Table of Contents for this issue:
Torx 15 screwdrivers
plus and zip drive
Re: 400K floppies and the 128K
Color Classic
Color Classic (again)
color for the se/30
se problems
More About CC Accelerators
Re: Rather fiddly Mac Plus hardware question
Re: SE/30 shrinking screen
SE/30 shrinking screen
Re: Old software on an '040?
Re: IIcx power supply replacement
Mac IIci-a couple of questions
Mac II stuff

Do any UK users know where I might get a torx screwdriver that will get the
case off if need be?

Alas, no. I tried and failed :-(

The usual mail-order companies may still have 'Mac Cracker' kits, even
though they don't put them in the catalogue any more. It's a very long
3/16" allen (hex) wrench, otherwise known as a Torx T-15.

Erm, 3/16 inch allen keys are compeletely different to Torx T-15 bits. You
need a Torx T-15 bit.

I'm a little puzzled at all the talk about how hard it is to get a T-15 screwdriver.
Go to most any auto parts store and ask for an S-K brand T-15 screwdriver
and they will sell you one for about $9.00. It's a bit steep but it is the ideal
tool for the MAC's with the screw recessed in the handle on top of the case.
The S-K blade is 6" long and easily reaches in to get those two screws. It also
has a nice handle to get good torque. If you don't want to spend as much money
and have a "Parts Plus" Western Auto store nearby, they had a box of cheapo
screwdrivers for 89 cents. The blade is a little shorter but can easily be modified
by grinding off a little of the handle until the blade extends far enough into the
MAC handle.

Typing serenely in Berkshire County, MA (on a PC and an SE/30)

I have a 1mb plus and a zip drive i want to boot off of, how do i load the
proper below version 4.5 driver so it will recognize it? (the one i have is
4.3 and is 1.7mbs) i have two 800k floppies to work with. thanks. please
email me directly. thanks

sean keane

The 128 disks are in MFS format, which is incompatible with HFS disks.
To further complicate things, many Power Macs will not write successfully
to 400K disks. There is a way around this, and when I get some time
tomorrow I'll send a note explaining what to do, unless you've already
figured it out. Jon

So -- it looks like I'm back to where I started. Here's an idea: Anyone
want to start a business selling System 1.0 on a 400K floppy? I'll send
you $5 for it. :)

Tom,

You've got a deal. I'll send you 3 disks for $5.00 if you're still interested.
Let me know.

Curtis Bard
5876 Woodlee Court
Orchard Park, NY 14127-3827

Specials (For Sale E-mail List):
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/9792/spls_form.htm

I have yet another question about the Color Classic--

I am thinking of purchasing a used Color Classic. I also have already
purchased a set of the full install disks of System 7.1. I am afraid,
however, that it will not include the program that turns the screen off (if
you have read the data sheet of the Color Classic, it says it comes with a
program that will dim/turn off the screen after a "user-definable period of
time") When I install System 7.1, will it recognize this feature? If not,
does anyone have a copy of this "program"? Please let me know. Thanks so
much!

Lorenzo

Oops I forgot one thing about the Color Classic--also in the data sheet (by
the way, the data sheet can be found in the Product Info section of Apple's
website, it is an Acrobat document), it mentions yet another feature or
program that "prevents you from accidentally turning the computer off". Does
anyone have this program, will System 7.1 recognize it, and what in the world
IS IT? Please let me know. Thanks so much!

Lorenzo

"brand-new for old macs". The new UserGroupStore catalog 1-800-350-4842
has LapisColor PDS/3 24-bit color cards for $69. This is compatible with
the se/30 and MAC IIsi (PDS adapter). It offers :

24-bit color at 640x480 for 13 and 14 inch screens
24-bit color at 832x624 for 16 and 17 inch screens
80-bit color at 1024x768 for 19 and 20 inch screens.

You must be a member of a user group to purchase from them.

Plus this in, add any 14 inch used color monitor, and PRESTO you have a
large screen color surfing ,machine for well under $200.

Donna Pointer

Your power mac could probably read PC diskettes because it has the DataViz
translators. . Your se probably can't. Get a Mac person to give you system
7.0.1 on diskette or 7.1 (try to get the Update 3 also), install it clean
and you should be fine. That full system comes on the lo-density disks. I
have it. I might be able to attach it and email it to you one disk at a
time. There are 9 diskettes plus one for Quicktime and one for AtEase,
which are installed separately after you have installed the system itself.
I don't know whether or not more than one diskette can be attached to an
email. I would be using Eudora.

Donna Pointer

Hey folks,

I'll try to keep this brief, as I've written about it at length in earlier
digests.

The Sonnet Presto 040 accelerator will run 2.0 & 3.0 browsers on the Color
Classic, but you must have an Extensions Manager so that you can reboot the
Mac with only the Presto, MacTCP, & PPP INITS loaded (anything else and the
browser will freeze up). Sonnet seems to have absolutely no interest in
fixing this bug.

That being said, the Presto is remarkably fast, driving the modem and the
printer 3-to-4 times faster than the MicroMac ThunderPro Cache accelerator
(a 50 Mhz 030) and costs $50 to $100 less. However, it won't support the
VRAM slot (1,000's of colors) and it doesn't give you any extra RAM slots
(though it supports Ram Doubler, for what it's worth).

Reports have it that the newer version of the MicroMac ThunderPro Cache
with the auxliary onboard fan runs fine (the older one I had without the
fan overheated constantly and spent most of its time in the shop at
MicroMac). If you need 1,000's colors, additional hard RAM, or want to rig
your Color Classic for a 13" display, you're pretty much stuck with
MicroMac (please let me know if anybody's succeeded in getting a Performa
motherboard to work in a CC). Just make sure you get one with a fan, and
you know what the return policy is.

