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MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Well that is a bargain price Smile
I hope the PSU is OK on it tho'. My favourite Mac is a 533 DA, unfortunately its PSU died and I have a sneaking suspicion that PSU problems are a weak point with this model. Anyway, I still have the 533, its only a matter of time before I come across a replacement CPU for it.

Here's the link to my recent "Beige G4" win. The specs of what came in the box with this are pretty impressive - I declined the 20" multiscan Wink
This Mac has to be the most fun Mac purchase I've made for some time. What I like best about it is the built-in SCSI (have since resurrected an excellent old Umax scanner for it) and the floppy drive - I can read/write 1.4MB AND 800k media on Mac OS 9.x & G4 CPU - Woo Hoo!

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

wow, a bargain too, especially with Pioneer DVD/RW and the video.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Yes the DVD componant attached to the vid card is quite rare I think and the Pioneer CD/DVD writer is in excellent shape.

@themacmeister: Murphy's law says you going to trip over an ADB keyboard any day now Laughing out loud

themacmeister's picture
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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

Original B&W Classic at the dump again -- no keyboard Sad

IIGS_User's picture
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Joined: 2009 Apr 8

Unless a DOS PC, the Mac Classic doesn't complain, if no keyboard is connected to it. Wink

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

My latest bargain, a little more than I wanted to spend but it's just what I wanted.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/apple/desktops/auction-430452975.htm

There's a 17in version coming up later in the week, already more than this was. OK, so I don't get speakers and kb / mouse, but I have the speakers upstairs (from my MDD) and about 4 apple USB keyboards and 6 Apple USB mice. Mac no.15.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

My latest bargain, a little more than I wanted to spend but it's just what I wanted.
http://www.trademe.co.nz...

Bargain! Lovely acquisition bertyboy. Not too sure if everyone here appreciates what NZ$57.00 amounts to in US or AUS or UK currency but , thats "not too shabby" a deal.

Here's my (last weekend) ebay (prize?) addition: "A Cr*p load of Mac & PC Cr*p" Heh heh. Boy it wasn't wrong in the description. I bid on it because of the DV iMac and the Imation SuperDisk (wanted one of those "for ever"). The DV iMac turned out to be a 333MHz DV iMac not as advertised and the "Mac Plus" mouse turned out to be SE and beyond mouse, but hey, the price was OK for the effort Wink

The iMac is in excellent shape, I've installed OS 9.2 to it and I'm currently installing OS X Panther as I type. Its a Xmas pressie for and old computer illiterate friend. - it won't be bad for a 1st computer.

I'm keeping the ancient Performa 5400 for myself - I have an Apple 586 DOS card that goes into this - whoo hoo - plus it has a working floppy disk drive Wink

This iMac (still installing Panther) just spat out a disk and asked for another. I'd better keep an eye on it. - Have to install Panther as its the only Mac OS X I have on CD install set - My copy of Tiger is on DVD, also my my copy of 10.2? (forgot the cat's name - its on my eMac DVD install disk)

ps. if the OP (themacmeister) still wants an ADB keyboard for his SE find... I Have quite a few going spare Wink

T-1000's picture
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Joined: 2011 Sep 15

The 10.2 was called Jaguar, except in Britain where Apple made some sort of deal with the automobile brand. I also think Jaguar was the first version where they used the code name in marketing.

There is a way to install Mac OS 10.4 onto CD-ROM Macintoshes without the CD-ROM set, and that is cloning the contents of the DVD to a USB stick and then boot from it.

I helped a friend to do this recently on his TiBook 550 MHz.

IIGS_User's picture
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Joined: 2009 Apr 8

There is a way to install Mac OS 10.4 onto CD-ROM Macintoshes without the CD-ROM set, and that is cloning the contents of the DVD to a USB stick and then boot from it.

Do you think this will work with iMac G3/700 MHz, too, even if it miss the Firewire requirement?

T-1000's picture
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Joined: 2011 Sep 15

I have no idea, actually. It of course depends on if the system installer scans the hardware before the installation, which it probably does. But I guess you could always install Mac OS 10.4 on another computer an then just clone the installation elsewhere?

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

MikeTomTom,

What a deal !! iMac and a 5400 are worth twice this alone. plus all the other cables and bits. You could open a shop.

