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vniow

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
10,266
1
I accidentally my whole location.
My dad brought home this old IIfx from work, I'm not sure whether its functional or not and I have no way to test it at the moment since it uses a funky video connector and I'm not sure where to get an adapter to check video so....

If it does end up working, what exactly can you do with it? Any upgrades avalible or it is just too old? Or would it make a good Linux box or something?

Thanx,

-V
 

vollspacken

macrumors 65816
Oct 17, 2002
1,130
0
Boogie-Down Berlintown
cograts to that fine machine... :)

I got some links that might be helpul with giving that machine a purpose.

- you could install a nice version of unix on that box. netBSD is the first choice, since it's free, frequently updated and has a large community.

- you could also play all the oldskool kick-ass games on the IIfx. all the abandonware is out there, The Macintosh Garden is a good adress to start from (hhhmmmm, Pirates! and Prince of Persia...)

- The 68kMac Liberation Army might be able to help you with more informations or with specific questions about hardware and software issues... nice people over there at that forum and website.

- The IIfx site over at Lowendmac.com gives you more information (about upgrades too) and a couple of useful links regarding that particular model.

I hope that helps

vSpacken
 

macfreek57

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2002
379
0
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
kudos to 68k lovers! until three years ago, that's the only computer i had in my house!
i did plenty with my Performa 465. running on, what was it, 60 Mhz? i think less, maybe. i stretched that 600 MB hard drive to the maximum! i was constantly deleting stuff to make room for shareware apps that i would download. "every byte counts!" i used to say

now i've got two old G3's, a 195 Mhz 604e Power Computing, and a performa 5200 (PPC) sitting in my room almost unused.

regardless, you can see why I'm actually happy to be using a 500 Mhz iMac now! :)

but do something with your IIfx (I think i actually have one of those). network it or run old cool games on it. I think Steve Jobs smiles down on us from heaven every time he sees someone using an old mac to its fullest (or wherever he lives... Cupertino... same thing)
 

Golem

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2003
306
1
Sydney,Australia
Well some friends of mine their kids still love my old iicx I sold to them 8years back. Its got Prince of persia+more games and they can muck around in write and paint and print to a ImagewriterII and they are happy:)

Every couple of years I re-organise/reinstall the softwareup but its still chugging along with 8mb of memory.
 

vollspacken

macrumors 65816
Oct 17, 2002
1,130
0
Boogie-Down Berlintown
Originally posted by macfreek57
"every byte counts!" i used to say

I'm glad to see that we have a couple of 68k-freaks here... :)

those old machines need all the love we can give them (and they are still pretty useful too.) one of my roommates writes all his papers on an old performa 475 with Word 5.1 and refuses to buy a new computer ("I don't need those frikkin gadgets..!")

and everybody digs my se/30... everytime someone sees her, they cry "how cuuuute!" and want to play around with her. show me a 12 year old PC that creates emotions like that.

the IIfx is a very fine machine, since it is a lot faster that my se/30 (on which you can play games, do word processing, do networking, do emails and surf the web), hey it has colors :)

go 68k

vSpacken
 

boskie

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2001
187
0
North Side Of Itchy Town
I'm gonna turn my Classic into a DVD/CD previewing and cataloging workstation for a walk-in library i'm about to construct, for both mine and my girlfriends collections and the couple who are moving in with us.

I'm thinking some sort of Filemaker pro database with an external cd drive with headphones connected to it.

Or i might be brave and see if i can fit a CD-ROM drive inside it as i've seen someone has done it sucessfully while surfing a while ago.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions of how i could do this i'd love to hear!
 

vollspacken

macrumors 65816
Oct 17, 2002
1,130
0
Boogie-Down Berlintown
Originally posted by boskie
Or i might be brave and see if i can fit a CD-ROM drive inside it as i've seen someone has done it sucessfully while surfing a while ago.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions of how i could do this i'd love to hear!

I assume you are talking about this case mod

I hope you can do a better job, because it does look pretty dirty... a slot-in drive that sits behind one of the slots of the case front will do a much better job (both aestetically and functionally) and will probably be easier to install...

the problem is, that you will have to fit a completly new board inside the case (from a Cube or maybe an old iBook?) because I doubt that a 16Mhz se/30 or an even slower crippled Classic could handle DVD playback... :)

I have absolutly no idea how to do that, but I wish you good luck...

vSpacken
 

cubist

macrumors 68020
Jul 4, 2002
2,075
0
Muncie, Indiana
I have a couple of IIci's (maybe one is a IIcx), a Plus, an SE and a Classic II that will be going to the dump fairly soon. To my knowledge they work perfectly. If someone is willing to pay shipping or pick them up in Sterling, VA, they can have them.
 

