HyperDrive F1

[Clumberspan]

Apologies if this isn’t the right section for this thread…

My Dad came across this boxed GCC HyperDrive while clearing out a cupboard. He was an early adopter of Macs so presumably bought it to use but for whatever reason seems not to have done so.

Im completely clueless when it comes to computer stuff so was hoping someone could kindly tell me what exactly we have here?

Main component is still sealed in plastic then theres some connecting wires and a belt looking thing. Have no idea if there was more components or whether this is complete.

Have tried Googling HyperDrive F1 and all that comes up is Formula 1 related stuff!

 

[Mk.558]

There's a few YouTube videos on the Hyperdrive, and a few posts about the Hyperdrive on /r/vintageapple.

Those are not the "F1" version though, and appear to be just MFM drives that piggybacked onto the 68000 CPU. But I don't think this could be anything less than a internal SCSI hard drive for a Macintosh SE. It says Mac II on the box too but the Macintosh II already has an allocation for a hard drive, unless you got a 2nd one in place of the 2nd floppy drive.

Internal HDD upgrades to SEs were common back in the day, and today arguably makes for a great upgrade.

For one, the SE can mount 3 floppy disks, which no other Mac can do, but that's not that remarkable. Having 2 built in floppy drives, an internal SCSI hard disk, an expansion slot, takes up to 4MiB of RAM, has external SCSI, and can go all the way down to System 1.1 (I didn't test it but I bet 0.85/0.97 would work too, but this doesn't work with the the FDHD or Superdrive versions) makes it the ideal system platform for early Mac system software shenanigans.

That said, it is also slow because like the 512K, 512Ke, Plus and 128K, every other cycle of the CPU has to be interrupted to draw the frame buffer, and so the legacy of crappy Apple internal graphics is indeed a long one for sure. The SE/30 has dedicated video driver circuitry so it's not kneecapped in the performance department as much.

Back on topic, if it's still sealed in the wrapper, someone would probably like it for sure, but I also bet the drive is seized or otherwise dead. A nearly 40 year old drive has a slim chance of still being functional. Would be cool to test it out.

 

[Phipli]

Apologies if this isn’t the right section for this thread…

My Dad came across this boxed GCC HyperDrive while clearing out a cupboard. He was an early adopter of Macs so presumably bought it to use but for whatever reason seems not to have done so.

Im completely clueless when it comes to computer stuff so was hoping someone could kindly tell me what exactly we have here?

View attachment 63641View attachment 63642View attachment 63643View attachment 63644View attachment 63645View attachment 63646Main component is still sealed in plastic then theres some connecting wires and a belt looking thing. Have no idea if there was more components or whether this is complete.

Have tried Googling HyperDrive F1 and all that comes up is Formula 1 related stuff!

Here is some info :

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/gcc-hyperdrive-software-drivers

Edit : ah, sadly that link seems to cover older disks. Yours is for slightly newer machines.

It looks to be a kit for adding a "fast" hard disk to the Mac SE or II like @Mk.558 said.

 

[Phipli]

It says Mac II on the box too but the Macintosh II already has an allocation for a hard drive,

It was possible to buy the II without a hard disk I think... I'm trying to think where it might say. Options were 20 or 40MB Vs this 80MB part.

Plus they came with 5.25" disks, so you'd need the bracket if you upgraded.

 

[Mk.558]

It was possible to buy the II without a hard disk I think... I'm trying to think where it might say. Options were 20 or 40MB Vs this 80MB part.

haha was gonna say...hmmmm

On that note how many times have you looked in a Mac II chassis and wonder: How can I get 2 internal low profile 3.5" drives in here?

 

[Phipli]

haha was gonna say...hmmmm

On that note how many times have you looked in a Mac II chassis and wonder: How can I get 2 internal low profile 3.5" drives in here?

Once, just before I settled on three (counting the SCSI2SD) :

 

[JC8080]

It's not "F1", it's "FI" (letter I). I have a FI/30 in a Mac SE, as stated above it is an aftermarket internal hard drive.

 

[Phipli]

It's not "F1", it's "FI" (letter I). I have a FI/30 in a Mac SE, as stated above it is an aftermarket internal hard drive.

View attachment 63672

Heh

When every upgrade felt it had the right to hijack the boot screen

 

[JC8080]

Heh

When every upgrade felt it had the right to hijack the boot screen

Oh yeah... A splash screen AND a badge, for something that you basically could have ordered as a factory option (granted 20mb).

I like the splash screen on my 512k HyperDrive, I feel like it is appropriate, this one seems a bit excessive.

 

[Forrest]

It looks like an 80 MB, 3.5 inch SCSI drive attached to a bracket. Based on it’s age, there’s a slim chance it may still work In a Mac made in 1986-1999.

 

[JC8080]

I don't have a good idea what something like this is worth. The useful part is the bracket, as others have mentioned the drive is likely dead, and the usefulness of the bracket is questionable depending on what it actually does. Someone might like the fact it has the box. Shipping would be prohibitively expensive, I would recommend selling locally. You could advertise it on the trading post. I think $50 would be reasonable, but I would welcome others thoughts on the value.

 

[Phipli]

Folks, it... Might not be dead? Only way to know is to test it.

 

[olePigeon]

@Mk.558 I think the Macintosh Portable can do 3 floppy drives.

 

[Mk.558]

I think you're right. It has two internal FDD ports and an external FDD port. The Guide to the Macintosh Family Hardware references (page 25):

One FDHD drive (double-sided, 1.4 MB floppy disk drive), and provision for either a second floppy disk drive or a hard disk.

However if you find that top cover designed for it, let us know. Only one result shows up, and it's from reddit, which references a possible interaction with someone who may have had one in Germany. A quick search reveals no further leads.