Mac Centris 610

[Apostrophe]

I have an old Centris 610 in my bedroom upstairs...and it just sits there. It keeps telling me it needs a new OS. I have been searching online for an operating system that it will support...if anyone has had the same problem as me, could you please recommend a particular OS that might work better than others, or any other solution to my problem?

Thanks to anyone who helps,

Apostrophe

 

[alk]

How does it tell you it needs a new OS?

I'm thinking System 7.5.5 through Mac OS 8.1 would be fine on a 610.

7.5.5 is free and stable, and probably the best bang for the buck. 7.6(.1) is very stable and can do much of what OS 8 can do without some of the extra bloat (like new Finder features such tabbed folders, etc). OS 8 has more features and is generally more modern, but it isn't free and requires at least 12 MB of RAM.

Peace,

Drew

 

[Apostrophe]

Ok, thanks.

The message it gives me is something like, "This startup disk will not work on this Macintosh model. Use the latest Installer to upgrade this disk for this model. System 7.1 does not work on this model; you need to find a newer version that does."

I already tried to download a free OS from Apple.com, (it was 7.5.3) but I think it had to be done from the computer in question, because it wouldn't let me put it on a CD. My Windows simply couldn't read those files.

I just checked 7.5.5 on Apple.com, but it only says upgrade. I'll try it anyway.

Thanks,

-Apostrophe

 

[Apostrophe]

Yup, I tried downloading 7.5.5 and my PC couldn't read them. Guess I'll have to just buy OS 7.6 or 8.

Thanks for your help,

-Apostrophe

 

[Apostrophe]

Oh, just one thing before I buy OS 8, how do you find out how many MB of RAM a computer has?

 

[The Macster]

The 7.5.3 files from Apple can be burned to a CD on a Windows machine, but to install it you will need to have a boot disk or working OS on the Mac, as the CD you make won't be bootable. You can download OS 7.6 or OS 8.0/8.1 off the web and burn them using Windows (as long as it's a standard CD format like ISO) though. You'll need at least 12 MB of Ram for OS 8 to install though - without a working OS on the machine it's not so easy to find out how much you have until you have got your OS installation CD and can boot it up with that. The 610 has 4 MB of Ram built in, so if you look inside and there are no additional memory modules installed then you only have 4 MB, and if there are modules in there then they may or may not have some indication of their size on them.

 

[beachycove]

Ok, thanks.The message it gives me is something like, "This startup disk will not work on this Macintosh model. Use the latest Installer to upgrade this disk for this model. System 7.1 does not work on this model; you need to find a newer version that does."

I already tried to download a free OS from Apple.com, (it was 7.5.3) but I think it had to be done from the computer in question, because it wouldn't let me put it on a CD. My Windows simply couldn't read those files.

I just checked 7.5.5 on Apple.com, but it only says upgrade. I'll try it anyway.

Thanks,

-Apostrophe

You probably just need the system enabler (System Enabler 040) for the Q610 installed in the System folder. It sounds to me like someone has popped a drive from another model into this one, and under System 7.1, this can lead to just the problem you are having. 7.1 requires specific resources for each machine it is installed on; from 7.5 on, this inconvenience was left behind.

Without a floppy boot disk, however, you aren't going to resolve this problem (Catch 22), so the best thing might well be to download the free 7.5 from Apple and go from there. 7.1 on any Centris/Quadra is very fast and lean; 7.5.5 is much more bloated (and complete), but the 610 will run it just fine. Mind you, and as you have discovered, you might need to do some Googling on what to do with the disk images you get from Apple if you are going to do the downloading, etc. on a pc. Not having done it, I cannot advise, but I gather that it can be done: http://macfaq.org/index.shtml item 6.

 

[Patrickool93]

I would go with OS 7.5 or 7.6. you can't find out the RAM without having an OS, so you might not have enough for 8. OS 7 would be a lot faster anyway. I'm sure someone on here would be willing to send you a bootable CD for postage.

 

[dbraverman88]

How about Debian Linux or NetBSD? Why jump to a MacOS?

 

[Bunsen]

You need a bootable Mac OS partition to reboot into a *nix anyway.

The 7.5.3 files from Apple can be burned to a CD / but / the CD you make won't be bootable.

To install 7.5.x you need to download the floppy image set from Apple, and then create Mac formatted floppys on the PC. The first one will boot the Mac and begin the installation process. DO NOT attempt to uncompress the files on the PC.

To make bootable Mac floppys on the PC, I would suggest Gemulator Explorer or MakeDisk from emulators.com. You can also learn more about the process by visiting MacWindows.

The best OS for that machine is probably 7.6.1 and you can boot that from a (non-free) CD. You can get a CD by asking in the Trading Post forum here or searching Ebay.

If you have lots of RAM, 8.1 would be an option too. 8.0 is buggy, but from there to 8.1 is a free upgrade download from Apple.

 

[Apostrophe]

Thanks so much everyone, for your helpful advice.

On Thursday I'll have the money to buy what I need, so I'll have to see what's available then on eBay. If there's nothing, I might just take you up on that CD mailing offer, but if there's something on eBay, I'll go with that.

I'll let you know if it works!

Thanks again,

-Apostrophe

 

[dbraverman88]

You need a bootable Mac OS partition to reboot into a *nix anyway.

I didn't realize that. Isn't there a way to use a bootloader like you can with other archetectures?

 

[Bunsen]

Well yeah, it turns out there is a floppy bootloader called EMILE

 

[Bunsen]

Another option for writing Mac-formatted floppies on a PC is rawrite

I suppose you have checked to see that there is a hard drive inside the Centris? There are two clips at the back edge of the lid - you lift them up and pull the lid forward. Check the drive data and power cables are firmly seated.

 

[Apostrophe]

Oh yeah, certainly...I've been inside my Centris a million times! I've even tried fitting another hard drive into it, but it had no effect.

Nope, everything's secured. I'm pretty sure it's just because it's an old Mac that needs upgrading. By looking around inside the Centris, I found out that it's got 8 MB of RAM, and so I'm thinking of upgrading it with four more MB.

On Thursday hopefully I'll get the RAM and the OS, and then I'll see how it goes from there.

Thanks,

-Apostrophe

 

[dbraverman88]

Well yeah, it turns out there is a floppy bootloader called EMILE

Thanks!

 

[LCGuy]

Well yeah, it turns out there is a floppy bootloader called EMILE

Looks sweet...even sorta-supports netbooting! :O