Fixing up a IIvx

[macintoshman]

Why bother fixng a IIvx?

I was happy to get one, but using it was slllllllllllooooooooooooooooowwwwwwww.

Slowest computer in the world besides the LC/LCII

Mine died. Boots up, no chime,novideo,no nothing.

 

[bigD]

I always thought of the IIvx as kind of a IIci (in terms of performance) with the option of having an internal CD-ROM drive. I personally was never a fan of the look of the case, but some people love it.

 

[macintoshman]

I imagine it as a snail. It is slower on some benchmarks than the Mac II!

 

[Charlieman]

No it wasn't. It was a caddy loader. I bought one from the original owner who I had known for 20 years and the case was never cracked open before I opened it.

On my part, there are definitely times when not to say *definitely*... My one prevous owner IIvx has a tray load CD drive, fitted at time of purchase. Possibly different things were happening in different regions, or my IIvx was old stock.

 

[Charlieman]

I always thought of the IIvx as kind of a IIci (in terms of performance) with the option of having an internal CD-ROM drive. I personally was never a fan of the look of the case, but some people love it.

Alas the IIvx has deliberate limitations in its architecture. The IIvx can be upgraded a bit, but then you wish you were using a IIci.

 

[tmtomh]

I'm not one to trash a perfectly good Mac, but...

.. The IIvx is a definite Road Apple. Its architecture is crippled, its CD drive bezel is caddy-loader-compatible only, and IMHO it's butt-ugly.

I got a couple of IIvx's a few years ago as part of a large (free) haul of 68kj Macs. Here's what I did with them:

- Removed one of the CD drives, put it in a spare case, and used it as an A/UX install drive (A/UX will only work properly with the old Apple 1X and 2X drives, most of which are caddy loaders).

- Took a sharp utility knife and sliced the soldered-on 68882 FPU chips off the mobos. These went to good homes in other Mac users' computers (i.e. IIsi's and CC's). It's a little-known fact, but you can indeed just slice these off and use them in machines that take a socketed 68882. And the IIvx is one of the only Macs that (a) has a soldered-on 68882, and ( B) is worthless enough to justify slicing it off for re-use in other Macs.

- Sold the PSUs to folks who needed them for Macs that used the same form factor (i.e. Q650s).

- Donated the mobos to an artist who was making a circuit board sculpture.

- Dumped the cases at my local computer recycler - a nonprofit that gets paid for the scrap metal.

IMHO, I think this was a very good way to make the IIvx's useful to the Mac universe in a way that far exceeds the actual value and usability of the computers themselves.

Best,

Matt

 

[tmtomh]

I'm not one to trash a perfectly good Mac, but...

.. The IIvx is a definite Road Apple. Its architecture is crippled, its CD drive bezel is caddy-loader-compatible only, and IMHO it's butt-ugly.

I got a couple of IIvx's a few years ago as part of a large (free) haul of 68k Macs. Here's what I did with them:

- Took a sharp utility knife and sliced the soldered-on 68882 FPU chips off the mobos. These went to good homes in other Mac users' computers (i.e. IIsi's and CC's). It's a little-known fact, but you can indeed just slice these off and use them in machines that take a socketed 68882. And the IIvx is one of the only Macs that (a) has a soldered-on 68882, and ( B) is worthless enough to justify slicing it off for re-use in other Macs.

- Removed one of the CD drives, put it in a spare case, and used it as an A/UX install drive (A/UX will only work properly with the old Apple 1X and 2X drives, most of which are caddy loaders).

- Sold the PSUs to folks who needed them for Macs that used the same form factor (i.e. Q650s).

- Donated the mobos to an artist who was making a circuit board sculpture.

- Dumped the cases at my local computer recycler - a nonprofit that gets paid for the scrap metal.

IMHO, I think this was a very good way to make the IIvx's useful to the Mac universe in a way that far exceeds the actual value and usability of the computers themselves.

Best,

Matt

 

[macintoshman]

I aggree 100 But, I could not destroy mine, as macs are soooo rare here.

