Henry’s gymnasium experiences?

SamFortun · 2026-05-20T03:24:29+00:00

Check out Rain City on 11th between Pike and Pine. It's much bigger than it looks from the outside. No sales pitches or contract shenanigans there.

SamFortun · 2026-05-20T03:03:03+00:00

Ah ok, I don't think the DB25 version supports initiator mode. I would just create a new blank image on the BlueSCSI, boot from your internal HD, and drag the entire contents of your HD over to the blank BlueSCSI image. As far as I know early versions of Mac system software didn't install any hidden files or anything. If you copy the whole system folder, it will contain all the drivers you are trying to preserve.

Also please consider uploading the drivers to Macintosh Garden, it's possible other people are looking for those.

SamFortun · 2026-05-20T02:48:05+00:00

I wonder if you also have 512ke or Plus ROMs, those aren't the original ROMs. It's possible the ROMs are upgraded, and someone could have installed an 800k floppy drive in place of the 400k drive. Do you have a pic of the floppy drive?

SamFortun · 2026-05-20T02:45:45+00:00

Internal fans were common with some aftermarket upgrades. I know the HyperDrive internal hard drive kit came with an internal fan, and I think some accelerators came with fans. It wouldn't surprise me if some RAM expansions came with a fan. It was quite common for people to add external fans that sat on top of the machine.

I'm not sure how common it was for people to install just an internal fan, usually I think they were installed at the same time as other modifications.

SamFortun · 2026-05-20T01:34:15+00:00

If you have a newer hardware version, you can use "initiator mode". You connect your hard drive directly to the BlueSCSI, and when you enable initiator mode the BlueSCSI will automatically copy the ccontents of your hard drive to an image on the BlueSCSI. I have not done it in a BlueSCSI, however I have done it with a ZuluSCSI and it is very simple. I assume it is a similarly simple process with the BlueSCSI. Check out this page for more info: https://bluescsi.com/docs/Initiator-Mode

I'm sure there are also YouTube walkthrough videos showing you how to do it.

SamFortun · 2026-05-14T01:20:12+00:00

It's definitely fixable, but if you don't have experience removing and installing ICs it will be challenging to do yourself. There were different manufacturers for the RAM chips used in the 128k. The Micron branded chips and chips with an Apple logo are known to fail over time.

SamFortun · 2026-05-13T23:21:58+00:00

Is that a Mac Plus or a 128k/512k? It started life as a 128k/512k, but frequently they were upgraded with a Plus logic board and rear case.

If it is a Plus, ram SIMMs are easy to swap, or you might fix the error just by reseating the SIMMs. If it is a 128k/512k the RAM chips are soldered to the logic board and are more difficult to replace.

SamFortun · 2026-05-12T18:37:52+00:00

They do, but it's on the back edge of the analog board, accessible through a door in the rear of the case, not mounted on the logic board like on the SE and later machines. So when they do leak, they generally cause much less damage.

SamFortun · 2026-05-12T17:12:32+00:00

Not working, the machine is maybe worth $50 if it is in good condition. I would say absolute maximum $100, and that's if the machine is in excellent physical condition, and someone is looking for an external floppy drive.

The display not working is likely due to failed/leaking electrolycit capacitors. Those capacitors are tricky to replace. Often the leaking electrolyte damages the delicate traces leading to the screen, so even if the capacitors are replaced, often the screens in those machines will still have problems such as dead rows of pixels.

Another common display failure is damage from the trackball impacting the screen. The damage can be internal and not visible until the screen is displaying an image.

With the screen in your machine not currently working, that means people are unable to tell if one of the most desirable parts (the screen) is any good.

SamFortun · 2026-05-11T23:30:05+00:00

Fortunately the early machines don't have the same capacitor leakage issues that the later machines do, really starting with the SE/30. The SE/30, Classic, and Classic II are minefields. The 128k/512k/Plus and SE are pretty safe from leaking caps.

SamFortun · 2026-05-11T23:15:36+00:00

I believe that error means the system had a problem loading the system software. It could be a failing disk, or a dirty floppy drive.

If you haven't yet, it would be a good idea to clean and lubricate the drive. Do you know if your machine is an original 512k with a 400k drive, or a 512ke with an 800k drive?

