M0001 with original packaging!!!

[Appleanche]

Usually my Craigslist is sort of misses, just newer stuff and Power Mac G4s. The other day I saw a listing for an original Macintosh and jumped on it. Even more shocking is when I read the description and it said it had all the original packaging, manuals, and system disks! Needless to say I e-mailed immediately and set a date to pick it up.

The box is in pretty decent shape, it's got a bit of yellowing and some writing on the top but there is no tape marks everywhere, no writing over the Picasso logo.

The keyboard and mouse boxes were both still there as well as the original packaging that held the system disks and and guide. It even held the original Apple stickers, unopened! He handed me the manuals outside of the box so I'm guessing I may be missing whatever held those (or not? Maybe someone with more experience can tell me?) I think the only thing I notice missing is the original casette.

Now.. onto the important thing. The Mac itself! I honestly didn't get a good glimpse when I bought it besides a quick power on test. I then had to run to work and think about it for about 8 hours. When I got home I can't believe how damn nice this thing is. I thought my SE was in pretty nice condition for it's age but this thing doesn't have a chip, doesn't have any marks, it looks almost freaking brand new.

Turning it on led to a beautiful CRT, easily my clearest and best looking one of my compacts (a Plus and an SE). The disk drive works perfectly.

Oh and even more amazing - and it also came with the original Apple Imagewriter in the box.. haven't took it out yet but it's in the original plastic wrapper!

I'll go ahead and post some pictures tomorrow when it's lighter, I don't really think this one does it justice!

 

[mcdermd]

Beautiful find! Dare I ask what you paid?

 

[PowerPup]

Wow, that IS a nice Mac! It's extremely rare to find a Mac (especially a 128k) so near completion. Congrats Appleanche!

Don't forget to add your M0001 to the registry. http://www.mac128.com/m0001

 

[Appleanche]

Thanks, I paid $100 for it.

- the accessory box, mouse, and keyboard box. Never knew they went down to detail like that on the insides too. The manuals are amazingly detailed. It's just incredible to read and think about all the things they had to explain that are completely second nature for most now. Things like icons, dragging, etc.

- The box.. I'd rate it about a C in terms of shape. There are some scuffs and marks around it, but the pic doesn't quite do it justice. All things considered being 27 years old it's not too bad.

- Imagewriter box

 

[Concorde1993]

Thanks, I paid $100 for it.

That's a steal for $100. I guess the seller just wanted to get rid of it.

Nevertheless, great conquest. :beige:

 

[macinbot]

Excellent conquest! :b&w:

 

[PowerPup]

After seeing those boxes and everything. There's only one way to describe this conquest...

"Insanely Great."

 

[macman142]

What an amazing conquest. How many can be left in the world available to buy in THAT sort of condition?! Next to none, let alone for $100.

 

[Appleanche]

Yeah it completely shocked me when I read the description and saw original packaging. I was just excited to be able to grab one locally and not have to compete on eBay + Pay shipping. When I asked for a couple of pics and he even had some of the other accessories (I assumed just the original box) I was also in shock.

I guess the guy was the original owner back in 1984. He apparently said his wife didn't want him to sell it but he figures it's better for someone who is going to appreciate it then just hang out in the basement.

I'll probably set up the Imagewriter and see if it's working at all. I need more space 8-o . The IW is so big it's going to take up the space of one of the Macs I have on one of my tables.

One interesting thing I saw flipping through the ImageWriter manual was that it had a survey, never sent out, never ripped out, with postage paid in the United States.. wonder what would happen if I tried shipping it today.

Is there a way I can tell if this has been upgraded (ram?) the system disk with it is 1.1g, so when I hit the about the finder it's just a pretty picture with no indication of ram. I guess I could download a newer version but I don't have any 400k disks.. one good sign is that it doesn't read any of my 800k disks so I don't think that was ever upgraded.

 

[theos911]

You can format 800KB disks as 400KB(and MFS) disks by using some key combo whilst erasing. I'm sure someone here will remember the combo.

 

[Brooklyn]

:b&w: Nice find, she's a beaut

 

[bigmessowires]

Is there a way I can tell if this has been upgraded (ram?)

Can you use the Finder's "Get Info" window to change the required RAM amount for some app to more than 128K, then see if the app still launches?

You can format 800KB disks as 400KB(and MFS) disks by using some key combo whilst erasing. I'm sure someone here will remember the combo.

As I recall, it just asks you if you want 400K or 800K when you format an 800K floppy. No secret key combo required.

I successfully made several 400K disks using my Mac Plus and normal 800K floppy media.

 

[theos911]

The key combo is needed to get a 400KB MFS as opposed to a 400KB HFS. (I think :?: )

 

[Appleanche]

Ok so the seller also gave me a Microsoft multiplan disk and oddly it almost seemed to come with a new version of the finder (4.1?) when I put it in.. there I was able to confirm that it was upgraded to 512k of ram. :-/

I'm sort of disappointed but at the same time I don't really view it any less because of it. It's still the original Macintosh, just as my iMac I type this on is the "Late 2006 iMac" even though I upgraded her ram. For now on though I gotta be careful about Macintosh 128k and stick to "original", it does have the original plate and stuff too. It was built in the 13th week of 1984.

Though, out of curiosity, is this reversible if one day I decide I'd like to reverse it?

 

[mcdermd]

It should be reversible although how much work it will take will depend on the upgrade method. I had to desolder and replace all of the DRAM on a de-upgraded 128k I have to bring it back to original condition. If there were snap-on upgrades for the 128k (I know there were several for the 512k), you may be able to get away with simply removing an add-on board from the logic board.

The big question is - does it have it's original ROM chips and 400k floppy drive? If it still has the original 400k drive, you should see a little red light when looking down into the floppy slot while it is turned on. The original ROMs should be numbered 342-0220/342-0221. If either have been upgraded, replacing those with original parts are going to be the biggest cost of reversing the upgrade.

 

[Appleanche]

Ah! I thought that red light was weird, never saw it on my SE.

I'm pretty certain that it has the 400k drive, as it won't read any of my 800k disks.

I'll hold off on opening it for a while and just live with the RAM... though it is nice to see it's something reversible.

I bet the guy I bought it from spent quite a bit of money upgrading the RAM.. who would have thought 10-15 years later that people would be actively trying to oust it?

 

[mcdermd]

On the later Finder version's "About the Finder" box, does it have a period after the "512k"? If so, it has upgraded ROMs. If not, you probably have the original ROMs.

 

[Appleanche]

Whew, another bullet dodged.

Looks like just the RAM was upgraded.

Thanks for the help!

 

[H3NRY]

Nice find! Yanno if ya hadna mentioned the RAM here, nobody'd know it was upgraded. Just yer own little secret, and yanno what? It'll run a lot better and crash less with 512K, just between you n me. ;-)

Very few 128s with good analog boards and working floppies these days. Most need a fair bit of fettling before they work properly.