Welcome to Vintage Apple. This board is for Apple's older machines: the Apple II family, compact Macs from the early models to the Classic, the Mac II and LC lines, PowerPC Macs including the iMac G3 and G4, PowerBooks and iBooks. Collecting, repairing, upgrading and using them all belong here.
What belongs here
• Apple II, Apple IIgs and their expansions
• Compact Macs, Mac II, LC, Quadra and Performa machines
• PowerPC Macs, iMacs, PowerBooks and iBooks
• Classic Mac OS and early Mac OS X on period hardware
• Storage upgrades such as SCSI and IDE replacements, floppy emulators and networking old Macs
• Emulators such as Mini vMac, Basilisk II and SheepShaver when compared with real hardware
What doesn't
• Other home computers: Vintage computers
• IBM-compatible PCs: Retro PCs & DOS
• Cleaning and retrobriting cases: Restoration & retrobrite
• Emulator setup problems on a modern computer: PC emulation
How to ask so people can help
1. The exact model and, if you know it, the board revision
2. RAM, storage and operating system version
3. What happens at power-on, including chimes, sounds and icons on screen
4. Photos of the board, especially around capacitors and the battery
5. What you have already tried
Safety and preservation
• Compact Macs and the iMac G3 have built-in CRTs that can hold a dangerous charge long after unplugging. Never work inside one unless you know how to discharge the CRT safely; otherwise leave internal work to someone who does.
• PRAM and clock batteries left in old Macs can leak and corrode the board. Remove them from machines in storage.
• Several Mac models from the late 1980s and early 1990s used surface-mount capacitors that are known to leak. A recap is often the first job on these machines.
• Analogue boards and power supplies carry mains voltage. Unplug and leave them alone unless you are confident.
Starter knowledge
• No chime or a sad Mac icon usually points to RAM, ROM or board problems, while a flashing question mark means it cannot find a bootable disk.
• Modern SCSI and IDE replacements using SD cards are a popular way to replace dead hard drives.
• Old Macs can be fussy about which operating system version they run. Check what your model supports.
The rules
No piracy. Do not link, share or request Mac ROM files, copyrighted software, disk images or serial numbers, and do not ask where to find them. Dump your own ROMs. Software released freely by its rights holders is fine to discuss. No malware, no selling and no paid services.
The usual house rules apply: be kind, English only (other languages are translated automatically), no spam, no keyboard mashing and no self-promotion spam. Use Report on anything that breaks the rules. This thread is locked, so start your own thread here to ask a question or share your machine.
Dexter
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