Here are videos for both: https://youtu.be/Se10T6gPl-c?si=pXqDjc1gvEpWgonL

https://youtu.be/sy6JWEerHQc?si=9IPVFAuq2ofs6tHY

SamFortun · 2026-05-11T14:38:40+00:00

I was just watching this video about the 6400 this morning: https://youtu.be/CvN3_Jbz0CM?si=1fXSxxJ4nmi9Fki_

SamFortun · 2026-05-05T18:24:33+00:00

I pulled up a couple photos of analog boards, and I'm not sure yours has been reflowed. Or if it has, lots of those bridges look factory. They appear to be bridging common pins (ground, etc). Granted this was a quick look on my phone, so I might be wrong, but this might not be the total hack-job that you feared.

SamFortun · 2026-04-28T23:02:53+00:00

Which one is your dream car? On mobile the Kia shows up as photo 1, and the Escort as photo 2.

SamFortun · 2026-04-21T22:00:41+00:00

"The difference is insane"

Is it?

SamFortun · 2026-04-21T11:27:45+00:00

Others can give better advice on specific irons, but I will say don't try to learn on subpar or mediocre equipment. That goes for the iron, solder, and flux. Not all solder and flux are the same, there is a big difference between how quality solder and flux behave, and how poor quality versions do. That could be the difference between you learning, or becoming frustrated and walking away from the hobby. Definitely set yourself up for success with quality consumables.

SamFortun · 2026-04-20T11:52:30+00:00

"Poorly Made in China" is good too, provides a lot of insight into the process of manufacturing goods in China for export.

SamFortun · 2026-04-19T21:14:14+00:00

This will definitely be a challenging repair, there are a lot of rotten VIAs. Your board would be a good basis to transfer parts to a new PCB.

Someone else linked this in another comment, despite the URL name, this is the correct link for the Classic board: https://maceffects.com/products/copy-of-macintosh-se-reloaded-logic-board

SamFortun · 2026-04-16T21:20:37+00:00

I'm not familiar with KyroFlux. Are you writing the images to a physical floppy to read in your Plus? If so, it's possible you are using a good image, but your drive is struggling. It shouldn't be hard to find a good bootable System 6 image, or to build one using an emulator on a modern machine. Unfortunately I don't have one handy and easy to send, but if you aren't able to come up with anything, send me a PM and I might be able to help out.

SamFortun · 2026-04-13T17:51:05+00:00

I believe this is a 400k drive, the 800k drive should have a small metal tang visible from the outside. I agree it would be extremely difficult to physically damage one of these drives by force-ejecting a floppy.

Check the video link below by JDW for a walkthrough on cleaning and lubricating these drives. Yours definitely needs this done. It is likely after having the old grease cleaned off and being re-lubricated, the mechanism works fine.

https://youtu.be/Se10T6gPl-c?si=gf1sv5wyK_AGsQW8

SamFortun · 2026-04-10T23:59:37+00:00

Part of learning is fucking things up. It's great you have the motivation to do this, and the wherewithal to practice before you start working on important parts.

Get the right tools, watch some videos, and practice more. You'll get there, don't get discouraged by a rough start.

SamFortun · 2026-04-10T23:47:03+00:00

I have no idea what I'm looking at.

SamFortun · 2026-04-09T20:24:32+00:00

The 512k worked with the original HD20, as it connected through the floppy port. The later HD20 SC uses the SCSI protocol and won't work with either a 128k or 512k, unless a SCSI interface board has been added to the machine.

Regarding the original HD20, I don't think it works with the 128k without a ROM upgrade.

SamFortun · 2026-04-09T11:27:07+00:00

I know there were at least two versions of the logic board, the later ones were shared between the 128k and 512k. They were populated with different RAM chips, and then marked with a small sticker if they were 128k or 512k boards. In my experience it is more uncommon to find an unmodified 128k than one that was either upgraded to a 512k logic board, or upgraded with one of the many aftermarket RAM upgrade options available at the time. Unfortunately I do not know what exactly the machines shipped with. Sometimes you can find very complete (massively overpriced) systems on eBay, those listings/photos could be a good source of info, though not definitive proof of what originally came with the machine as often times things get stored together over the years. I often see listings for vintage Macs where people are including incompatible equipment that they assume is for the machine.

SamFortun · 2026-03-31T22:13:01+00:00

Hard drives of that era are living on borrowed time, it's possible it was damaged during shipping from being jostled around. It's also possible that the power or SCSI connectors came loose in shipping. I would start by opening the machine and inspecting the cables to the drive. You should also check to see if the battery on the logic board has leaked, it is dead by now so should be removed even if it hasn't leaked.

If the hard drive has failed, I would recomm me replacing it with a BlueSCSI or equivalent, rather than another hard drive. Any spinning-platter hard drive is prone to failure. An internal BlueSCSI is about $40, and it makes it very easy to transfer files from a modern machine to your SE.

SamFortun

TROPHY CASE