pram software

[equant]

My SE battery is dead, and I don't feel like replacing it right now. Everytime I start it I have to adjust the mouse speed faster. Does anyone know of any pram software that works to set certain pram options when System 6 boots?

I've tried pramset and autorestorepram with no success. One of them just does volume and cache, and the other crashed my system.

Thanks

 

[equill]

Stinting on PRAM battery cost, or the effort of replacing them, is pointless when the lithium half-AAs are cheap-as-chips. How much time have you already spent in trying to get around the disability?

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1452&highlight=pram+battery

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1025&highlight=pram+battery

de

 

[equant]

I've spent very little time.

Everyone has different views on what is effort. What if someone can't grip a torx driver or open a case because of a dissability? Installing a piece of software isn't physically difficult, nor does it cost money, nor do I have to drive my car, or even get out of my seat.

*Maybe* what I'm looking for is just a stop-gap measure while I wait for my friend with 1MB sims to dig them out of a box so I can do both installs at once.

I figured the software I'm seeking might exist, and someone might know about it. That's why I came here to ask. Since it wasn't obious in my original post, I'll let you know that I didn't come here to be told my question is pointless to ask becuase you would do things differently.

 

[Unknown_K]

If there is a system 6 version of hypercard you could probably write a small utility to do what you want. Finding utils that work in system 6 is getting hard, do a google search using the groups option (newsgroups) and see if anything comes up.

I think what equill was getting at is very few people want to run around looking for some obscure or non existant utility to save somebody $4 on a new PRAM battery. People will allways mention the cheapest and easiest way to fix something, if you want to make life hard on yourself you are generally on your own.

 

[Charlieman]

Gamba and I worked on this five years ago wrt Appletalk settings. pram-auto-restore was good enough for what he required. I think that Revrdist has a tool that is suitable to reset mouse speed. If you can't find them or need other tools, mail me.

Mellow a smidge, Equant. Whilst Equill may not have suggested the right solution for you, s/he still provided a valid recommendation that may be more appropriate for others. Google spiders 68kmla, so discussions "around a problem" are as worthwhile as direct solutions.

 

[pee-air]

I think what equill was getting at is very few people want to run around looking for some obscure or non existant utility to save somebody $4 on a new PRAM battery. People will allways mention the cheapest and easiest way to fix something, if you want to make life hard on yourself you are generally on your own.

Where do you get these batteries for $4? The last time I bought one (I bought two actually) was in 2005, and they cost me $16 each. Of course, I bought them from Radio Shack. 8-o

 

[Unknown_K]

EBAY, they have a few sellers selling new PRAM batteries there in any quantity you like. Renoldo something is a guy I purchased a bunch from over the years, probably $5+ each with shipping included and he gives you a $1 discount on the next order.

The square 4.5V batteries used in the 6400 and other models are $15 at radioshack, not sure what they sell the 1/2 AA 3.6V batteries for but they are most likely too much.

Batteries do cost a few bucks if you have quite a few machines (I think I have 20+ now), but it is just one of the costs of collecting. Not every machine needs a PRAM anyway, some need one just to boot (or 2 as with the mac IIs).

 

[equill]

... Where do you get these batteries for $4?...

From the eBay seller mentioned in one of the two links in my first post, ronaldo101.

... I'll let you know that I didn't come here to be told my question is pointless to ask becuase you would do things differently.

My question was a question, not a slur on your ancestry. Unfortunately, there is no Smiley for 'get a battery'. If your car was designed and built with a battery, how useful would it be to try to do without it, even in the short term? And yes, some Macs won't boot without a functional battery, even if an SE isn't one of them.

de

 

[equant]

My question was a question, not a slur on your ancestry.

Honestly my reply wasn't to convey offense at your post, rather frustration. Sometimes people really do want what they're asking for. I guess I should take my own advice, because your question seemed rhetorical, and I took it as such; I didn't realize you really wanted to know. The answer is: more and more now that I've started this thread.

If your car was designed and built with a battery, how useful would it be to try to do without it, even in the short term?

I would have thought... Very? I guess I'm going to have to re-think suggesting popping the clutch to someone who is stranded with a dead battery. Instead, I'll just advise them to get themselves a new battery.

 

[equant]

I think that Revrdist has a tool that is suitable to reset mouse speed.

Wow, thanks Charlieman, that looks to be a good lead and something I'd never heard of. Lots of interesting stuff.

Thanks,

Nathan

 

[equill]

... Very? I guess I'm going to have to re-think suggesting popping the clutch to someone who is stranded with a dead battery. Instead, I'll just advise them to get themselves a new battery.

Especially if the car has an automatic transmission, perhaps? Even carrying heavy-duty jumper cables in an automatic against such occasions implies the need for a functional battery from somewhere. :

de

 

[Big Bird]

I use an excellent program on my 68K Macs, including my Plus web server, to set the time from an NTP server at a specified interval. Because you can also configure it to set the time at system startup, it's an excellent way to get around the dead PRAM battery issue. On my Plus that runs as a web server with a dead PRAM battery, I modified the System file in ResEdit for simple things like mouse settings, and use this control panel to maintain the date and time.

From the author:

Network Time is a control panel program that sets the clock on your Macintosh computer to the correct time of day. To do this, Network Time contacts a time server using the Apple MacTCP network software to get the correct time of day. Network Time automatically adjusts your clock taking into consideration the time zone and the daylight savings time rules that you configure using the Network Time control panel.
Network Time requires at least a Macintosh Plus computer running system software version 6.0.5 or later (including System 7) and requires MacTCP version 1.1 or later. Network Time has full Balloon Help support. Foreign language versions of Network Time are available separately; the versions that are now either avaiable or in progress are Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

This package contains a QuickStart manual with basic instructions in TeachText format and the full Network Time manual is provided in MacWrite Pro format. The manual is also available in PostScript format in a separate archive, and a printed copy of the manual can be obtained from the author.

Network Time is a shareware program. Please send US$5 per copy or US$100 per 100 copies of Network Time, and US$5 per printed manual (along with any questions or comments) to:

Pete Resnick

1009 North Busey Avenue

Urbana, IL 61801

(217)337-1905

You can also send electronic mail via the Internet to:

resnick@cogsci.uiuc.edu.

Download it here: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/comm/inet/network-time-201.hqx

 

[equant]

I modified the System file in ResEdit for simple things like mouse settings,

Ha, clever. I should have thought of that.

Nathan