And for the record, my experience with technical support at both companies
was pretty bad. Neither one of them was much help in figuring how to make
their own products work, so be prepared for a lot self-guided
experimentation.

If anybody has an interest, I can post the results of Speedometer tests
comparing the Presto and the ThunderPro Cache.

Take care, --Jon

Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 11:03:31 +0100
To: Classic Posts
From: Rebecca and Rowland
Subject: Rather fiddly Mac Plus hardware question

This arcing noise is obviously a Bad Thing. I've fitted a snubber and a
pair of surge-supressing varistors inside the Plus which has reduced the
arcing sound, but I'm sure it shouldn't be happening in the first place.

So what I was thinking was this:

1) The power supply circuit design shouldn't be allowing this to happen.

2) Therefore something isn't right

3) It's probably a dead capacitor or something like that

Thanks in advance (again),
Rowland.

Don't bother troubleshooting the thing--you probably need either a new
power supply for the Plus or the analog board(Do Pluses have an analog
board? If so--I blame the analog board)

Someone metioned Lance Timco Computers--go that route. Lance is a good guy.

Mac Plus's were supposed to have a real anemic Power supply and you can get
another pretty cheap nowadays. Installation is fairly simple(since you
obviously aren't afraid of opening the puppy up)

That arcing noise? I fixed a couple of SE's that had the same problem and
just had to replace the analog board.

Chung

Date: Sun, 05 Oct 1997 14:29:12 -0400
From: V Martin Brennan
To: Classic Posts
Subject: SE/30 shrinking screen

It's the incredible shrinking SE/30! What started out to be a nine-inch
display has now shrunk to about a seven-inch display. No other problems
with the unit... it runs great and does everything that we want it to,
but our eyes are getting tired out by the shrinkies. Any suggestions
will be gratefully received.

(SE/30 with 20MB ram, doubled, 7.5.3 OS.)

Vince Brennan

Did you just add memory recently? If you did--the additional power draw of
the simms can cause your Se/30 screen to shrink slightly.

If your powersupply or your analog board is not going bad(everything is
still bright and sharp) you can readjust/expand the picture by popping off
the small access panel in the back with a screw driver and than using a
tuning wand(a plastic screwdriver) to adjust the picture.

Width-height-center etc.

You should also get that shareware program that diplays a test pattern on
your se/30 so you can accurately measure the screen.(I think it's called
Test Pattern Generator).

MacUser's web site also has the ZMac Screen Test program.

V Martin Brennan wrote:

It's the incredible shrinking SE/30! What started out to be a nine-inch
display has now shrunk to about a seven-inch display. No other problems
with the unit... it runs great and does everything that we want it to,
but our eyes are getting tired out by the shrinkies. Any suggestions
will be gratefully received.

The cause is simple: ageing components.

Pop the case and adjust the screws on the side upright board.
This is called the analog board.
CAUTION: use plastic adjustiment tools available at Radio Shack.
CAUTION: metal tools can ruin the board and get hot.
The adjustment screws are labeled.

If the board is too old, get an other one.
SE analog boards wil work in an SE30.
(Buy a non-working computer cheap.)
CAUTION: allow computer to sit a day to dissapate capacitor voltage.
Swapping boards is not hard.
It just takes a bit of patience.

Bruce

-via: Productivity OnLine, Cincinnati

On 10/9/97 at 1:10 AM, WWL wrote:

This might be a real stupid question but is there anyway to get software
written for a 68000 machine (namely Microsoft Word 4.0 and Quark Xpress
2.0) to work on a 68040 machine?

68000 is a subset of 68040.
Things to try...
Turn off 32 bit addressing.
Turn off the 68040 cache.
Install system 7.0 on second disk and reboot.

Generally, this is not a big proplem.
A lot of old software works on 68040.

Bruce

-via: Productivity OnLine, Cincinnati

Fred Mindlin wrote:

I have a IIcx with Daystar 040 card and Radius full page display card,
with a bad power supply. I have another IIcx with a good power supply
and without the cards. Am I better off moving the cards to the one with
the good power supply, or trying to replace the power supply on the
machine with the cards? Either way, what are the cautions or special
procedures I need to follow?

You are aware that changing the power supply without pulling
the cards could lead to broken cards.

You should carefully examine the cases and motherboards.
Check for broken tabs on the SIMM slots.

Pick the best and build from this.

The power supply pulls out if the right detent is pushed.

Bruce

-via: Productivity OnLine, Cincinnati

My first question is that I beleive that I have to replace my date/time
battery. My clock keeps switching from the blue that I set it to,to the
standard black clock. It does this every few seconds. What type of battery do
I need to buy?

My second question is about my screen. It has started to tilt to
the left.

What do I do? Thanks in advance for the help I know I will get from this
great list.

Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 00:47:24 -0400
From: Curtis Bard
To: Classic Posts
Subject: SuperDrive, HardDrive, Modem for MacII

Now for some items that I need. I am looking for a hard drive that is
at least 200 megs or better. I am planning to install it into that Mac II
that I will be getting in a few days. I will also be needing a SuperDrive
to replace the Mac II 800K floppies. Finally, I am looking for a GV
9600 baud rate modem with software and book. Any ideas ? Thanks.

There are tons of resources via usenet:

misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.cards,
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.cards.misc,
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.cards.video,
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.misc,
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.portables,
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.software,
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.systems,

JAG

A weird little oasis on the web. Download my Subgenius music, Mac
shareware, other assorted waste of bandwidth.
Http://www.eden.com/~arena/jagshouse/jagshouseone.html