Uses for a Powerbook 2400c/180 "comet"

[Patmian212]

Hi All,

My brother gave me a powerbook 2400c/180. It has OS8 I beleive(never updated). The only program installed on it apart from the OS and the standard things that came pre-installed is Bryce 4(which is sweet).
The battery keeps a charge for 2-3 hours. The powerbook has NO cd-rom and needs an external and the external apple floppy disk drive I have is missing a cable. Oh and it has no modem.
Now I would like to know, what is a good use for this computer(I will get a new PB soon and want to play with a mac in the mean-time). What is the newest OS it can run and how do I update without a modem(i have a pc with internet access). What games can it run? Oh and where can I get a cable for the external floppy(its not usb or firewire, dont know what it is) Can I get a new external floppy to work with this machine?
Thx for enduring my newbie questions!


Here are its specs:

http://everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook/stats/mac_powerbook2400c_180.html

[LoonyPandora]

I would suggest putting it in the bin, and forgetting all about it. That machine is so old, it probably wouldn't run Pacman!

The Mac experience has moved on greatly since then, so it wouldn't even give you an advantage playing around with it.

The latest OS it can run is OS 9.1, according to MacTracker (http://www.mactracker.ca) - but I be it would be real slow.

Perhaps you could use it as one of those electronic photoframes? - Find some old OS 8 software that runs slideshows, fill the HD up with images - and away you go! :D

[Patmian212]

I would suggest putting it in the bin, and forgetting all about it. That machine is so old, it probably wouldn't run Pacman!

The Mac experience has moved on greatly since then, so it wouldn't even give you an advantage playing around with it.

The latest OS it can run is OS 9.1, according to MacTracker (http://www.mactracker.ca) - but I be it would be real slow.

Perhaps you could use it as one of those electronic photoframes? - Find some old OS 8 software that runs slideshows, fill the HD up with images - and away you go! :D

That would be a waste i would like to put it to some use

[Patmian212]

Oh and it has 64mb of ram not 16 :rolleyes:

[apple2991]

You could always hire Ving Rhames to use a "satellite uplink" to hack the NOC list with it. Somehow.

Hey, it worked in the movie.

[Vector]

I have no suggestions of what to do with it other than give it to me. I love the 2400's. They are great little notebooks. They were some of the lightest notebooks of their day, and everyone used to customize them. Applefritter (http://www.applefritter.com/main) used to have some good examples of customized ones.

Try looking here (http://www.powerbookguy.com/2400.html) for a modem, cable and any other parts you need.

OS 9 would probably run ok on it, but 8.5-6 would probably run better and you aren't going to get much extra by putting OS9 on it.

[Patmian212]

I have wireless at home will sticking a wireless(PCMCIA I THINK) card in it work?

[sgarringer]

I have wireless at home will sticking a wireless(PCMCIA I THINK) card in it work?

no

[Patmian212]

Also where could I find a processor upgrade.
Is it hard to install a processor upgrade?

Oh btw I just put in my PC card and the PB recognizes it but i cant connect to the internet ... I have to configure it somehow. Being new to Mac and especially to OS 8.0 i dont know how. Can anyone help.

[cluthz]

Os 9.1 will pretty good on it if it has 64MB RAM.
It is possible to run OSX 10.1 on it, but you will need more ram the 64MB for it.
The 2400 is a very nice machine.
Check out www.lowendmac.com for more info and subscribe the duo/2400 list there.

-tb

[sjpetry]

If you want to learn how to use Mac OS 8 is a bad place to start at this point in time. ;)

[jaykk]

This is the best I have seen recycling an old laptop -> Duo Digital Picture Frame (http://www.applefritter.com/hacks/duodigitalframe/)

[Patmian212]

Hey People,

I bought a new diskett drive of ebay and it arrived today so I now have a working diskett drive :D ... Now all i need is a SCUZZY CD-Rom drive and im set... Also can someone help me set up my wifi... I put in a wireless PC card and it recognizes it but i dont know how to get a signal through it...It is a normal PC card provided by my ISP "telefonica", i think it has no brand... Any adive to get me goin wireless?

[andypress]

Don't trhow it away!! That's like one of the rarest laptops you can find. I think if you look on ebay hard enough you can find a wireless card that would work with it.

