Upgrade from a 128k to a Mac Plus?

[snuci]

I know this is a basic question but when a Mac 128k is upgraded to a Mac Plus, what gets replaced?

 

[Johnnya101]

Back bucket and logic board.

 

[snuci]

Back bucket and logic board.

Floppy drive too?    I would guess it would go from a 400k drive to an 800k drive?  Does this look like a 400k or 800k drive?

 

[Johnnya101]

I think it would depend on the dealer. Some I think would leave it a 400k, and some would upgrade? Not sure.

 

[snuci]

Please see pic above.  Some people can tell by looking at the drive through the opening.  I am thinking this is upgraded to 800k.

 

[Johnnya101]

I have no idea what a 400k drive looks like, Ive never seen one in person. It looks like an 800k. Do you have an 800k disk to test? That will tell you quick what it is. Or, of course, just take the back off. Guessing you are looking at a photo of one listed for sale, so that is probably out of the question. Maybe wait for someone else to respond.

Also, just letting you know, you dont need to quote what the person above you says, especially since its only been you and I in this thread so far. Think its against the rules.

 

[Gorgonops]

If Apple did the upgrade they'd certainly swap the 400k drive for an 800k one. Technically speaking Apple used to sell the 800k internal drive mechanism and the 128k ROMs with SCSI and HFS support as a bundle (you could buy this to turn the original "Fat Mac" into a 512ke), and I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the complete BOM for the Plus upgrade as sold by dealers included as sub-units the part numbers for the 800k floppy/ROM bundle and a motherboard/back-case bundle... but I don't have it in me to find a reference.

It's certainly possible some fly-by-night third-party repair shops might have been willing to sell you just the board, ROM, and back case without the drive mechanism, but the resulting machine wouldn't be a standard configuration. Heck, floating around out there you'll find examples of 128k/512k Macs that had the original rear bucket hacked up fit the different port layout of the Plus board, thus saving the need to find a replacement, but that's also obviously not something a real Mac dealer would do.

 

[snuci]

I don't yet have it but I will check it out when it arrives.  I will be restoring it back to a 128k so I am hoping it has as many original parts as possible.  It will be a long wait   Thanks for the replies.

 

[Gorgonops]

You'd probably be better off looking out for another unit. Typically all they kept from the original was the front bezel, frame, and analog board, so you'll essentially be needing to find parts amounting to a complete 128k anyway. Are you at least getting the original short keyboard?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I will never in my life understand this fascination with laming an upgraded, usable 128k back down to its miserable excuse for a computer original state. It's not like it can ever be an original 128k again. Definitely look for a good deal on the real deal if you just gotta have one. But make sure you get the external FDD that was absolutely necessary to transform Jobs' monolithic appliance into something marginally less infuriating to actually use. If you want original, no FloppyEMU for you!

 

[snuci]

I have a few original Mac 128ks.  In this particular case, I was the person who bought the recent Drexel Mac upgraded to a Mac Plus here.  I'd like to restore it back to stock as close as I can.  I hope that makes a little more sense? 

 

[Johnnya101]

Yes, that makes more sense now! Thanks for letting us know.

 

[LaPorta]

To me, it’s like restoring a classic car. Some people (like myself) want to get rid of all the custom mods, aftermarket stereo, and racing seats to put back all the original parts as it left the factory. I get it.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

OK, I've got a Drexel Mac so I can understand your aims. I have one that was also upgraded to a Plus and then fitted with a 16MHz Performer accelerator that brought it up to near SE/30 performance and usefulness. It was limited to 4MB of RAM on its 8MHz bus but did most everything someone might have heeded to be done until software upgrades outstripped that utility and then nostalgically stored away. My Drexel's history is important for me, someone cared for it because it was a "first love" deal, taking a first computer almost as far as it would go into its obsolescence. It can never be a boxed "Closet Queen" 128k stored away because it was rendered obsolete within a year by the 512k.

Your project would be a bit like restoring an early VW Bug to its youthful state and I get it. But is some madman had done the racing seats Porsche engine mods I'd keep it that way. :grin:

 

[Dog Cow]

Floppy drive too?    I would guess it would go from a 400k drive to an 800k drive?  Does this look like a 400k or 800k drive?

View attachment 26158

That's an 800K drive.

 

[snuci]

Your project would be a bit like restoring an early VW Bug to its youthful state and I get it. But is some madman had done the racing seats Porsche engine mods I'd keep it that way. :grin:

I understand the point you are making and I can assure you, I go both ways.  I would never touch a Mac 128k with Hyperdrive or even some of the accelerators in the other compact Macs because it provides some lineage to the computer and the honest upgrade that people went through to make these things work.   That said, there are is the opposite thinking that I also want to know the struggles that people went through who originally bought these things as stock.  I wouldn't for a second hesitate to restore a MITS Altair 8800 if I only had one.  It is iconic (good or bad usability aside) in it's unadulterated form and I can assure you that checking recent prices, others feel the same. 

It goes both ways.  Restoration to stock for some, modded to the max for others and a little of both for some.

 

[SE30_Neal]

OK, I've got a Drexel Mac so I can understand your aims. I have one that was also upgraded to a Plus and then fitted with a 16MHz Performer accelerator that brought it up to near SE/30 performance and usefulness. It was limited to 4MB of RAM on its 8MHz bus but did most everything someone might have heeded to be done until software upgrades outstripped that utility and then nostalgically stored away. My Drexel's history is important for me, someone cared for it because it was a "first love" deal, taking a first computer almost as far as it would go into its obsolescence. It can never be a boxed "Closet Queen" 128k stored away because it was rendered obsolete within a year by the 512k.

Your project would be a bit like restoring an early VW Bug to its youthful state and I get it. But is some madman had done the racing seats Porsche engine mods I'd keep it that way. :grin:

I tend to agree if this was a factory upgrade i would keep it as is, it was obviously upgraded as the 128 was pretty useless. Mind you if you want an original 128k for historic purposes so be it although the extra power under the hood wouldn’t go amiss even if externally its 128 through and through 

 

[SE30_Neal]

I understand the point you are making and I can assure you, I go both ways.  I would never touch a Mac 128k with Hyperdrive or even some of the accelerators in the other compact Macs because it provides some lineage to the computer and the honest upgrade that people went through to make these things work.   That said, there are is the opposite thinking that I also want to know the struggles that people went through who originally bought these things as stock.  I wouldn't for a second hesitate to restore a MITS Altair 8800 if I only had one.  It is iconic (good or bad usability aside) in it's unadulterated form and I can assure you that checking recent prices, others feel the same. 

It goes both ways.  Restoration to stock for some, modded to the max for others and a little of both for some.

Ok i get what your saying

 

[Gorgonops]

I'd probably just suggest yanking the Drexel faceplate off and moving it to one of your other 128ks, frankly. You're never going to be able to get it back to a "numbers match" restoration. (To go back to the car analogy, basically what you're looking at here would be trying to restore a van which had the entire body cut off behind the doors to turn it into box truck or RV, and at the same time had the original engine swapped out. Pretty much all you're keeping is the frame and the front grill here.)
 

That said, there are is the opposite thinking that I also want to know the struggles that people went through who originally bought these things as stock

Since you already have 128ks then it's safe to assume this is for resale? There certainly isn't anything that's going to feel different about a Drexel 128k than a regular one unless you're fingering the embossed "D".