If you were in the market for a Mac back then the prices may not astound you.  For the rest, well now you’ll understand why I had to take out a loan from University Federal Credit Union to bring home my first Mac SE with two 800K floppy drives, an external Jasmine 20MB hard drive, 2400 baud Practical Peripherals modem, ImageWriter II, surge protector, and box of form-feed paper.

UT Microcenter Mac prices, 1988, page 1

UT Microcenter Mac prices, 1988, page 2

UT Microcenter AppleCare prices, 1988

For lovers of Apple products both old and new, there is a new web site with beautiful photos and videos for you to enjoy. Created by Jonathan Zufi of Atlanta, the Shrine of Apple exists to “…  showcase the entire spectrum of products that Apple have sold to the public since 1976 – every product Apple Inc has ever produced, in the highest quality and definition possible.”  These are not the same PR pictures you’ve seen for years on dozens of different web sites – they are original, capturing every detail and nuance, and the quality is top notch. Check out their profile of the PowerBook 100 to see for yourself.

Take a moment to check out the Shrine. It’s just starting out so the collection is far from complete but it will be fun watching the site grow to include more and more Apple products. I am especially eager to see a System 7 retail box and its contents added since my first job at Apple was as a System 7 support specialist.

There are a lot of great troubleshooting resources across the internet that address this topic with helpful advice. This post isn’t meant to replace them but simply to consolidate the recommendations I’ve found helpful in the past. Hopefully it will help you get your CC up and running!

1. First verify you are using a known good power outlet and cable. Remove any surge protectors or power strips as well as any external peripherals from the CC like attached hard drives, printers, or modems.

2. Be certain the power switch on the back of the computer is in the ON position (top part is pressed in). Make sure the keyboard is attached and firmly press the power button on the keyboard.

3. Reset PRAM (hold down command-option-P-R while pressing the power button, continue holding these keys down until the computer chimes at least 3 times, then release).

4. Unplug the power cable from the CC. Remove the logic board by taking out the two retaining screws on the back panel, then pressing on the tab at the top and pulling the panel out. Grasp the logic board firmly on each side and pull out directly.

a. Use canned air to blow dust accumulation from the logic board if necessary. Avoid the temptation to vacuum it since the static electricity can ruin the logic board.
b. Clean the contacts at the front edge with a cotton swab moistened with isopropyl alcohol.
c. Clean the socket inside the CC the logic board slides into with a cotton swab moistened with isopropyl  alcohol.
d. Remove the memory SIMMs (and if present, the VRAM) and clean the contacts with a cotton swab moistened with isopropyl  alcohol. Carefully reinsert them and be certain they snap securely into their upright position.
e. Press the CUDA switch briefly on the logic board (the tiny button near the ADB ports) and release.
f. Reseat the logic board by sliding it in and making sure it snaps securely into place. Remove and reinsert it a few times to help insure a clean connection.

Plug in the CC and see if it starts up.

5. If the CC still won’t start up unplug the power cord, remove the logic board and take out the 3V.6 battery on the logic board. Reinsert the logic board, reattach the power cable, and try again.
6. Sometimes the CC needs at least 24 hours with power attached and the switch on the back in the ON position before it will revive.

Still no joy? Remove the logic board and inspect it for traces of leakage around the capacitors (dark areas). If you see evidence of leakage if may be shorting the trace connections on the logic board. Believe it or not, a trip through the dishwasher is recommended for this. I won’t be the one to guide you down that road, though, I’ll leave it to those who have done it. See these great forums for assistance:

• http://www.applefritter.com/forum/101
• http://68kmla.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=7

Good luck and feel free to post comments and results below with your experiences troubleshooting the Color Classic.

PowerBook 100 comes to life after 14 years

I recently acquired a beautiful example of Apple’s first notebook computer, the diminutive PowerBook 100. Introduced in October, 1991 at a base price of $2,500 it weighs just 5.1 pounds, a fraction of the Mac Portable that preceded it. That computer weighed in at 16 pounds, earning it the nickname “Mac Luggable.”

