The Q630 has been upgraded to 20 MB RAM and a 2 GB hard drive; I also plugged in a 10base-T Comm Slot I card I purchased at Welovemacs.com that came WITHOUT software. (Chip on the card has "Sonic-T" and the national semiconductor logo printed on it; We Love Macs says the card was made by Apple and gives it a NET-CS-10T-R part number.)

I just did a custom reinstall of System 7.1.2P, pointedly including the ethernet parts. After installation I attempted to switch Appletalk to Ethernet and failed--I got an error message pointing out that there was an error starting ethernet, and that the machine would be using Local talk instead.

Question 1. I presume I need driver software. Is anyone familiar with this card and knows where to get the software?

Question 2. It appears there are two flavors of Apple ethernet--one that speaks TCP/IP, and one that does not. It also appears that one sure way to get TCP/IP ethernet is to upgrade to System 7.5.3 (or 7.5.5).

I really like the small footprint and nimble response of the Q630 running 7.1.2P. Do I have to jump to 7.5.3 in order to surf the web and print through a network? I would rather not.

Thanks for any help.

Perry Stout
Space Systems/Loral

i was using an LC as a server for a while and it was running 7.1 and ethernet worked fine, so it shouldn't be a system software issue. hope this helps :)

You can download both those installers from Apple, at Apple's archives

This gives you the nice simple TCP/IP and PPP control panels of the later MacOS versions, but keeps you on 7.1 for snappy light speed.

I -think- also, these install the opentransport extensions for many of apple's networking hardware, and they're named somewhat consistently.

CS Ethernet - for commslot
NB Ethernet - for NuBus
LC Ethernet - for LC PDS slots and compatible cards, which is another option for yours.

It might be worth checking with someone who's done an install of OT 1.1.2 on a 630 under that same OS to see if it provides the drivers.

I too love 7.1 for its speed and light weight, but always install opentransport networking on top, too :)

dana

You can select "Easy Install" and if the installer picks EtherTalk, then you'll know that the Comm Slot Ethernet is Apple compatible. You can then exit the installer without doing the installation.

OpenTransport is a memory hog & runs significantly slower on 680x0 machines compared to Classic Networking (MacTCP). So if you are sticking to 7.1.2P, I'd recommend Classic Networking. You can even use MacTCP's "Server Assigned IP address" feature in place of OpenTransport's DHCP, since it's possible the DHCP server also supports BOOTP.

And you can surf the web without upgrading to 7.5.x, but it depends on which browser you are using since some require extensions/libraries that needs to be installed separately for 7.1.x.

Netscape 4.08 is the oldest one you should use if you need Javascript and want to avoid warnings about expired root certificates. You'll also need to install Code Fragment Manager 4.0 (a.k.a. CFM-68k) to use this browser. Otherwise, Netscape 3.04 runs significantly faster since it ignores/doesn't parse more complex HTML code, but you'll get occasional root certificate warnings.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.x or 4.01 is a viable choice also. IE 4.01 installs CFM-68k for you.

Having said all that, I'd seriously consider running System 7.5.5 with Classic Networking, and Netscape 4.08. Some apps seem to run faster on 7.5.5 than on 7.1.x, and there are many bug fixes incorporated in 7.5.5 for the Quadra 630. You'll also get the Extension Manager Control Panel in 7.5.x so you can turn off unnecessary extensions to save some memory.

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Early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

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I have a problem with vintage electronics. . .I am working on it.

The $36 Welovemacs card with the internal part number of P/N NET-CS-10T-R is indeed an apple product, specifically M3065Z/A, the "Apple Ethernet CS Twisted-Pair Card." Here "CS" stands for "comm slot." The summary article for all comm slot cards may be found at http://mail.apple.com.pl/download/_PDFLibrary/Peryferia_i_karty/EtherCSCards.pdf.

The manual for this card (030-5461) may be found at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50099.

Apple's Network Software Istaller has the various apple ethernet card drivers. The manual instructs owners to download version 1.4.2 or later; I downloaded and installed version 1.5.1 from: http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/Networking-Communications/Network_Software_Installer/.

I followed my custom install of system 7.1.2P (networking software only)with network software 1.5.1 installation. Life is nearly perfect, as the G3 all-in-one and the Quadra 630 can see each other and write to each other via my ethernet cross-over cable.

The only catch--how am I going to operate on the home network and the internet with Mac classic networking? Open Transport (which runs on system 7.1.2P) would solve the problem by letting the mac speak TCP/IP, but standalone OT is not quite free to download--you need version 1.1 before you upgrade, and apparently 1.1 was a commercial product, not a freebie.

In order to avoid the complex configuration requirements of Mac classic networking, I decided to try to custom install Open transport from my Q630-specific 7.5.3 floppies (maybe 9 disks total, rather than the 19 you find at the download site). I never found an "install open transport" option in my custom install screen, so I loaded 7.5.3 network software instead and broke my ethernet connection. It took me 2 hours to return to a properly configured System 7.1.2P.

I upgraded my RAM to Maximum--64 MB (plus the 4 MB soldered on the motherboard) for a total of 68, plus whatever I set for RAM doubler. (Only $33 for the chip from We Love Macs!) System 7.1.2P only uses about 4 MB of the total, so I have quite a bit of RAM-space left to run a corpulent browser and other applications.

I did look at the cyberdog download page, as I had played with the application when I purchased a Performa 6500. However the idea of running 7.6 again strikes fear into my heart, as I had an awful time with that operating system--it froze constantly from extension conflicts. In fact 7.6 was so bad for me I upgraded to 8.0 shortly after it became available.

Of course the extension set on my 68K Quadra is very different from that on the 603e-based P6500,and I have no reason to believe I would suffer the same software breakdowns I lived through on the P6500. On the other hand, I have no reason to believe I won't suffer from said breakdowns; therefore I am not keen to advance to 7.6.

System 7.5.3 will install *both* OpenTransport and Classic Networking + MacTCP with the Network Selector utility to choose one to your liking. More reasons to consider installing 7.5.x, which of course is available for free from Apple.

If you still want to stay with 7.1.x, you may want to search around the web for a copy of MacTCP, or copy the control panel from a 68k Mac with 7.5.x installed.

quote:

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The only catch--how am I going to operate on the home network and the internet with Mac classic networking? Open Transport (which runs on system 7.1.2P) would solve the problem by letting the mac speak TCP/IP, but standalone OT is not quite free to download--you need version 1.1 before you upgrade, and apparently 1.1 was a commercial product, not a freebie.

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Actually, I have used the software selector switch on OS 7.5.3. During a too-brief period of employment at Aerojet-Sacramento in 97-98, I managed to salvage a Q630 containing an ethernet card that was headed for the scrap heap. (At the time Aerojet's Information Disservices department had nearly completed their Master Plan to rid the facility of Macs.) I really, REALLY hated PCs at the time--almost as much as I hated Aerojet's IdisS department for telling me what machine I had to use in the workplace.

The final excuse used by Aerojet to dump Macs was the networking issue--Apple talk networks were to be ripped out, replaced by a PC-only ethernet network, making it "impossible" for Macs to use the shared printers, transfer files via servers, or run email.

I was never forced to use the PC for anything important. After I got my hands on the Q630 I bought a copy of Dave in order to maintain access to the printers and file servers; I only used the PC to send and receive email. (I would also turn it on to feed the fish in the virtual fish tank screensaver.) Later one of the network installers took pity on me and gave me enough information to configure TCP/IP to read email (hence my experience with the 7.5.3 software selection switch); after that event I almost never turned on the PC and the virtual fish died.

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I have a problem with vintage electronics. . .I am working on it.

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