mac classic lcd screen manufacturer

The Macintosh Classic is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from October 1990 to September 1992. It was the first Macintosh to sell for less than US$1,000.

Production of the Classic was prompted by the success of the original Macintosh 128K, then the Macintosh Plus, and finally the Macintosh SE. The system specifications of the Classic are very similar to those of its predecessors, with the same 9-inch (23 cm) monochrome CRT display, 512 × 342pixel resolution, and 4megabyte (MB) memory limit of the older Macintosh computers.percent faster than the PlusApple SuperDrive 3.5-inch (9 cm) floppy disk drive as standard. Unlike the Macintosh SE/30 and other compact Macs before it, the Classic did not have an internal Processor Direct Slot, making it the first non-expandable desktop Macintosh since the Macintosh Plus. Instead, it had a memory expansion/FPU slot.

The Classic is an adaptation of Jerry Manock"s and Terry Oyama"s 1984 Macintosh 128K industrial design, as had been the earlier Macintosh SE. Apple released two versions. The price and the availability of education software led to the Classic"s popularity in education. It was sold alongside the more powerful Macintosh Classic II in 1991 until its discontinuation the next year.

After Apple co-founder Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, product development was handed to Jean-Louis Gassée, formerly the manager of Apple France. Gassée consistently pushed the Apple product line in two directions, towards more "openness" in terms of expandability and interoperability, and towards higher price. Gassée long argued that Apple should not aim for the low end of the computer market, where profits were thin, but instead concentrate on the high end and higher profit margins. He illustrated the concept using a graph showing the price/performance ratio of computers with low-power, low-cost machines in the lower left and high-power high-cost machines in the upper right. The "high-right" goal became a mantra among the upper management, who said "fifty-five or die", referring to Gassée"s goal of a 55 percent profit margin.

The high-right policy led to a series of machines with ever-increasing prices. The original Macintosh plans called for a system around $1,000, but by the time it had morphed from Jef Raskin"s original vision of an easy-to-use machine for composing text documents to Jobs" concept incorporating ideas gleaned during a trip to Xerox PARC, the Mac"s list price had ballooned to $2,495.

$1 million to Modular Computer Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG, for the right to use the "Classic" name as part of a five-year contract.MacWEEK speculated the Macintosh Classic would use the same Motorola 68000 microprocessor and 9-inch (23 cm) display as its predecessors and that the Classic would be priced from $1,500 to 2,150.

On October 15, 1990, John Sculley (then Apple CEO) introduced the Classic at a press conference, announcing that pricing would start at $1,000profit margins.[...] The plan is to get as aggressive on price as we need to be."share price closed at $27.75 per share, down $0.50 from October 12, 1990, and far below its previous 12-month high of $50.37.

The Classic was released in Europe and Japan concurrently with the United States release. In Japan, the Classic retailed for ¥198,000 ($1,523),Toshiba Dynabook laptop computer.

The low-end model was sold with 1 MB of memory, a 1.44 MB floppy drive, no hard disk, and included a keyboard for $999.Macintosh Plus, which it replaced as Apple"s low-end Mac computer: it is up to 25 percent faster than the Plus,Apple SuperDrive 3.5" floppy disk drive as standard.MS-DOS, OS/2, and ProDOS disks.

The Classic uses the System 6.0.7 operating system with support for all versions up to System 7.5.5. A hidden Hierarchical File System (HFS) disk volume contained in the read-only memory (ROM) includes System 6.0.3.⌘ Command+⌥ Option+X+O keys during boot.

Some dealers included a software bundle called Smartbundle with the Classic.T/Maker"s WriteNow word processor, Ashton-Tate"s Full Impact spreadsheet program, RecordHolderPlus database, and Silicon Beach Software"s SuperPaint 2.0 paint and draw program.

The Macintosh Classic is the final adaptation of Jerry Manock"s and Terry Oyama"s Macintosh 128K industrial design, bringing back some elements of the original while retaining little of the Snow White design language used in the Macintosh SE"s design.Macintosh LC and Macintosh IIsi.

The logic board, the central circuit board of the computer, is based on the Macintosh SE design.surface mount technologydesktop publishing, led to such oddities as video displays that connected through the SCSI port by users seeking to connect a larger full- or dual-page display to their Mac. The Classic design was used once more in 1991 for the Classic II, which succeeded the Classic.

Some reviewers of the Macintosh Classic focused on the processor performance and lack of expansion slots. Liza Schafer of Home Office Computing praised the Classic"s ease of use and price, but criticized the 9-inch (230 mm) display because a full US letter page (8.5 by 11 inches (220 mm × 280 mm)) would not fit at full size, and warned those who required high-end graphics and desktop publishing capabilities against buying the Classic.MHz speed is adequate for text applications and limited graphics work, but it is not suitable for power users. As such, the Classic is appropriate as a home computer or for limited computing on the road."MacWEEK described it as a "fine, inexpensive replacement for the Macintosh Plus that best embodies the original Macintosh vision six and a half years later".