Codenamed Derringer, Rosebud, Classic, and Asahi according to Mac history legend, the PowerBook 100 was designed in collaboration with and built by Sony. It was introduced simultaneously with the more powerful and full-featured PowerBook 140 and PowerBook 170. Unlike those models, the 100 lacks a floppy drive – it was a $200 accessory.

Upon receipt of the PowerBook 100 I plugged it in and was quickly reminded of two unique features of this computer. It has a hard switch on the back to completely disconnect the battery from the logic board to prevent draining it during storage, and there’s no power switch. Pressing any key on the keyboard starts it up.

The PB100 I acquired (serial number SS2370MV506) looks beautiful, lacking only its rear port cover and two of the three rubber screw covers on the bottom. It’s hard drive clunks repeatedly and refuses to mount, but it happily chimes and starts up from an external floppy disk, revealing a bright screen. “About the Finder” shows it has 4MB of RAM.

Kudos to Paul Brierly whose article Creating Classic Mac Boot Floppies in OS X allowed to me create a System 6.08L Startup disk on my 2009 MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard using just a SmartDisk external floppy drive and a 1.4 MB blank floppy (that was even formatted for MS-DOS!)
I’ve cleaned the rollers inside the trackball assembly to get the mouse pointer to move freely again. Next up is disassembly to see if the HDD can be resuscitated from it’s stiction.

Fun fact from Owen Linzmayer’s Apple Confidential: The Connor internal hard disks for the PowerBook 100 were codenamed Jake (20MB) and Elwood (40MB),

UPDATE: A quick take apart aided by the Service Source guide revealed that the Connor drive inside the PB100 is a Jake (20MB model).  Taking it out and giving it a few sharp thwacks, then reinstalling and reassembling the PowerBook had happy results: the internal HDD mounted fine and the unit booted from it to reveal it has System 7.1 installed. The last file date is 1996 so it looks like this computer has been dormant for 14 years.

Meet Jake, he weighs in at 20 megs

• PowerBook 100 Wikipedia article
• PowerBook 100 FAQ
• Vectronics Apple World PB100 profile

A recent acquisition from a fellow who owns a store on Austin’s legendary Sixth Street is the PowerBook 160 pictured above. The unit is in great shape, but unfortunately booted to a solid illuminated gray screen at startup. Booting from a known good floppy disk, resetting the Power Manager, and adjusting the contrast and brightness switches didn’t make any difference, so it was time to crack it open and explore the internals.

With the aid of an Apple Service Manual for the 160/165c/180 I carefully removed the screws the keep the bottom and top case together and reseated all of the cable connections. Still no working video, so it was time to start replacing parts. After much trial and error I finally got the display working with a replacement LCD panel I scavenged from a box of 160 parts I was fortunate to have on hand.

The 160 was Apple’s first grayscale model but its passive matrix screen requires a lot of adjustment to get an image with minimal ghosting. This PowerBook has a 120MB SCSI drive (the highest capacity hard drive that was available from Apple – 80 MB and 40 MB were other options), and is maxed out at 14 MB of RAM with a third party PSRAM card from Lifetime Memory Products, Inc.

The 160 is significant in Apple’s history as the first PowerBook that could drive an external color monitor, at up to 8 bit color at 832 x 624 resolution. I’ve not had an opportunity to test that feature yet since I have to locate the necessary video adapter. Other notable features include a built-in microphone, SCSI disk mode, and a choice of video mirroring or dual video mode – what we nowadays call “extended desktop.” Pretty amazing stuff for 1992.

Bringing this PowerBook back to life was a fun exercise and has encouraged me to seek out more of the early generation units for the collection.

PowerBook 160 wiki at 68kmla.org
Macintosh PowerBook 160/180 Developer Note
PowerBook 160 profile at Vectronic’s Apple World

Can you tell which is the PowerBook 3400 and which is the PowerBook G3?

