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Topic |
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SpaceBoy
Full Member
USA
631 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Apr 2002 : 22:48:45
Hey!
I'd mentioned in the thread about the Quadra 950's disk access rates toasting a new(ish) PowerMac G4 that I'd tell the rather neat story of how I came across my 950.
At the time (about a year ago, I think) I'd been going out with a girl named Sarah. She was completely nuts, but that's a different story...
Anyway, we were at the local Goodwill thrift store, looking for old rags and such, anything that could be used as part of our costumes for the (then) upcoming Ren Faire.
The search for costume matierals was pretty much a complete bust, but before we left the store, I insisted on staying for a moment more- I'd not had a chance to check the computer section yet. Sarah was pretty pissed, as she'd never 'gotten' my fondness for old hardware. Anyway, I went and took a peek anyway, and to my astonishment, there was this MASSIVE Mac sitting in the corner on it's side, being used as a stand for a big old RCA tv! I'd never seen a Quadra 950 before, but I knew when I saw it that I had to have it! The damn thing was just too.... big! Above all, though, the damn thing had a freekin' key to start it up! A KEY! How much cooler then that does it get?!?
So, I ended up buying it for $15 (they'd been asking $50, but I've got good bargaining skillz, I guess). The only catch was that we were a good 10 miles from (her or my) home, it was late at night, and we were on foot!
We ended up taking a bus for part of the way, but the rest was us on foot, wondering the streets of Vegas, with me carrying this friggin' huge Mac in my arms. By the time we got back to her place, my arms were about to fall off! 36.8 pounds (according to EveryMac.com) never seemed so heavy!
When we got it home, plugged in and set up, I finally got the chance to fire it up and see what condition it was in. I turned the key... and got a sad mac! Oh no! 
On a hunch, I tried switching my ever-trusty PowerBook 180 to "SCSI Mode" and tried booting the 950 from that... and it worked! All that carrying wasn't for nothing! 
Anyway, it turned out that the last owner had semi-trashed the System Folder, which was causing the sad mac to come up. I copied the system from the PowerBook, and the 950 has been working like a champ ever since.
Also, it turned out that it had 64 megs of RAM(!), two video cards, three SCSI hard drives (only one had power though...), and was pretty much a kick-ass machine. I just can't wait till I've got a broadband connection, so I can start using it as a webserver/fileserver/stuff-server, like Jobs intended.
Later!
SpaceBoy
PS If anyone out there has any spare power cables (the ones that go from the 950's (friggin' HUGE!) power supply to internal drives), I could sure use a few... lemme know!
 AppleBASIC FOREVER!
As of 4/8/02:
TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine"
PB 1400/133, "KayPro II"
PB 180/33, "Osbourne 1"
PMac 7100/G3-266, "DEC Rainbow" and "Altair 8800"
Quadra 950, "HAL 9000"
iMac Rev.A/333mHz, "Deep Blue"
Newton 120, "PADD" Edited by - SpaceBoy on 23 Apr 2002 22:51:50 |
Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2002 : 04:54:21
quote:
PS If anyone out there has any spare power cables (the ones that go from the 950's (friggin' HUGE!) power supply to internal drives), I could sure use a few... lemme know!
"Y" adapters and extensions for internal power connections are super cheap at a storefront clone mfrs. (they're not unbearably, only unreasonably, expensive at CrapShack! )jt  ™. . 
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SpaceBoy
Full Member
USA
631 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2002 : 12:46:02
Trash80-
Yeah, I bought a couple of those at a local comp. store, and just split the one power cable that came with the 950 (that way, I could use both a hard drive and a CD-ROM). I guess it's just not an elegant enough solution- why split my one cable when I've got all these free power sockets? I suppose it doesn't really matter all that much, except that I butchered the cable-splitter from the 950 when I was trying to get a neon light mounted in my iMac. I just figured that I'd try to get a few of the origional cables before I bought more generic splitters.
I'll start a Trading Post thread about it someday...
Thanks,
SpaceBoyAppleBASIC FOREVER!
As of 4/8/02:
TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine"
PB 1400/133, "KayPro II"
PB 180/33, "Osbourne 1"
PMac 7100/G3-266, "DEC Rainbow" and "Altair 8800"
Quadra 950, "HAL 9000"
iMac Rev.A/333mHz, "Deep Blue"
Newton 120, "PADD" |
Marchie
Chaplain
USA
911 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2002 : 16:12:08
oooo... a 950 that didn;t come with a Twin!amazeing. somewhere, sometime, I think that you will find ANOTHER 950, and you will then know that you MUST have it. 950s like to be together. Almost a shame that I'm shipping one to jt! (check your e-mail tonight jt!)
~Marchie ~Chaplain Marchie Holder of the Compact Mac -
-Stick of Justice, with Explodeing CRT head
-Wand of Power with Shocking Flyback Transformer Tip
~~"We are all Mad here"~~ |
Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2002 : 18:05:18
quote:
Almost a shame that I'm shipping one to jt!
cool! if you feel really terible about letting go of it i'd try to understand . . . . . BUT I WANNIT!!!!!! I WANNIT!!!!!! I WANNIT!!!!!!a mac portable and a laser 128 should be in a pile of ups packages somewhere about now!!!!!! it seems to be raining goodies!!  jt ™. .
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~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2002 : 18:24:13
The wierd power connectors on the PSU can be obtained by butchering LC power connectors: www.macaphernalia.8m.com/quadrajet/950.htmlBTW: Jobs wasn't around Apple when the 950 was made. He left around 86 and came back 96. ~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
00014 Macs liberated |
SpaceBoy
Full Member
USA
631 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2002 : 21:55:56
Hey guys-
Thanks for the tip about the LC power cables- I'll keep my eyes oper...
As to Jobs, I find it easier to cope by just pretending that he was always there! He didn't leave, he went on extended vacation!
SpaceBoyAppleBASIC FOREVER!
As of 4/8/02:
TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine"
PB 1400/133, "KayPro II"
PB 180/33, "Osbourne 1"
PMac 7100/G3-266, "DEC Rainbow" and "Altair 8800"
Quadra 950, "HAL 9000"
iMac Rev.A/333mHz, "Deep Blue"
Newton 120, "PADD" |
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How I got my Quadra 950...
68k of the Week: kastegir's PowerBook 180.