Table of Contents for this issue:
Mac Plus/SE on the net
In need of a Mac Classic mentor
Mac Classic II/7.5.5
Who does repairs on SE/30's
Classic Macs
Mode 32 woes
HD for PB180
Mac Classic RAM upgrade illustrated info source
Mac II random restarts
MacPlus keyboard i/o after shipping
32-Bit Clean...etc.
Laserwriter
Apple 8.24GC Video Card w/Mac IIci
Apple 12" Monochrome Monitor Repair?
PRAM trouble on Classic logic board
Reviving Mac 128
Monitors for Mac IIsi
Cache in Mac IIsi?
Decompressing the system
Uses For Color Classic
My trusty MacSE
Count me in!
Uses for 512K Mac & SE/30

I'm an internet developer and have spent several weeks working with Pluses and SE's, as internet clients/servers. I'm hoping to setup very inexpensive clients using these machines. The SE30 is more than up to the task, but unfortunately they still go for $300-$500. This sounds cheap, but I recently bought brand new PowerMac 6116's (8/700, with 14.4 modems, keyboards, and even Cd Roms!) for $650, so by comparison, SE30's are not a good value. I've been buying Pluses for $75, and SE's for $125, which is less than the costs of the modems I connect them to! I've read posts here with some interest, here are my observations:

1.To connect to an ISP with a Plus or SE you'll need MacTCP, and PPP or FreePPP (note that FreePPP ver 2.5 won't run on monochrome macs)

2. Netscape won't run on monochrome Macs. This is not due to memory requirements (although it is greedy all right) but because it addresses color quickdraw, which is not present on Pluses or SE's. Mosaic 1.x works great, and so does MacWeb, I prefer MacWeb, but it is no longer being published, I found a version from a couple of years ago in AOL's software library. Speaking of AOL, you can run their software (I tried ver 2.5) but their browser won't work because you need 5+ megs of ram to run it.

2. Modern Modems work fine on Pluses or SE's, you need to turn down the port speed in config PPP. I've used Global Village 28.8 and connected at 24.6 K.

Finding some of this stuff took time, I'll be happy to save anyone who is looking with some pointers.

Royson Parsons

My father-in-law lives in Punta Gorda, Florida (on the Gulf Coast) and uses his Mac Classic on a daily basis. He is 83 years old.

I help him with Mac-specific questions as much as I can, but I live many thousands of miles away, in upstate New York.

Is there anyone who lives near to Punta Gorda who would be prepared to help him from time to time? He uses only two applications: Clarisworks and Jim Leitch's excellent Address Book -- and the Classic is connected to a DeskWriter printer.

If anyone can offer their help on an hourly basis (for which he would gladly pay), that would be great. The local computer stores only speak IBM, of course, and he is considered a misfit among his (Lions Club) associates for having a Mac!

Thanks in advance for any help or referral you can offer.

Tony Gravett

Hi All,

I have a Mac Classic II that I have installed a 340 MB internal hard drive into, and run with 10MB of RAM. To help with overheard, I have installed RAM Doubler 2.0. The System currently is 7.5.5. I run most modern applicationw with this machine, including Word 6.0, Excel 5 ( I also have a 68882 FP U installed) and Finale 3.5.2. All run fine, albeit a little slow, on this machine.

I am writing to add my confirmation that 7.5.5 and many apps can run on 10 MB of memeory, provided one does not become too wild with extras ( control panels, system extensions, etc.)

I am also writing to see if anyone has a good source for a video monitor for this machine. The 9 inch internal monitor has a band at the top that is stretched, and then there is extra space at the bottom of the monitor.

Thanks for any help that you can offer.

Best,

AL

P.S. I also have a PowerMac 6100 and a PB 5300, but the old Classic II holds a near and dear spot in my heart!

I have an SE/30 whose internal screen only shows a vertical line at this point. Fortunately, I have a RasterOps video card that can run a 2-page greyscale monitor. UNFORTUNATELY, that monitor is in use by another machine.