vollspacken

macrumors 65816
Oct 17, 2002
1,130
0
Boogie-Down Berlintown
Originally posted by vniow
Does anyone know where I could find parts for this? ADB cables, monitor adapters, maybe a mouse, etc etc..?

one source, as always, is the Apple section at eBay.

eBay US does (unlike eBay Germany!!!) NOT have a special 68k section, so you'll have to look around all the different sub-categories...

another source is this page from the Mac SE support pages. scroll down a little bit and you'll find all kinds of suppliers and resellers...

there shouldn't be a problem to get an old Apple ADB keyboard and an old Apple ADB mouse on eBay for some bucks... you should also ask at the local schools for old stuff like mouse/keys, screen and printer (I bet you could get it for free or for a sixpack of beer [that's how we do it in Germany ;) ])

I hope this helps... go 68k, GO!

vSpacken
 

macfreek57

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2002
379
0
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Originally posted by vollspacken

the problem is, that you will have to fit a completly new board inside the case (from a Cube or maybe an old iBook?) because I doubt that a 16Mhz se/30 or an even slower crippled Classic could handle DVD playback... :)

vSpacken [/B]


oh no, maybe you could just overclock the processor a bit and drop in a few hundred K of ram and DVD playback would run just fine!

:) :)
 

boskie

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2001
187
0
North Side Of Itchy Town
Originally posted by vollspacken
I assume you are talking about this case mod

I hope you can do a better job, because it does look pretty dirty... a slot-in drive that sits behind one of the slots of the case front will do a much better job (both aestetically and functionally) and will probably be easier to install...

the problem is, that you will have to fit a completly new board inside the case (from a Cube or maybe an old iBook?) because I doubt that a 16Mhz se/30 or an even slower crippled Classic could handle DVD playback... :)

I have absolutly no idea how to do that, but I wish you good luck...

vSpacken

Yep thats the mod i saw - it looks like an intersting project if i do take it on.

I only actually want CD playback and a FMP database referrencing all of the titles (both CD and DVD). If anything i can use DVD playback in my TiBook.

If i did want to go for DVD playback then i've found a lombard G3 powerbook mobo, do you think that would fit as i realise space is gonna be a major concern? This would makes things all the much better - USB so i could possibly incorporate a cheap Barcode Scanner.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated as you are obviously a 68k afficiando. :p
 

vollspacken

macrumors 65816
Oct 17, 2002
1,130
0
Boogie-Down Berlintown
Originally posted by macfreek57
oh no, maybe you could just overclock the processor a bit and drop in a few hundred K of ram and DVD playback would run just fine!

:) :)

yeah right, overclock a 16Mhz 68030... :rolleyes:
you can overclock it as high as you want, but it will never work...

Originally posted by boskie
FMP database referrencing all of the titles (both CD and DVD). If anything i can use DVD playback in my TiBook.

in order to fit a slot-in drive or any DVD-drive in there, you will have to install a board that supports the ATA-bus since the mobo design of the classic/se/se30 only supports SCSI... so maybe a first or second generation iBook could fit..? I don't know... the other problem is the screen. you can either try to connect the internal 9" B&W screen to the board or (I assume the better choice) swap the internal screen for a 10" TFT from a Powerbook 2400c or (cheaper but the exact same screen) an IBM thinkpad 240/240x (check eBay for that...)

as I said, the Apple sction at eBay is the first choice for the parts you need (iBook with broken screen and broken CD-rom, 10" TFT). further down this page you'll find tons of suppliers, and for current parts such as slot-in drives, parts and stuff you can check OWC, and MacResQ.

good luck with that mod :)
 

ahunter3

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2003
377
5
There are two really tricky parts to the IIfx -- the RAM is unique, 64 pin RAM that nothing else on this planet uses AFAIK. (Older Macs used 30 pin SIMMS, the next generation used 72 pin SIMMS) so if the RAM isn't already maxxed out you'll have to shop around for 64 pin RAM SIMMS. Second, the SCSI bus was unique, requiring special terminators (and maybe special cables? not sure). Both of these things were due to special architectural features that were designed to give the IIfx an extra performance edge. Problem is, Apple abandoned a lot of the technology they built into the IIfx when they released the first Quadras, and some of the technology was never properly supported in software.

One cool thing about the IIfx: you could run System 6 on it, making it the fastest System 6-native computer ever built.
 

groovebuster

macrumors 65816
Jan 22, 2002
1,249
101
3rd rock from the sun...
... just let it rest in peace! ;)

I also still have a Mac LC and a Mac II stored in the basement. My step-father was still using my LC until summer for his paper work together with StyleWriter II, until he got my old PowerMac 7500 (with a 200MHz 604e PU) as a replacement since he wants to use the internet too now for some research for his next book.

groovebuster

P.S.: vniow, I still have an ADB-Mouse (almost like new) to spare, but since I am located in Germany, that probably won't help you a lot...
 
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