If you can perform a custom installation of OSX 10.3 - just the languages you want, and skip all the printer drivers (they're all obsolete anyway, even for the printers of that age there are newer drivers for OSX 10.3 available since the discs were pressed) and you should be able to get away with a 1 cd install.
Unless your disc ejection id to do with "There were errors ...", I've seen this all to often, it's always been a sign of marginal RAM for me.

I have the Tiger Install CD version, for both Client and Server (came with a Mac Mini). Email me if you still want Tiger - but it crawls on early G4 so Panther may be best for G3. Jaguar 10.2 even if you're struggling for RAM.

Edit:
===
Was hoping my new model might be the 800Mhz over the 700Mhz, turns out it's a 2003 Model 1GHz with AirPort Extreme - OSX 10.2.x as a minimum so no OS9 - still good to get my hands back on one after giving mine (800Mhz) away many years ago.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Thanks (for all of your post). The Panther install went well, I'd meant (by "spat the CD out"), that it was finished with CD 1 and was asking for CD 2, so it was all ho-hum really, and just needed my involvement in swapping disks over, instead of typing in here at the same time Smile

Panther and OS 9.2 are both running exceptionally well on this G3. I managed to rummage up two matching 256MB Kingston RAM DIMMs and they seem to be OK too. I'd tried some non matching RAM earlier and that did not work well at all, even when only OS 9.x was installed. Actually the symptoms I developed with the incompatible RAM, were described almost verbatim elsewhere here in the recent Lombard thread - although RAM isn't mentioned as a possible cause in that thread, so far... Anyhoo, this iMac seems to be very sensitive to RAM being 100% compatible.

I'm not needing Tiger for the moment... but there is one item I'm looking for, should you have it in your box of tricks. Its a Level 2 cache module for the 5400. - 256k, or 512k would be excellent. A compatible cache stick for the 5400 would be for the Macs; 6360, 6400 & 5400 (and probably no other model). The 5400 I got being a "Performa", L2 cache was an "optional" extra, and it suffers a 20% or so performance loss because of it not being present Sad

No rush for it tho' just on the off chance you may have one spare.

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

No problem, I shall look in the garage (where my stash or motherboards are), I have 2 from the 5400, so I'll report back what I find. Had to find a PM/MP 5000 series Service Source manual to know which slots are which. Not forgotten about the PC100 RAM either, it's all bagged up in anti-static bags, I just need to get into my Cube - hard with 2 kids about where every time I try to work inside a Mac I get "Daddy, that's MY computer" "What about the new Mac Pro ?" I'll ask, "That's MINE too" - can't call the Mac Pro "The Cheesegrater" in front of kids because you know what they will try. Anyway, once I can get into the Cube I can pull any PC133 RAM I put in and use one of the PC100's instead. But I'm in Victoria for most of Feb, so I can post everything from there.
i'll let you know what I find over the weekend.

ndtronerud's picture
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Joined: 2010 Jul 29

I just found an old Mac Plus at a neighbor's yard sale for $2. I figured that for 2 bucks, even if it didn't work, it was still worth it.

I checked the pram battery and it had only started to leak. I removed it and cleaned the inside of the battery case. A new one appears to be not too difficult to find.

There is no external hard drive (nor a keyboard or a mouse) but I wanted to see if it would boot at all. Flicked the switch, got the "beep". However, nothing appeared on screen. I couldn't tell if it was a bad board or a bad monitor (or even something else), and I'm not sure how to tell. Any suggestions?

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Joined: 2010 Oct 3

give the side of it a little tap, you may have bad solder joints, that usually will get it to boot, of corse you could just take case of it and inspect the board (and resolder joints as nessery)

(makes a mental note to repair the plus in the new year...)

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@ndtronerud:

...Flicked the switch, got the "beep". However, nothing appeared on screen. I couldn't tell if it was a bad board or a bad monitor (or even something else), and I'm not sure how to tell. Any suggestions?

The Mac Plus service manual's suggestions for those symptoms you describe weren't overly helpful. As follows:

No video, but audio tone is present and drive operates

  1. Turn contrast control fully clockwise.
  2. Check video cable connections.
  3. Replace power supply board.
  4. Replace neck cable.
  5. Replace logic board. Retain customer’s SIMMs.