Back in 1997 the PowerBook 3400c with it’s 240 MHz PowerPC 603e processor was the fastest portable computer available from any manufacturer. The first laptop to surpass its speed was Apple’s first PowerBook based upon the G3 processor. The 250 MHz G3 PowerBook literally smoked it’s predecessor in speed tests, nearly tripling it’s scores. But if you were looking to see who was carrying one of these remarkable portable computers you would have to look very, very closely, because they are virtually identical in appearance to their predecessor, the 3400. That’s why Apple’s first PowerBook G3 (internally referred to by the codename of “Kanga”) is often referred to as a “PowerBook 3500.”

Since the Kanga G3 PowerBook shared the same form factor as the 3400c their removable expansion bay modules (floppy drive, optical drive, etc.) are interchangeable. Weighing it at 7.7 pounds, the Kanga G3 has onboard ethernet, modem, and 2 PC card slots plus IrDA, as well as the same impressive 4 speaker sound system as the 3400c. All of these features helped command a premium price for Apple’s first G3 based PowerBook that was advertised as up to twice as fast as notebook computers powered by the competing Pentium II chips.

The Kanga I’ve recently added to my collection features 160MB of RAM, a 5 GB hard drive, and runs great. Back in November of 1997 when it was introduced a fully equipped Kanga ran north of $6K. It was only available for six months, as the PowerBook G3 Series (aka “Wallstreet”) model was introduced in May of 1998. Kanga was the last Apple portable to sport a six-colored Apple logo.

UPDATE: My dear friend Jay kindly corrected me on this statement that I quoted from LowEndMac’s Compleat Guide to the PowerBook Kanga. The last PowerBook to feature the six-color Apple logo was in fact the PowerBook G3 Series (revision 2), codenamed “PDQ” that was released in September of 1998. You can see a picture of it here.

LowEndMac’s Compleat Guide to the PowerBook Kanga
PowerBook 3400 and Kanga G3 Repair Manual

PowerBook 180c from the UK

The PowerBook 180c was Apple’s first PowerBook with an active matrix screen capable of displaying 256 colors. Introduced in June of 1993  it cost $1K more than it’s monochrome counterpart, the PowerBook 180. As lowendmac notes, the gorgeous display had took a heavy toll on the Ni-Cad battery, reducing it’s usage to about an hour before requiring recharging.

When I worked at Motorola I was loaned a 180c by Apple for a month or so, and loved it. I quickly realized that I needed to always carry a power adapter and find the chair close to power outlets in the meeting rooms. Recently I acquired a “working” 180c from an ebay auction, and after it’s transatlantic trip from the UK I set about testing it.

My first discovery was that it didn’t arrive with a power adapter (should have read that auction description a little closer). My second discovery was that the battery hadn’t been removed from the computer in at least a decade. When I was finally able to pry it carefully out I found a blue crystalline substance in the battery bay and on the outside of the battery terminals where the electrolyte has leaked out and hardened. When I opened the port cover on the back of the computer I discovered the same substance had leaked through the port openings.

Leaking PowerBook battery electrolyte damage

After removing the battery I attempted to start up the PowerBook using a PowerBook 170 adapter I had on hand, and was pleased to hear a startup chime. My thrill was short-lived however, since the computer refused to proceed any farther, just repeatedly sounding a startup chime. A quick search of the internet revealed that this is a common symptom when you try to use a power adapter not intended for the 180c. The 180c needs a 24 watt adapter (model  M5652 or M4462). Fortunately I was able to locate an inexpensive original 24 watt adapter from retrotechnology.com.

Once I had the proper adapter I started up the PowerBook and it proceeded to a happy Mac screen and loaded the finder with just one issue – the top quarter of the screen isn’t illuminated. Bending the display forwards flickers it on, so I am hopeful the issue can by adjusting or replacing the internal display cable that is prone to being pinched.