In the February 1991 edition of Electronic Learning, Robert McCarthy wrote: "Teachers, educational administrators, and software developers are enthusiastic about the new, lower-cost Apple Macintosh computers". Steve Taffe, manager of instructional strategy at MECC, a developer and publisher of educational software, explained his excitement about the Classic: "[it] is terrific – both because it"s a Mac and because of that low price. Everyone can now afford a Macintosh." Scholastic, an educational software developer, was also confident of Apple"s ability to compete with MS-DOS machines, stating: "They are just as cost-effective and as powerful as MS-DOS computers, but the Apples will have a superior comfort level." Sue Talley, Apple"s manager of strategic planning in education, said of the Classic: "we see it going into applications where you need a fair number of powerful stations, but where color is not a big issue." Talley mentioned that it was most suited for writing labs and other basic productivity uses. Many schools decided not to buy the Macintosh Classic because of the lack of a color monitor, an option that the higher-priced Macintosh LC had.Apple IIe Card also increased the LC"s appeal to schools. Although the Classic was more popular at first, by May 1992 the LC (560,000 sold) was outselling the Classic (1.2 million sold).

"Macintosh Classic: Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2022.

Levy, Steven (1994). Insanely Great: The life and times of Macintosh, the computer that changed everything. New York: Viking. p. 111. ISBN 0-670-85244-9.

"Apple Computer: lower cost Mac PCs target new customers. 50 percent less for entry-level system". EDGE: Work-Group Computing Report. October 22, 1990. p. 3.

"Macintosh Classic Computer Developer Note" (PDF). Developer Technical Publications. Apple Computer. 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.

The Macintosh Color Classic (sold as the Macintosh Colour Classic in PAL regions) is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from February 1993 to May 1995 (up to January 1998 in PAL markets). It has an all-in-one design, with a small, integrated 10″ Sony Trinitron display at 512 × 384 pixel resolution. The display is capable of supporting up to thousands of colors with a video memory upgrade.

The Color Classic is the final model of the original "compact" family of Macintosh computers, and was replaced by the larger-display Macintosh LC 500 series and Power Macintosh 5200 LC.

Like the Macintosh SE and SE/30 before it, the Color Classic has a single expansion slot: an LC-type Processor Direct Slot (PDS), incompatible with the SE slots. This was primarily intended for the Apple IIe Card (the primary reason for the Color Classic"s switchable 560 × 384 display, essentially quadruple the IIe"s 280 × 192 High-Resolution graphics), which was offered with education models of the LCs. The card allowed the LCs to emulate an Apple IIe. The combination of the low-cost color Macintosh and Apple IIe compatibility was intended to encourage the education market"s transition from Apple II models to Macintoshes. Other cards, such as CPU accelerators, Ethernet and video cards were also made available for the Color Classic"s Processor Direct Slot.

The Color Classic shipped with the Apple Keyboard known as an Apple Keyboard II (M0487) which featured a soft power switch on the keyboard itself. The mouse supplied was the Apple Mouse known as the Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II (M2706).

A slightly updated model, the Color Classic II, featuring the Macintosh LC 550 logic board with a 33 MHz processor, was released in Japan, Canada and some international markets in 1993, sometimes as the Performa 275. Both versions of the Color Classic have 256 KB of onboard VRAM, expandable to 512 KB by plugging a 256 KB VRAM SIMM into the onboard 68-pin VRAM slot.

The name "Color Classic" was not printed directly on the front panel, but on a separate plastic insert. This enabled the alternative spelling "Colour Classic" and "Colour Classic II" to be used in appropriate markets.

Powered by a Motorola 68030 processor, the Color Classic can only go up to Mac OS 7.6.1. However, some Color Classic users upgraded their machines with motherboards from Performa/LC 575 units ("Mystic" upgrade),Performa/LC/Quadra 630 or successor innards into them ("Takky" upgrade).games) to run.

With the Mystic mod, the Color Classic uses the motherboard of the Macintosh LC 575 which has a Motorola 68LC040 CPU (at a speed of 33 MHz instead of 25 MHz) and is pin compatible with the Color Classic. A Color Classic with the Mystic upgrade can go up to Mac OS 8.1 (Mac OS 8.6 and newer require PowerPC processors).

With the Takky mod, the case and connector need to be modded, but doing so will allow the use of a PowerPC 601, 603, or 604 equipped motherboard. A Color Classic with the Takky upgrade can go up to Mac OS 9.1 (Mac OS 9.2 and newer require a G3 processor). On Takky Color Classics, there is a way to upgrade the processor with a G3 CPU, but it will only go up to Mac OS 9.2.2 as Mac OS X isn"t officially supported.

Paul Kunkel (August 24, 2000). "A Long-Discontinued Macintosh Still Thrills Collectors to the Core - New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2020.

"Macintosh Color Classic II / Performa 275" (PDF). Apple Service Source. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2017.

The CRT had long since blown out, so he removed it and swapped in a modern LCD screen, then added NES – USB converters to get the controllers to work. A powered USB hub routes into the Pi, which runs the Emulation Station to get those classic 8 bit games.

There are only 4 screws on the back of the Classic II that hold the case together. Two on the bottom near the ports, and two on the top near the built in handle. Removal of the two near the handle require a longer tool to reach in the deep sockets. Once the screws are removed, it was a little difficult prying the front panel from the rear. I am not sure if it is designed that way or if it was the age of the plastic. Essentially the internals are mounted on a frame and screwed to the front panel, so the back is just a cover.

