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Operating System Specific Discussions => Other Operating Systems => Topic started by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 07:01:26 PM

Title: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 07:01:26 PM
I finally did the un-imaginable and got a PowerMac. Spotted it in a local shop (Cash Generators) at a small (ish) sum of £39.95. As I have only put a deposit down as I have yet to collect it so detail is a little vague but looking at it, i'd guess it's an early - mid 90's one. It had PowerPC stamped on it and the model was a 4 digit number with a /60 on the end. As soon as I get it I will upload pictures of it.
It seems to have yellowed a tad but it is complete with monitor, keyboard and mouse.

P.s. Secret confession: Never really liked Macs that much but have always admired ones pre late 90's. :o
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Boudicca on September 11, 2009, 07:27:37 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;522743
I finally did the un-imaginable and got a PowerMac. Spotted it in a local shop (Cash Generators) at a small (ish) sum of £39.95. As I have only put a deposit down as I have yet to collect it so detail is a little vague but looking at it, i'd guess it's an early - mid 90's one. It had PowerPC stamped on it and the model was a 4 digit number with a /60 on the end. As soon as I get it I will upload pictures of it.
It seems to have yellowed a tad but it is complete with monitor, keyboard and mouse.

P.s. Secret confession: Never really liked Macs that much but have always admired ones pre late 90's. :o


@ 40 quid, Cash Converters saw you coming.

I've got a Macintosh Plus, Imac G3, G4 and PowerMac AGP0 and  all yours for only 999.99 pounds.

Interested ?
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tone007 on September 11, 2009, 07:34:18 PM
Wow, I threw out a nicer one than that a couple weeks ago.  OS8 and 9 aren't good for much these days.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Zac67 on September 11, 2009, 07:50:00 PM
Got a 9500 (first PCI one) for free, upgraded it with a G4/1000, ~800 MB RAM and an 18 Gig HDD and it's now running Tiger.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: amigadave on September 11, 2009, 07:54:41 PM
Why???
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Nostalgiac on September 11, 2009, 08:03:03 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;522743
the model was a 4 digit number with a /60 on the end.


oops.. can only be one model, the 6100/60

The absolutely 1st ever PPC model (ever)... very shortly afterwards replaced by the /66 (Mhz)

congrats & oops.... 1ste ever and slowest ever PPC model:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac/stats/powermac_6100_60.html

(or one of its variants)

I was the lucky user of a 6100/66 :-) it did beat the crap out of my 486/66

Tom UK
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 08:13:14 PM
Threw out better ones, bargen bacement???... I'm not fussed really, it's a first one for me and in good condition plus there's not often on eBay at resonable money. I think it might be a 60Mhz OS7 one but maybe it can be upgraded? Any light on that subject?
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Boudicca on September 11, 2009, 08:15:55 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;522761
Threw out better ones, bargen bacement???... I'm not fussed really, it's a first one for me and in good condition plus there's not often on eBay at resonable money. I think it might be a 60Mhz OS7 one but maybe it can be upgraded? Any light on that subject?

Stick Mac on the end of your signature if your going to put miggies you might as well add macs ;)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 08:57:26 PM
Quote from: Boudicca;522763
Stick Mac on the end of your signature if your going to put miggies you might as well add macs ;)


I may just do that, thanks! Will get more info before I do though.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Crom00 on September 11, 2009, 09:03:52 PM
The problem with retro PPC or 68k macs is that the experience doesn't match amiga. I ususally find myself having to go up one generation on hardware and down one generation on software:

For example:
A PPC 8500 with 128 megs running 8.1 and Photoshop 4 is nice. Marathon plays nice, dark forces. But an Amiga with a GFX card is better in my opinion. With an 060 and Fusion Mac I was really impressed with the functionality of a 128 meg Phase 5 060 card. Switching back and forth using CGFX was great. Really impressed PC and Mac afficionados up till 1999 with this setup.

I recently took the 8500 apart as it was totally worthless.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: beller on September 11, 2009, 09:12:13 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;522761
Threw out better ones, bargen bacement???... I'm not fussed really, it's a first one for me and in good condition plus there's not often on eBay at resonable money. I think it might be a 60Mhz OS7 one but maybe it can be upgraded? Any light on that subject?


I found the following on lowendmac.com  I think you should be able to upgrade to OS 9...

Overview

The 6100/60 was the entry-level Power Mac
when Apple introduced the line in March 1994. Built into the Quadra 610 case, the 6100 contains a PDS which can be converted to a NuBus slot with an adapter. To save money, the 6100 uses RAM for video (up to 615 KB, depending on resolution and bit-depth), not separate VRAM. Thus, one way to improve performance is to add a video card, either Apple AV card or a third-party one. (This also makes it possible to run two monitors.) Another is to add a 1 MB level 2 cache, as noted on our benchmark page. More details at PowerMac 6100 Graphics Performance.

The 6100 was upgraded to 66 MHz in January 1995.

