Anyone have an older Mac?

[SkyHog]

I'm looking to pick up a junk Mac (that is, one that is fully functional, but possibly a few years old) so that I can officially have systems in my office running all operating systems.

I'm not making the switch to Mac, but if anyone has an old one they want to part ways with for not a lot of money, I'm interested. I figure there's a lot of Mac users here, someone's bound to have one sitting around collecting dust somewhere...

 

[gibbons]

I'm looking to pick up a junk Mac

You'll need to narrow it down a bit. I think this includes all of them, no?

Check you PM.

 

[tonycondon]

... junk Mac ...

uh doesnt that pretty much cover all of them?

 

[Ken Ibold]

I'm looking to pick up a junk Mac (that is, one that is fully functional, but possibly a few years old) so that I can officially have systems in my office running all operating systems.

So I guess you also want my old monochrome 80286 laptop with a 20 MB hard drive running DOS and Windows 3.1?

 

[KennyFlys]

I have a functioning Mac LC and a lot of software to go with it. All it needs is a monitor.

 

[Bob Noel]

How about a Heathkit H-89?

(and no, you can't have any of my old macs. I keep them around as my source
for parts when my 7200/120 server finally needs something)

 

[KennyFlys]

How about a Heathkit H-89?

(and no, you can't have any of my old macs. I keep them around as my source
for parts when my 7200/120 server finally needs something)

I used to have a 7200/120. Man, at the time I thought that rascal FLEW!

 

[jesse]

You're almost wasting your time if you don't get a Mac that can run Leopard. There are so many technical differences between 10.4 and 10.5

 

[rpadula]

I'm looking to pick up a junk Mac (that is, one that is fully functional, but possibly a few years old) so that I can officially have systems in my office running all operating systems.

I'm not making the switch to Mac, but if anyone has an old one they want to part ways with for not a lot of money, I'm interested. I figure there's a lot of Mac users here, someone's bound to have one sitting around collecting dust somewhere...

Which Mac OS? I assume you mean OS X. The absolute ancient ones the jokers here are offering will not run it.

LEM (Low End Mac) is a good resource, including their Swap List.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Which Mac OS? I assume you mean OS X. The absolute ancient ones the jokers here are offering will not run it.

Bingo.

I have some ooooooold Macs laying around that I could give ya, but they're not going to help you as a consultant. The only one I've seen mentioned here that might work is Chip's, if he's talking about the one I think he is. However, OS X 10.6 will be out before too long and IIRC that is going to be Intel-only... Maybe.

In your situation, I'd suggest that the best thing you could do is to just drop $599 on a Mac Mini. It's a bit more money now, but it'll run the latest OS and should continue to do so for a long time to come - That $599 will go a long way.

Better yet, keep a lookout in the Apple Refurb Store (go to store.apple.com, click refurbs on the lower left, and click refurbished macs). Those are basically good-as-new items, and I think they still come with the full warranty. I've heard nothing but good things about their refurb store and will probably start buying stuff there in the future. They don't have any refurb Mac Minis available right now, but I think that changes based on how much stuff gets returned to the stores.

HTH.

 

[mikea]

Bingo.

I have some ooooooold Macs laying around that I could give ya, but they're not going to help you as a consultant. The only one I've seen mentioned here that might work is Chip's, if he's talking about the one I think he is. However, OS X 10.6 will be out before too long and IIRC that is going to be Intel-only... Maybe.

In your situation, I'd suggest that the best thing you could do is to just drop $599 on a Mac Mini. It's a bit more money now, but it'll run the latest OS and should continue to do so for a long time to come - That $599 will go a long way.

Better yet, keep a lookout in the Apple Refurb Store (go to store.apple.com, click refurbs on the lower left, and click refurbished macs). Those are basically good-as-new items, and I think they still come with the full warranty. I've heard nothing but good things about their refurb store and will probably start buying stuff there in the future. They don't have any refurb Mac Minis available right now, but I think that changes based on how much stuff gets returned to the stores.

HTH.

Good advice except like with my buddy and my usual advice you might as well spring for another $300 and get a refurb iMac. Bigger hard drive, 20" screen. although the stock Apple keyboard and mouse are pretty bad.

Nick prolly want to rough it with his own monitor and such, and teh mini is small enough to take to a customer for troubleshooting, like using an existing Mac in hard drive mode.

BTW, if the customer uses a Dvorak keyboard, save yourself some time and just kill him. I want my day back. (Long story.)

 

[SkyHog]

Good advice except like with my buddy and my usual advice you might as well spring for another $300 and get a refurb iMac. Bigger hard drive, 20" screen. although the stock Apple keyboard and mouse are pretty bad.

Nick prolly want to rough it with his own monitor and such, and teh mini is small enough to take to a customer for troubleshooting, like using an existing Mac in hard drive mode.

BTW, if the customer uses a Dvorak keyboard, save yourself some time and just kill him. I want my day back. (Long story.)

