powerbook duo 2300c

[bamdad]

hi all,

this is a replica of my post at ppcmla.com, sorry for making such duplicates.

i recently obtained a last series powerbook duo (100 mhz powerpc, 800 mb hd etc.). it has os 8.1 installed and runs decently. what i really like about it is the size, but alas when i looked at its ports it was plain horror.
it only has a modem and an i-don't-know-what port which has a pictogram of a telephone and a printer on it and is called (by the os) modem/printer port.

now i understand that it used to be inserted into a 'duo dock' but i do not know where to get one and even if i could i wouldn't want to only for the sake of ports.

can anybody help me how to get stuff (like a nice 7.6.1 and ram doubler) onto it? it has no floppy, no cd, no nothing..

thanks,

bamdad

 

[TheNeil]

This is one of the big problems with the Duo line as a whole (and not just the 2300). While it doesn't have much in the way of ports it does have an ADB socket and a serial socket (the telephone/printer). If you're not willing to get a docking station (the Duo Dock is big but maybe post a want ad for a mini-dock) then you can hook the serial connection up to another Mac and communicate via good old AppleTalk (just need a common or garden Apple serial/printer cable). It'll run dog slow but it'll work (I know as I transferred all 20 disk images for OS 7.5 onto my first Duo using just the serial cable)

 

[bamdad]

ahh.. so i have no other choice. i tried to use the modem but the previous owner did not install the appropriate control panels for it (modem, tcp/ip etc.).

alright, should i then go for the micro dock according to this article, for it has (or may have) ethernet? i'm guessing there are several types of micro docks. it doesn't state anything about the mini dock and ethernet. could you enlighten me a bit?

 

[paws]

Take the HD out and stick it in an enclosure...

 

[bamdad]

Take the HD out and stick it in an enclosure...

it won't work. one thing is i have no scsi compatible stuff (and i am more willing to buy something that i can easily network with) and the other is that i tried to take it apart but only managed to remove the keyboard and saw frightening stuff underneath. compared to this my powerbook g4's guts are visually appealing and straightforward.

 

[TheNeil]

ahh.. so i have no other choice. i tried to use the modem but the previous owner did not install the appropriate control panels for it (modem, tcp/ip etc.).
alright, should i then go for the micro dock according to this article, for it has (or may have) ethernet? i'm guessing there are several types of micro docks. it doesn't state anything about the mini dock and ethernet. could you enlighten me a bit?

Without the appropriate controls panels then you are kind of stuck.

I've only ever used the micro-docks and can't say that I've come across one that has ethernet (definitely seen them with HDI-20 (floppy) and maybe with HDI-30 (SCSI) and might even have a spare HDI-20 one if I remember correctly - I'll have a check and see if I can dig one out). Unless you have the correct control panels though, getting a micro-dock with ethernet won't do you any good as...no way to install what you need.

EveryMac doesn't list ethernet with the mini-dock but I'm sure that I've seen a pic somewhere that shows what looks like an ethernet socket.

[Edit]Came across a site that mentions that while the official Apple mini-dock didn't have ethernet, docks produced by third party suppliers did come with an ethernet socket[/edit]

 

[bamdad]

thanks a lot, but don't bother looking for an HDI-20 because i have no floppy drive (only an IDE one for my old pc).

ethernet would be the best option since i have loads of classic apps and games, and some don't really like classic and os 9.2.2 on my pbg4. not to mention being able to use almost anybody's internet connection - including my own - would be insanely great.

i am thinking of creating a portable word processing and retro gaming machine to carry around in stead of my pbg4.

and, if i'm not mistaken, chooser and the appletalk control panel are loaded, so i should be able to use ethernet once it's installed. then i can refresh the system and onwards into the winderness.. sorry, i got a little carries away there.

 

[bamdad]

[Edit]Came across a site that mentions that while the official Apple mini-dock didn't have ethernet, docks produced by third party suppliers did come with an ethernet socket[/edit]

hm.. and i'm guessing those are exremely rare..

 

[TheNeil]

[Edit]Came across a site that mentions that while the official Apple mini-dock didn't have ethernet, docks produced by third party suppliers did come with an ethernet socket[/edit]

hm.. and i'm guessing those are exremely rare..