I searched around and found others who have done a similar mod. There are really no high definition panels out there in this small of a size. I suppose an iPad mini with retina display at 7.9 inches would be high resolution, but good luck finding a driver for it. The best I could find was 8.0 inches at 1024x768. There are plenty of 800x600, but I wanted the best I could find. I could not find anything between 8 and 9, as 8.7 would have been optimal. The 1994 Color Classic had a 10" CRT with 512x384 resolution. The Classic II had 9" monochrome CRT 512x342. My mod has a smaller screen and 4x the pixels.

The screen I chose was off eBay, a kit with LVDS driver board. When I received it, initially it worked great, then it fizzled out. I think it was a bad driver board, so I ordered a separate replacement, and it failed to work as well. I then thought it was possibly the screen so I ordered a 2nd screen. The 2nd one was dim, so I ordered a 3rd screen. Still dim, so ordered a 3rd board, different design. Screen one was confirmed dead, screen 2 and 3 worked fine with board 3. Lots of waste on this project, SMH.

The driver board supports multiple inputs (VGA, HDMI, composite 1 and 2). There are on screen controls to adjust the typical LCD monitor and the original controller came with an IR remote as well as a control panel. The 3rd driver board did not have the IR sensor mounted, so I stole it from the first fried controller. Since the original Classic II had tube monitor adjustments hidden on the rear behind a detachable panel, I thought that was the ideal place to put this screen control panel as well. I had to design and 3D print an interface panel, and figure out how to mount it, and then cut out a hole for it in the back case. I could not see the button icons when printed in black, so I printed them in white for the contrast. The internal VGA out from the GT730 drives the LCD VGA input. The HDMI input is directed to the rear panel so this Classic II can be used as an external monitor (just a pure goofy effect). The HDMI from the GT730 goes to the rear panel so you can drive an external monitor with this Hackintosh (think HTPC in the living room, or large desktop monitor).

I was lucky enough to be among the few who unpacked the very first mac classic imported to my country during my student apprenticeship in high school around 90 - 92. The first difference from the original mac was the machine coming to life with the sound of a fan. I worked on the machine for some weeks during the apprenticeship. I liked it so much that it visited my youth dreams of all my teenage years several times.

In one of that visits, I"ve searched for mac projects and saw gmjhowe"s projectabout upgrading a 84 macintosh to run OS X Snow Leopard and liked it a lot. The same thing was in my mind for maybe 10 years but I hadn"t seen anyone doing a similar thing. The project inspired me enough to start my own Mac. Though I liked mac classic more than the 84 Mac, I"ve planned to use a classic case.

After a search that lasted 3 months, I"ve found my classic in a local ebay :D for 30$ and converted it into Mawi, the MAcintosh that runs WIndows XP. If you want to build something similar, than this instructables might be helpful for you. And dont forget to visit gmjhowe"s inspiring project. Type macintosh into the instructables search and you"ll find everything related to mac, including gmjhowe"s Snow Leopard.

1.Do not alter, cut, deform, change, or break the original Mac"s case.. I felt free to change or dump the circuit boards of the mac. They are not working anyway.

I started with disassembling the case, took nearly all the parts off. Only left the on off switch, the power inlet and the cooling fan. Though my mac had sat on a depot shelf for years, the high voltaged charge left in the CR tube wasn"t a problem but to be sure, I"ve applied a safe discharging procedure with a electrically insulated screw driver with its tip shorted to the chassis by a crocodile wire.

After the disassembly, I"ve cleaned the plastic parts of the case thoroughly by washing and rubbing. I didn"t  apply any chemical cleaning methods like the retro bright etc, I wanted my mac to look a bit normal, old I mean :D. Well like 20 years or so.

I"ve checked my Asus EEEPC netbook"s 8.9 inch screen and saw that it is too wide for the mac screen. Though there is no netbook with 8 inch screen, I decided to go on with a 7 inch one. After researching the models on the second hand market I"ve seen that the most suitable one is the Datron Mobee 7.

seeing it has so weak and easy to rip off cables and connections inside, gave up the idea of disassembling the main case of it and decided to use as a whole inside the Mac case.

Though the netbook"s case is a bit big and the mac case is small, the need for placing the netbook diagonally arised. So I designed the structure according to this. I"ve tried to take into account of the cooling of netbook in an enclosed space. Special care is given to the ventilation in-outlets of the netbook and the cable routing inside.

The two switches (reset and int) at the side of the mainboard are easily accessible from the outside of the mac case so I"ve planned to use them as the netbook on off switch. I"ve paralelled them so any one of them being pressed will turn the netbook on and off.

I"ve used a black keyboard lying around my workshop for first tests but later I"ve bought a white, mac keyboard lookalike thing which has got 2 usb ports at the rear and multimedia keys as well.

Though the keyboard has got usb ports on it, frontal usb ports on the mac case is not necessary anymore. I simply covered the front 3.5inch disk drive port with white cardboard.

The netbook has only 2 usb ports. I"ve given one directly to outside the mac case with the idea of  enabling the use of USB hard drives which need more current. And used the other usb port for mounting a USB hub.

The Targus usb hub has 3 ports at one side which are all very close to each other and one at the back. I"ve used the one at the back for a permanent bluetooth dongle. The hub"s body is also very small so its all three ports fitted well to mac case"s printer port. I only widened the corners of that port on the case. Thats the only modification done at the case.

I assembled everything once more and saw them work. Then took apart things and started painting the white parts that can be seen from the outside at the sides of the LCD.

