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Messages - bobhope2112
1 Operating System / Restoring Performa 6205CD
June 29, 2008, 21:32
Quote
What kind of install disk are you using?

I'm using the Network Access 7.5 disk, with the addition of the CD-ROM extension.  I have a 7.6.1 installation disc that looks to have been intended to boot, but those sectors were apparently discarded somewhere in the imaging process.

I've moved on to working on the other salvage operation--a Power Macintosh 5260.  Things are generally looking up:  

1) I managed to desolder the Command key, discover its defect, and reassemble a fully working keyboard.  If only I could be so effective with my dud floppy drive.

2) I've put System 8.6 on the 5260, and it appears to be running fairly well.  That doesn't really fit with the spirit of this site, I suppose, but it seems logical to go with the more PPC-specific OS.

3) It's been a lot of fun to re-experience the computing of my undergrad days.

Quote
My favorite site for Macintosh Game Abandonware is the Macintosh garden...

Do they have an archive I've overlooked? I found a lot of great archives linked from there, but didn't notice any files of their own.
2 Operating System / Restoring Performa 6205CD
June 28, 2008, 02:14
Quote from: "naryasece"
Hooking up the Mac's ATA drive to your Windows XP machine should work, although I can not say for sure the drive will be compatible, since the Performa's hardware is circa 1996 and your XP machine is circa 2008.

I've had mixed success with this.  My PATA card can spot the drive, but reports its capacity as 0.  Acronis TrueImage follows suit, so I don't get to see if that program supports HFS as it claims.  There is a jumper on the drive to control AT and/or ISA modes, but the specs are a little confusing.  System 7.5 identifies the drive as ATA, so I didn't really want to mess with that.

At any rate, I said "screw it" to the backup.  About the only programs worth saving were ClarisWorks 2.1 and a couple of games.  I got them spirited off onto floppies.  My only regret is that I've lost AHED.

Quote from: "naryasece"
The boot issue is quite unusual

I swapped in a working SuperDrive, and was able to put together a System 7.5 boot disk with CD-ROM support.  It also looks like this machine is actually a Performa 630, so it might not even support CD booting.  I don't really know the history on that, but the 630 is an earlier machine (by about a year) than the 6205.

Quote from: "naryasece"
You may want to also run a few tests from Apple's support site, namely the PowerMac 5xxx/6xxx Tester. Some of these machines were released to the public with defective 603 CPU's. I know, because I used to have a Performa 6216 with a defective processor. My Performa would not run system 8 because of this, but I think system 7.6 will work. I am sure that 7.5.3 will work.

Although that doesn't apply to me now that I know what machine I really have, it turns out that I may have a defective CPU anyhow.  Apparently there's a problem with the 68LC040s.  

Quote from: "naryasece"
I hope that points you in the right direction. Best of luck in restoring your Mac!

Thanks for your comments.  Even if they don't specifically address my condition, it's interesting nonetheless.  Do you know of any piles of Mac abandonware on the web?  I thought I might try to find a few old favorites like NumCrunch and Toxic Ravine.
3 Operating System / Restoring Performa 6205CD
June 27, 2008, 04:17
Hello all--first post here.  My apologies for the vague subject line.  I have a number of questions.

Background

As a bit of diversion, I restore personal computers that have been donated to a nearby charity.  These machines are definitely "as is," and sometimes present a challenge to diagnose and repair with zero financial investment.

Typically the machines are DOS/Windows affairs, but I have recently collected a couple of System 7 era Macintoshes.  Although I was a committed Mac enthusiast during my undergrad, in the System 6 and 7 days, I have only casually used them since.  Coupled with knowledge atrophy, I have considerable catching up if I want to restore these machines.

The Victim/Patient

I have a Performa 6205CD that has 36MB ram, 250MB hard drive, a CD-ROM reader.  The 1.44MB floppy does not appear to be working properly.  (I might be able to make a replacement on that.)  I have no modem or network capability with this machine.

Strategy

Ideally, I would like to wipe this machine, install a clean copy of System 7.6.1 on it, and restore a few of the applications that are currently on it.  The machine is now running System 7.5.  

It appears that this machine was once in a class room, and it is fairly boogered (literally and figuratively) with files being randomly dragged and copied anywhere and everywhere.  There are a couple of actual problems with the OS, like the Launcher fails on startup, and a few applications do not act right, but my principal drive for doing a clean install is just to not have spend a lot of time digging through someone else's mess.

Tactics

There is primarily what I'm hoping to get from the experienced users of this board.  I have some suspicions about how to go about this, but will happily be corrected.

One thing that I would like to be able to do is to pull the ATA drive from the Mac, hook it up to my Windows XP machine and burn a Mac-readable CD that contains that drive's contents.  It sounds easy in a single run-on sentence, but it probably isn't.

Also, I appear to be having some problems getting this machine to boot from my System 7.6.1 installer.  Booting while holding C does not do the trick, nor does setting the Startup Disk.  Unfortunately, the Command key does not appear to work on this keyboard.  I'll try to sort that out shortly.

Ok, I've prattled on long enough now.  Your advice will be appreciated.
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