LC II Buying info?

[zerotypeq]

Hey, the first mac I ever had was an apple iic it pains me that I do not know what happened to it as it came with that and about 200 floppys or so with tons of non pirated software. My next machine I was given was an LC II and I just have fond memories of using it. It was the first computer I ever had in my room as my computer and I am thinking of getting another one for nostalgia purposes and I was wondering what I should look for in one and about how much I should pay or is it too far fetched to acquire one for free if I just play the waiting game?

 

[LCGuy]

For a good condition LCII with a working display, keyboard and mouse, you'd probably expect to pay about US$30 tops. I'd probably look for one thats in the best condition as possible, and with as much RAM (they max out at 10MB, with two 4MB 30 pin SIMMs, and 2MB of the onboard memory - they actually have 4MB onboard, but if you max it out it will only see 10MB, even though there is 12MB available) and as big a hard drive as possible. (keep in mind they came with a 40 or 80MB HDD standard) Speaking of hard drives, stay away from the Quantum ProDrive ELS. Try and get one with either a Conner HDD, or better yet, a Quantum ProDrive LPS if you can. Also, the LCII, like all other LCs, has an LC PDS (Processor Direct Slot), which can be fitted with various types of cards - for example, you may want an Apple IIe card (which is basically like putting an Apple IIe into your Mac), or an ethernet card which allows you to connect to an ethernet network.

Also, another thing - does it specifically have to be an LCII? I know the LCII was your first Mac and all, but there are other, better, faster LCs out there, such as the LCIII, which used a completely redesigned logic board, with a 25 Mhz 68030 (up from the LCII's 16 Mhz 68030), and had a maximum of 36MB of RAM, and the LC475, which used a 25 Mhz 68LC040. These machines are better than the LCII in just about every single way, while sharing the same case and only taking up the same amount of space - the only things that the LCII has to offer that these machines don't, are a different boot chime (which you may prefer), and the ability to run System 6.08. (the LCIII and LC475 won't run anything below System 7.1 with an enabler)

 

[Unknown_K]

I would let it be known you are looking for a LCII and see what turns up over time.

Both my LC3's were free ex school computers somebody hoarded and got rid of later. Most people would want a LC3 and later because of speed and RAM, so if you realy want an LC 2 then you might have to wait a while since they are not as common.

I would probably get a dual floppy version just to be different and run OS 6 on it.

 

[LCGuy]

Only problem is that in stock form, there was never a dual floppy version of the LCII, only the original LC. However, if you're good with soldering, the LCII does have solder pads for a floppy drive connector, which in theory should work, and you can then make an opening on the front of the case with a jigsaw, if you look inside the front of the top case, you'll notice that there's an outline there, exactly the same as the one for the floppy drive slot that already is there.

 

[zerotypeq]

I am decent at soldering, but I would rather keep it original looking, but thanks for that info and I guess the LC III would be a better system to go for looking at them the only cosmetic difference is the word LC III written on them. I will start the searching and again thank yo so much!

 

[Unknown_K]

For some reason I was under the impression the LC 2 also could do dual floppies. Anyway in that case I can see a LC 1 being interesting just for dual floppies and you should skip the LC 2 for a 3 or later.

 

[Gil]

There may have bee an early batch of LC II's that were, but all of the ones that I've seen don't have the panel cut out for it.

LC II

LC

 

[JRL]

Here is a really nice Macintosh LC II with max RAM/VRAM and a Sonnet Presto Plus w/ethernet and FPU. Fair price for what you're getting too.

Link

 

[Unknown_K]

Here is a really nice Macintosh LC II with max RAM/VRAM and a Sonnet Presto Plus w/ethernet and FPU. Fair price for what you're getting too.
Link

The BIN is a bit pricey. The Presto Plus has 32MB onboard, the picture there doesn't show that much RAM so is it just the Original Presto?

 

[JRL]

Here is a really nice Macintosh LC II with max RAM/VRAM and a Sonnet Presto Plus w/ethernet and FPU. Fair price for what you're getting too.
Link

The BIN is a bit pricey. The Presto Plus has 32MB onboard, the picture there doesn't show that much RAM so is it just the Original Presto?

No, I'm pretty sure it has the Presto Plus. The About This Computer says 42 MB, which should be 10 MB original maximum + 32 MB on the Presto Plus.

 

[Scott Baret]

Dual-floppy LCs were rare. I only saw one batch of them in the field when they were in service (they were in a school library). I believe Apple also sold LCs and LCIIs with only one floppy and a hard drive at one point. As I remember from the press in 1992, Apple discontinued the dual-floppy configuration due to slow sales.

The dual-floppy SE made sense given trends from the year it was released (1987) but there was never really a call for a dual-floppy LC since most color software took up more than one 1.4MB disk, especially those that came out right after the LC was released.

The LCII was a cost-saving machine in general and eliminating the floppy connector and removable slot for the drive on the front of the machine helped tremendously in that respect. This also explains why the plastic piece to hold the speaker and fan is not on the LCII and later models.

 

[zerotypeq]

I had the one floppy and hd config lc ii, but i made a post on free cycle and i found somebody who said i could have 5-6 b&w g3s and that they have a ton of old beige macs and that an lc ii or lc iii might be in the stack so, I may be able to do it free style.

 

[yuhong]

but there was never really a call for a dual-floppy LC since most color software took up more than one 1.4MB disk, especially those that came out right after the LC was released.

Not to mention that System 7 that was released between the release of LC and LC II require a hard disk.