Then disaster struck, while trying to straighten the position of the LCD, I"ve ripped of a small flat cord on it. A real disaster. it is ripped of at such a bad place, seems impossible to fix.

I"ve found a replacement second hand LCD within a day by great chance. I"ve bought it for 60$ which is  a bit expensive, but i didn"t have any other choice.

While the screen frame and the plexy is disassembled, I worked on the curve of the plexy a bit more. Now it matches the curve of the CRT perfectly. So it will look more like a CRT on Mawi.

There used to be many signatures at the inside of the back cover on classic  macs of the 1980"s. But there is none in my mac classic of 1990. So now, there is one again.

A pc in a mac case is a bit complicated project and I admit it is not for everyone. Especially working on many tiny cables that can snap off any time is a tough and stressfull thing to do.

A case with an intact (not disassembled) digital picture frame which has also divx playing capability inside might be a simpler mac resurrection project. And much better than using a graceful mac for dispersing toilet paper etc.

I reused the case of a Mac Classic. However I kept the front glass of the CRT by slowly and gently breaking the neck first the tipping my way around. This way the lcd is behind glass an gives the illusion of still being a CRT. Currently running a Raspberry Pi in it.0

Is there anyway to get a picture up using a new motherboard onto the existing Mac Classic monitor. I"ve got one from the 90s, but the board is a bit fried, despite the screen working. Alternatively, I"d like to get it to run Mac OS and software from that era.0

I say this as someone with experience with them, they were made with very cheap parts and thus they don"t last more than about 15years tops. I say this out of a bit of frustration, as I think they look cool and i"d love for the older macs to continue to live on, but sadly it just ain"t so w/o serious upgrading of electronic components. The capacitors used on the boards were really cheap and all start to leak after about 10-15years, the batteries on the boards also start to leak, ...just cheap parts.

I have to give props to a company that can build a computer in 1984 that still runs in 2018. I work in education, and I have *NO* idea why, but they have an old Mac 512k and believe it or not it still works!0

You are correct sir, macs are all pretty terrible machines, if was to do this modification though, i would have necked the crt, removed all the phosphor coating and shadow mask and used the front glass as a lens by high temp cutting the glass with high current wire, OR i would have left the crt inside if it had good emissions and the video board and connected a mini itx ryzen 3 cpu with 8gb of ram to the video input of the macs signal board. the mods done in this video are at beginner level at best, i just would not ever use a machine thats held together with hot glue, before i even started i would have retro-brighted the case first to bring it back to its proper un-yellowed colour. The list goes on and on, but the point im making is if you are going to do something like this, do it right, and make sure its 100% electrically safe, the power supply boards and crt high voltages distribute in excess of 12,000v and are perfectly capable of burning your house down or killing you instantly, people might want to think of that before messing.

You are also correct about these macs using very cheap components and batteries, its not uncommon for nearly every capacitor in the power section to leak electrolyte and destroy all the circuit traces around the power supply area, very poor machines indeed built to a budget yet as usual with apple stupidly overpriced and underpowered.0

Does anyone know where I can get a square LCD that would hook up to a mac mini for this purpose? Ideally, I"m then going to put the Cathode Ray glass over the top to give it the bulge.0

All of those macintoshes in those pictures if you don"t want them I will take them. I collect them. Oh and even if it is broken I will take it. I will take it no matter what.

Please be aware that the old Mac CRTs are INCREDIBLY dangerous, as they can hold a charge for many years after its been disconnected from a power source. You can get a lethal zap if you aren"t careful.

Also, I wonder if a generic LCD and a motherboard from a Thin Client would work in this case too. I know the HP Thin Client"s motherboard is about the same size as a Classic Mac"s MB.. (and yes you can install regular windows on a Thin Client, it just takes some finangling..)0

The Macintosh Classic was the first Macintosh computer to be sold for less than $1,000. “Classic Mac” is also the name of a series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers from 1984 to 2001 by Apple.

The Macintosh Classic was produced thanks to the success of the Original Macintosh, the Macintosh Plus and the Macintosh SE. The system specifications of the Classic are similar to the original Macintosh computers and include the same 9-inch monochrome CRT display, 512 x 342 pixel resolution and 4 megabytes memory as the old Macintosh personal computers. By not updating the Classic with the latest technology, Apple has guaranteed compatibility with the Mac software and allowed for a lower price. The Classic was 25 percent faster than the Macintosh Plus computer and featured a standard 3-inch Apple SuperDrive floppy drive.

The relatively low price of the Classic and the availability of software for education have led to the popularity of the Classic in education. The Classic was sold alongside the Macintosh Classic II, which was more powerful, in 1991.

Macintosh Classic personal computers include the name ‘Macintosh Classic’ in the lower left corner of the device display. They also generally include the Apple logo from the 90s, which depicted an apple with colored stripes and a bite.

Introduced as the first sub-$1,000 Macintosh in October 1990, the basic Classic came with 1 MB of RAM, a SuperDrive, and space to mount an internal SCSI hard drive. The hard drive version came with 2 MB of memory and a 40 MB hard drive. RAM expansion was via a 1 MB daughter card with two open slots, which could accept a pair of 256 KB or 1 MB SIMMs. This made memory upgrades far easier than on the Plus or SE, since the motherboard didn’t have to be removed. At the same time, it means you should avoid any used Classic without 2 MB or more memory unless you have a source for the memory card.

