powers@jade.wbst128.xerox.com (Mike Powers (temp)) (12/11/89)
Hi all.... A friend of mine has a Mac 512 sitting around collecting dust. I have been hunting around for a cheapo Mac to do some writing. I keep fairly well informed through the Mac rags, some Apple friends, and reading here but I'm still a bit fuzzy on what I can 'eke out of a 512 these days. A Plus upgrade is out since it brings the prices up to what I can get a new Plus for (gotta love that Apple upgrade plan :). Barring that, what can/cannot be done? o Memory upgrades? o What is the most recent system it can handle? o Will the latest in MacWrite, MacDraw, etc work? o How about printers, does it deal with the IW II? o anything else I should ponder? Thanks Mike Powers note: try powers.roch803@xerox.com if the above address fails
ostroff@penelope.oswego.edu (Boyd Ostroff) (12/13/89)
In article <274@spot.wbst128.xerox.com> powers@jade.UUCP (Mike Powers) writes: > > A friend of mine has a Mac 512 sitting around collecting dust. I >have been hunting around for a cheapo Mac to do some writing. : : >what can/cannot be done? > > o What is the most recent system it can handle? System 3.2 / Finder 5.3. When used with the "Hard Disk 20" program supplied with that release, you will have (buggy) RAM-based HFS, which will allow you to hook up an external 800K drive or (old) Hard Disk 20. > o Will the latest in MacWrite, MacDraw, etc work? MacDraw II needs a least 1 MB of memory, (and I suspect the new ROMS also). Older versions of MacDraw will work. According the the manual "MacWrite 5.0 works on any Macintosh except the 128K". Don't know about MacWrite II... > o How about printers, does it deal with the IW II? It should, with the appropriate version of the driver... > o anything else I should ponder? The upgrade to a 512KE used to be about $300, and maybe worth it for you, since you would get more compatibility (128K ROMs, 800K internal drive). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boyd Ostroff, Technical Director ||||||| System Administrator, "The CallBoard" Theatre Department, SUNY Oswego ||||||| Serving the performing arts since 1986 (315) 341-2987 ||||||| (315) 947-6414 300/1200/2400 baud 8N1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ostroff@oswego.Oswego.EDU ...!rutgers!rochester!kodak!gizzmo!cboard!ostroff
straka@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (richard.j.straka) (12/20/89)
In article <1989Dec12.182313.15424@oswego.Oswego.EDU> ostroff@penelope.oswego.edu (Boyd Ostroff) writes: >In article <274@spot.wbst128.xerox.com> powers@jade.UUCP (Mike Powers) writes: >> >> A friend of mine has a Mac 512 sitting around collecting dust. I >>have been hunting around for a cheapo Mac to do some writing. (about how to make good use of a 512K Mac) > >The upgrade to a 512KE used to be about $300, and maybe worth it for you, >since you would get more compatibility (128K ROMs, 800K internal drive). I have one of the original Macs (5-1/2 years old), and have converted it from: 1) 128K to 512K using the "Dr. Dobbs article". A lot of chip cutting and a little bit of "white wire". 2) from 512K to 512KE using the Apple Disk/ROM upgrade (~$250) 3) from 512KE to 1024KE using piggybacked (soldered) RAM chips and a little bit more white wire. This is not as scary as it might seem. 4) 1024KE to 1024KE+SCSI (Effectively a Mac Plus that can't go beyond 1MB) using a SuperMac SCSI board (Dove would do the job, too) for ~$80. It's been running like a champ ever since, although I could use more memory, a faster processor, a bigger screen, ... ... ... But it fit my budget! MacEnvy thinks that it is a real Mac Plus with one exception: the old clock chip, which is no real problem anyway. To go from 512K to 1024KE+SCSI, you need ~$350-400, and some hardware hacking. (not without risk (and certainly not for the faint of heart), but the mods are pretty easily reversible) I can supply a MacPaint file with the schematic, plus a text file with some hints and caveats. I received these ideas from a fellow netter, Mike Ching, of AMD quite a while ago (~2 years). If I get enough requests (I doubt it), I'll consider posting the files. HAPPY (hardware) HACKING!!! -- Rich Straka att!ihlpf!straka MSDOS: All the wonderfully arcane syntax of UNIX(R), but without the power.