If anyone has a CD-ROM drive for the PowerBook 1400 that they're willing to sell, I'll buy it off of them.
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2014, November 18 - 1:34am
#1
[Wanted to Buy] PowerBook 1400 CD-ROM Drive
Comments
2014, November 18 - 4:55am
#2
If it's something you plan to use on a regular basis you'd be better off with an external SCSI case and a few Apple full size SCSI drives or an early Apple external CD-ROM (300E). The internal drives were never very reliable to begin with, the face plates always broke off on the early ones and I've never been able to find a bare drive that was compatible with both MacOS and the casing they used. At least 300i and 600i drives are still available.
That said I know the CD in this one works really well.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-PowerBook-1400cs-117-/331382551835
2014, November 18 - 5:54am
#3
You can replace the 1400's CD-ROM with a faster, more reliable TEAC CD-224E-A30 or similar - cheap and readily available from e-bay.
See:
https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/22596-pb1400-cdrom/
and
2014, November 18 - 6:56pm
#4
Thank you guys for the responses. What I'm actually doing is reinstalling a fresh copy of OS 8 from the install CD I found here. I'm afraid of using a SCSI CD-ROM drive (I have one already) because if it's a fresh install, it may wipe out the drivers for it too, possibly messing up the install.
I'm not really interested in buying another PB (even though it would be a nice addition to my collection 
), but I can try to give that TEAC drive a chance.
2014, November 18 - 9:28pm
#5
As Max said the drivers to boot the CD are part of the the CD itself (otherwise it would not be bootable). That's why it's always important to make sure you burn a CD image as an image (drag, drop and burn in Toast) and not by mounting and copying in Toast. In the latter case you simply end up with a data CD that has no boot block information or drivers.
2014, November 18 - 7:31pm
#6
You won't have any problem with installing from a scsi drive, the bootable disks contain the drivers
Just boot from your scsi external, wipe your hdd and reinstall
2014, November 18 - 9:19pm
#7
Have you tried installing from ATA PC Card yet? That would be much more reusable than CD-R.
2014, November 18 - 9:21pm
#8
Okay, I'll reinstall using my external CD-ROM drive (which, funny enough, is an AppleCD 300e Plus), I just have to buy a 50 pin SCSI to 25 pin SCSI adapter first (I have a 25 pin SCSI to HDI30 adapter already). Once I get the 50 to 25 pin adapter, I'll check in with the details.
2014, November 18 - 9:24pm
#9
@butterburger: I think I'll just stick to the CD method for now. I might get some cards in the future, though.
2014, November 18 - 9:35pm
#10
One thing I have been meaning to try is installing from a Compact Flash card. They work fine as boot/solid state drives on my Wallstreets. Seems like I should just be able to copy the complete contents of a CD to one and install things without using a CD.
2014, November 18 - 9:55pm
#11
Yes, that is just what I did with mine: I used a Microdrive instead of CD, and CompactFlash for other file transfers. (Its CD-ROM drive did not read burnt discs, anyway.) And for a person who has not a good CD drive, it should be easier to find and afford a PC Card solution, than CD solution.
2014, November 18 - 10:05pm
#12
Well, I've never played burnt data CDs using my AppleCD 300e Plus, only burnt audio CDs. If this doesn't work, my next try will be a Compact Flash card.
2014, November 18 - 10:27pm
#13
My apple CD300i plays burnt cd's fine, but burn them slow. Disks burnt at 10x are fine. Go up to 24x (the max of most modern burners) and it's much more variable
2014, November 18 - 11:12pm
#14
Thank you for the burning tip, I usually burn at the fastest speeds anyway.
2014, November 19 - 2:05am
#15
By the way, is there any chance any of you have the setup floppy disk for my CD-ROM drive?
Description:
white floppy disk
red text saying "CD-ROM Setup" on the front top left
underneath, in smaller, black text, says "For Macintosh"
has a faint picture of the Happy Mac and a cursor
back says "690-1303-A"
then underneath that "Ver. 5.0.1"
If someone has a good copy, could you make an .img file of it? Thanks
2014, November 19 - 4:07am
#16
In my OS 7 floppy section is the first installer for the Apple CD-ROM.
System 7.0 plus CD-ROM installer and System 7 Tuneup 800K Floppies
http://macintoshgarden.org/sites/macintoshgarden.org/files/apps/System_7...
All it is though is the CD-ROM extension. So there is nothing unique about it.
ie Any Apple CD-ROM extension will work as long as it is compatible with the main OS.
So once you've installed OS 8 on the 1400 you're done. You don't need to install anything for your external (or internal) CD-ROM. The only reason to use a separate CD installer would be if you were installing a pre-CD OS like 6.0.8 or 7.0.
2014, November 19 - 1:03pm
#17
So here are all of the details:
I found a SCSI cord that works, so I don't have to buy an adapter. I hooked everything all up and booted up my PowerBook. It didn't find the disc I put in there (it wasn't even accessing it). So I thought maybe I have to get the CD-ROM Setup diskettes I had lying around. Turns out both of them were corrupt, so that's why I asked (thanks sfp1954 for the link).
Then I decided to copy the .image files a new diskette. It copied flawlessly, but when I tried to put the floppy disk in the drive, it simply wouldn't fit (I've been working with floppy disks for several years, I know how to put it in correctly). The floppy drive was broken. So I guess I'll have to buy another 1400 that has a working floppy drive and possibly CD-ROM drive since I can't find either anywhere.
2014, November 20 - 1:35am
#18
Boot from other SCSI drive -> Command-Option-Shift-Delete (I also press D as well, but don't think that is necessary).
Boot off the external SCSI CD/DVD -> GO CRAZY!!!
best of luck...