I'd never even heard of them so I'd have to agree with you

BTW If you have AppleTalk and Chooser installed then you should be able to hook up via the printer/modem socket. Just plug the other end into another Mac, setup an AppleTalk connection and you're away

 

[bamdad]

(...) BTW If you have AppleTalk and Chooser installed then you should be able to hook up via the printer/modem socket. Just plug the other end into another Mac, setup an AppleTalk connection and you're away

i have thought of that earlier, but i have no cables (know any haxie to attach an ethernet cable to say.. a PS/2 mouse plug? ) and my oldest mac is a quicksilver g4. quite a sorrowful situation..

btw only in theory - since i haven't any modem or ppp control panel - am i right to assume that PPP connection via directly connecting two modems is impossible? (it would make sense if it's called peer to peer protocol but who knows..)

 

[Bunsen]

Duo / does have an ADB socket

Bzzt nope. Just a serial port marked modem/printer, and a modem if installed (a panel blank if not). For ADB you need a Minidock or Dock of some kind, or an internal hack which involves soldering.

There are some very good documents on the Powerbook Duo series and their docks online, which a little Google should reveal to you. The word "FAQ" can be helpful.

If you have a Dock with SCSI (ie nearly all of them I think) and a SCSI cable with the "Dock" switch on it, and another Mac with SCSI, you can boot the Duo up in "SCSI Disk mode" ie the drive inside it mounts itself as an external drive on the other machine. Drag, drop, install, format to your heart's content.

 

[tomlee59]

btw only in theory - since i haven't any modem or ppp control panel - am i right to assume that PPP connection via directly connecting two modems is impossible? (it would make sense if it's called peer to peer protocol but who knows..)

Yes, indeed you can connect two modem-equipped computers together this way. All you need is a "phone line simulator." In its simplest form, a battery, capacitor and resistor will do the job. Many versions of this basic circuit can be found on the web. An example is http://www.jagshouse.com/modem.html

In some rare cases, a modem may not function with 9V. I've never had one not work with 18V, however, so in the worst case, two 9V batteries should suffice. If you plan to transfer many bytes this way, a non-battery implementation is probably a better choice, but requires just a bit more labor to construct.

 

[bamdad]

There are some very good documents on the Powerbook Duo series and their docks online, which a little Google should reveal to you. The word "FAQ" can be helpful.

thanks, i'll look into it. as for the SCSI disk mode, i'm going to try it as soon as i get another vintage mac and a scsi cable. anyway, interesting info, i didn't know pre-firewire macs can do this.

for now ethernet would be best.

Yes, indeed you can connect two modem-equipped computers together this way. All you need is a "phone line simulator." In its simplest form, a battery, capacitor and resistor will do the job. (...)

now this is weird. never though it's so simple. if only the previous owner didn't have deleted such essential control panels maybe i could have used ppp's or remote access's (don't know which one) terminal to issue direct commands to the modem.

until i find some way to get ethernet or to use Bunsen's method i'm stuck hard. and i guess even if i were to buy a serial to ethernet adapter it wouldn't do the job.

 

[TheNeil]

Duo / does have an ADB socket

Bzzt nope. Just a serial port marked modem/printer, and a modem if installed (a panel blank if not). For ADB you need a Minidock or Dock of some kind, or an internal hack which involves soldering.

It's been too long since I dragged a Duo off the shelf and had a look (and I always have mine hooked up to a microdock so there was always one available). Alas, stuck in an office, I had to rely on my obviously shaky memory :I

Apologies for giving out misleading info.

 

[LCGuy]

The Floppy MicroDock had an ADB port, as well as the HDI-20 floppy port. Don't know about any of the other MicroDocks though.

 

[Bunsen]

documents on the Powerbook Duo series and their docks online, which a little Google should reveal to you. The word "FAQ" can be helpful.

Heh. This thread was the second hit.

Meanwhile, here's the FAQ I was thinking of, Apple's official FAQ, the Wikipedia article, a Charles Moore article about the Duo series on lowendmac.com, as well as an archived article about the Duos which lists every Dock ever made

 

[bamdad]

wow. you beat me in googling. : thanks again, links highly appreciated.

it seems whai i really need is a newer technologies microdock. hope it does not require software to be installed.

btw i just noticed that the system profiler reported a weird thing: internal hd - ATA. this means that it's not SCSI, and if i can figure out how to get it out (it should be documented somewhere) i might be able to put it into my quicksilver and do some installing there. going to try this afternoon.

 

[LCGuy]

Yep, the 2300 is the only Duo to have an ATA HDD.

 

[Bunsen]

Don't attempt a Duo disassembly and reassembly without a pictorial guide. The ones at ifixit.com are pretty good, but I don't know if they go as far back as the Duos. Someone here might be able to send you the appropriate guide, or at least prompt you with the file name to search for.

Even when you do get it out, you'll need a 2.5" to 3.5" ATA adapter. I reckon you're better off in the long run getting a dock of some kind and a SCSI docking (ie switchable) cable.