I'd like to spend minimal money getting the internal monitor running so I can use this as an alternate AIMS server, or test-bed ListStar or WebStar server.

So, any ideas on what the problematic part might be, and who can fix it for a reasonable price?

On another note, I've got a half-dozen or so SCSI<->Ethernet boxes (Asante EN/SC 10-T) that we might be willing to part with. We're not giving them away, since we can still use them in case of emergency, but if you need one, make an offer.

I use an SE/30 on a cart from a DEC VT100 Terminal, connected to my X-10 controller. I usually roll this around, and out of the way, after I've re-programmed the X-10 controller. Recently, my 22 mo. old daughter has been playing with me in my office, and while I was on my other system, with my back turned, I heard the click and start-up tone on the SE/30. She had found the switch, turned it on, and managed to 'click and drag' a number of items around the screen. I ran KidPix, much to her dismay, as I took the mouse from her, and let her play. She calls it 'mousy', (the mouse, obviously) and objects noisily when I pull her away. She has managed to re-name a number of folders, but that's the only problem.

I also run a IIfx as my main system. 32 megs memory, and an 850 meg. disk. The reason I like it so much, is the fact I can run multiple monitors easily. I have a 21" black and white, the Apple 2-page, and 2 Apple 13" RGB color monitors. People who have never seen a set-up like this can't believe it. They are amazed the Mac can do multiple monitors, and are still wow-ed when I pick up an object and drag it across the four screens. They can't figure out why their Wintel box can't do this, or even why they can't find decent Portrait Monitor.

My wife is a writer, and uses an Apple Portrait, and a 13" color monitor on *her* fx. Still love 'em!

To: classic-post Hello all!

I have had mode 32 v1.2 on my SE-30 for some time now and was never actually able to get it to effect the changes it was supposed to make on the system requirements. Whether it is enabled or disabled, the "about this mac" menu still reports about 11 meg allocated to system, (I have added 4x4meg simms in addition to the 4x250k that came with the machine for 17 meg total).

One thing I notice is that the mode 32 init symbol comes up late in the init lineup. Could this be the cause of failure? Is there some analytical technique to determine what is the failure?

Thanks in advance for any help I receive.

Hello fellow Classic Macsters! It's great to find others who are still getting yeoman work out of their tried and true machines.

I'm trying to find a bigger-than-80mb hard drive for my PowerBook 180. I've tried all of the usual (and some unusual) retailers and hard drive suppliers without success. Some places advertise "PowerBook SCSI" drives, but when you call them, the drives aren't for 1XX series machines.

Any ideas?

I'm writting to offer this URL: http://www2.inet.net/~bschnick/classic/inside_classic.html, as one source of info on upgrading the DRAM in a Mac Classic. One of my on-going projects is to find older Macs, take 'em apart, photograph 'em, and put the photos up on the Web where owners can find info with photos before they go into doing a RAM upgrade/install. I have done this with a IIsi also, just haven't got around to putting the photos up yet. Need 30 or 40 hours in a day.

Bo S.

My beloved Mac II is currently not in use because about a month ago, it began to randomly restart, just as if I had selected Restart from the Special menu (chimes and all). I'd really, really like to put this venerable machine back in use and restore my bragging rights, as I bought it new in '87 and this is the first problem I've had with it. Power supply? Ghosts? Any ideas welcomed! Would the lithium battery going dead perhaps cause this? It doesn't seem to be heat related.

This list is a great idea! Thanks for implementing it--hope it works out well.

Recently shipped MacPlus (upgraded from 128k by MacRescue) from CA to Albuquerque packed in original box w/original styro. Report from sister there that neither of two keyboards works. New keyboard cable no help. Mouse, Mac and external HD all OK.

