thompson@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu (02/26/89)
I recently presided over my sister's purchase of a purported Mac 512 KE, used (for $800). It was in very good condition, and I sat down and ran a few things to make sure it worked. Mouse looked fine, etc. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about that particular halfbreed, and have few questions: 1. How can I tell if it's truly a 512 KE? I checked its memory under "About the Finder", and it showed 512K, but how do I know it's not a "Fat Mac"? 2. How can I tell if its drive is double-sided? I put in a double-sided disk, and ran a program from it, but is this guarantee that the disk drive is double sided? How can I tell theoretically, without use of a DS disk? 3. After some consideration, I told my sister a Mac 512 KE seemed to me to be basically a Mac Plus with only half the memory. Was I right, or are there other differences? 4. What is the last version of System/Finder allowed on a 512 KE? How can I find out? Is there a Switcher version for it? 5. Will programs in general work? Say, Word 3.x? Or will it require *really* old programs? Does it have the new ROMS? (will programs which require those traps, but don't assume a System number, work?) 6. (relatively unrelated) Is there a way to hook up an Epson printer to the Mac? Does Epson make drivers? Does anyone else? Thanks in advance, - Mark Thompson "The University Neither Knows Nor Death is Nothing More Than a State Cares What I Am Saying." of Decay University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
jcocon@hubcap.clemson.edu (James C O'Connor III, 2846) (02/28/89)
From article <46700105@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu>, by thompson@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu: > 1. How can I tell if it's truly a 512 KE? I checked its memory under "About the Finder", and it showed 512K, but how do I know it's not a "Fat Mac"? If it can read a disk which has more than 400K (779K actually) it is a 512Ke. > 2. How can I tell if its drive is double-sided? I put in a double-sided disk, and ran a program from it, but is this guarantee that the disk See answer 1. > 3. After some consideration, I told my sister a Mac 512 KE seemed to me to be basically a Mac Plus with only half the memory. Was I right, or are there other differences? 512Ke doesn't have a SCSI port (you can add one for under 150$), and you may have old MacPlus ROMS. (there seem to be two versions) > 5. Will programs in general work? Say, Word 3.x? Or will it require *really* old programs? Does it have the new ROMS? (will programs which require those traps, but don't assume a System number, work?) My sister has a 512Ke (originally a 128), and except for the obvious memory limitations it runs stuff fine.
dorourke@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (David M. O'Rourke) (03/01/89)
In article <46700105@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu> thompson@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu writes: >1. How can I tell if it's truly a 512 KE? I checked its memory under > "About the Finder", and it showed 512K, but how do I know it's not a > "Fat Mac"? It might be a non Apple 512K, but I doubt it. If it were non-Apple then it would have never made it to being a 512Ke. "Fat Mac" was slang for the 512K. >2. How can I tell if its drive is double-sided? I put in a double-sided > disk, and ran a program from it, but is this guarantee that the disk If you put an 800K disk in the drive an ran a program from it then it is a double sided Drive. There is no way for an older Macintosh with only 400K drives to use the newer 800K format. So the answer to your question is yes!! >3. After some consideration, I told my sister a Mac 512 KE seemed to me > to be basically a Mac Plus with only half the memory. Was I right, > or are there other differences? Almost, the 512Ke doesn't have a SCSI port, and it might/might-not have the newer clock chip. Either way if all you want to do is run some of the smaller Mac programs this shouldn't present a Problem. If you ever do need a SCSI port dove offers a functional upgrade that seems to work very well. >4. What is the last version of System/Finder allowed on a 512 KE? How can > I find out? Is there a Switcher version for it? I believe it's system 3.2 and finder 5.3 {but I could be wrong}, most of the systems after that start chewing up memory and Disk space like you wouldn't believe. >5. Will programs in general work? Say, Word 3.x? Or will it require > *really* old programs? Does it have the new ROMS? (will programs > which require those traps, but don't assume a System number, work?) Well it doesn't have the "new" ROMS, new ROMS being the 256K/512K roms in Apple's new stuff. But yes it does have the Macintosh + 128K roms which are generally called the "new roms". As far as software I don't really know. Most of the stuff these days really does require either 6.0 or at least 5.0, so where software is concerned you'll just have to try it. >6. (relatively unrelated) Is there a way to hook up an Epson printer to > the Mac? Does Epson make drivers? Does anyone else? I would recommend the Grappler LS, this is a serial-->parrallel converter that also does imageWriter--->Epson code conversions. It works rather well and allows you to use the ImageWriter driver and the macintosh, and makes all of the conversions at the printer in it's own hardware. If you look in any of the Macintosh Magazines under "orange micro" you'll find their product. >Thanks in advance, Hope this helps. -- David M. O'Rourke dorourke@polyslo.calpoly.edu It's only 1's & 0's, so how difficult can Computer Science be? ===============================================================================
twakeman@hpcea.CE.HP.COM (Teriann Wakeman) (03/02/89)
The windows in a 512KE have a box on the right side of the top bar. Press it,
& the window grows to fill the screen. Press it again & it goes back to its
previous size. The 64K ROM "fat Mac" does not have this grow box. Also, a
64K ROM machine canot read nor format a 800K disc {the only exception
being old external 800K disc drives designed to work with 64K ROM machines,
this does not change internal drive's capabilities though}
The 512KE does not have a SCSI port, no big deal if you don't use an external
disc drive {except I highly recomend one, makes it a completely different
machine feel wise}. Add on SCSI drives can be had, and come cheaper when
included with a 512K too 1 meg RAM upgrade {Dove is a good brand for an
upgrade}.
A 512K will run anything that a Mac+ or SE will that will run on 512K of RAM.