What Apple was thinking releasing an 8 MHz computer so late in the game is beyond me. By 1990, 8 MHz was just too slow for practical use, although that didn’t keep Apple from selling it or people from buying it. At this point, a 16 MHz Classic would have been sweet (see our review of the 16 MHz Brainstorm upgrade in a Mac Plus for details on that).

A feature unique to the Classic is the ability to boot from ROM by holding down command-option-x-o at startup. The ROM Disk is called “Boot Disk” and is 357 KB in size. The ROM Disk uses Finder 6.1.x and System 6.0.3 – this combination is specifically designed for the Classic. The only control panels are General, Brightness, and Startup Disk. MacsBug and AppleShare Prep are also part of the System, which loads into 294 KB of the Classic’s RAM. Because this is in ROM, there is no way to add anything to the ROM Disk.

Color display? Aura Systems made ScuzzyGraph II, a SCSI peripheral that provided 8-color video for people who didn’t want to buy (or couldn’t afford) a Mac II. 1989 cost was $995 to $2,495, depending on resolution.

You can convert a non-working compact Mac into a Macquarium. (Please, don’t even think of converting a working one – you can always find someone interested on the Classic Macs or Vintage Macs lists.)

A Vintage Mac Network Can Be as Useful as a Modern One, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 2008.04.08. Old Macs can exchange data and share an Internet connection very nicely using Apple’s old LocalTalk networking.

Creating Classic Mac Boot Floppies in OS X, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2008.08.07. Yes, it is possible to create a boot floppy for the Classic Mac OS using an OS X Mac that doesn’t have Classic. Here’s how.

Know Your Mac’s Upgrade Options, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 2008.08.26. Any Mac can be upgraded, but it’s a question of what can be upgraded – RAM, hard drive, video, CPU – and how far it can be upgraded.

Why You Should Partition Your Mac’s Hard Drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.12.11. “At the very least, it makes sense to have a second partition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you have problems with your work partition, you can boot from the ’emergency’ partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics.”

Antique Macs are still useful computers, Charles W Moore, From the MacCave, 2008.09.09. Charles W Moore’s first online article looks at the utility of compact Macs – and foreshadows his longterm affection for PowerBooks.

Cracking Open the Apple Macintosh Classic, Mark Kaelin, Tech Republic, 06.17. “In this Cracking Open Photo Gallery, TechRepublic examines just what went into a Mac Classic – and what technology was like in 1991.”

Supporting a classic Mac ‘habit’ on the cheap, Rick Lawson, Pioneers in Mac Development, 2008.06.09. Mac nostalgia leads to a year-long rediscovery of the pleasures of old Macs and the classic Mac OS.

Digital vs. film photography, megapixel myths, G3/G4 SuperDrive upgrade, and a newly acquired Mac Classic, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.01.11. The differences between film and digital photography, the value of old 35mm SLRs, the importance of good lenses, a $50 18x dual-layer SuperDrive, and writing on a Mac Classic.

Vintage Mac Networking and File Exchange, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.19. How to network vintage Macs with modern Macs and tips on exchanging files using floppies, Zip disks, and other media.

Getting Inside Vintage Macs and Swapping Out Bad Parts, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.14. When an old Mac dies, the best source of parts is usually another dead Mac with different failed parts.

Solving Mac Startup Problems, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.12. When your old Mac won’t boot, the most likely culprits are a dead PRAM battery or a failed (or failing) hard drive.

Mac approaching 25th birthday, OS 8 on Performa 630, Mac Classics in use 24/7, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.12.04. Also more thoughts on vampire video, realigning the Road Apple label, the fate of DropStuff, and an unidentified cable in a Power Mac 8600.

Better and Safer Surfing with Internet Explorer and the Classic Mac OS, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.11.06. Tips on which browsers work best with different Mac OS versions plus extra software to clean cookies and caches, detect viruses, handle downloads, etc.

A (Mac) classic spookfest, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.31. How to set up those old compact Macs with screen savers to enhance your Halloween experience.

Simple Macs for Simple Tasks, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.19. Long live 680×0 Macs and the classic Mac OS. For simple tasks such as writing, they can provide a great, low distraction environment.

8 MHz forever? Apple’s Macintosh Classic was no faster than the first Mac, Leo Titus LeBron V, Collection Spotlight, 2007.09.26. A successor to the 1986 Mac Plus and 1987 Mac SE, the 1990 Mac Classic was slow, limited, and barely enough for basic tasks like writing.

Interchangeabilty and Compatibility of Apple 1.4 MB Floppy SuperDrives, Sonic Purity, Mac Daniel, 2007.09.26. Apple used two kinds of high-density floppy drives on Macs, auto-inject and manual inject. Can they be swapped?

My first mobile Mac: A Classic II, Jacek A. Rochacki, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.06.25. When a PowerBook 100 was beyond the author’s means, he bought a second-hand Mac Classic II and fabricated his own carrying case to make it mobile.

Mac System 7.5.5 Can Do Anything Mac OS 7.6.1 Can, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.06.04. Yes, it is possible to run Internet Explorer 5.1.7 and SoundJam with System 7.5.5. You just need to have all the updates – and make one modification for SoundJam.

