MacBuild Eval

MacBuild's evaluation process presently consists of two flowcharts, both of which are posted in the Eval area:

• MacBuild CED Eval
• MacBuild Built-In Display Eval

In addition, there is a display test for incoming systems and an occasionally updated list of Old Macs that are set aside for volunteers that have experience working with them.

Display Test

There is currently a FireWire HD in the MacBuild Eval area that is bootable.

To run the display test:

1. Turn the FireWire HD on
2. Connect the FireWire cable from the HD to the system
3. Connect a power cable, keyboard, and mouse to the system
4. While powering the system on, hold down the Option key on the keyboard to bring up the Startup Disk menu
5. Select the FireWire HD from the menu, and click on the Restart (right arrow) button
6. Adjust the monitor's geometry, if necessary
   • Once the desktop loads, click on the blue apple in the upper left corner of the screen
   • Click on the System Preferences option in the dropdown menu
   • Click on the Displays icon in the System Preferences window
   • Click on the Geometry tab in the Displays window
   • Select the kind of adjustment you'd like to make, and drag the edges of the monitor icon to adjust the screen display
7. Check the color bars on the desktop. Make sure you can see the discrepancy between the three black bars in the middle
8. If it is a CRT monitor, let it sit for at least 15 minutes, and check the color bars again

If the display is too dark, is not adjustable to a reasonable geometry, does not provide enough contrast to distinguish between the three color bars, or does not display a desktop/picture, it doesn't work properly and should be dealt with appropriately.

Processing instructions

GREEN LIGHT

System

• Pull HD, RAM, battery, and any cards
• Do not pull video cards or optical drives
• Place in Mac Build area

System w/ CRT

• Pull RAM, battery, and Airport card (if easily accessible)
• Refer to swap/wipe procedure for HD directions

System w/ LCD

• Pull RAM, battery, and Airport card (if easily accessible)
• Refer to swap/wipe procedure for HD directions

Laptop

• Do not pull anything
• Bundle with power supply, if any
• Refer to swap/wipe procedure for HD directions

YELLOW LIGHT

System

• Pull HD, RAM, battery, all cards, and exceptional components.
• Tally system on tally sheet.
• Affix a yellow light recycle sticker.
• Place on Prebuild's cart when finished.

System w/ CRT

• Pull HD, RAM, battery, and exceptional components
• Remove all other drives and logic board from CRT
• Secure cover(s) back on CRT
• Place CRT in warehouse
  • If unit does not have an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the CED CRT gaylord in the warehouse
  • If unit does has an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the non-CED CRT gaylord in the warehouse

System w/ LCD

• Pull HD, RAM, battery, and exceptional components
• Reassemble remainder and place in parts area of the Mac shelf in warehouse

Laptop

• Pull HD and RAM
• If laptop is an iBook G4/PowerBook G4 or newer, label as a parts machine and place on the Mac/Apple laptop incoming shelf in Tardis
• If laptop is not an iBook G4/PowerBook G4 or newer:
  • If unit does not have an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the CED laptop gaylord in the warehouse
  • If unit does has an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the non-CED laptop gaylord in the warehouse

RED LIGHT

System

• Pull HD and place in TARDIS (ask a Mac Build instructor)
• Place system on Prebuild's cart

System w/ CRT

• Pull HD and place it on the floor in front of Prebuild's incoming HD bin
• Remove all other drives and logic board from CRT
• Secure cover(s) back on CRT
• Place CRT in warehouse:
  • If unit does not have an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the CED CRT gaylord in the warehouse
  • If unit does has an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the non-CED CRT gaylord in the warehouse

System w/ LCD

• Pull HD and place it on the floor in front of Prebuild's incoming HD bin
• If unit has an LCD display separate from the unit's body, remove LCD display and:
  • If unit does not have an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the CED LCD gaylord in the warehouse
  • If unit does has an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the non-CED LCD gaylord in the warehouse
• If unit has an LCD display separate from the unit's body, remove all drives and logic board, and:
  • If unit does not have an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the CED LCD gaylord in the warehouse
  • If unit does has an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the non-CED LCD gaylord in the warehouse
• Recycle the remainder

Laptop

• Pull HD and place it on the floor in front of Prebuild's incoming HD bin
• Place laptop in warehouse:
  • If unit does not have an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the CED laptop gaylord in the warehouse
  • If unit does has an UNCOVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE label, place in the non-CED laptop gaylord in the warehouse

Swap/wipe procedure

Several Mac systems with built-in displays require a significant amount of time and effort to remove HDs for wiping. For many of them, it's much easier to wipe the drive while it's still in the system. We use the same process for wiping disks in-system that Advanced Testing uses, so it's just as effective for both completely erasing data and checking the drives for errors.

How to swap: remove the system's current drive, place in the HD incoming bin in the System Evaluation/Case Management area, and replace with a wiped drive of an appropriate size according to build spec.

How to wipe: take the system to the MacBuild area.

If you'd like to swap a drive out of a system that would normally be wiped, you're more than welcome to. Keep in mind, though, that you should allow a good amount of time (anywhere to 15 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the model) for the swap. If you run into trouble, you can always ask a MacBuild instructor.

Desktop systems w/ CRT displays

• eMac: Wipe

Desktop systems w/ LCD displays

• iMac G4: Wipe
• iMac G5: Wipe

Laptops

• All models: Wipe

Old Mac Keeper List

Pre-PowerPC Macs:

• Macs w/ 9" CRTs
• Mac II, IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx, IIvx
• All Mac LC models
• All Quadra models
• Mac Portable
• PowerBook 180c and 540c

First-Generation PowerPC:

• 6100
• 7100
• 8100

Mac Clones:

• Radius

Apple/Macintosh Printers:

• Imagewriter II
• Laserwriter 4/600PS

Cards:

• All NuBus cards (96 pins in 3 rows)