See our NuBus Video Card Guide for information on adding a NuBus video card, which will also require a NuBus adapter.

Variants

6100av. Includes video-in and video-out. Supports 19" and 21" monitors. Has 2 MB VRAM. (AV card can be added to any 6100 with a free PDS slot.)

6100 DOS compatible. Card includes a 66 MHz 486DX2 CPU, SVGA output, and a single SIMM slot supporting up to 32 MB RAM. DOS card can share RAM with Macintosh, which is slower, or use its own memory. (DOS Compatibility Card can be added to any 6100 with a free PDS slot.)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 09:16:28 PM
Quote from: beller;522769
I found the following on lowendmac.com  I think you should be able to upgrade to OS 9...

Overview

The 6100/60 was the entry-level Power Mac
when Apple introduced the line in March 1994. Built into the Quadra 610 case, the 6100 contains a PDS which can be converted to a NuBus slot with an adapter. To save money, the 6100 uses RAM for video (up to 615 KB, depending on resolution and bit-depth), not separate VRAM. Thus, one way to improve performance is to add a video card, either Apple AV card or a third-party one. (This also makes it possible to run two monitors.) Another is to add a 1 MB level 2 cache, as noted on our benchmark page. More details at PowerMac 6100 Graphics Performance.

The 6100 was upgraded to 66 MHz in January 1995.

See our NuBus Video Card Guide for information on adding a NuBus video card, which will also require a NuBus adapter.

Variants

6100av. Includes video-in and video-out. Supports 19" and 21" monitors. Has 2 MB VRAM. (AV card can be added to any 6100 with a free PDS slot.)

6100 DOS compatible. Card includes a 66 MHz 486DX2 CPU, SVGA output, and a single SIMM slot supporting up to 32 MB RAM. DOS card can share RAM with Macintosh, which is slower, or use its own memory. (DOS Compatibility Card can be added to any 6100 with a free PDS slot.)


Ah great so it's not all doom and gloom, I bet the hardware is expensive nowerdays...
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: amigadave on September 11, 2009, 09:17:25 PM
I am sorry to say this, but I would get your money back.  You could get much better for free, or very little money more.  The model you are getting was reviewed as being slower than the fastest 68040 Macs that preceded it at many tasks.  You could probably run MacOS7 faster on an Amiga with ShapeShifter, or Emplant, or Fusion and a 68060/50MHz than your 60MHz PPC Mac.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 09:28:54 PM
Truth be told iv been looking for one like this for ages but they have usually been out of my league or not even for sale. I still dont really know the exact spec or the internal hardware as yet.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: persia on September 11, 2009, 10:03:07 PM
I had a power mac, left it by the kerb side hoping somebody would take it, no one did, so I left it by an OP-shop after they closed....
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: spirantho on September 11, 2009, 10:16:17 PM
@tokyoracer

Despite what everybody else seems to say, I say nice score!

OK, so it's slow. Who cares? You're not going to be rendering stuff on it. So it can only run old MacOS? Again, so what? If you happen to want to run old software then that's all you need.

What does £40 buy you these days? Not a great deal. About 15 pints down the local, maybe.

I find it kind of ironic that everybody on an Amiga forum seems not to understand the appeal of picking up old, slow, obsolete hardware....
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 11, 2009, 10:50:30 PM
Quote from: persia;522775
I had a power mac, left it by the kerb side hoping somebody would take it, no one did, so I left it by an OP-shop after they closed....


Wow thanks guys for making me feel great about my find. :(

Quote from: spirantho;522778
@tokyoracer

Despite what everybody else seems to say, I say nice score!

OK, so it's slow. Who cares? You're not going to be rendering stuff on it. So it can only run old MacOS? Again, so what? If you happen to want to run old software then that's all you need.

What does £40 buy you these days? Not a great deal. About 15 pints down the local, maybe.

I find it kind of ironic that everybody on an Amiga forum seems not to understand the appeal of picking up old, slow, obsolete hardware....

Thanks, though if I did research it more I may have decided against it. Sadly I know little about Apple products.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Boudicca on September 11, 2009, 11:00:17 PM
Quote from: spirantho;522778
@tokyoracer
I find it kind of ironic that everybody on an Amiga forum seems not to understand the appeal of picking up old, slow, obsolete hardware....


Its has to be the "Right Kind" of Old, Slow and obsolete hardware.
(There's snobbery in the antique computers trade u know, where there is a better class of junk) ;)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: recidivist on September 12, 2009, 12:55:01 AM
Gosh,I better jump in here and make you feel better!

The Cincinnati Ohio craigslist has a nice  Mac IIsi system for $300!!!
And someone  has been trying to peddle a older PowerMac set for $650,now down to $160 after several months.

 But IMac crt models appear fairly regularly for $20 to $150!
 I have  a PowerMac 8xxx picked up at  a summer hamfest for $1,and  several "pizza box" PM  for $1 or less.Including one  that was once used at  Compuserve customer service.
Then again my Lime /DVD cost $1000 plus  new .
 
