Macintosh Portable Questions

[Johnnya101]

Hi all,

I've got some questions about a Mac Portable. I've never owned, used one, etc so sorry if these are dumb!

1. Will the screens get that moisture issue and turn black over time?

2. How do they run 7.5.5? (Maxed ram)

3. Is there a machine they are like? An SE? I've heard some people say Plus...

4. How reliable are they once they are fully recapped?

Thanks!

 

[Johnnya101]

Also, do these boards ever become dead from sitting? There's a few on the bay at the moment however they are untested. I know I would have to buy a new battery. BUT can they be fixed most of the time?

 

[bibilit]

1. Will the screens get that moisture issue and turn black over time?                  well, i have heard some have this problem, never seen myself

2. How do they run 7.5.5? (Maxed ram)                                                                never tried myself,but better use SSW 6 or 7.1.

3. Is there a machine they are like? An SE? I've heard some people say Plus...  having PDS slot and a ram ceiling above 4 MB, is more a SE than a Plus, plus processor is a 68HC000 

4. How reliable are they once they are fully recapped?                                        They will work fine if everything else has been cared for (battery, PSU, hard drive) can be picky on some occasions...

 

[Johnnya101]

Thank you!

 

[techknight]

These machines are a little different than anything else in the Mac family and have nothing to be compared with EXCEPT the PB100. 

The PB100 is basically an improved version of the Portable. 

Also the screens CAN get tunneling (I have one) but they have to have been stored very poorly for that to happen, and its much more rare than say the PB170/180. 

The circuit design was originally for a 68020+ judging by the schematics, but they cobbled it by tossing in a 68HC000 for battery reasons, and they run at 16Mhz. You can tell this machine was design with the 68020 running at 16-bit Data Bus (LC) in mind, but towards the tail end they scrapped that idea. 

So its close to an SE, but its not. because you can max the portable out at 8 to 9MB of RAM, and they will run 7.5.5

They also run at 16Mhz instead of the 8Mhz that the other 68000 machines run at other than the PB100. 

So in conclusion the Portable is different in its own way. Logically, its very similar to the LC/LCII. But without the 020 of course, and ROM being in a different address location. 

 

[Johnnya101]

Thanks Techknight! So I've been reading about how great you are with these boards... just wondering, how likely is it that you can bring one back to life? All of them I have seen online are untested

 

[techknight]

its about an 80/20 chance.