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Classic Macintosh Computing


Algus

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Well I have just purchased a new Mac Mini to become my main desktop unit, mainly as a media device but also so I can remote into it from my chromebook. This is my first Mac system but it is making me mighty nostalgic for the Macs of the 90s, which I heavily used throughout school, starting with System 6 on a Mac Classic.

 

I've done some googling and it seems like a Macintosh LC was the computer I used to use the most. I definitely remember the look and feel of System 7. I've also used OS 8 and one of the early OS X's though I don't recall which (circa 2003 and I know it was newer than OS 9 but memory is foggy).

 

I'd be interested in getting System 6 and System 7 running, either via a vintage computer or some sort of emulation on my Mini. I was having a look see on eBay but couldn't find very much in the way of LC's available. Are they tough finds? Sounds like it might be fun to hunt one down and gather up the upgrades for it to make it buzz but I suppose I could just emulate.

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They don't show up too often on eBay because they were next to worthless (not worth the time to sell). Schools dumped them by the thousands in the late 90's, so they are all in the landfill now.

 

However, the good news is you can run the Basilisk emulator and do everything you need. I know that exists for Windows, not sure about Mac OS.

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Every now and then I go and look at classic Macs. And sadly LCs are few and far between, but I suspect with a little patience you can find something decent either via eBay or Craigslist. LCs were also sold under the Performa label, but you are more likely to find PowerPC based Performas.... like this one close to you: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/sys/4160015118.html

 

 

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I have a Performa 430 (LCII with a different name) with 10 megs of ram (really 12 but it maxes out at 10 thanks to the onboard memory), and a 120mb hard disk that just sits around as I use my SE more.

 

If your interested its pretty light to ship and I only have a 2$ invested in it, but you need a monitor that is going to deal with the not quite VGA signal it puts out, or a real macintosh monitor for its real resolution (512x384)

 

I have been trying to give it away for a year now, no serious takers, or some takers that want me to pay for shipping. That kind of sums up the LC / Performa models, you have to pay someone to take them heh.

 

Really though, unless you want a thing sucking up space, mac emulation is really good

Edited by Osgeld
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I have a Performa 430 (LCII with a different name) with 10 megs of ram (really 12 but it maxes out at 10 thanks to the onboard memory), and a 120mb hard disk that just sits around as I use my SE more.

If your interested its pretty light to ship and I only have a 2$ invested in it, but you need a monitor that is going to deal with the not quite VGA signal it puts out, or a real macintosh monitor for its real resolution (512x384)

I have been trying to give it away for a year now, no serious takers, or some takers that want me to pay for shipping. That kind of sums up the LC / Performa models, you have to pay someone to take them heh.

Really though, unless you want a thing sucking up space, mac emulation is really good

 

Possibly, I was eyeballing the LC III+ and LC 475 however since the max RAM is significantly higher. The 475 can run OS 8 as well but I'd want to be on System 7 for nostalgia though. It seems like the trick is hunting down the attachments, which I gather from this convo (and the other thread) are not worth the cost of shipping for most sellers.

I happily run tons of classic Mac stuff using the emulators Mini vMac, Basillisk II, and SheepShaver :)

 

Thanks for the app suggestions I will do some googling when I get off work and check them out. I've still got a chunk of change I want to dump into my Mini as well (more RAM, Mac keyboard & mighty mouse) so paying for shipping on an old computer monitor might not be a thing for a few months for me. Also got a space issue AFA setting up one of these things will go.

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Well I got 7.5.3 up and running in Basilisk II. I still need to do some fine-tuning with it and learn a bit more about how it works. Following the tutorial was easy, fully comprehending what it was actually having me do...less so. Very impressed that I can load productivity software into the emulator and have it write to a shared folder on my hard disk. I'm gonna try and get WordPerfect set up so I can do something practical with it. I'm reminded so much of why I hated old school one button Mac mice though lol

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Possibly, I was eyeballing the LC III+ and LC 475 however since the max RAM is significantly higher. The 475 can run OS 8 as well but I'd want to be on System 7 for nostalgia though. It seems like the trick is hunting down the attachments, which I gather from this convo (and the other thread) are not worth the cost of shipping for most sellers.

 

Thanks for the app suggestions I will do some googling when I get off work and check them out. I've still got a chunk of change I want to dump into my Mini as well (more RAM, Mac keyboard & mighty mouse) so paying for shipping on an old computer monitor might not be a thing for a few months for me. Also got a space issue AFA setting up one of these things will go.

 

 

I use Mini vMac for 6.0.8, Basilisk II for 7.6.1 and Sheep Shaver for 9.0.4.