 Two thoughts:is it worth 40 quid to YOU?

                     Throw away a working computer(radio,car,frisbee)????Oh the horror.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: amigadave on September 12, 2009, 01:03:26 AM
Did not mean to make you feel bad, but I think you could find a much better "Old Mac", or old "any computer" for $66.75 U.S., or 40£ (or is that £40).

If you COULD get your money back, I am sure you could find a much better old Mac to play with, but if you can't, well then enjoy what you are getting.

I understand the enjoyment of messing around with old Mac programs and the OS itself.  I used to spend hours on my A2000 w/030 and 386sx Bridgeboard running MS-DOS6.22, MacOS7.5.5 and AmigaDOS3.1 all at the same time.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: smerf on September 12, 2009, 06:35:00 AM
Hi,

I would rather have spent my money on a old Radio Shaft Coco then buy a Mac, but then again I hate Apple computers. Come to think about it the old TRS-80 was probably a better computer. Personnally I wouldn't take a Mac if they gave it to me I don't have enough desk space to waste on any Apple product. The reason they don't make virus's for Apple owners is because most virus makers feel sorry for them because they don't consider it a real computer.

smerf

Sorry I tells it like it is.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: cpfuture on September 12, 2009, 07:41:19 AM
Quote from: smerf;522802
Hi,

The reason they don't make virus's for Apple owners is because most virus makers feel sorry for them because they don't consider it a real computer.

smerf

Sorry I tells it like it is.


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: inquisitiv on September 12, 2009, 08:39:42 AM
I got a 7200/120Mhz mac and recently purchased a G3 400Mhz/1M CPU upgrade (works with the 7200/7215/8200/ WGS 7250) - heh its my MIDI Mac (well wannabe - because I have yet used it - been busy with other stuff).

Btw, I am about to sell my iMac G3 all in one 500Mhz with 1gig of RAM / OSX 10.3 / OS9.2 dual boot if someone is interested $100 plus shipping (only USA), and will probably sell my A2500 too - but that is a different post.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Zac67 on September 12, 2009, 08:44:41 AM
Sonnett (http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_nubus.html) still offers CPU upgrades at very reasonable prices for the 6100 if you decide to go with it.
(I'd favor an 8500 or 9500 because they've got PCI and are better to expand, but that depends on what you're up to.)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 13, 2009, 01:34:01 AM
Quote from: Zac67;522808
Sonnett (http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_nubus.html) still offers CPU upgrades at very reasonable prices for the 6100 if you decide to go with it.
(I'd favor an 8500 or 9500 because they've got PCI and are better to expand, but that depends on what you're up to.)

Thanks for that link! I belive it may be an 8000 series but I have still yet to pick it up and it's Sunday tomo.... well now actually. Hopefully monday all will be revealed. :)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: CountRaven on September 13, 2009, 09:10:45 AM
Hot a PowerMac G4 PowerPC and a Mac Mini PowerPC. I love em all.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: persia on September 14, 2009, 03:24:46 AM
I guess I don't put much value in Classic Mac OS.  The best days of the Amiga are in the past, the best days of the Mac are still to come.  Because of that most Mac folks just aren't into retro, at least of the Mac platform...
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: amigadave on September 14, 2009, 04:18:33 AM
I have been interested in getting older Macs just to use the cases for other purposes.  That funny looking iMac that came out right after the colored CRT models, you know the first LCD models, would make a great case to put a MiniMig, or FPGArcade into with tons of room to spare.  Turning the old colored CRT Mac into an aquarium, like the one someone made out of an original Mac model.  Just a couple of ideas for old Mac computers that I have thought of in the past, but may never do anything about.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: marcfrick2112 on September 14, 2009, 05:24:10 AM
Hey tokyoracer, I say if you enjoy the Mac, more power to you!
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: marcfrick2112 on September 14, 2009, 05:28:01 AM
Hey tokyoracer, I say if you enjoy the Mac, more power to you!

I actually enjoy my 2 Mattel Aquariuses (Aquarii?) So, if I can have that horrible machine, you can certainly have your older Mac... :roflmao:
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: recidivist on September 14, 2009, 07:04:52 AM
toykyo racer,

 I hope for your sake it IS a 8100 or better..

 Go to  lowendmac.com

 Loads of good info  to get you started.
 And unless you're in love with whatever model it turns out  to be at the cash store;DON"T spend loads on upgrading it ;olde Apples PowerMacs  aren't worth much,you might well  find an entire  G3 for the price of an upgrade  card.Certain classic models have more capability and cheaper expandibility.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: recidivist on September 14, 2009, 07:42:08 AM
Just checked eBay and tokyoracer's  40 quid isn't bad compared to current listing for a 6100/60(gotta love the one wanting $150 buy it now.)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Daedalus on September 14, 2009, 08:38:31 AM
I think that with things advancing much more slowly in the Amiga world, retro Amigas are more useful than the equivalent Mac. I have one of those machines, with OS8 and it's so slow it's unbearable, especially running 68k stuff, whereas my A1200/060/Voodoo3 feels an order of magnitude faster in everyday use. The Mac just feels so much more antiquated...