Importance of G3 support in 10.5, clever USB/FireWire solution, upgrade options, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.05.01. Also the loss of the PowerBook brand, upgrading to an Intel iMac, Korg and the Mac, Quadra boot problems, and the value of a Mac Classic.

Format Any Drive for Older Macs with Patched Apple Tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Apple branded hard drives – until you apply the patches linked to this article.

Making floppies and CDs for older Macs using modern Macs, Windows, and Linux PCs, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.03.15. Older Macs use HFS floppies and CDs. Here are the free resources you’ll need to write floppies or CDs for vintage Macs using your modern computer.

Jag’s House, where older Macs still rock, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.09.25. Over a decade old, Jag’s House is the oldest Mac website supporting classic Macs and remains a great resource for vintage Mac users.

30 days of old school computing: Setting up a Mac Classic II, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.09.07. Fond memories of using a Classic II in elementary school lead to it being the first Mac set up for a month of vintage, very low-end computing.

Vintage Macs with System 6 run circles around 3 GHz Windows 2000 PC, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.07.06. Which grows faster, hardware speed or software bloat? These benchmarks show vintage Macs let you be productive much more quickly than modern Windows PCs.

Floppy drive observations: A compleat guide to Mac floppy drives and disk formats, Scott Baret, Online Tech Journal, 2006.06.29. A history of the Mac floppy from the 400K drive in the Mac 128K through the manual-inject 1.4M SuperDrives used in the late 1990s.

Compact Flash with SCSI Macs, PB 1400 CD-RW upgrade problems, and Web incompatibilities, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2006.06.16. Suggested ways to use Compact Flash with vintage Macs and PowerBooks, problems getting CD-RW to work with a PowerBook 1400, and more thoughts on website incompatibilities.

Moving files from your new Mac to your vintage Mac, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2006.06.13. Old Macs use floppies; new ones don’t. Old Macs use AppleTalk; Tiger doesn’t support it. New Macs can burn CDs, but old CD drives can’t always read CD-R. So how do you move the files?

System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6: The beginning and end of an era, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.02.15. System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6 introduced many new features and greater modernity while staying within reach of most early Macintosh models.

System 7: Bigger, better, more expandable, and a bit slower than System 6, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.01.04. The early versions of System 7 provide broader capability for modern tasks than System 6 while still being practical for even the lowliest Macs.

Web browser tips for the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic Mac OS.

The Joy of Six: Apple’s fast, svelte, reliable, and still usable System 6, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.12.06. System 6 was small enough to run quickly from an 800K floppy yet powerful enough to support 2 GB partitions, 24-bit video, and the Internet.

10 things new classic Mac owners should know, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2005.12.06. New to compact Macs? Ten things you really should know before you get too confused.

How to set up your own Mac Plus (or later) web server, Joe Rivera, Mac Fallout Shelter, 2005.11.29. All you need is an old Mac Plus with 4 MB of RAM, a hard drive, System 7 or later, some free software, and an Internet connection.

Which system software is best for my vintage Mac?, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.11.22. Which system software works best depends to a great extent on just which Mac you have and how much RAM is installed.

Mac SE alive and kicking on Web, Leander Kahney, Wired, 2004.05.19. “…a pair of German Web designers has created a working simulation of Apple Computer’s classic Mac SE on the Web.” Very cool.

The compact Mac trio: Hardware overview, Dan Knight, The Old Gray Mac, 2001.07.30. Introduction to and hardware overview of the Mac Plus, SE, and Classic.

Never connect an Apple II 5.25″ floppy drive to the Mac’s floppy port. Doing so can ruin the floppy controller, meaning you can’t even use the internal drive any longer.

Macs with black-and-white only displays (1-bit, no grays) may find Netscape Navigator 3 makes it impossible to view some pages and sites. The workaround is to use Navigator 2.

Reliably supports serial speeds to 19.2 kbps, although default is 9600 bps. May have better throughput at 28.8 kbps despite some dropped and retransmitted packets. Throughput with a 56k modem may be limited. See 56k modem page. For more information on Mac serial ports, read Macintosh Serial Throughput.

Since the passing of Apple"s founder, Steve Jobs, in 2011, vintage Macintosh computers are finally seeing a resurgence in popularity. For those of you who decided to keep your old Macs, this is good news for you! Now these charming old machines are fetching a decent penny on eBay and Craigslist.

These often surface on eBay. These are either the "Replica 1" from Briel Computer or the Newton NTI clone. The value for an unassembled replica hovers around $1,000 for the kit.Regarding Apple/Macintosh "Clones"

During the brief and unsuccessful Apple cloning years, a number of machines emerged using licensed hardware and software. Most were inferior in both performance and quality. Today, their value is difficult to ascertain, as no two clones were truly identical. Many are considered undesirable and sell for just a few hundred dollars, if that.

Named after Steve Jobs" daughter, Lisa, this was one of the final models released before the introduction of Macintosh in 1984. Aimed at corporations, the computer"s hefty price tag of $10,000 in 1984 was considered too great a risk to take, and sales were poor. In 1986, the Lisa was renamed the Macintosh XL and fitted with an emulator to run Mac OS.

Released in January 1984 as the very first Macintosh, the 128k was the first personal computer to feature a Graphic User Interface, a basic feature that would define home computing for decades to come. The 128k was also the first to feature a 3.5" floppy disk drive.