It looks like the 180c will be more of a project than I anticipated. A full take-apart is needed to remove the crystallized remnants of  electrolyte in the battery bay, inside the bottom case,  on the logic board, and the rear ports. Ni-cad battery electrolyte is potassium hydroxide, and recommended cleaning solutions I’ve seen include baking soda, vinegar, and coke. Further research indicates that the blue color of the substance I found indicates that it’s copper sulphate and the recommended cleaning solution is hydrogen peroxide.

3 Color Classics - front

My wife is thrilled when I turn the dining room table into a computer repair workshop. As you can see from the photos above the patients for this day included two Macintosh Color Classics that refused to start up. The Color Classic web server was temporarily taken offline to serve as my “known working” device to test parts from the other two.

One of the two nonworking CC’s was purchased for a song from ebay with a known faulty logic board but everything else was promised to be fine. This proved to be true – installing an LC575 logic board into it produced a healthy startup chime and a clear bright screen when booted from the internal hard drive . Since the system file on the HDD hasn’t been hacked it produced a bus error when trying to load the Finder, but that appears to be a software issue rather than a hardware one.

3 Color Classics - reverse

The second CC is one that previously worked fine and even has a rare Sonnet Presto Plus accelerator card installed. After sliding out the logic board and removing the accelerator card I could see very evident traces of leaking capacitors. I’ve located a working replacement logic board but it’s just a matter of time before it also succumbs to the ravages of time and suffers the same fate, so I guess I will need to brush up on my soldering skills.

Sonnet Presto Plus accelerator and Color Classic logic board

The Color Classic web server is back online and I am still working on getting a spare backup ready to go to pinch hit in case of hardware failure. It is, after all, 17 years old. Back in 1993, when the Color Classic was released, Apple’s annual sales amounted to just under $8B, virtually all of it from sales of 3.3M Macs. In 2009 Apple’s annual sales were $36.5B, from 10.4M Macs, 54M iPods, and 20M iPhones.

I’ve had a pair of Macintosh Classic II computers awaiting diagnosis and repair for over a year now. Both suffer from the same issue – a checkerboard pattern on the screen that appears on startup and remains. After perusing the helpful forums over at the 68k Macintosh Liberation Army I determined the issue is almost certainly leaking capacitors.

Not long ago I was able to purchase a replacement Classic II logic board for a few dollars on ebay as an unused Apple Service part. I was thrilled that I might get at least one of the Classic II Macs back to health without having to remove and replace a bunch of capacitors with a soldering iron.

Above is a photo of the new and the old logic boards. It’s pretty easy to tell which is which. Sadly, though, the new logic board is not without problems. Although the Classic II now starts up properly there is no sound. I’ve reseated RAM and ROM modules without any change. Another tour through the 68KMLA forums reveals this is a common symptom of, you guessed it – leaking capacitors.

I wasn’t that lucky, unfortunately. When I power it on it sounds like the internal HD is stuck in a constant effort to read the drive and not finding any success. I will post a sound file so you can hear it. After reading the troubleshooting information at Chris Adams’ SE Support pages it fits the description of  drive “stiction” – a term I remember knowing many years ago.

The good news, however, is that the floppy drive works fine and I was able to boot the machine from an old 800k Norton Utilities Emergency Disk and from an older Apple Disk Tools floppy. Neither HDSC Setup, Disk First Aid, or Norton Disk Doctor were able to see or mount the internal HD, although the drive activity indicator on the front of the SE flashes.

So it looks like step 1 will be to replace the internal SCSI hard drive. Step 2 is going to be upgrading the RAM. I have not yet confirmed, but suspect that the RAM is only 1 MB since when I tried to boot from a System 7.5 Disk Tools floppy I got a dialog box that simply said “System 7.5 needs more memory” with no other option but to shut down.

I consulted the Adding RAM section of Chris’ SE Support site and after skimming the instructions discovered that it’s not just a matter of replacing four 256MB SIMMs with four 1 MB modules in the RAM slots. You also have to clip a resistor so that computer knows about the change in memory configuration.  That should make things more interesting!