I'm assuming the "drive" it mentions refers the the floppy disk drive. Did you try sticking a "DD" floppy into the bay as you power it up? Not having a keyboard or mouse for it probably doesn't help either.

ndtronerud's picture
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Joined: 2010 Jul 29

There was already a diskette present in the drive when I got it (I assumed it was the startup disk). Regarding the keyboard/mouse, it would still boot wouldn't it?

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

Probably would be OK. How about the battery? Did you replace it also? The floppy, did you eject it (using a paper clip or some poking tool) and re-insert to see if it makes any different sounds when turning it on?

I think you'll need to take the case apart if you haven't already done so. To see if there are any obvious signs of faulty parts, internally.

ndtronerud's picture
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Joined: 2010 Jul 29

I didn't have a lot of time when I did this initially but opning was going to be my next step. I did not replace the battery, but short of not remembering what time it was, I wasn't too worried about that atm.

Come to think of it, wouldn't it have ejected the floppy on startup if it was working correctly?

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

Not if its a floppy disk with a system file on it, it would try to boot from it (if it was running under normal circumstances). Also, a working battery not being present may have an affect on Macs not starting up. I know that for some models an active clock battery is crucial for booting. Not all Macs of cause, but some. I don't know if its important for the Plus, but it is a factor to consider.

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

@ndtronerud,

There's a brightness control for the diaplay front right under the screen, turn it up, just in case. I've had someone bring me an old Mac to fix that just needed this. It was funny at the time.

Here's an idea, should we be putting up Mac service source manuals for the old Macs, perhaps anything over 10 years old ?

@MikeTomTom,
No luck on the 5400 cache upgrades, nothing present for either of the cards I had. I do have ROM / Cache Cards for 5300 and Ethernet PDS in a 5200 board. are these any use ?

ndtronerud's picture
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Joined: 2010 Jul 29

Yeah, I checked the brightness knob as well. No such luck, I'm afraid.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Thanks for checking. The L-2 cache in the 5300 is a match! Big smile
Search for "661-1278 ROM DIMM, 256K, 156-pin" in the page. Actually its a page worth bookmarking too, for us old-Mac aficionados. Anyway, the part# for the cache card is the same in the 53xx & 54xx series Macs.

I have no need for the Enet card tho' thanks. The 5400 has one installed.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: I'm going to be in NZ late February. But if you're going to be in Vic early on that month it should be OK. I'm keen on getting a L2 RAM cache card and one from a 5300 will be 100% compatible in the 5400.

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

Absolutely. Should be back in Auckland by 23rd, and can be in Tauranga over a weekend if it helps.

There may be 2 5300 cache cards, if there are, take both, I can't guarantee that either work. I may have other spare stuff by then too, including a working DA466, low capacity PC100 and PC133 RAM, and all that stuff I got for $16 at the top of this post. I know that there are others in Aus who want stuff too.
There may also be RAM on the 5300 / 5400 boards, again no guarantees any of it is still good, but if you have spare slots in a 5400, grab some too.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Great. Maybe you won't need to bring any of that stuff over with you. I'm going to be in the Sth Island for a bit (open ticket)... but should be back in the Bay in March early-ish to mid at a guess (at-some-date-not-defined-as-yet). If you're going to be down that way we could meet up over a cuppa or a pint... I'll attempt to email you.

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Joined: 2012 Jan 5

Hey bertyboy. How much of that stuff do you still have (Post 35), I may be interested in some of it. Email me. See what we can do, I'm pretty much broke at the moment though.

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

My latest bargain, two more cards for my Mac Pro:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/components/video-cards/pciexpress/auc...

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

MikeTomTom,

Packing up the 5300 cache cards and the PC100 RAM now, I leave for Melbourne this week, is it a good time to post ? I know we'd mentioned dropping off in Tauranga, but my diary may not include any more trips there for a while, business in Aus, Philippines and China seems to be the norm now and I still have 5 weeks holiday to take before April.
Email me and I'll get a postal address.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Thanks bertyboy it will probably work out fine if you post from Melbourne. I'll be here for a couple of weeks yet before heading for the Bay. I had issues sending you mail. [Edit] Thanks bertyboy.