2014, November 20 - 2:49am
#19
Your floppy could just be stuck in the eject position. It might be worth popping open the case to check it out.
Also - Apple used the same bare floppy mechanism in the 190/5300/3400, 520/540, 1400 and G3 Wallstreet floppy systems. So there are a lot of compatible mechanisms (Sony) out there if you want to fix the floppy drive. I probably can get my hands on one for free.
Did you have a SCSI terminator installed on your external CD-ROM?
2014, November 21 - 8:19pm
#20
@themacmeister: Command-Option-Shift-Delete and possibly D? Jeez, you must have a bionic hand! Anyway, I only have one SCSI device, and that's the CD-ROM drive, which didn't pop up at all on the desktop.
@sfp1954: I opened up my floppy drive once I realized it was acting funny. Turns out whoever had it last must've stepped on it or something because the drive itself has a dip in it, the plastic casing is cracked on top, and pieces inside the drive are busted.
If you could get one of those drives on your hands for free, I can pay for the shipping to here.
And yes, I do have a SCSI terminator on my CD-ROM drive. The back of the drive has two SCSI ports. The top port has the SCSI terminator in it, the bottom port has the cord to connect the drive to a computer.
2014, November 21 - 9:03pm
#21
Command-Option-Shift-Delete and possibly D?
No "D" is required or involved. The "Command-Option-Shift-Delete" keys if held down when booting, forces the Mac to seek out a bootable System OS on external devices instead of the internal hard drive.
You should be able to boot up to an install CD by using that key combination.
2014, November 22 - 1:23am
#22
I'll see what I can dig up for a floppy drive Saturday.
I know I have a working 5300 drive and several wallstreet floppies.
I have a few loose full size 600i cd drives as well.
2014, November 22 - 2:56am
#23
@MikeTomTom: So I hooked everything up and held down Command-Option-Shift and Delete and I got the flashing ? on a floppy disk on the screen. When I let go, it booted from the internal HDD and seemed to ignore the CD-ROM drive.
@sfp1954: Thank you for taking the time to do this 
2014, November 22 - 4:31am
#24
You need to know if the CD is bootable. Any other Mac you can test it on? - Basilisk II and SheepShaver would suffice. [Edit] scratch that maybe - BII & Sheep have issues mounting CD's on newer PCs & OS's.
[Edit]: @SuperMew98: A link to the OS 8 CD image please. I'd like to test it out and see if there are any issues with it.
2014, November 22 - 5:21am
#25
It is awkward knowing if you have created a true bootable HFS CD/DVD. I know I burnt many non-bootable copies in my day. I guess if you use Toast 6 or less to burn it, and it shows the image as HFS Bootable, you are safe. Anything else is a lottery. Will the external read anything else? (there are versions of Linux that run on that laptop?).
2014, November 22 - 2:45pm
#26
@MikeTomTom & themacmeister: I was able to boot from it using my Macintosh Performa 630CD, so the disc is bootable. It was burnt using Mac OS X 10.8's Disk Utility.
@MikeTomTom: http://macintoshgarden.org/sites/macintoshgarden.org/files/apps/PB1400CD...
I found that link here: http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/macintosh-system-81-mac-os-81
@themacmeister: The external reads absolutely nothing [on the PowerBook], and it's not the external that's the problem. I've used that drive recently on my Power Macintosh 7100/66 (because it doesn't have a built-in CD-ROM drive) and it has worked every time.
2014, November 22 - 10:19pm
#27
Thanks that CD image does seem to be OK & bootable.
SCSI ID conflict perhaps? Check with SCSI Probe to see if the external shows up on the PB and to see if there are conflicting ID's.
Is the cable connecting the external to the 7100/66 the same as used to connect to the PB? I realize the connecting HDI-30 adapter will not be used on the 7100.
Does the HDI-30 adapter, if separate from the SCSI cable, have a switch mode? Some do and are able to switch from normal SCSI operation to SCSI Target Mode - allowing software installs from another Mac (from your Performa 630 for example).
2014, November 24 - 1:13pm
#28
Ok, I'll check with SCSI Probe in a bit.
Yes, the cable is the same. I just have an adapter that converts the 25 pin SCSI end to HDI-30. The other end goes directly into the drive.
The adapter does have a switch, but it says "ON DOCK" and "1 SCSI", which I don't really have an idea what either one means.
2014, November 24 - 8:23pm
#29
As SwedeBear says, the "1 SCSI" position is for normal SCSI operation between the PB and whatever device its connected to, like your external CD drive. Perhaps you had it switched to the "On Dock" setting?
Switched to "On Dock" you could use "SCSI Target Mode" and mount the PB's hard drive on another Mac (such as your Performa 630) then install a Mac OS onto it that way (via the P 630's CD drive).
Low End Mac calls it "SCSI Disk Mode" and give a brief description on how to set it up.
2014, November 24 - 8:57pm
#30
The adapter does have a switch, but it says "ON DOCK" and "1 SCSI", which I don't really have an idea what either one means.
1 SCSI: gives access to whatever SCSI thing connected to the adapter,
ON DOCK: puts the PowerBook in a 'Target Mode' and the PB should appear as a SCSI disk to whatever Mac/PC connected to the adapter.
…or vice versa. It's been a while since I started up my 'Kanga'
2014, November 25 - 12:46am
#31
Thanks guys for the info and links. I just tried the 1 SCSI option, but no luck. I'll try the ON DOCK option in a little bit. Can I use the SCSI cord from my ZIP drive to connect the PowerBook to the adapter to the Performa? (Sorry if that doesn't make sense)
Update: Hooray!!!!! 
I've finally gotten this to work! I used the SCSI Disk Adapter method, and it worked flawlessly! Big thank you to you all for your help!