I recently picked up an iBook G4 1.33GHz for *nothing*. Granted, it wasn't working due to spilled coffee, but I cleaned it out and treated it to a new keyboard (€23 on eBay) and it's perfect now running Tiger. Not bad!!
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 14, 2009, 04:43:01 PM
Ok I have it now... Thought it may have been an 8000 series but its a 6000 (6100/60 to be precice)... Though I will hunt for upgrades (and yes I know now i've been had but I got it now...).
Straight away I have encounterd a problem which is rather simple and possibly retarded if I have forgotten something obvious. I have plugged it all in and switched it on, the Hard Disk sounds healthy, there is a sound from boot up but there is no picture on the monitor what-so-ever. The monitor powers up ok (or it seems to) with a green LED light. Also theres no lights that appear on the keyboard if I press the 'lock' keys.
Any help would be really apriciated.

P.s. Sorry I have no pictures, lost the cable for the digital camera but a new one is on it's way via fleaBay.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Daedalus on September 14, 2009, 04:46:56 PM
I wouldn't think you were really had - it's only £40, and I've paid much more than that just to try certain unusual gear out... As for the monitor, do you have another monitor you can try? The cable on those Apple monitors actually takes a standard SVGA-in, but the output of the machine is the custom Apple connector. A simple SVGA cable will let you try the monitor on a PC or any other machine with a standard video out.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 14, 2009, 04:51:22 PM
Quote from: Daedalus;523002
I wouldn't think you were really had - it's only £40, and I've paid much more than that just to try certain unusual gear out... As for the monitor, do you have another monitor you can try? The cable on those Apple monitors actually takes a standard SVGA-in, but the output of the machine is the custom Apple connector. A simple SVGA cable will let you try the monitor on a PC or any other machine with a standard video out.

Yeah I got a Sony Multiscan E500 that uses VGA or SVGA (one or the other). But all the cables I have don't seem to supply a VGA type connector. The monitor given is an official Apple item.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Floid on September 14, 2009, 06:05:01 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;523001
Ok I have it now... Thought it may have been an 8000 series but its a 6000 (6100/60 to be precice)... Though I will hunt for upgrades (and yes I know now i've been had but I got it now...).
Straight away I have encounterd a problem which is rather simple and possibly retarded if I have forgotten something obvious. I have plugged it all in and switched it on, the Hard Disk sounds healthy, there is a sound from boot up but there is no picture on the monitor what-so-ever. The monitor powers up ok (or it seems to) with a green LED light. Also theres no lights that appear on the keyboard if I press the 'lock' keys.
Any help would be really apriciated.

P.s. Sorry I have no pictures, lost the cable for the digital camera but a new one is on it's way via fleaBay.

Quick guess, at work and haven't looked up any details on this model, but given mention of the framebuffer...  Checked inside to see if someone pulled all the RAM?  Most valuable part of the machine back when we things could be $100/MB.    Edit: Because IIRC most models could still 'bing' without the RAM (who knows how much money they spent on that feature?) ... and second guess would be to try the usual Command-Opt-P-R trick or whatever the "parameter RAM" reset is for that model.

Old Macs (and even PPC is old, now) are interesting as far as the Classic OS being... sufficiently different, but they're not all that fun, since they're all basically just a CPU hooked up to a framebuffer... very expensive pizza boxes, sorta... but almost everything was back then.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 14, 2009, 06:35:47 PM
Quote from: Floid;523010
Quick guess, at work and haven't looked up any details on this model, but given mention of the framebuffer...  Checked inside to see if someone pulled all the RAM?  Most valuable part of the machine back when we things could be $100/MB.    Edit: Because IIRC most models could still 'bing' without the RAM (who knows how much money they spent on that feature?) ... and second guess would be to try the usual Command-Opt-P-R trick or whatever the "parameter RAM" reset is for that model.

Old Macs (and even PPC is old, now) are interesting as far as the Classic OS being... sufficiently different, but they're not all that fun, since they're all basically just a CPU hooked up to a framebuffer... very expensive pizza boxes, sorta... but almost everything was back then.

