Classic Macintosh Questions

[Tempest]

Yesterday with Jason's (Aftermac) help we were able to reformat my HD and install 6.0.8 on it. Then after a few mysterious Illegal Instruction errors we got Stuffit and Compact Pro installed on it as well. Now I can read CD's and open archived game files. My only problem is that my HD is 20MB which fills up REALLY fast.

 

What do I need to look for in a compatible external HD? Is just being SCSI enough? I assume I can open up the external HD I'm using and swap out the HD for a bigger one (up to 2GB I believe).

 

Also, what board games have a computer AI? Risk does, but Phrase Craze (Wheel of Fortune) and Monopoly do not. I need a computer to play against as I doubt I'll convince my wife to sit in front of that tiny screen with me.

 

Tempest

[aftermac]

I'm glad we were able to get things pretty much working.

 

Just kind of thinking out loud, I'm wondering if the CD Driver we installed might be causing some of the Illegal Instruction errors. It's supposed to work with System 6, but who knows. If you were ever ambitous you could swap out all of its files for the driver you were using. Or, maybe it's better to leave well enough alone.

 

Also, I did some looking up about Compact Pro, and a few places said it required System 7. At least switching to Multifinder fixed the crashing on Quit issue. Have you tried decompressing anything yet, to see if that works?

 

Are you looking to get a new external drive or just replace the drive in your current enclosure?

 

You *should* be able to swap in another 50-pin SCSI drive into the enclosure you have and just go through the setup and install process we did yesterday with the new drive. The connector on the back of the drive looks like an IDE connector, just a bit wider. I think an 80 MB, 160 MB, or 320 MB drive would work pretty well for you.

 

Here's a link that gives a bit of Mac HD info: http://68kmla.net/wiki/SCSI_hard_disk_replacement_options

 

I'm drawing a blank thinking of board games with AI... Risk was one of my favorites, though! You should put ShufflePuck on there, too!

[Tempest]

Would a ZIP drive or a bigger HD be the way to go? HD would be more convenient by a ZIP drive may be easier to find and cheaper.

 

I tried my copy of Shufflepuck last night and it crashed after the Broderbund title screen. I'll look for another copy. I had a few games not work (Gauntlet, Shufflepuck, Gunshy, etc.) but I'm not sure if it's the Mac or the game.

 

 

Tempest

[desiv]

What I've heard a lot of people doing is that they are pulling out the SCSI drives and replacing them with CF cards.

 

You need a SCSI to IDE adapter and then an IDE to CF adapter.

 

Apparently it works well and draws much less power. Not sure what the max drive size is on a Mac. I know on the Amiga side (where I first heard of this), there are issues over 2G, but they have those worked out mostly now...

 

I'm going to try the IDE-CF option on my Amiga first. After that, I'll look at the other option for the Mac(s?).

 

desiv

p.s. Not sure about the SCSI-IDE, but the CF-IDE adapters sell for about $2-3 each. I know the SCSI adapters are more, but I haven't priced them yet.

Edited February 1, 2010 by desiv

[Tempest]

Yeah I did that on my Amiga, but it's not as easy as just swapping them. I had a devil of a time getting the Amiga to recognize it has a HD. I'm not sure if the Mac would have the same problem or not.

 

Tempest

[desiv]

Yeah I did that on my Amiga, but it's not as easy as just swapping them. I had a devil of a time getting the Amiga to recognize it has a HD. I'm not sure if the Mac would have the same problem or not.

 

I've read some posts on some Mac forums where people have done it.

Looks like the SCSI to IDE adapters run $20 or so...

 

My guess is that you will have similar issues tho. Some CF cards might not work, etc.

 

Found this:

The only hard part is formatting on these adaptors. If I remember correctly, I had to format it using a modified version of Apple HD SC Setup, and then update the drivers using the more modern Apple Drive Setup. Without doing this, for some reason it will display the "?" at startup, even if the system is properly written in the CF card.

 

So, it looks like it's similar. Great when it's done, but there will need to be some poking.

 

Isn't that the best part about these old computers tho? :-)

 

desiv

[Tempest]

I've got my eye on a nice 1GB drive that is Mac compatible. Hopefully I'll get it and just swap out my old drive. I could fit every classic B&W 68K Mac game ever made on a 1GB drive.

 

Tempest

[desiv]

p.s. Apparently the patch for the HD setup tools mentioned above is here: http://lowendmac.com/sable/07/hd-sc-setup-7.3.5-patch.sit and it will patch version 7.5.3 which is supposed to be available on Apples site.

 

desiv

[aftermac]

p.s. Apparently the patch for the HD setup tools mentioned above is here: http://lowendmac.com/sable/07/hd-sc-setup-7.3.5-patch.sit and it will patch version 7.5.3 which is supposed to be available on Apples site.

 

desiv

 

Yup, that's what we used yesterday.

[desiv]

Yup, that's what we used yesterday.

 

Kual...

Now, the question is..

Do I do that (CF) on my Macs. I mean, I could "wait" until my HDs die and then rebuild it.

 

But I might have to schedule some time and buy a few more adapters and some CF cards and give it a try.

I only have one CF card handy, a 512M, that I was going to use in my 1200.

 

Although, I could probably use a larger drive in my 1200 more realistically, so the 512M might be a good choice for my Classic.

 

Then there's the IIsi and LC475 just sitting there. They might get jealous if my Classic gets a new drive and they don't.

 

Oh, so much to do, so little time...

 

desiv

[+thegoldenband]

Also, what board games have a computer AI?

I already mentioned this in the other thread, but let me recommend Jack (aka Dutil's Jack) once again. Surprisingly addictive, and the creepy eyes that follow you around are...well, creepy.