Apple"s first expandable Macintosh, the Plus, introduced the SCSI port to allow for a multitude of external additions. It was sold to academia as the Mac ED.

Released alongside the Mac II, expansion was the primary capability of the SE series. Its new, updated case came with an expansion slot for either a second internal floppy or hard drive.

Built to replace the SE/30, the Classic II was the last of the Black & White Compact Macs. Whopping fast at 16 MHz with an 80 Mb hard drive and 10 Mb of RAM. It was also the last model to include an external drive port.

Apple"s bottom-rung inaugural Powerbook, released in 1991, would become the foundation of all Macbooks over the next 20 years. This particular model lacked CPU, RAM, and expansions that its two running mates had including a floppy drive. It has since been named the 10th greatest personal computer of all time.

A multi-colored edition Powerbook 170, the JLPGA was built as a commemorative for the 1992 JLPGA Golf Tournament in Japan. Underneath the flashy facade were the workings of a basic Powerbook 170. It was never intended to be a powerful machine but what makes it valuable is that only 500 were ever produced.

Apple"s first color compact Macintosh, the Color Classic ultimately set the stage for the iMac. Essentially a Performa platform computer inside a retro Mac body, even today the Classic has a cult following not seen since the original Macintosh. Some Color Classics have been modified to include an ethernet card that can still connect to broadband networks.

Released as a limited edition in 1993, the Macintosh TV was one of the few desktops ever released in black and Apple"s first attempt at computer-television integration. Equipped with a cable TV ready tuner card and a television monitor, the TV could switch from a computer to a television set in a matter of seconds and even came with a remote control. Yet it was incapable of recording live video, only still frames. Its poor processor speed and other limitations made the unit a failure and ultimately only 10,000 were sold.

Before the Mac Mini, there was the G4 Cube, Apple"s first attempt to build a small profile desktop computer. Unfortunately, it was a flop. Its limited capabilities and uncomfortably high price tag forced the Cube into the grave after just one year. The model was unofficially replaced by the Mac Mini. Despite its failure, the Cube did gain a cult following similar to that of "80s Macs.

Nearly bankrupt, Apple"s official turnaround with the return of co-founder Steve Jobs in 1997. One of the first things he did was kill off nearly all of Apple"s unremarkable product lines. The next thing he did was begin a full rebranding of the company from a boring industrial computer developer into a pop culture staple. The first product under this new rebrand was The iMac.

The iMac was unlike any computer of the time. First, it returned to the original Macintosh design of being All-In-One. This allowed it to be priced considerably cheaper than the competition. Furthermore, the iMac was colorful and eye catching. The inaugural color was called Bondi Blue and soon 13 color combinations were available making it marketable to just about anyone. The computer was the first to feature USB slots, a connector that is still used today. The computer was a smashing success and officially turned Apple around financially.

Despite it"s pop culture status, the 1st generation iMac"s value dropped like a stone as Apple began its business strategy of releasing a new generation of the iMac every year. In fact, by the time the mid 2000s rolled around, and the release of Apple"s revolutionary OS X, you couldn"t even give the 1st iMacs away.

Nicknamed the Lamp, the Sunflower, or the Dome & Swivel, the iMac G4 was the first major redesign of the iMac. Produced from 2002 to 2004, the Lamp was the first Macintosh to ditch the CRD monitor in favor of the flatscreen. This allowed the computer to fit just about anywhere. The computer was also Apple"s OS 9 - OS X transitional model, featuring both operating systems initially. The computer was Apple"s first to pass the 1Ghz CPU speed mark.

2010, yet another milestone year for Apple with the release of the iPad. Against all predictions of certain failure, the iPad"s success ushered in the beginning of the tablet era of computing. The 1st generation iPad established screen sizing and control placement that would make up every generation since. Factory sealed units with early serials numbers can fetch a decent amount if the timing is right.

Not every vintage computer is a jackpot. Some models happen to sell better than others. A Mac 128k, for example, can fetch well over $2,000 on eBay, while its newer cousin, the 512k, will fetch only $500. Sentimental value is not the same as resale value. Dozens of listings go unsold because of a ridiculous price of, say, $10,000 for an old, unremarkable machine that has no accessories or desirables.

There are several factors to take into account when listing your vintage Mac:First is condition: Does it work? Naturally, a working computer will sell for more than a broken one.

Some computer models are actually worth more in parts. A Mac SE/30 may only fetch $100 as a complete unit but could fetch nearly $400 in parts. Certain parts are highly prized (like the internal floppy drive, the ram, etc.).

Upgrade kits are very valuable today. Different economics applied to computers in those days. The thought of buying a new computer every two years was unheard of, so the idea was that you bought it, made repairs as needed, and kept it until it completely wore out. Macs were originally designed to be upgraded rather than replaced. By the late "80s, it became apparent that hardware limitations impeded upgrades and by the early "90s, Apple abolished upgrading altogether.

Research what your computer has, and it will help determine whether it is worth more as a complete unit or as a parts box. The prices contained on this page are based on successful eBay listings, not unsold listings. In other words, anyone can ask for $10,000 for a Mac Plus, but nobody"s going to pay that much for it.

Bullet Lists keep it short, sweet, and simple. Vintage computers sell really well on eBay Mobile. Write your listing, keeping that tiny cell phone screen in mind. Avoid writing paragraphs of information, as a long listing will actually deter an impulse buyer.