No there is RAM located in the 2 slots in the middle of the motherboard (both are used) and there is 2 slots on the left hand side of the motherboard (of which 1 is free).
As for the Command-Opt-P-R trick", sorry if im being a bit thick here but if thats a keyboard input then im not sure were them keys are.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: recidivist on September 14, 2009, 06:40:04 PM
If it has no picture at all,return it ;unless you bought it completely as-is AND didn't try it out  first.
 In that case,you may REALLY have been had.
 Recheck your connections,make sure both monitor and cpu power switches on,etc.
 The computer itself should make a musical sound if ok on startup,the sound of breaking glass if not.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Zac67 on September 14, 2009, 06:44:51 PM
Take a look here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_keyboard#Layout) and here (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343). ;)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 14, 2009, 06:54:26 PM
Quote from: recidivist;523015
If it has no picture at all,return it ;unless you bought it completely as-is AND didn't try it out  first.
 In that case,you may REALLY have been had.
 Recheck your connections,make sure both monitor and cpu power switches on,etc.
 The computer itself should make a musical sound if ok on startup,the sound of breaking glass if not.

The sound it makes is defernately not breaking glass, a chord sound of some sort. Preferbly if it is the monitor at fault then i'd rather hold onto it even if it was a bit of a rip-off.

Quote from: Zac67;523017
Take a look here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_keyboard#Layout) and here (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343). ;)

Thanks for that! I done exacly that upon boot-up but nothing sadly. :(
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Wayne on September 14, 2009, 07:22:18 PM
Quote from: smerf;522802
Hi,
Sorry I tells it like it is.

See?  Here's what I don't understand.  I'll accept the fact you feel the way you do about Apple computers, though I don't understand why.

What I don't get is why you feel the need to jump into a thread which is about a community member getting their first Mac (and presumably enjoying it) then spooging all over their enjoyment for the sake of making yourself feel better.

There's no reason for you to be in this thread at all, because no one in this thread invited negative (and pointless) opinions.

Besides, most real Amiga users went Mac years ago.

Wayne
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: amigadave on September 14, 2009, 07:54:25 PM
Quote from: Daedalus;522961
I think that with things advancing much more slowly in the Amiga world, retro Amigas are more useful than the equivalent Mac. I have one of those machines, with OS8 and it's so slow it's unbearable, especially running 68k stuff, whereas my A1200/060/Voodoo3 feels an order of magnitude faster in everyday use. The Mac just feels so much more antiquated...

I recently picked up an iBook G4 1.33GHz for *nothing*. Granted, it wasn't working due to spilled coffee, but I cleaned it out and treated it to a new keyboard (€23 on eBay) and it's perfect now running Tiger. Not bad!!

Nice score Daedalus!  Can't beat free for old gear and if you are lucky and interested in running MorphOS, there is a chance that that G4 iBook has very nearly the same hardware as the G4 MacMini and you might be able to run the next version of MorphOS on it some day.  One of the MorphOS Dev Team members has already booted a work in progress on a G4 PowerBook, but they have not promised that they will be completing any version except the one for the G4 MacMini.

@Wayne,

Totally agree with your comments 100%.  I am at least partly guilty of jumping into this thread with a negative comment, but it was meant to be constructive help, just in case the OP could get his money back and spend it on another old Mac that would be more enjoyable for him in the long run.  I remember when the first PPC Macs came out and many Mac users were very disappointed that they could not run their existing 68k programs as fast as they did on their older 68040 Macs.  I think if the OP had looked around a bit longer he could have found a better Mac for about the same money.  I'll try not to post negative messages in the future.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Zac67 on September 14, 2009, 08:24:39 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;523018
Thanks for that! I done exacly that upon boot-up but nothing sadly. :(


Hmm - you sure there's an OS installed on the HDD? You got a MacOS CD to boot from (Opt-Command-C)?
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: danamania on September 14, 2009, 09:34:31 PM
From memory the 6100 is one of those beige macs that needs a powertoggle to get started when the internal battery is flat.

Turn it on for about 10 seconds, with its black screen and non-booting, then turn it off/on quickly. If all goes well, it should boot up with a display.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 15, 2009, 01:05:26 AM
Quote from: danamania;523045
From memory the 6100 is one of those beige macs that needs a powertoggle to get started when the internal battery is flat.

Turn it on for about 10 seconds, with its black screen and non-booting, then turn it off/on quickly. If all goes well, it should boot up with a display.

She boots! Thanks danamania! :D

EDIT: So far as I can tell it runs pretty smooth and quick. Il still be hunting for upgrades though (if any).
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: smerf on September 15, 2009, 02:01:47 AM
Hi,

@tokyoracer

Hey man, Wayne is totally right, I shouldn't have down played your MAC, I hate apple computers for several different reasons, none of which have to do with computing, just personnal reasons of some of the people who owned them in the past. I really know jack about any apple product. Anyhow I have a whole bunch of vintige computers that I pick up cheap at flea markets, or yard sales. I recently bought a 233 mhz toshiba laptop and a 450 mhz micronpc transport lite II, both for $30.

Enjoy your MAC and don't let anyone ride you (like me) for buying vintige computers. I have more fun with the vintige stuff than I do with my quadcore super gamming computer. It is a lot of fun looking for software, tips on using your model of computer etc.

I sort of used your post to troll for the mac fans, I forgot that Wayne owned a MAC.

