[ajprice]

My neighbour's Mac Classic (not sure exactly which model, it has a black & white screen and runs System 6) now has a dead screen, it is otherwise fully working as far as we can tell. He would like to get the files off the computer somehow. I have a Performa 6400 running System 9.1. Is it possible to link these computers together to transfer the files onto my Performa, or will the Classic need to be configured for network access? That is if they can be linked at all. I'm hoping I can link up through Appletalk or Localtalk through my printer port (if the Classic has the same printer port as mine).

Otherwise, is it possible to remove the hard drive and connect the drive externally to my Performa, or is there anything else I can do?

------------------

[etphonehome]

I can only think of two solutions to your problem. Unfortunately, both of them involve opening up the case to the Classic, which isn't an easy thing (I know, I've had to do it many times before.)

The first option would be to try to fix the screen. I don't know how to do this, but other forum threads point to websites that will tell you how to do it.

The second option would be to remove the hard drive and put it in another computer or external SCSI case. This is what I would recommend, since you don't have to mess around with the computer's internal circuitry. Unfortunately, you can't simply put the hard drive inside your computer since the 6400's internal hard drive is IDE, not SCSI. However, if you have an external SCSI hard drive/CD-ROM drive, you could remove the original drive from the case and replace it with the drive from the Classic. Then you could connect the drive to your 6400 and it would be a simple matter of transferring the files to your 6400's internal drive.

About your networking idea, unless the Classic is already set up for networking and file sharing is on, you'd need to be able to see the screen to set up file sharing.

So, unless the data in that computer is really important to your friend, it's probably not worth it to get it out.

------------------
"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people?"

[jarends]

has he tried replacing the battery? Sometimes macs won't even start up if the battery has lost its power.

[Stardust]

Originally posted by jarends:
has he tried replacing the battery? Sometimes macs won't even start up if the battery has lost its power.

It has scsi so why don't you just hook it up to an other scsi Mac an just let is be mounted as an second harddisk.? Allyou need is an scsi cable. Worked fine for me and my Lc475 on an beige G3

[ajprice]

jarends - The mac does start up, it makes all the right noises and beeps, but the screen doesn't work.

Stardust - Thanks, I'll try that first if I can, I don't fancy taking the computer apart if I can help it. I'll let you know what happens.

------------------

[etphonehome]

I don't think it's possible to connect two macs with a SCSI cable. I think the only Macs that this works for are PowerBooks. However, SCSI is an unpredictable thing. An unsupported procedure may work fine for one person, while wrecking the computer of another. I would recommend that you don't try the SCSI cable thing, because it probably isn't officialy supported by Apple for a reason.

------------------
"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people?"

[Stardust]

what's all this fear about.
Just startup the main Mac hook up the second one, and use scsi-probe to mount the dead mac. Should work........

[ajprice]

I got hold of the Classic to sort out on Tuesday. The first few times I turned it on it powered up and the hard disk clicked over, but there was no startup chime and the screen either did not come on or shown a white rectangle or white stripes down the centre third of the screen, with a few 'artifacts' dotted around the screen (never seen or heard of anything like this before).

I connected it to mine via the SCSI (thanks stardust) and mounted the disk and everything on it was fine so I backed up the files over to mine (40Mb hard drive, what luxury!). I left it on, put mine to sleep and went for a break to watch some TV. Half an hour later I heard a 'bong' sound from upstairs, I went to see what was going on and the Classic was starting up normally and was ready to use. Turned off and went to bed very confused!

As I had the files backed up, I ran Disk First Aid and Norton Utilities over the Classic, and major unrepairable file fragmentation errors were found. I initialised the disk and copied the system back over and booted up...black screen. Checked the Classic HD on mine again and it was fine, so the hard disk is OK, and the screen works, so whatever is wrong with it has to be something else. Turned off and went to bed very very confused!

After looking through some old mags I tried zapping the PRAM. The next time I turned it on the screen was black for about 3-4 minutes, then it started up, so things were improving. Restarted and zapped the PRAM several times more, the screen is now black or showing the white stripes/rectangle for about 5 seconds, and then starts up. This is what's happening now, so I am pretty sure it was a very wacked out PRAM that did it (I never even considered this when I first got it on Tuesday, as my neighbour said it was working fine until he moved it to a different room).

The system installed on the classic is 7.1, I tried 7.5.3 from my Performa CD and 7.6 from my Norton CD and it didn't accept either, saying something like "The system installed is not compatible with this model. Please update using the latest installers." I am sure a Classic II can take up to 7.6 (the computer listing in the back of an old MacFormat mag says the same), so why won't they go? Do I need somekind of system enabler file or firmware to install a newer system?

Things are looking better now for the Classic which probably would have been taken to a skip. I'll probably keep hold of it for another few days to see if the problems come back. If anyone has had anything similar happen to their old mac (especially the white rectangle) and do know what the problem is, please post!

------------------


[This message has been edited by ajprice (edited 05-18-2001).]

[ajprice]

It's fixed! Jarends was right, the PRAM battery was almost completely dead. I turned it on again this morning and it took 10 minutes before it started up (from 5 seconds lastnight). So I opened up the Classic (yep, those allen key screws inside the handle are a pig!) removed the battery and went to Tandy (that's Radio Shack to you Americans) and bought a new battery (8 quid!). The new battery went in, the classic was reassembled, plugged in and turned on to an instant "bong". Hooray! It works and me and my neighbour are both happy.

Sorry about all these brackets, I'm just in a brackety mood right now ( )

Thanks everybody who posted, especially Stardust again for the SCSI connection thing, and thanks Jarends, you were right!


------------------