This includes most paint, draw, wordprocessor {esp MacWrite 4.? & WriteNow}
most page processing applications, many spread sheet & database applications
& most games. The box will tell you how much RAM it needs. Many newer
applications &upgrades of several oldies require 1 mag or more but there is
a lot out there that a 512K can handle, & they just aren't oldie mouldies.
$800 seems high for a 512KE. That is pushing used Mac+ prices.
I figure a ligit price for a 512E would be slightly less then the price of
a used Mac+ minus the price of a Dove 1Meg & SCSI upgrade.
Good Luck,
TeriAnnjohnw@reed.UUCP (John B. Windberg) (03/07/89)
Can someone tell me about 512KE upgrades. I noticed the name Dove.
Which is better/.cheaper etc. We need 1 meg and a scsi upgrade.
I used a 512 to plus "equivalent" once, but Adobe Illustrator wouldn't
run. I would like to avoid this problem.
Thanks in advance..
--
_ _ Duh! | Default Option
O/.V.\O / johnw@reed (John B. Windberg) | Troubleshooting -
/ ^ \ 535 SE 28th #13 | Computer Consultation
\__U__/ Portland, Oregon 97202 | (503) 234-7227chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (03/09/89)
>Can someone tell me about 512KE upgrades. I noticed the name Dove. >Which is better/.cheaper etc. We need 1 meg and a scsi upgrade. >I used a 512 to plus "equivalent" once, but Adobe Illustrator wouldn't >run. I would like to avoid this problem. I own two upgraded 512Ke's, both with the Dove 2Meg upgrade + SCSI (part number 548s). Generally, I really like them. They install relatively easy -- the first one took about two hours, the second about an hour. You have to be careful, because one step might require modification of a board with an X-acto knife depending on your motherboard, and if you aren't careful you can damage things. If you aren't comfortable hacking with boards and sticking your hands into places with voltages, I'd probably find someone to install it for you. One of the machines has been completely stable for as long as I've had the upgrade. Rock solid, no problems or glitches. The second has had some intermittent glitches -- nothing serious, but every so often if goes wonkers. When it does, pulling it open and reseating the daughter boards makes it go away again. I find that going in and reseating it every couple of months keeps life happy. This board just doesn't seem to sit as strongly for some reason. The upgrades run hot. Hot enough that the top of the Mac is untouchable unless you run a fan. Both of my mac's have Kesington's on them -- I consider a fan of some sort required if you want a Dove board. The Dove board is cheaper -- I bought mine for something like 400-450 from MacConnection. The Apple MacPlus upgrade is more ($700ish), but you've got SIMM slots and can eventually take the Plus to 4 meg if you want. Also, the Dove board runs the SCSI port across the front of the battery port, so access to the battery is a royal pain. Also, the cable from the SCSI board to the port is too short -- and makes assembling and dis-assembling a real hassle. The *only* compatibility problem I've had is with System 6.0.2 -- neither the sound manager nor the Map CDEV work properly without the extended pram. There are INITs to patch both compatibilities, or you can live without them (neither is what I'd call a major hassle). What I recommend depends on your budget. If money is really, really tight, buy the Dove upgrade. It's cheaper, but it is also a dead-end technologically. You can't go beyond 2 Meg of memory. If it fails or you have problems, finding service may be a problem (of course, neither of my boards have failed. Neither have my systems, though, and if the Dove board is causing something on the motherboard to fail, it could become a very expensive proposition). If money isn't as big a problem, I'd go with the Mac Plus upgrade. It costs a little more, but there are fewer potential compatibility issues, you don't need to worry about finger pointing if the system fails (and you can get it repaired at a single location, which isn't necessariyl true with a Dove upgrade), it'll run cooler (although I definitely recommend a fan anyway) and you're less likely to run into future compatibility problems. If I were to do it today, I'd go the MacPlus upgrade, even though I'm happy with my Dove boards -- because I really want more than 2 Meg of memory, and there's no way I can get it. When I bought the Dove boards, I figured that two meg would keep me for a long time. I was wrong. Buying the MacPlus upgrade would have saved me having to buy upgrades twice -- once to the Dove and again to the MacPlus to allow more memory.
ostroff@oswego.Oswego.EDU (Boyd Ostroff) (03/09/89)
>The Dove board is cheaper -- I bought mine for something like 400-450 from >MacConnection. The Apple MacPlus upgrade is more ($700ish), but you've got >SIMM slots and can eventually take the Plus to 4 meg if you want. > > (stuff deleted) > >If money isn't as big a problem, I'd go with the Mac Plus upgrade. It costs >a little more, but there are fewer potential compatibility issues, you don't If money isn't as big a problem, buy a new Mac Plus. I have a 512KE myself, and I would seriously question investing in any upgrade for this 3-year old machine. The Dove option is a possibility, but there are power supply problems to consider - replacing a blown board could make the whole deal look a lot worse. Regarding the Apple upgrade, I don't think it makes any sense from a financial point of view. If I *sell* my 512KE for $700, I can buy a *new* mac plus for $1150 at University discount prices - that gives me a new, warrantied machine for about $450, not a 3-year old hacked up machine for $700. Even at the "street price" of $1350 or so, you could sell your 512KE for $650 and still have a new mac plus for the same price as the $700 upgrade. ....Just one man's opinion :-) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Boyd Ostroff, Technical Director :::::: System Operator, "The CallBoard" ::: :::: Dept of Theatre, SUNY Oswego ::::::: (315) 947-6414 300/1200/2400 baud ::: ::::: ostroff@oswego.Oswego.EDU :::::::: rutgers!sunybcs!oswego!cboard!sysop :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::