[net.micro.mac] What to buy after a ROM upgrade?

dan@msdc.UUCP (Dan Forsyth) (07/03/86)

I just got the ROM and disk drive upgrade for my 512K Mac.  Like many others,
I find that I now have to deal with disks that won't read in my 400K drive if
I want to take advantage of the extra storage space.  So I have to rearrange
my whole way of doing things or buy more hardware.

I tried discussing the option of purchasing a "spare" 800K drive and putting
it in myself, but I couldn't get anywhere with the bozos running the store. 
(I couldn't tell if I was asking the bureaucratically difficult or merely the
incomprehensible.)  I've seen "close out" 10MB hard disks going as low as
$500, which even if they're only a little faster than a floppy, would seem
better than paying Apple's price for a whole new external drive.

Since I use the Mac mostly for keeping a family business' records and as a
semi-intelligent workstation, I don't know that it's really worth $1000 for
decent hard disk.  (Plus the fact, I'm toying with the idea of selling the
512K to "the business", and buying the "next generation" Mac and a hard disk
for my play toy.)  I don't really need 20MB of space, I mean the extra 400K
I just got seems like the "wide open spaces" to me.  (I administer a 10GB
data base at work; I guess it's all relative.)  But I might go for a drive
that I could use again later.

Anyway, what would all you folks who use your Macs for real work do in my
situation?  I'll appreciate any information you can give me and if I get
anything of general interest, I'll summarize & repost.
----
Dan Forsyth ({akgua,gatech,mcnc}!msdc!dan)
Medical Systems Development Corporation, Atlanta, GA

chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (07/04/86)

> I just got the ROM and disk drive upgrade for my 512K Mac.  Like many others,
> I find that I now have to deal with disks that won't read in my 400K drive if
> I want to take advantage of the extra storage space.

> I tried discussing the option of purchasing a "spare" 800K drive and putting
> it in myself

Not surprising.  It isn't a product, and I certainly wouldn't want to be
forced to support it, which if I sold it would be expected.

On the GOOD side, you can get 800K disk drives pretty cheaply.  ComputerWare
in Palo Alto has the DataSpace 800K for $219.  If you sell your old external
(I just did, so there is a market) you can get the 800K for a very small
differential, assuming your external is in good shape.

What I did, personally, was buy a hard disk BEFORE the ROM upgrade.  The
Paradise HD makes it trivial for me to run RAM HFS, so I'm on 5.3/3.2 and
the hard disk 20 software.  I don't have the speed advantages of the new
ROM, I don't have the 800K floppy, but frankly the only thing that kept
bumping into my work was running out of floppy, so this was the best
alternative.  After I upgrade the ROM, I'll get 2 Meg into MacDuff and
really be happy...

> Since I use the Mac mostly for keeping a family business' records and as a
> semi-intelligent workstation, I don't know that it's really worth $1000 for
> decent hard disk.

If all your looking for is a big floppy, try the Paradise.  It isn't as fast
as a SCSI, but it's MUCH faster than the 400K things.  Chances are 20 Meg is
overkill -- if you aren't sure you NEED a HD, you don't need it, so you can
get one for around $600.  You have no idea how much nicer a HD makes a Mac,
even a 'slow' and 'small' one.

-- 
:From the lofty realms of Castle Plaid:          Chuq Von Rospach 
chuq%plaid@sun.COM	FidoNet: 125/84		 CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid,seismo,ucbvax}!sun!plaid!chuq

Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be
the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table.
					-- The Anarchist Cookbook

bill@crystal.UUCP (Bill Cox) (07/07/86)

In article <4783@sun.uucp>, chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
> On the GOOD side, you can get 800K disk drives pretty cheaply.  ComputerWare
> in Palo Alto has the DataSpace 800K for $219.  If you sell your old external
> (I just did, so there is a market) you can get the 800K for a very small
> differential, assuming your external is in good shape.

So tell us, Chuqui, how much did you get for your 400K external?  around here
they seem to be usable mainly as doorstops.  There's been one listed in our
local (Madison, Wisconsin) paper for over two weeks.

Who bought or would buy a 400K external?  (I know, someone who isn't upgrading
to an Enhanced or Plus; where do/did you find them)

	bill

-- 
	William Cox
	Computer Sciences Department
	University of Wisconsin, Madison WI
	bill@crys.wisc.edu        {ihnp4,seismo,allegra}!uwvax!bill

phil@sivax.UUCP (07/08/86)

> In article <4783@sun.uucp>, chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
> > On the GOOD side, you can get 800K disk drives pretty cheaply.  ComputerWare
> > in Palo Alto has the DataSpace 800K for $219.  If you sell your old external
> > (I just did, so there is a market) you can get the 800K for a very small
> > differential, assuming your external is in good shape.
> So tell us, Chuqui, how much did you get for your 400K external?  around here
> they seem to be usable mainly as doorstops.  There's been one listed in our
> local (Madison, Wisconsin) paper for over two weeks.
>
> Who bought or would buy a 400K external?  (I know, someone who isn't upgrading
> to an Enhanced or Plus; where do/did you find them)
> 
Alot of people buy 400K externals, so they can be sure of running most old
software, some DID come out with disk speed control mods and such.  Also, an
old drive will STILL make a more reliable copy of some copy prot S/W using
Copy II mac, than a new one.

The best example is Ultima ///.  An old drive has no problems, a new one gives
'Overwrote beg. of track' errors on tracks 5?,6,7,8,9?.  The copy is still 
good, but the error obviously means SOMETHING didn't copy 100% right.

Phil Hunt
...ucbvax!calma!sivax!phil