[wnameth]

My is a bit different of the one in the picture. mine has a wide screen

[andypress]

My is a bit different of the one in the picture. mine has a wide screen
How could it possibly have a widescreen?? You have any pictures of it?

[vollspacken]

This is the best I have seen recycling an old laptop -> Duo Digital Picture Frame (http://www.applefritter.com/hacks/duodigitalframe/)

WHAAAAAAAT???!!!

are you insane??? for God's sake DON'T harm that 2400c, you hear me?!

this is the most gorgeous machine Apple has ever build :D

If you don't want it, I've been looking for one for 2 years... I'll take it and give it a good home :)

vSpacken

[joepunk]

Like cluthz mentioned. Look at http://www.lowendmac.com/pb2/2400.shtml .

I would have OS 8.6 or 9.X and fill up the ram, find a 20 or 40 gig HD and you can use it as an mp3 storage/player. Just hook some speakers to it and there you go, a jukebox player in a very nice black caseing.

There are, if I remember correctly, CPU upgrades (400mhz G3) for it but I would not know where to find any.

[5300cs]

Ladies and gentlemen, an example of BAD ADVICE :rolleyes:

I would suggest putting it in the bin, and forgetting all about it. That machine is so old, it probably wouldn't run Pacman!

The Mac experience has moved on greatly since then, so it wouldn't even give you an advantage playing around with it.

The latest OS it can run is OS 9.1, according to MacTracker (http://www.mactracker.ca) - but I be it would be real slow.

Perhaps you could use it as one of those electronic photoframes? - Find some old OS 8 software that runs slideshows, fill the HD up with images - and away you go! :D


64mb RAM is enough for OS 9. I have a 2400c running 8.6 and it's quite stable. Hell, my TAM has 64mb and runs 9 with no problems at all.

To get onto a WiFi network, you might try Classic Stumbler (http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Classic-Stumbler.shtml).

WordPerfect 3.5 is free now, you can DL it and use that machine as a word processor in the meantime until you get your new PB.

There are many things you can do with it- don't trash it!!

[blackfox]

Like cluthz mentioned. Look at http://www.lowendmac.com/pb2/2400.shtml .

I would have OS 8.6 or 9.X and fill up the ram, find a 20 or 40 gig HD and you can use it as an mp3 storage/player. Just hook some speakers to it and there you go, a jukebox player in a very nice black caseing.

There are, if I remember correctly, CPU upgrades (400mhz G3) for it but I would not know where to find any.
Exactly. os 8.x is considered one of the best mac os's by many, at least in the "classic" sense. There is a hack of somesort to put iTunes on os8 I believe, so the mp3 idea is good. If you look around, you can find a great many useful programs to use, in fact if you upgrade to os9, I have a ton that I no longer use after migrating to os x.

Good Luck, that is a very cool machine.

[Spock]

no

Yes, You can get a wireless card for it but You will have to run OS 9. OS 9 runs fine on my 200MhZ 6400 with 32mb of ram I dont think the system will slow down alot 8 and 9 are very similar but You can forget X

[Patmian212]

Of course I will not trash it... I love this machine :) (grew onto me)... Do you people think any ordinary PC card will work with this Mac... Is there anyting I can do to get wfif up and running without upgrading to OS9?

[chv400]

Does this work?

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_pb.html

[Patmian212]

Does this work?

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_pb.html

I thought about a processor upgrade but i decided against it...I have a decent amount of ram and am waiting for a new PB... I dont think surfing the web,taking notes and watching osme movies requires a G3....thx for looking out though.

[Patmian212]

Can anyone help me get the wireless working... I put in the PC card(no brand) and the PB recognizes it and then set up the IP and Subnet mask but when I open netscape it says " Netscape was unable to a network socket connection"
Am I missing a step?
I am running O S8.0 oh and btw the 64mb RAM chip died on me so I had to put back the 16MB chip meaning I only have 16MB of ram now(DUHHH)..Is there a min requirment of ram for wireless?
Please help me solve this problem I am goin nuts... I cant wait to bring this little guy to school and hookup to the wireless :)

[MoparShaha]

You need to upgrade to OS9 for wireless networking. Even then, there's no guarantee that your wireless card will work. Have you tried Google to see if there's information on wireless cards and OS9?