Sorry Wayne (still friends I hope)

Hey enjoy your computer, have fun with it, it will be a new experience finding things out about it. Maybe someday I will buy an old mac just to see what it can do, but right now I am having fun with two ancient laptops. Once again sorry, sometimes I get carried away and insert foot into mouth and forget that computer where meant to be fun.

smerf
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Floid on September 15, 2009, 02:07:24 AM
Quote from: tokyoracer;523014
No there is RAM located in the 2 slots in the middle of the motherboard (both are used) and there is 2 slots on the left hand side of the motherboard (of which 1 is free).
As for the Command-Opt-P-R trick", sorry if im being a bit thick here but if thats a keyboard input then im not sure were them keys are.


Forgot all about the 'breaking glass' (no RAM/hardware fault) vs. 'happy ding' sound - again, how much did that add to the cost back when singing greeting cards cost $20? :)  That power toggle trick was a similar concept.  A little Googling confirms the battery is a replaceable lithium, so you won't have to worry about leaks but might want to find a replacement if it forces you to do this dance every time you want to boot it.

Now that you've proved it wasn't gutted, you probably want to see if you can find the Apple System Profiler somewhere on it and check whether it's bone stock or already has some sort of CPU upgrade.  Though that might be hard to miss on those models, if you've opened it to check the RAM.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: amigadave on September 15, 2009, 04:38:12 AM
Quote from: tokyoracer;523060
She boots! Thanks danamania! :D

EDIT: So far as I can tell it runs pretty smooth and quick. Il still be hunting for upgrades though (if any).

Good call danamania!  Congrats tokyoracer, enjoy your new toy.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: adolescent on September 15, 2009, 05:08:00 AM
I had great fun with my Beige G3 but I ended up giving it away to a friend because it wasn't used as much as my PC.  

My advice: I woudln't try to make your old Mac anything it isn't.  It is far cheaper to just buy a newer Mac to run newer Mac software.  But, if you want to run software from the mid 90's then you have the right hardware.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: inquisitiv on September 15, 2009, 07:45:44 AM
yeah, that is why I have the 7200/120, a long time ago I purchased a synthesizer that came with some mac midi software that only runs in the older computers (upgrading the software to the new versions is costly) - I had the Amiga gear for midi but it was overkill for my purposes so that was sold a while back.

Good luck with your purchase.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 15, 2009, 09:47:42 AM
Quote from: smerf;523061
Hi,

@tokyoracer

Hey man, Wayne is totally right, I shouldn't have down played your MAC, I hate apple computers for several different reasons, none of which have to do with computing, just personnal reasons of some of the people who owned them in the past. I really know jack about any apple product. Anyhow I have a whole bunch of vintige computers that I pick up cheap at flea markets, or yard sales. I recently bought a 233 mhz toshiba laptop and a 450 mhz micronpc transport lite II, both for $30.

Enjoy your MAC and don't let anyone ride you (like me) for buying vintige computers. I have more fun with the vintige stuff than I do with my quadcore super gamming computer. It is a lot of fun looking for software, tips on using your model of computer etc.

I sort of used your post to troll for the mac fans, I forgot that Wayne owned a MAC.

Sorry Wayne (still friends I hope)

Hey enjoy your computer, have fun with it, it will be a new experience finding things out about it. Maybe someday I will buy an old mac just to see what it can do, but right now I am having fun with two ancient laptops. Once again sorry, sometimes I get carried away and insert foot into mouth and forget that computer where meant to be fun.

smerf

Dont worry about it smerf, im not well up on this and you (and others) have pointed out this one was a bit of a basic model. Though it is not my intentions to keep it like that. Your totally forgiven. :)



Quote from: Floid;523062
Forgot all about the 'breaking glass' (no RAM/hardware fault) vs. 'happy ding' sound - again, how much did that add to the cost back when singing greeting cards cost $20? :)  That power toggle trick was a similar concept.  A little Googling confirms the battery is a replaceable lithium, so you won't have to worry about leaks but might want to find a replacement if it forces you to do this dance every time you want to boot it.

Now that you've proved it wasn't gutted, you probably want to see if you can find the Apple System Profiler somewhere on it and check whether it's bone stock or already has some sort of CPU upgrade.  Though that might be hard to miss on those models, if you've opened it to check the RAM.

Well I know it has 16Mb of SIMM RAM but as that sort of RAM is dirt cheap I may aswell get 32Mb worth of the same make (the maximum). I will look on the Profiler and let you know the spec...
[EDIT] I cant find that "Apple System Profiler" software anywhere on the system. The only hardware spec I know is that it's a 60Hz PPC and has 16Mb of RAM.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: danamania on September 15, 2009, 12:52:07 PM
If it's a version of the OS that has Apple System Profiler, it'll be under the Apple menu. As for RAM, they take a good deal more than Apple 'officially' supported. When later 128MB SIMMs appeared, they worked fine, for up to 256MB (I have that configuration in one of my 6100/66s)

Standard, they have some pretty slow graphics, and perhaps the best upgrade for them if you're able to find one cheap, is one of Apple's PDS graphics cards. The PDS (processor direct slot) is the one on the far left of the machine, and needs a riser card to fit the graphics card. You can also get NuBus adaptors that turn the PDS into a NuBus slot, and use a higher performance NuBus graphics card in them - both options are way quicker than the standard graphics. Best option all up would be one of the G3 accelerator cards built as a riser card - it's about 1.5inches high, 8 inches long, and some models allow you to use both higher performance graphics along with the G3.

