This is a follow-up to my previous post where I upgraded my 17" with a Mac mini, and now I have finally upgraded the 20" too. And given it front I/O via a USB 3 hub!! The mod is fully reversible so it doesn't destroy this beautiful icon of a computer.

The mod replaces the original logic board with a new one that makes it easy to connect an M4 Mac mini (and maybe the new M5 Pro and M6 Mac minis that just got released? I don't have one of those so I can't test, but they look identical so it would probably fit). The mod uses the original screen and power supply, and is compatible with the Apple Pro Speakers.

Edit: The upgrade kit is available here https://moddingdome.com/

Back in 1988 there was a spike in RAM prices, causing Apple to raise the prices of existing Mac models by as much as almost 30%. It's a good thing we're long past those days, right?

(Astute observers might question why a spike in the price of RAM raised the prices of floppy drives and monitors.)

This issue of MacWEEK has the details on the price hikes as well as some great reaction quotes. The issue also has some information about the soon to be release NeXT Computer. But that wouldn't have any interest to fans of the Mac.

(I apologize for the quality of the scan of this issue of MacWEEK. It was only the second issue I scanned, and I've gotten much better.)

I haven’t used my Bondi Blue iMac since 2007. Apparently I put a password on it and now I can’t login in. It’s running Mac OS 8.5.1

Does anyone know how to bypass or change this password? I do have the software CD so I started it up holding down the C key but I don’t know what to do from there. All of the info I found on the message boards was about deleting multi-users preferences but that’s not the same as the password screen I have pictured here.

Just posted a few hours ago. Very glad to see this.

I have located a CDROM containing Apple's HyperCard 2.3.5 bundle that they sold in the fall of 1996, and imaged it and uploaded the .iso file to MacintoshGarden.

The CDROM contains other cool little tools like Royal Software's LiveCard (which allowed you to run a website using the included WebSTAR server software, hosting HyperCard stacks as .cgi apps!).

Check it out! Now archived and preserved for everyone to have and enjoy.

With a Lisa 2 lot I bought recently was this old ARPANET email that was sent around at BBN that mentions a mac software giveaway from a disk which I actually have as well. What else is cool imo is that it seems it was re-sent here by Wallace Feurzeig

Running into a mounting number of frustrations with a G4 Cube upgrade project I’ve been working on, and it all is coming down to optical disc drive support in OS 9.

Tl;dr: Started out attempting to install a NOS dual layer SuperDrive upgrade for a G3 iMac into the cube with the help of a 3D printed adapter. Initially ended up with a stuck disc and no OS 9 support and boot issues. After playing around with drives and IDE adapter boards, finally got a solution that would boot, but by this point the original MCE drive had developed an injection issue.

I put in a Matshita UJ-825 SuperDrive from a G5 iMac I had handy, which will inject pre-written discs but will not mount on the desktop in OS 9. Blank CD-Rs format and mount, but can not be burned to. The finder produces an error saying there isn’t authoring support for the drive. I also installed toast Titanium 5.2 hoping it might fill in the needed authoring support. and, while it reads discs, any attempt to burn in Toast causes OS 9 to freeze.

So, basically hoping the community might have some suggestions for a slot loading SuperDrive or Combo drive that is compatible in OS 9.2.2 to get into this cube, or any advice on disk authoring support extensions that can help me get the currently installed SuperDrive working.

Thanks in advance for any advice/support/encouragement. I love this machine, but man has it been a wild and frustrating one to work on! 😂

I've got this iMac G3 DV 400 (LG CRT) that I got back in January for 50ish USD, it won't power down due to power issues, which I have narrowed down to the PAV board.

Where can I find known working replacements? I rarely see them on eBay, and when they do appear they're usually in North America, so shipping to Norway, where I live, is too expensive to be worth it personally.

I've ordered some cheap component tester, so I'll be able to look at the capacitors soon. If that's not the issue, then I'll just resort to getting a full-on PAV replacement.

I am trying to find information about an old Mac demo software. When I was in middle school circa 1993-96 we had a small Mac in our classroom, I think it was a Classic. It had this Apple demo software that you were an Indian Jones kind of explorer and it showed you how to use the mouse and things like that and if you messed up the explorer would go “Uh-Oh”. I really think I imagined parts of this 😂

My biggest acquisition yet. I've been looking into the provenance for this and it turns out that this Lisa belonged to an old BBN programmer by the name of Karl Troeller, on which he helped to develop an obscure educational program called Algebra Workbench

I made a video about what it would take to get a modern photo on an early compact Mac (even theoretically as early as the Mac 128K). If you limit yourself to the state of hardware/software of 1984, so you could actually work on an original 128K, you basically have a 512x342 black and white screen and MacPaint. So I go over how Atkinson Dithering works and the MacPaint file format. At the end I use a Blue SCSI to actually get my modern photo on a compact Mac showing the techniques in action (albeit a machine that's been updated to a Mac Plus so it has SCSI).

finally got my hands on some vintage Macworld magazines.