Remember, not every Macintosh is a jackpot. Many unremarkable models exist today worth just a few hundred dollars or less, for a multitude of reasons:The model was neither revolutionary in concept or function or just simply a filler model to build out the Apple product line. These were particularly common in the years leading up to Steve Jobs" return in 1997.

Not enough time has passed for it to be considered a worthwhile collector"s item. With the exception of the iPhone 1 and a few others, most collectible machines are at least 20 years or older.

I have an Apple laptop Macintosh PowerBook 160 in great condition with the owners manual, dial up modem, system discs carrying shoulder bag everything.

Have an Apple Macintosh Power PC 8100/80AV with serial # dated 9/20/94. I am willing to donate it if someone would want it. What do you think ? ? ? In very good condition and in working order.

I have an Apple Macintosh 512K M0001W Serial Number: F5415AUM0001W with external floppy drive, all original software and manuals, and working Apple ImageWriter II printer.

Condition: Overall excellent, like-new condition. Computer, mouse, external floppy drive, and printer all work well. Has none of the characteristic yellowing of the cases for the computer, mouse, keyboard, or printer seen with most Macs that are 35+ years old. Also have original boxes, though the one for the Mac is a little ragged, the one for ImageWriter II is in excellent shape.

I have an eMac computer and an Apple Macintosh computer bag which is in good condition. I am wondering what they are worth and how to sell them. The computer is too big to fit in this computer bag. I am not sure if the computer is working at this stage. They belonged to my partner who died recently. He loved all things Apple.

I have an eMac (all white) in essentially mint condition. It still works but does not have original packaging, keyboard or mouse. Any ideas on the value? I have seen them on eBay for $100-$300 but due to weight I wonder if shipping from Vancouver Island in Canada would be prohibitive. Any comments?

Have an IMac DV 400 MHZ SPECIAL ADDITION STILL in original box. Good condition on box. Not perfect on box. Looking for help on value and selling this. Thx. kvandright@yahoo.com

This is a great article. What do you envisage for computers built during and after the 90’s? Do you see a resurgence of people collecting working Apple computers as long term investments, for instance an eMac 2004 model A1002? I imagine the lower the number of units produced the higher the value appreciation. Would these be equally as valuable for parts?

I have a PowerBook g4 laptop but it has a problem with the screen. At times everything will be covered in purplish blueish pixelated boxes that covers the screen. When I tried hooking up an external monitor, the same problem happened. Do you know a way to fix this?

I have a Macintosh SE double disk but I don"t have keyboard or cords and not sure if it works as I found it in my uncles garage when he passed away so I wanted to know how much or if it"s worth anything it"s dated at 1986 model number M5010 with 1Mbyte Ram,Two 800k Drives

Hi, I"m trying to find out how much a black Macintosh power PC 275 is worth. Can any one help or point me in the right direction for advice. All in working order with box

Did you know that if you open the 1st edition Macintosh (1984), All of the original designers have their signatures on the inside of the cover including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

hi, i am cleaning house and shipping somethings back to the US from France where I was living. I have an old iBook, still works, date on back is 1999. Mac OS 9.0.4

Hi! I have a 17" MacBook Pro (Mosel No: A1297). Great condition. Works great! Still have the box. Just read that it will be discontinued and going into the Apple Vintage files this year. If it goes into the vintage category, how much do you think it would be worth?

I have a working 1986 Apple Macintosh Plus Computer with Apple Image Writer ll Printer, Keyboard, Mouse & External Drive.  I am the original Owner. Excellent condition. Exact production date: October 11, 1986.

In 1982, I purchased a 128K Mac with 20Mb Internal Drive with extra 3.5 inch drive and an Imagewriter printer. I could have downloaded a 12Mb? song, only. My current iMac with 1 Terabyte internal drive can download 129,720 songs, some Classical ones @ 44Mb. I sold it to a friend for $2,000 Aussie dollars because I had paid $5,200 for it in mid-1982. What"s it"s value, working.

I have a Color Classic that has a motherboard with a power PC 603 in it, maybe from a power Mac 5200. I was wondering if that would increase the value and what you think I should ask for it. Also I don"t have a working mouse for it, is there anyway to open system information with the keyboard?

I really don"t know what kind of imac it is but I am pretty sure its a imac G3. How much do you think it"s worth? It works and it has the og keyboard.

I am looking to sell Perfect Condition Macintosh IIVX 8/230 w/512k, Extended Keyboard, Personal Laserwriter NTR and 21" Precision Color Display. All purchased 8/93. Used 10 times. Stored since.

Hi Jason, I have a working, near mint condition Mac SE20 (I believe it is SE20, purchased in a college book store in 1988ish) in the original box (very clean and great condition but some clear packing tapes on and address written on 1 or 2 sides) with an unopened and an opened sets of manuals (happen to have 2 sets of same manuals) in mint conditions, plus a mouse cover shaped like a mouse which was sold in Apple "Company Store" in 1988 (no tag). Could you give me quotes for these?

I have a working Performa and a G4 (quicksilver) plus 80"s mac software...what do you think they"re worth? And does anyone know who buys old software like this? Thnaks

My father has a complete system, Macintosh 1mb with external floppy (I believe, but will check) and a LaserWriter printer. I haven"t seen any posts that mention the LaserWriter. Is the LaserWriter of any value? Is the system worth anything?

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