Just got a Macintosh Classic ii

[cheesestraws]

[edit: missed pages 2 and 3, oops]

 

[JoeRocker39]

I have a strong predisposition to running 7.1 on the Classic II, as it is stable and relatively simple. System 6 (there is a version that works) will make it fly, but 7.1 is still somewhat nimble.

However, I also have a vague recollection that one of our old and most knowledgeable members from years and years back, equill, ran 7.5.3 on a Classic II. And the machine was used for years and years like that. That would, however, presumably require that one turn most all the 7.5 fluff off. For instance, AppleGuide would surely make a CII slow to a crawl, and you will take real RAM hits from loading QuickDraw GX, Quicktime, and the like, to no real benefit. You might, however, want to get good AppleScript and some nice touches like hierarchical menus and so on from a stripped down 7.5.3.

As I understand it, there is nothing to be gained from running 7.5.5 on any 68k unit over 7.5.3; 7.5.5 was mostly for PPC. Someone will no doubt correct me If I am wrong.

System Picker will allow you to have multiple System Folders, so you can boot from installations of Systems 6, 7.1 and 7.5 on the same startup disk.

What I am after is the feature called At Ease but how can I get it

 

[Nixontheknight]

What I am after is the feature called At Ease but how can I get it

At Ease - Macintosh Repository

At Ease is an alternate desktop environment for System 7 - macOS 8.1 mainly designed for multiple users (there is also a Workgroups version...

www.macintoshrepository.org

MR Browser - Macintosh Repository

MR Browser is a small utility app allowing very old Macs from the 90's that are too old to use a normal web browser, but are new enough to...

www.macintoshrepository.org

 

[beachycove]

At Ease is intended for children mainly, since it gives access to programs but makes it rather more difficult to access things like the System folder, thus making a machine somewhat tamper-proof.

Have you looked at the option of placing Aliases in the Apple Menu? This would be, in my judgement, the most elegant way of making shortcuts to your software available in System 7 (and was the way it was designed to be done in System 7.1). The aliases can be grouped into subfolders in the Apple Menu Items folder; you could, for instance, have multiple aliases under “writing” or “games.”

Any of the System 7 how-to books available at vintageapple.org will go into this. The period macintosh bibles are also good on customization.

 

[beachycove]

I should perhaps add that the later Launcher (a Control Panel) looks somewhat like At Ease, but I don’t think that would work with System 7. Never felt the need to try it that way.

Mind you, I expect that the Launcher was just a GUI for the aliases feature first introduced with System 7. Maybe it would work!

 

[Nixontheknight]

I should perhaps add that the later Launcher (a Control Panel) looks somewhat like At Ease, but I don’t think that would work with System 7. Never felt the need to try it that way.

Mind you, I expect that the Launcher was just a GUI for the aliases feature first introduced with System 7. Maybe it would work!

I think that Launcher only first appeared in a version of 7.5

 

[JoeRocker39]

Ok I am currently running system 7.1 but I need to update to 7.5.5. I have the update disks for 7.5.5 but it won’t install. What do I need? 7.5.3? Does anyone have 7.5.3 that you could share with me? I can pay you for the disks

 

[mousehouse]

Ok I am currently running system 7.1 but I need to update to 7.5.5. I have the update disks for 7.5.5 but it won’t install. What do I need? 7.5.3? Does anyone have 7.5.3 that you could share with me? I can pay you for the disks

I would highly recommend getting a FloppyEmu. It’s not cheap but will allow you to use virtual floppy images and comes bundled with all of the system disks. You could use a virtual floppy or HD20 disk to store your work on flash memory (and backup elsewhere) instead of trusting your old Mac with that valuable data.

 

[beachycove]

There was a 7.5.5 update on floppy that came on just a few floppy disks, maybe five or six as I recall. If that is what you have, then you will indeed need 7.5.3 or similar already installed to be able to use those floppies. 7.5.3 came on 20 or so floppy disks. Remember that it belongs to the era of the 604e PPC, and to machines like the 9600, which were MASSIVE upgrades on a little Classic II, rather like the difference between a 1st generation MacBook and an M2 MacBook Pro.

As I’ve said earlier, I personally wouldn’t go to 7.5.x on a Classic II, but I’d stick with 7.1 max and live with its limitations. The CII is a slow machine, actually designed to provide a limited computing experience. It will not cope well with 7.5.x’s bloat. However, if you insist, I expect that 7.5.x can be made to run on it, but you’ll need to turn most all of those extras that come with 7.5.x OFF, else your computer will run so very, very slowly as to be unusable.

I do find that a cut-down 7.5.3 runs ‘well enough’ on an SE/30 with 32MB RAM, but an SE/30 is a much better machine than a CII. I like the CII, don’t get me wrong, but it has to be used within its limits.

Have you see this: https://macfaq.org/software/macos.shtml ?

 

[mikes-macs]

3. I prefer to pay a professional to make the repairs necessary

To make the repairs necessary or to make the necessary repairs? Big difference. Anyone can make the repairs necessary. Doesn’t need to be a professional.