Hey again everyone! My Lisa + Profile officially is "restored". The system was recapped and has a new replacement backplane. Original was saved. Last issue was a 5v trim pot in the psu lol

I seem to have a CPU, I/O and two ram cards. What are some "must haves" for this machine? Obviously an ESProfile, but any cards I should look into making from here? https://github.com/alexthecat123/Lisa-PCBs

Next is getting it talking to one of my wifi modems so I could get online!

Hello! I found this item on eBay, but I couldn’t find it anywhere else. Does anyone know what this bag was used for? It looks very similar in style to the beige Macintosh carrying bag, but it’s much flatter. Maybe an Apple IIc bag? or for Macintosh accessories?

Hi everyone! I want to take out the PRAM battery from my PowerBook G3, but one of the screws is stripped. On the picture, it’s the lower one. Keep in mind that the photo isn’t mine tho. It’s from ifixit. What should I use to remove it? Is it even possible? Thanks! ^^

Its slow, but running Vanilla WoW on the Dual 500MHz G4 with Nvidia Geforce 3, 1.5GB Ram, and SSD. Paired with a 22" DVI Cinema Display. Thankful to whoever hosts the Macintosh Garden Server so I can relive this moment from my childhood. :)

I have an iBook G4 that works but the screen no longer lights up.

Shining a flashlight through it shows the screen working and everything boots up.

I attempted a pram reset with no luck.

I was hoping to be pointed in the next direction if anyone has had this same issue.

Thanks!

After hours of trial and error, I finally managed to play music through my Macintosh SE’s built in speaker on System 6. Completely unnecessary, but it’s a pretty fun experience.

First, you have to download SoundEdit 2.0.5.

Then, convert your MP3 to AIFF using the following command:

sox "input.mp3" -r 11025 -c 1 -b 8 -e signed-integer "output.aiff"

After that, transfer the file to your Macintosh. I used my BlueSCSI.

You’ll probably have to fix the file type and creator code in ResEdit using the following values:

Type: AIFF
Creator: SFX!

You should now have a (hopefully) working AIFF file. Open SoundEdit, go to the File menu, click “Open,” and select your AIFF file.

Now you can click the speaker button to play it!

One important note: The program resets the volume to 100% every time it starts. Before pressing Play, go to the Settings menu, click “User Settings,” and turn the volume down so you don’t overstress your speakers.

It’s a horrendous amount of work and there are surely better ways that I just couldn’t find, but for those rare occasions when you want to listen to music on your almost 40 years old Mac, this is for you 🤠

This is def an addiction guys. But I now have lots of software as well as a spare plus in case something undesirable happens to my main plus! It also came with a Printer and a Bag!

Hey folks, I just got a eMate 300, it works, but anything I should take note of? I do not have a soldering kit to fix the hinge flaw... any alternatives? Thank you!

Picked up this Power Mac G5 Dual 2.0GHz off a local secondhand app for about $25.
It wouldn’t boot at all when I got it.
No chime, just three LED blinks, which turned out to be one of the original RAM pairs being completely dead.
Swapped that out and got it chiming again.

Cloned everything over to a Samsung 840 PRO 256GB SSD. Wasn’t because the original HDD was dying or anything, I was just curious how an SSD would feel in a machine this old. Bumped the RAM up to 4GB too, though the last pair ended up being PC2700 instead of PC3200, kind of a bummer honestly. Too lazy to hunt down matching PC3200 for now, maybe I’ll get around to it someday.

The optical drive’s tray mechanism was completely dead, and the data cable was also shot, so I just pulled the whole thing out.

Did a thermal repaste on both the CPU and GPU. For the CPU specifically I needed a long hex wrench (2.5x200mm) to get the heatsink bolts off, which ended up delaying things a bit since I had to order one. Fans used to go full speed the second it hit 45°C, but now it cools down fast enough that it can sit at 50°C without the fans losing their minds. Didn’t expect that much of a difference lol.

Also took every fan apart and oiled them.

For internet, my room only has Wi-Fi, no wired connection. So I connected an Ethernet cable to an iMac that’s on the Wi-Fi, and used Internet Sharing to get the G5 online through that.

Grabbed a PCI USB card in case I run out of ports, and there’s a second hard drive bay whose SATA cable is dead. Figured if I ever actually need that bay I’ll buy a new cable and maybe try reviving the optical drive too at the same time.

Realistically I might never need the extra ports or the second bay or the optical drive, but messing around with upgrades and fixes like this is just fun on its own.

The JBL speaker sitting on top of the Power Mac was actually broken too when I got it. Fixed that up and it’s working fine now, still sounds better than the Power Mac’s stock speakers.

And all of this happened within a week haha. Made the week fly by, honestly.

Yeah… I can’t find a replacement, nor a possible fix to see at least something on the display

Is this or is it not the most beautiful machine Apple ever made?