They're not really a well-collectable machine, though I love the large pizzabox shape!. If you want specs, peek on http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ - and for a bunch of useful folk 68kmla.net has plenty of beige mac addicts who may be useful for sourcing parts :)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Daedalus on September 15, 2009, 01:14:04 PM
It's a while since I powered my one on, but it might not be called "System Profiler"... I think mine just has "About this Mac..." in the Apple menu, and from there you can click more info or something along those lines.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: recidivist on September 15, 2009, 06:09:49 PM
You really want to get hold of  a later ,more standard model for ease of finding "kit";the  7200 was my first PowerMac but the 7500 or 7600 are better since they can  take more upgrading,and there are Beige G3s that should still be very cheap yet when stuffed with RAM,and a CPU upgrade are pretty powerful.And they will use your current keyboard,mouse and monitor.Plus you can network Macs easily and upgrading the OS to System 7.5.5 is free.I don't know how much shipping is to jolly ol England but perhaps a better PowerMac could find its way to you for the cost of shipping and packing

Some people forget that the older computer can still do everything it did when it was the neweset,latest,and greatest machine!Some old computers made by a company called Commodore  come to mind.

The  biggest stumbling block is that current websites often demand current versions of web browsers which demand current cpus and current OS----if not for that I would likely still be using my Mac IIci
 as it did everything I thought I wanted...especially since I wasn't concerned with  megapixel photos and full-screen streaming videos!(Actually  at 1.2 to 1.5 M DSL ,I still don't do  much video,but 14.4 dial-up  did surprisingly well in a TINY Quicktime window.Ahhhh,progress.)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Floid on September 17, 2009, 06:04:43 AM
Quote from: recidivist;523116
You really want to get hold of  a later ,more standard model for ease of finding "kit";the  7200 was my first PowerMac but the 7500 or 7600 are better since they can  take more upgrading,and there are Beige G3s that should still be very cheap yet when stuffed with RAM,and a CPU upgrade are pretty powerful.And they will use your current keyboard,mouse and monitor.Plus you can network Macs easily and upgrading the OS to System 7.5.5 is free.I don't know how much shipping is to jolly ol England but perhaps a better PowerMac could find its way to you for the cost of shipping and packing

Some people forget that the older computer can still do everything it did when it was the neweset,latest,and greatest machine!Some old computers made by a company called Commodore  come to mind.

The  biggest stumbling block is that current websites often demand current versions of web browsers which demand current cpus and current OS----if not for that I would likely still be using my Mac IIci
 as it did everything I thought I wanted...especially since I wasn't concerned with  megapixel photos and full-screen streaming videos!(Actually  at 1.2 to 1.5 M DSL ,I still don't do  much video,but 14.4 dial-up  did surprisingly well in a TINY Quicktime window.Ahhhh,progress.)


It's worth noting that the early New World machines are pretty much cheap-to-free now (including all those discarded iMacs) and a bit less of a dog to cram OS X (and PowerPC flavors of Linux) onto.  Unless I'm unaware of a world of PPC software that doesn't run under OS8/OS9, those are probably the most versatile (and least-slow) ones to try to score.  If going that route, do keep track of whichever hardware was the cutoff for OS9 support, if the point is to poke around the classic OS.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Daedalus on September 17, 2009, 08:26:10 AM
Even if you do have post-OS9 hardware, if it has OSX on it you can still boot classic mode, and many machines from that time will have it seeing as most of the software already available was for classic.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: gertsy on September 17, 2009, 12:28:20 PM
Quote from: persia;522775
I had a power mac, left it by the kerb side hoping somebody would take it, no one did, so I left it by an OP-shop after they closed....


Ya wally persia. They probably had to pay to get rid of it...
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: recidivist on September 17, 2009, 04:50:02 PM
Around here G3 (CRT) iMac can be had for $20 and up;a  graphics company is selling their old 700 MHz  ones for $75  with Mac OSX4.11 installed;those will also run older MAC OS.
 The CRT reall adds weight,i.e. costs more to ship.
 For the "classic" Mac hobyist want ing  a neat modern Mac,the  eMac  CRT  sold in a 17 inch screen with 1.25 GHz PPC,and is a great Mac for $100 to $150.(But IBM leavings are even cheaper;got another  2.4 GHz Celeron  tower WITH valid XP license,512 ram,harddrive,wireless card for $15 at the thrift store last week.)Hobby computing doesn't have to be expensive(so says the guy who has spent  $1000 on Amiga stuff this year-it's an addiction!)