 

If you are still interested in going the hardware route, I would recommend trying to locate an LC III+ that still has it's FPU since that can help with performance. The LC 475 which does not contain a FPU. Another model that contains a "full" 040 CPU would be a better choice. I used to have a Centris 650 that I thought did very well on System 7.

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The wife made me throw out a number of scrap LCs (and similar) to make way for a couple Apple ///+ consoles. In retrospect it was a no-brainer. I had them in the 2nd storage room for at least 5 or 10 years and absolutely could not give them away. Lock stock boxes and all.

 

OUDT out!

 

It's a little disheartening at discovering how some items have a negative worth (you pay for someone to take it away).

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LC = low cost, not many want the no frills base model when they can pick up a loaded quadra

 

LC's have some redeeming qualities, even my LC2 has a 030 cpu in it which is enough to muddle though command line interface linux, and though I dont know about the LCIII the LC and LCII can use the apple II card, an entire apple //e on a card your mac can use... get one of those and have a twofer.

 

but you do get the "gotcha's" as well like my LCII with its 10 meg max ram limit, lack of expansion slots outside of 1 oddball one that like 4 things work on it, and more limited OS support.

 

As far as Power PC mac's supporting OS7, YES my 9600 (the last numbered power PC mac before the G3) supports 7.6 as its lowest OS, 7.6 hauls ASS with a 64mb Radieon 7000, 256mb ram and a 300Mhz CPU

 

BUT! its still a power PC, you have to run power PC compiled apps for it, 68k does not apply. Some programs were compiled as fat apps which contained code for both 68k and power PC, but outside of that you are back to emulation for non power PC software, then the 45lb beast is a snail

 

its funny to use my 9600 to install OS 7 or 7.5 on my old machines, cause after installing the hard disk, I got to boot to linux, and run Basilisk from there

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We had an LC475 and didn't use software at the time that really needed an FPU…. I remember having the Apple IIe card in it and 5 1/4 IIe drives plugged in because we still had a lot of stuff in AppleWorks.

 

Have no idea what happened to that system. I think it was eventually replaced by a PowerMac 8500… maybe there was something in between. Don't remember exactly.

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  • 6 years later...

Reminder:  If you have a Classic Macintosh, check/replace your CAPs!!!

(Of course, this goes for a lot of retro computers, but it is looking like those small aluminum smd caps that were used in a lot of the early 90's machines have a real leaking issue.)

I saw some horror stories on battery damage on the Mac Classic online, and couldn't remember when I checked mine last.

So I opened it up and checked and the battery was still OK.  Whew.

But as I checked around, I saw more and more info about leaking capacitors causing problems.

I looked and thought I saw some residue, so I ordered a CAP kit from Console5.

Removed the CAPs (side note: it was the first time I got to use my hot air station; that worked great for this!) and inspected.

OMG!! :(  One of them had leaked and corroded quite a bit underneath it.  Damaged the pad.   :( 

I cleaned it up and replaced all the caps, and the Mac is kind of working, but still problematic.

I am hoping I just need to clean it a bit more (as apparently the Mac Classic in particular seems to be really sensitive to leaking CAPs causing issues that get resolved just by washing the board).  Fingers crossed for this guy.

But just a heads up.  If you have't checked in a while, might be a good idea.

I was never a "replace the caps even if the computer appears to be working fine" kind of person, but I think I am now...

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On 3/9/2020 at 11:07 AM, desiv said:

I cleaned it up and replaced all the caps, and the Mac is kind of working, but still problematic.

I am hoping I just need to clean it a bit more (as apparently the Mac Classic in particular seems to be really sensitive to leaking CAPs causing issues that get resolved just by washing the board).  Fingers crossed for this guy.

OK, update...

At least for now, it seems to be better...  (Whew)

I pulled it out and tried cleaning it some more with isopropyl alcohol, but I still wasn't getting all of it I didn't think.

So I moved to really warm water and soap in the sink with a soft bristle brush.

Much better I thought, but as I was drying it, I still thought I saw some residue...

So I broke down and tried the dishwasher.

That appears to have gotten it really clean.

Then I dried it out with gravity, soft towel, and warm air...

And then I sat it in front of a fan for 12 hours.  Then I let it sit for another 12 hours. ;-)

And then I plugged it in and it appeared to work.

Added the memory card (without SIMMs, so just another meg) and it still appeared to work.

Added the two SIMMs to take my Classic to it's full 4M and it is still happy!

Ran it for a couple of hours with a couple of restarts.  Still happy.

Shut it off.  Ran an errand, came back and powered it up and its still happy.

Hoping I neutralized the corrosion, but at least for now it appears better.

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