Need tech help in Albuquerque...
"Mark"

Hi All- I have a Mac IIfx and have been trying to get 32 Bit addressing to work and have had nothing but problems. Whenever I boot with 32 Bit addressing enabled (running System 7.5.5 with 8M on board Ram and RamDoubler[both enabled and disabled]) I get some really wacky things happening. My desktop shifts to the left and downward (i.e. Happy Mac is in the lower left hand corner of the screen) and I lose about 2" of the right hand side of my screen (it is blank) & my mouse freezes, the keyboard works normally, but I am really limited in what I can do in this situation.

I have to zap the PRAM in order to get the system to operate normally (albeit back in 24 bit mode:((.

I spent about 2 hours on the phone with Apple last week and they were no help at all...Does anyone have any suggestions, I would really appreciate some help, I need the extra RAM that would become available with RamDoubler with 32 bit addressing enabled, as it is I can only get 13M of RAM (in 24 bit mode) and I really need the 16M I would get with 32 bit addressing.

I would appreciate any help at all, I have tried trashing my finder, general controls and desktop prefs and this has not helped me at all. HELP!

Bill Bair

Classic

Have for some time been getting 'offending postscript error' messages when trying to print some complex documents on the Laserwriter. This is a Laserwriter of the original variety "old,old" but works well (with this exception).

I'm running 7.5.3 on a Mac IIci, laserwriter extention version 7.2? Would getting version 8.4 help this situation? Any other Fix?

Thanks
Dick Pierce

Dear Classic:

This video card (8.24GC) will not work in accelerated mode on a Mac IIci using System 7.5.x. Had anyone written a driver that will work? When used as an 8.24 card only in a ci, does it need a driver of any kind?

What type of 64-pin VRAM does it use, Mac IIfx or Laserwriter NT simms do not work?

When installing rev. B ROM, does it make a difference which direction it goes in the slots?

I realize this doesn't represent experience, but I have looked everywhere for the answers to these questions, to no avail. If this knowledge is out there it needs to be shared.

Thanks,

John B.

Hi,

I have an Apple 12" Monochrome Monitor been used with my IIsi since '91. There is a problem with that monitor recently. Every black image, characters or lines, has a gray ghost shadow extending all the way towards the right end of the screen. Is there any way to fix it myself? How much this might cost if I let someone to do it for me? If I have to junk it, any one has an used monitor to sell?

Hi Classic Mac'ers!

Here is a hardware question for you experts. I have a Mac Classic which has PRAM problems...no its not the battery! MacCheck verified that there is a PRAM problem. The symptoms: cannot update the PRAM. When I change the date, it immediately jumps back to the year 2040 when I select another field. It does this in System 6.07, 6.08 and 7.01. I have read through Pina's book on Classics and SE's, but don't see the location of the PRAM chip. So my questions are:

1. Is it possible to get PRAM replacements (if needed)

2. How to check the PRAM chip?

3. Where on the board is it?

4. Are there any places that do component level replacements that don't cost a fortune?

Thanks for the info in advance!

PS., anyone know of a place to get inexpensive used external hard drives, say 80-100 MB?

Greg Mulhollan

I have been interested in reviving my 4MB Mac 128 since it started seeing double floppies about a year ago. Any hints?

SaS

Greetings,

I am upgrading from one classic (Mac SE) to another (Mac IIsi) and need some info about non-Apple monitors. I want to send out a note at work looking for a monitor, but I don't want to end up with a non-compatible monitor. Is there an easy solution for most any 14-15" monitor? I know there is a HW adaptor that can be put into the display cable so I can use a multi-sync monitor. I don't want to buy a video card just to get the monitor to work.

Thanks in advance,
Tom Moye

Dear Classic Macs,

I've got a Mac IIci at home and a Mac IIsi at work. Both have been updated to MacOS 7.5.5. But I have a question about my Mac IIci. I got it in about 1992, and I'm not sure if it has a cache card or not. I've opened it up and looked inside, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. What does the cache card look like, and where does it plug in? Is there a software command that would tell me whether I've got a cache card or not? Thanks for your help!

