[comp.sys.mac.hardware] Sick Little Mac Upgrade

dan@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Dan Schwarz) (03/17/90)

I have the opportunity to purchase, at a really cheap price ($50 or less)
a sick 128k Mac. Yeah, the original - 64k ROMs, 400k drive, etc.  It starts
up with a "sad mac" and an error code.  I don't have the old-ROM error code
reference, but it seems like there's a memory problem.  So, a few questions:

I'd like to upgrade this machine to minimum Mac-Plus capabilities (2mb RAM,
SCSI port, 128k ROM) for the lowest possible cost.

- If I keep the current motherboard, I'll probably have to desolder and
  replace all the RAM.  How tough is this? I've worked on circuit boards
  before, but never 4-layer motherboards.

- For SCSI and 2mb RAM, I'll have to go to aftermarket memory vendors like
  Dove.  How good are these products? Anyone got a used one they'd like
  to sell me?

- Then I'll have to get 128k ROMs.  This will probably cost quite a bit;
  hopefully after that's done I'll have a Mac-plus equivalent machine.

Would a Mac Plus upgrade kit be a better deal, once all those costs are
taken into account? I'm sure it would be more reliable.   However, I'm
not about to pay $600 for a new kit from Apple.  Anyone have one for
sale at a reasonable price?  Send mail if you do.  Thanks.

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