eBay 400MHz Wallstreet II?

[LCARS]

I recently bought a Wallstreet II from eBay and I am not sure it was a great transaction. First of all I think the seller (or an interested party) engaged in the schilling scheme and I overpaid dearly.

Second is the model. The case is Walstreet II with 266MHz spec'd on the bottom and no USB. However, System Profiler claims the CPU is 400MHz. The Machine ID is 312 - Wallstreet II along with its family number.

The machine arrived with 9.2.2 installed from an image by a site called OS9Lives and claims to be compiled from various sources.

So here I am with an expensive Wallstreet II in good condition with a mysterious CPU and a suspect version of 9.2.2 that likes to freeze. I could send it back since I doubt it was worth what I paid but I am curious if System Profiler is correct in reporting 400MHz or if this particular compilation of 9.2.2 is misreading it.

Thoughts?

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

It's possible it's had a CPU upgrade, the version of OS 9 is legitimate though.

 

[LCARS]

I thought about that, too. Looking under the keyboard has not revealed anything obvious yet. I haven't pulled the processor yet to check its numbers.

I suppose my suspicions about the auction are working their way into the machine. I never thought about putting a Lombard processor into a Wallstreet. The seller certainly didn't know.

 

[Unknown_K]

Don't think a Lombard or Pismo CPU (100Mhz bus speed compared to 66 or 83 for a Wallstreet)  will work in a Wallstreet, if there is a 400mhz CPU in there its an aftermarket one if they exist.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I've also got a PDQuicker/FleetStreet, everything I run reports that it's 333MHz, which is faster than a stock WSII.

https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/21081-re-pdq-has-delusions-of-333mhz-lombardness/

OS9Lives is a great site and that universal installer image is the bomb. ISTR one WS fetching what folks thought was a lot of money until someone pointed out that it had a G4 upgrade card in it.

 

[Elfen]

I remember Lombard to Wallstreet swaps were iffy. It does not fork with the 233MHz Wallstreet, but it worked on the 266MHz and PDQ - sometimes. But there were third party CPU upgrades.

I would say look over the seller's other auctions and see if there is something similar going on in those auctions. And then if there is, report it to Ebay.

 

[galgot]

Well, you seems to have a WS with a rare CPU upgrade card.

See on this collection list :

http://www.powerbuch.ch/powerbook%20list%20of%20collection/index.html

It list some Wallstreets with 400, 450 and even G4 500 Mhz cards ! 

Check screenshots here :

http://www.powerbuch.ch/powerbook%20gallery%20overview/gallery%20powerbook%20G3%20wallstreet/index.htm

lucky man.

 

[Byrd]

If an Apple CPU daughtercard, it could be an overclocked unit (300 to 400 is not unfeasible - I had a 233 @ 300Mhz for some years).  Check the resistors of any soldering jobs.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Great link. Second one 404s though.

WS/333MHz is not on that collection's listing. "Delusions of Lombardness" might have been on the money after all? I figured it was overclocked, never thought about the possibility of a CPU Card compatibility between the two. I wonder if the system bus of the WS would need to be overclocked, if the Lombard's CPU tolerates the mismatch, or might have been designed to support the PDQ's clock in development?

Gotta check part numbers in the service source specs. [] ]'>

 

[galgot]

Ah yes sorry , good link :

http://www.powerbuch.ch/powerbook%20gallery%20overview/gallery%20powerbook%20G3%20wallstreet/index.html

 

[LCARS]

I will have time later this weekend to remove the heat sink plate and take a look at the processor. If it is an upgrade card, that will be the silver lining to this auction.

Elfen: The seller doesn't seem to sell with regularity. His other sales are so long ago that they aren't listed. I called eBay about my scam suspicions but they couldn't care less. Can't say I'm surprised about a company nicknamed fleabay.

Trash80: Glad to know about OS9Lives and the validity of the universal installer. I'm more of a System7 user but I do like the funky aesthetic to 9.2 before the minimalistic look of OS X. OS9 was always the OS that froze on me at school. 7 & 8 were fine save for hot plugging printers into 190/5300 PowerBooks.

I have to play around with this version of 9.2.2 a bit more. I am not convinced yet of its stability. It tends to freeze when I leave the computer for an hour. Then when I press the reset key combination it will unfreeze for a moment before reboot. Maybe the extensions are out of whack.

galgot: I'll report back if I find an upgrade card (or anything else unusual). Thanks for the links. The bottom plate of mine states 1998 and the only 400MHz Wallstreet listed by that link puts it in 1999.

Byrd: I'll check for evidence of soldering. I hope it isn't a overclocked 266. Somewhere I have SpeedTools but its hiding here somewhere.

 

[LCARS]

Not looking good on the processor upgrade theory; At least not from a 3rd party. I have yet to remove the processor card from the PowerBook but attached is a photo of the top.

Copyright 1998 Apple Computer. P/N 820-1019-A

That part number came up as a 233 chip when I did a quick search, which is contrary to both System Profiler and the bottom plate specs. Which brings me back to this 9.2.2 build- could it be misreading the chip?

Would evidence of overclock soldering be on the bottom of the processor card?

 

[galgot]

Maybe if you boot it on another system, 8.6 or something else than that 9.2.2, from a CD or CF card, see what System Profiler would say ?

 

[tanuki65]

What is the schilling scheme?

 

[LCARS]

galgot: Good idea. As is always the case when something like this happens, I am away from my computer world with all my discs. Times like these BIOS would be helpful.

Actually, I just found a Jaguar install set. I'll see if I can boot from it.

tanuki65: the idea behind the Schilling Scheme is that someone places bids on behalf of the seller to increase the price. In my case, someone placed an absurdly high bid to test how high my proxy bid (auto-bid to preset maximum) went. When they got that information they cancelled their bid.

 

[LCARS]

No luck with About this Mac when booted from the 10.2 CD. I also managed to mess up the 9.2.2 installation and am greeted by the flashing question mark at startup.

 

[360alaska]

Crazy Idea: What if somebody res-edited the system profiller to read 400 mhz so they could sell it for more...

 

[LCARS]

That's not a crazy idea at all. In this case they listed it as 266, which I presume they did because of the info on the bottom plate.

On a seperate note, when I plug it into AC the fan and power light come on for about five seconds. Is that a normal thing with these PowerBooks? Sign of flat PRAM battery?

So I am within my rights to return it. Other than a broken modem cover, this particular example is in nice condition. The bottom looks brand new. The top has some scuffs but its not as bad as a majority I have seen. The hard drive was upgraded to a 40 GiB Toshiba but its loud and most likely 4200RPM.

I like the weight, thickness, and multi-colored logo. I have a Pismo with 10.4 but there is something fun about OS 9 in a thicker machine. Maybe I should just keep it.

 

[360alaska]

A bad pram battery causes what you describe... It's actually a backup battery designed to power the system in sleep mode all by itself for several minutes giving you time to swap to a fresh battery or plug in...