-- David Evans

I read once of a Mac-hacker who boosted his system speed by opening all the resources in his System file to decompress them. Apparently, alot of the Sytem resources are compacted to save space, but on an older Mac the decompression time makes a difference. As much as 10-30%.

I tried this once on my LCII with System 7.1, but I had to reinstall. Does anyone have advice on *which* resources in the system file are safe to install?

As a owner a Color Classic, Powerbook 180, Quadra 800 and Performa 6400, I am most proud of my Little Color Classic.

It sits on the Bar in the Kitchen and runs the family finances (Quicken), the children games (Kid Pix, Millie's Math House, Baily's Book House, etc), my business memos (Write Now and MacWrite Pro) my wife's recipes (Mangia!) and her mailing list (FileMaker Pro).

This convenient little box is the workhorse around the home. I believe that this is mostly due to it's compact size with the ability to neatly fit "almost anywhere".

I have loaded it with the maximum allowable RAM and I have added an acclerator board in it's PDS slot (now running at 33mhz). It now can run any of the above mentioned programs without any problems.

I intend on using it until the little 10 inch screen no longer glows...

... few PC users can be as productive or feel the same for their old systems.

Yes, please add me to the subscription list! I'm sure there are plenty of "us" out there who wouldn't part with their "old Classics" for the same reasons.

As you may have guessed, I am a loyal Mac user

_My trusty MacSE_ and Imagewriter II - ( brought at a premium in 1987 (a 68000 cpu,with 20M hard drive and 800 k floppy* drive), upgraded to 4Mram in1990, to a 330 M hard drive and 14.4 external modem in 1992, and FINALLY converted from system 6.0.8 to 7.0.1 in 1996,) - has served me very well.

My system functions flawlessly, reliably, and seamlessly. Its small footprint fits neatly on my desk at home. It also provides a pretty comfortable head rest for my little old Siamese lady who has laid claim to this piece of cramped real estate to be close to me. I believe my SE will continue to provide years of very useful, reliable, and productive use with my vintage software.

BUT,

a 1.4M high density floppy is a necessity
I need access to the Internet
I need my own laser or ink jet printer
I need certain programs currently available only to Windoze type machines

Therefore, not upgrading my capabilities no longer appears to be a viable or realistic option.

Ciao et augurri per SPQR, Alan Rosen. ;)

( a Mac user )

Alan Rosen

* - ugh, it would have been nice if Apple had upgraded me to a 1.4 M high density floppy drive (Hint, hint [gr])

Good morning, Please add me to your list. At present, my son has my SE/30 at university. I have loaded it up with max RAM, and it is still a workhorse type of machine. He wants to hook it up to their Novell system, but I am having trouble tracking down a ethernet hookup that would work on a SE/30. They tell me that there are plenty of "second hand" shops that would probably have such a beast, I just need names and phone numbers.

I also have an original "Classic" that my wife uses for her recipe diary hooked up and always running in the kitchen.

We have gone PowerMac now, but I wouldn't give these older machines away. They are still working, and I think have a certain charm to them - just sitting there.

I think you're on to something here.

Regards,

John Miller

PC's -- just say "no"

Please add me to the subscription list for Classic Macs.

One of my kids (10th grader) still uses a 512K Mac with MacWrite and and old AppleWriter I printer to do her papers if I am busy using my PB165C which is hooked to a 17 inch monitor and an H-P DeskWriter 550C + CD-ROM, etc. At school she uses networked Power Macs daily!

The other daughter uses an old SE 30 with 4 megs RAM and an Apple StyleWriter. She is a pre med at an Ivy League University which is almost all wintel. She refuses to let me buy her a Pentium!! although I probably will have to get her a new Mac as everything is now coming out on CD-ROM.

I might add that I have a Pentium set up at home right beside my PowerBook to connect with the machines at my business. They almost NEVER use the Pentium (and neither do I).