 For those who find the Mac discussion distasteful,remember the ads in the British AMIGA mags  that encouraged users to move to Mac after the various bankruptcies since no new Amiga models or stock was forthcoming? Some Mac models promoted as Amiga replacements were  even pre-PPC!

 I STILL want AOS or MorphOS or Amiga Forever (Mac) !!!
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 20, 2009, 01:28:30 AM
Finally got picures of it!

The Unit - http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss235/Solvalu/IMG_3107.jpg

The Monitor - http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss235/Solvalu/IMG_3109.jpg
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: beller on September 20, 2009, 08:37:37 PM
Looks like a nice system! Congrats!

You know, I never really thought about how much that PPC Mac looks like the Amiga 1000!

Bob
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Tension on September 20, 2009, 09:29:38 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;523487
Finally got picures of it!

The Monitor - http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss235/Solvalu/IMG_3109.jpg


Games lol. :)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: tokyoracer on September 20, 2009, 11:17:02 PM
Quote from: Tension;523540
Games lol. :)

Year not great... Il keep an eye open for better ones. And get a CD drive at some point.

Anyone know a good forum for old Macs?
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Hell Labs on October 05, 2009, 04:53:23 PM
Quote from: tokyoracer;523545
Year not great... Il keep an eye open for better ones. And get a CD drive at some point.

Anyone know a good forum for old Macs?

Some good sites:

http://www.macintoshgarden.org/ (lots of games, simpler than whdload could ever hope to be)
http://mac.org/ (old shareware and freeware)
http://main.system7today.com/ (a good site and forum for the older power macintosh)

There's more, but I can't remember right now. Have fun!
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: salax54 on October 05, 2009, 09:40:28 PM
@tokyoracer:
Congrats on yer new Mac! :-) Stuffing it with stuff (!) depends on what you wanna do with it.. Nevertheless, since it's a pre-PCI model, there ain't much upgrades you can put in there. If you can't afford anything else, at least get the Sonnet G3 (around 45$ + s&h) This one most probably has the cpu onboard (as in soldered) which means that you don't get to remove the old one. If you go for the G3, you'll be running upto OS 9 decently. And since it doesn't appear to have a CD drive, you can use one of the external SCSI kind that some of us still use with the Amiga!
I myself have plenty of ol' Mac-power and can't complain. LC II, 7100,7300,8100,some G4's and a PPC mini
First thing you ought to do is replace the battery though, because although (old)Macs are considered reliable hardware, switching on-off like that all the time isn't a good treat. -I know it's your only option right now :-(
You can also check here for expansion advice http://www.kan.org/6100/ but don't count on numbers (prices) and availability, since that site is a bit old.
Another thing you might be interested in is a VGA to LD15 adapter that would let you hook it to a normal VGA monitor, in case ye ol' monitor is showing its years.
Personally i think that old Macs are not that bad, the only thing that keeps their price so low compared to our Amigas is the fact that Apple still lives, and Macs keep showing up all the time. If C= was still around spitting new models, our retro-rigs wouldn't cost an arm and a leg sometimes...
Have fun mate! :-)
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Hell Labs on October 05, 2009, 11:19:56 PM
Very good idea about the G3 upgrade card. here are the links to it:

400Mhz
https://secure1.sonnettech.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_91&products_id=251&osCsid=9cf3a9fddde8fba4809de037adca9a3c

500Mhz
https://secure1.sonnettech.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_91&products_id=235&osCsid=9cf3a9fddde8fba4809de037adca9a3c

at $100 plus P&P for a g3 500 you really have to ask WTF amigakit are playing at. I mean really, 68030/40 and a molecule of ram for a hundred and sixty quid? bugger off. :furious:


Pimp My Macintosh:

http://www.kaleidoscope.net

This is a bit like MUI, I suppose. Themes the os.


My suggestion is to get the 500mhz card, as much ram as you can, a bigger HD, fill it full of mac garden games, install os 9.1, classilla and the last os 9 flash player, and enjoy a computer that can do absolutely everything a modern one can do.

Web Browsing, IRC, MSN messenger, PHOTOSHOP (!), YOUTUBE (Double !), emulation of the 16-bits and below... I'm never gonna sell my iMac 400. If it breaks i'll buy another, but the first one will be put on display for all to see.
Title: Re: My first Mac! (A classic).
Post by: Tenacious on October 06, 2009, 06:33:28 AM
I think you got a good find.  I've always liked the "pizza box" Macs, have 3 LC IIs, a III, a 475, and a 603 (?, the last 2 have 68040s).  I didn't know there was PPC version.  

OS 7.5.5 is great for all I do and it's free.  OS 8 and 9 might tax your hardware.

Have you been to http://www.pure-mac.com?

I have wired-in 2 AAs to replace the system battery.  It's not pretty, but it works.