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Digging around in the ROM and source code, Apple originally planned to include removable disk cards on the Macintosh Portable. This would have predated PCMCIA cards. In the source file, EDiskDriver.a, Gary Davidian ("GGD") appears to have begun work on EDisks around June of 1988. He first...

I've been researching the Apple system routines that use LongDateTime as part of a potential solution to the 2040 problem. Because it is first documented in Inside Macintosh Vol VI, I assumed that those routines first appeared in System 7. But, on closer inspection and with some testing, those...

I recently purchased a Macintosh IIfx that came with an unusually large amount of RAM: 80 MB. The RAM is in the form of 4 x 16 MB SIMM (64 MB bank A) and 4 x 4 MB SIMMs (16 MB bank B). The 16 MB SIMMs are composite; each one consisting of 4 rows of 4 MB of RAM per SIMM. I have never seem...

There are at least four production versions of the Macintosh II logic board that I'm aware of. I'd be interested if anyone has a board other than the ones listed below. Macintosh II 820-0163-02 I don't have this board. The next set of images is from Bruce at Branchus Creations. This is the...

@olePigeon recently asked me about Tiny Transfer's file name limit. It got me to thinking about what the true file name limit is in classic Mac operating systems. The original file system (MFS) claims to handle file names up to 255 characters in length -- but, hey, the Finder doesn't support...

I recently purchased a Macintosh IIcx where the seller indicated it wouldn't power up. I feared a battery bomb -- but I was really just after the SuperMac ColorCard with Accelerator daughterboard installed in the IIcx. I disassembled the IIcx and was pleasantly surprised to discover a really...

I was cleaning up the basement and ran across this Macintosh. I can't find any documentation on it -- so I am going to try and make some educated guesses on the specifications. Built-in B&W display. One floppy drive (non functioning. jammed?). Pre-ADB keyboard. No arrow keys. I must have lost...

I picked up a Macintosh II with a surprise inside: The Sonnet Allegro Doubler Mac II. The board has a 68030 processor fed double the native clock (15.6672->31.3344) which is marketed as 16 MHz -> 33 MHz. Besides the speed bump, the other benefit is that the 68030 includes a built-in MMU. This...

For testing and cataloging purposes, I wrote a routine that compares two files to determine any differences. Everything works well, except when comparing the resource forks. It turns out, in classic Mac OS, a portion of the resource fork header differs when a file is copied. Steps to Reproduce...

I recently bought a Macintosh SE/30 with missing pixels / bad video. I thought it would help others to walk through how I found the fault. Below, we see an image a startup image with the "insert disk icon" in the middle and the cursor on the upper-left. The cursor follows the moving mouse. This...

In an earlier post, I expressed curiosity about an unpopulated connector on the original SuperMac Spectrum 8 video card. Someone mentioned that the Series II version of the card has a second connector that is populated. On eBay, I found two of the Series II cards, although they are often not...

I recently purchased a Performa 467, primarily for the novelty of such an obscure model number. Other than bundled applications, it is identical to the LC III+. Both machines are just LC III computers with a boost from 25 MHz to 33 MHz. Some weird things were going on at Apple in 1993. Here are...

The LC III+ is simply an LC III bumped from 25 MHz to 33 MHz. The Performa 460 series (460, 466, 467) had identical hardware to the LC III+, but included additional application software. System Enabler 003 is for the LC III+. System Enabler 308 is for the Performa 460 series. Wait, what? The...

Over the years, I have accumulated a handful of Macintosh IIsi computers with partially working SCSI that end up corrupting the hard disk images. No other computers have suffered the same fate, and I have plenty of IIsi computers that work perfectly. So, I am fascinated to determine what exactly...

I bought this old SuperMac graphics card on eBay. I knew it was going to be an early card, given that it nearly contains only through-hole parts. The ROM label is interesting, in that it says "SPECTRUM" but not "/8" or "III" or any additional modifier. I assume 'D6' is the ROM version...

I just received a new-old-stock SuperMac Thunder II 1600 video card. It is still sealed in the original shrink wrap and the box's factory tape is intact. (Please note the "Free Software Offer!" sticker for later in this posting) I paid $350 for this. Ouch. The seller said they had another...

After several unsuccessful purchases, I've obtained an original unaltered Macintosh 128K. Model M0001 serial number F40907JM0001 (the 256th Mac manufactured during the 9th week of 1984 in Fremont, California, USA.) The screws are all black and of the 'tapping' variety. I suspect these are...

I ran across something I have never seen before. Maybe someone else has. This is a commercial FWB floppy disk. I assumed it had the FWB Hard Disk Toolkit for SCSI drives. Nope. It was an earlier product (?) offered by FWB to crack (?) software so that it could be moved to and used on a hard...

Picked up a floppy disk easel from the late 1980s. The information below was publicly posted by William himself. I'm capturing it here for preservation purposes. "Over 30 years ago I was a System Engineer at Apple in Chicago. Back then floppies were the media of choice. This is how I carried...

I recently purchased a Jasmine BackPac 40, along with a Mac Plus. A very attractive paring! To install it, you first remove the two bottom screws and the battery cover from the Mac Plus. The clock/pram battery stays in place. The Mac's power switch is flipped to the ON position. The BackPac...