[captain spanky]

ok sorry for being such a nooooob but i could do with some help with a recent aquisition of mine...

i've just got a Powerbook 1400c. It's got a 2gig HD with os 9.1 on it... i've just got an external cd writer off ebay and am going to try find a scsi cable to connect them. I'm worried it will be a bit slow so i was thinking about upgrading the RAM but i dunno where to start looking for some? Ideally i'd like to run QuarkXpress, illustrator and photoshop on it so i'd need enogh to be able to cope with that so i'm hoping the 64mb max would be ok?
I was also thinking about getting a G3 processor upgrade card but seeing as they're about £200 i might have to save up for that... can anyone suggest any other things i can do to upgrade it a bit more? I wanted some sort of USB connection on it but i understand you can't get a USB card to fit inside anywhere... or can you?


Also, i'm a bit lost as to how to get an internet connection... It has a thick creditcard sized thing stuck in the side of it which is labelled modem... but do i connect using the ethernet/phone plug type hole in the back or do i connect a cable to the modem card somehow?

cheers y'all!

[Randman]

There's no want in hell you're going to get Quark, PS and Illustrator to run on that without a major upgrade. And for that amount, you'd be better off buying a new iBook.

[captain spanky]

even if i just run them one at a time?

[captain spanky]

so if i just use quark and nothing else is it going to struggle?
i have no money for a new one so it's this or nothing really...

would a faster processor make a difference?

where do i get some ram from? any links?

please?

[Kvasir]

Originally Posted by captain spanky

so if i just use quark and nothing else is it going to struggle?
i have no money for a new one so it's this or nothing really...

would a faster processor make a difference?

where do i get some ram from? any links?

please?

Dude, that's a what - 8-9 year old machine (it came out in 1996/97? Pre-G3 powerPPC? It won't even run 9.2.2. What are you going to do, hit eBay for Photoshop 3 or 4, Illustrator 2 or 3? I cannot see it even running PS 7, let alone CS, especially with a 2GB HD!

I'm not trying to be harsh, but seriously, you want to run the programs you mention on that machine? That's a tough crawl - memory or cpu upgrade notwithstanding.

I just don't see it - that machine is not only obsolete, it's a "classic", which merely means it's ancient and useless.

I have a 1992 Twinhead 486SX laptop that I love - built like a tank. But it's sitting in a closet for sentimental reasons only - it's not usefull, nor can I expect it to be so (and I don't).

[captain spanky]

thanks for that Kvasir. I have no clue about this sort of thing really.
So...now i'm wondering... have i just been ripped off? I'm curently waiting for a 2 gig HD i got off ebay which has OS9.1, and Quark amongst other things... will this not work with the powerbook at all?

at best would it run ms word ok?

apologies once again for knowing nothing.

[Judge_Fire]

Well, it's old, but if it works...

It'd be best suited for word processing (Word 5.1) and very small scale image editing (Photoshop 4), email (Eudora?) and it could run an older version of Illustrator, too. Don't know about Quark. All the software whould be available really cheap, or free, if you can find it.

Would be fun to set up, I've been meaning to put together a retro setup myself

J

[Kvasir]

Originally Posted by captain spanky

thanks for that Kvasir. I have no clue about this sort of thing really.
So...now i'm wondering... have i just been ripped off? I'm curently waiting for a 2 gig HD i got off ebay which has OS9.1, and Quark amongst other things... will this not work with the powerbook at all?

at best would it run ms word ok?

apologies once again for knowing nothing.

You just need to find older versions of software. I just wanted to be sure you realized you won't be able to run current or recent versions.

check out links - http://w3.trib.com/~dwood/oldmac.shtml#soft

Also, eBay or Amazon auctions for stuff like Photoshop 4 or 5, Freehand 4 or 5 (as an alternative to illustrator). I know you can find copies of Photoshop 4.0/5.0/5.5 for Mac on eBay, although sometimes the bidding drives the prices up quite a bit, as anyone with an older machine (like you) are hunting for these older software titles.

P.S. if you need a word processor - google for WordPerfect 3.5 - it was a free download, and I'd be surprized if it's not available on the web somewhere.

[captain spanky]

cool thank you for all your help!
If i couldn't have used it for a bit of design work out of the office i was going to see if i could get it to be used as a word processor from my girlfriend for her Uni work.

so is all mac ram the same or is it all specific to machine? can anyone recommend any online shops that would sell RAM to fit the 1400c?
Thanks again everyone.

[tooki]

RAM for the 1400 was in weird little custom modules, and IIRC, there were two different module types, one of which stacked on top of the other. Nobody carries it new any more, but it should be easy enough to find in the surplus market.

tooki

[OB1]

Here's a guy who's got himself a pretty usable Powerbook 1400 setup for just £110, with wireless networking! Others are too. It seems quite a few people are finding their Powerbook 1400 are quite capable machines. Cool. Let us know how you get on?