charts for examples). Press the Cuda
reset button on the logic board to reset the Cuda chip. (See
"Logic Board Diagram" later in this chapter to locate the
Cuda reset button.) If you continue to experience system
problems, refer to "Resetting the Logic Board" later in this
Basics chapter.

Basics Resetting the Logic Board - 22

Resetting the Logic Board

Resetting the logic board can resolve many system problems
(refer to "Symptom Charts" for examples). Whenever you
have a unit that fails to power up, you should follow this
procedure before replacing any modules.

1 Unplug the computer.

2 Remove the logic board. (Refer to the Take Apart chapter

for instructions on how to remove the logic board.)

3 Using a small flat-blade screwdriver, pry open the latch

at the end of the battery holder and lift off the battery
holder cover.

4 Remove the battery from its holder.

Basics Resetting the Logic Board - 23

5 Verify the power supply cable is disconnected from the

logic board and then press the Power On button. (See
"Logic Board Diagram" later in this chapter to locate the
Power On button.)

6 Wait at least 10 minutes before replacing the battery.

Make sure the battery is installed in the correct +/­direction.

7 Reassemble the computer and test the unit.

Note:

This procedure resets the computer’s PRAM. Be sure
to check the computer’s time/date and other system
parameter settings afterwards.

Note:

If this procedure resolves the problem, claim an
adjustment on an SRO. If not, replace the defective
component and DO NOT claim the adjustment procedure.

Basics Fast SCSI - 24

Fast SCSI

The Power Macintosh 8500 and WS 8550 computers offer
Fast SCSI support on the internal SCSI connector, which
provides for significantly enhanced data throughput. The
internal SCSI bus on these computers supports transfer
rates up to 10 MB/sec.

Basics Rear View Diagram - 25

Rear View Diagram

The Power Macintosh 8200 and WS 8550 computers offer
the following external ports: SCSI, AAUI and 10BASE-T
Ethernet, serial printer (GeoPort compatible), serial
modem (GeoPort compatible), DB-15 video, ADB, sound
input, and sound output.

The drawing on the following page illustrates the back panel
of the Power Macintosh 8200 and WS 8550 computers.

Basics Rear View Diagram - 26

SCSI

AAUI Ethernet

10 BASE-T Ethernet

Printer
Modem
Monitor

ADB

Sound in

Sound out

Figure: Power Macintosh 8200 and WS 8550 Rear Panel

Basics Rear View Diagram - 27

In addition to the ports shown on the previous page, the
Power Macintosh 8500 offers composite video input and
output, S-video input and output, audio input (left and
right), and audio output (left and right) ports.

The drawing on the following page illustrates the back panel
of the Power Macintosh 8500 computer.

Basics Rear View Diagram - 28

SCSI

AAUI Ethernet

10 BASE-T Ethernet

Printer
Modem
Monitor

ADB

Sound in

Sound out

S-video

Composite video

Audio output 
(left &right)

Audio input 
(left & right)

Figure: Power Macintosh 8500 Rear Panel