 

[Quadraman]

I'm not one to trash a perfectly good Mac, but...
.. The IIvx is a definite Road Apple. Its architecture is crippled, its CD drive bezel is caddy-loader-compatible only, and IMHO it's butt-ugly.

I got a couple of IIvx's a few years ago as part of a large (free) haul of 68k Macs. Here's what I did with them:

- Took a sharp utility knife and sliced the soldered-on 68882 FPU chips off the mobos. These went to good homes in other Mac users' computers (i.e. IIsi's and CC's). It's a little-known fact, but you can indeed just slice these off and use them in machines that take a socketed 68882. And the IIvx is one of the only Macs that (a) has a soldered-on 68882, and ( B) is worthless enough to justify slicing it off for re-use in other Macs.

- Removed one of the CD drives, put it in a spare case, and used it as an A/UX install drive (A/UX will only work properly with the old Apple 1X and 2X drives, most of which are caddy loaders).

- Sold the PSUs to folks who needed them for Macs that used the same form factor (i.e. Q650s).

- Donated the mobos to an artist who was making a circuit board sculpture.

- Dumped the cases at my local computer recycler - a nonprofit that gets paid for the scrap metal.

IMHO, I think this was a very good way to make the IIvx's useful to the Mac universe in a way that far exceeds the actual value and usability of the computers themselves.

Best,

Matt

That was a lot of good parts that went to waste. See my earlier post in this thread for how to make a useful machine out of a IIvx.

 

[tmtomh]

I'm not one to trash a perfectly good Mac, but...

That was a lot of good parts that went to waste. See my earlier post in this thread for how to make a useful machine out of a IIvx.

Unless you consider recycling the cases and using the mobos for an art project "waste," then nothing really went to waste. In addition to the FPUs and the CD-ROM I mentioned in my previous post, the HDs and RAM were re-used in other Macs; and the floppy drives became part of a larger lot of floppies that went to another Mac person to refurbish a bunch of his 68k machines.

So I don't see what good parts went to waste. And I don't think swapping in a Q650 Mobo counts as a way to make it a useful machine - that just assumes that someone has a Q650 mobo, and only the mobo, in need of a surrounding machine. Very likely the Q650 donor mobo comes with a good PSU, floppy, and/or case, and so you're wasting "a lot of good parts" by using your recommended IIvx upgrade method.

M

 

[Quadraman]

I'm not one to trash a perfectly good Mac, but...

That was a lot of good parts that went to waste. See my earlier post in this thread for how to make a useful machine out of a IIvx.

Unless you consider recycling the cases and using the mobos for an art project "waste," then nothing really went to waste. In addition to the FPUs and the CD-ROM I mentioned in my previous post, the HDs and RAM were re-used in other Macs; and the floppy drives became part of a larger lot of floppies that went to another Mac person to refurbish a bunch of his 68k machines.

So I don't see what good parts went to waste. And I don't think swapping in a Q650 Mobo counts as a way to make it a useful machine - that just assumes that someone has a Q650 mobo, and only the mobo, in need of a surrounding machine. Very likely the Q650 donor mobo comes with a good PSU, floppy, and/or case, and so you're wasting "a lot of good parts" by using your recommended IIvx upgrade method.

M

It takes energy and causes pollution to melt down and reform the metal into something else. It requires no energy and leads to no pollution to collect some parts and refurb the machine so someone else can use it.

 

[tmtomh]

It takes energy and causes pollution to melt down and reform the metal into something else. It requires no energy and leads to no pollution to collect some parts and refurb the machine so someone else can use it.

True enough. When you're right, you're right. [] ]'>

M

 

[ClassicMac]

More than ten years later - these machines do have some worth even though being slow. 

 

[maceffects]

You are quite correct.  It amazes me how things change. I remember slide of LC and Compact Macs being trashed along with Apple IIe and IIgs.  Now many of these are well excess of $100 when fully working. I have tossed several machines I regret as well. 

 

[Cory5412]

Locking this to prevent further confusion. This thread is over ten years old and this kind of discussion is likely best kept to current threads (especially anything relying on environmental context which has changed a lot from 2008 to today).

If a solution to a technical question that was never answered comes up, let a moderator know and we can unlock this thread if need be.