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

Sure. I had another check through my stash of motherboards, found what was marked as a 5400 motherboard but no cache card in it. So I tried the 5300 cache cards in it, right number of pins but the slots are in a different position. Still, what I've marked as a 5400 might not be that, it was all done based on CPU speed.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Have you left the shores of the fair Manukau yet for the Victorian hinterland? Hope you got my email (check your spam bin if not). Have a safe and good journey while you're at it.

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

@MikeTomTom,

Had to leave 24 hours earlier than planned, but over in sunny Victoria, in and out of Melbourne and into Bendigo. I'll try to get to the PO at lunch.

No email or spam, but I know it's not you, I lose the occaisional email from my work email to the same email addresses. It must just be something gmail doesn't like about them, nothing complicated, just plain text, no attachments and it never arrives, so I resend it and forward the original sent message to my home email again - still nowt.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: The email I sent didn't bounce back this way undelivered, either. So it went somewhere Puzzled
Odd, as I made a direct reply post, which would've contained your M-ID in the headers as well. I'll try again. Perhaps you could mail again, too.

themacmeister's picture
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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

I have had a lot of luck with HFV Explorer!

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

My latest bargain: http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/apple/desktops/auction-516985511.htm

Pick it up tomorrow.

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Joined: 2011 Oct 31

Thats a great deal...

themacmeister's picture
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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

Dang. My Power Mac G5 (Dual 1.8GHz) seller removed his ad (and with it, his email address), and has disappeared Sad

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

I think I was watching that one, had a few bids, got to a few hours before the end and then withdrawn from sale. My Performa 5400/160 turned out to be great,just a little grubby. And something loose rattling around inside that I'll get to tonight. 48MB RAM, but I'll see what I have in my old stash, and it's going to be more than enough for Mac OS 7.5 and 7.6.

Edit: Replaced 'xxx 7' by 'Mac OS 7' - IIGS User

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

My latest catch:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/apple/desktops/auction-579090081.htm

Mac no 17 or 18. I may sell all my G4 DA's, maybe even my MDD which I've had from new, this new purchase would replace it, hopefully running quieter.

themacmeister's picture
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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

Nice find, good price!

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Joined: 2010 Oct 3

That xserve is the same as the one my server runs on Smile
the only thing i will say, they are really, really loud, i wouldn't put one on my desk.....
But it is a really nice machine, stable as anything (and you can remove ide hdd's with the thing powered up Wink )

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

well the previous owners didn't format the drives before selling, it has over 350GB of company data. It may yake me a while to find anything interesting ....

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

Ok, my vrey final Mac I'll buy on TradeMe:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/servers/servers/auction-593471306.htm

There's an ongoing auction for a collection of stuff, none of which I need:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/apple/desktops/auction-595305708.htm

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

Another "dang, I'm not in NZ at the moment", moment.

Congrats on the server, bertyboy. Not sure I believe the "very last Mac I'll buy on TradeMe" line tho'. We're not your good wife, y'know Wink

themacmeister's picture
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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

Two quad-core Xeon's -- nice score!

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

There's another one sold, in Auckland this time, with only half the CPU, half the RAM, 1/3 of the disk, for $1000. I may be forced to put it back up for sale to make some profit.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: here's a couple of good ones you might like. Caveat, both are pickup only, located in Whangarei, Northland.
PowerMac 5500/225 - Trade Me Listing #: 637587062
Macintosh Cube (immaculate) - Trade Me Listing #: 637885606

bertyboy's picture
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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

Hi MTT, seen them. Alas I already have a Cube in perfect order, still in box - only been out twice. And I already have a 5300/166. The Cube is the same one that's been listed for months @ $350.

MikeTomTom's picture
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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

Hi bb, already owning a cube would make this less desirable Wink
Didn't realise the seller had it listed FS previously @ $350 tho Sad
Obviously no takers at that price and it looks as tho' he's doing the sensible thing now, listing it with a starters bid of $50.

I just paid 10 GBP's for a G3 zif socket CPU (ebay, UK) for my beige G4. I want to "downgrade" its Sonnet G4 to an original G3 CPU pulled from a beige.