Who the hell uses DVORAK anymore? Jeez o pete. lol

Thanks for the advice guys, I was looking at the Mac Minis, but they're too expensive for a computer that I have no desire to actually use for anything more than familiarity purposes.

I've been watching ebay, and will continue to do so, I guess.

What would be cool would be to get a non-working, but fixable Mac, so I can learn how to fix a common issue at the same time

 

[mikea]

...
What would be cool would be to get a non-working, but fixable Mac, so I can learn how to fix a common issue at the same time

I've watched eBay in the past too. Minis still go for $400-$500.

Macs sell for 80% of original price, I guess, until they turn to dust.

Broken Ones? 75%

They keep their value like a... Mercedes?..... Piper?

 

[Bob Noel]

Thinking about this more, I'm wondering if you have a misconception regarding how long macs are viable. Why would a mac that is only a few years old be junk? My main computer is this dual G4, which I bought in early 2003. I have two newer computers, but this is the one I use for email, newgroups, browsing, etc.

And please, I'm not interested in starting a mac vs pc thread...I'm just trying to reset your expectation wrt the probability of getting a "junk" mac that is just a few years old.

 

[SkyHog]

Thinking about this more, I'm wondering if you have a misconception regarding how long macs are viable. Why would a mac that is only a few years old be junk? My main computer is this dual G4, which I bought in early 2003. I have two newer computers, but this is the one I use for email, newgroups, browsing, etc.

And please, I'm not interested in starting a mac vs pc thread...I'm just trying to reset your expectation wrt the probability of getting a "junk" mac that is just a few years old.

Mac or PC, after a few years, computers are outdated and are generally considered "junk."

Sure, they work fine (which is why I'm interested), but no one's going to want to buy an older computer, regardless of what kind unless its got the cool new stuff.

 

[gkainz]

day late and a dollar short, my friend. I cleaned out the junk closet recently and trashed/recycled a IIci, IIfx, an LC and 3 PII machines ... and then I shed a tear when I recalled how much I paid for that stuff when I bought/built them ...

9-track tapes, piles of floppies and a bunch of old cds of Oracle software went to the trash bin ... I feel so much better now!

 

[KennyFlys]

day late and a dollar short, my friend. I cleaned out the junk closet recently and trashed/recycled a IIci, IIfx, an LC and 3 PII machines ... and then I shed a tear when I recalled how much I paid for that stuff when I bought/built them ...

9-track tapes, piles of floppies and a bunch of old cds of Oracle software went to the trash bin ... I feel so much better now!

I thought I was getting a bargain when I paid $1200 for the LC. A few years later, I thought I was doing great when I paid $1700 for the 7200/120 on an open box special. Forty-five days later, it was discontinued for better and faster... and sold new at $1150.

 

[Henning]

I'm looking to pick up a junk Mac (that is, one that is fully functional, but possibly a few years old) so that I can officially have systems in my office running all operating systems.

I'm not making the switch to Mac, but if anyone has an old one they want to part ways with for not a lot of money, I'm interested. I figure there's a lot of Mac users here, someone's bound to have one sitting around collecting dust somewhere...

I could stop by my folks house, there's probably an old but functioning Mac there, from 1985 or so... I'm pretty sure it was the one that came after the Lisa.

OOO! There's also a TRS 80 that's probably there as well, and me and my dad wrote a "kinda" O/S for it!

 

[Henning]

Bingo.

keep a lookout in the Apple Refurb Store (go to store.apple.com, click refurbs on the lower left, and click refurbished macs). Those are basically good-as-new items, and I think they still come with the full warranty. I've heard nothing but good things about their refurb store and will probably start buying stuff there in the future. They don't have any refurb Mac Minis available right now, but I think that changes based on how much stuff gets returned to the stores.

HTH.

So, they're junk...

 

[flyingcheesehead]

day late and a dollar short, my friend. I cleaned out the junk closet recently and trashed/recycled a IIci, IIfx, an LC

Oh maaaaaaan!

I have a IIfx (stands for II F**king Xpensive - Originally sold for $10K, with a mouse, and the monitor, keyboard, and video card were NOT included for that money!) and I'd love to see if it'd actually run, but it has no RAM.

None.

If I'd known you had that stuff, I'd have taken it off your hands... And I hope you didn't literally "trash" that stuff. You'd be really really surprised how much that old Apple stuff sells for on eBay. Hell, I once got something like $50 for the *nameplate* off an old Apple II (Whoops, sorry, Apple ][ LOL).

I'd love to have a "nostalgia room" with a working Apple ][ (software: Moon Patrol and the original Mario Bros), a working Mac Plus (software: System 3.2, Finder 5.3, Dark Castle, Beyond Dark Castle, MacPaint, and Microsoft Word 1.0 for the hell of it), a working Mac LC (Software: System 7.1, Nisus, Lemmings), a working Mac IIfx with Photoshop 1.0 and SoundEdit, a working Power Mac 7600 with each of the Marathon series games (original, II, and Infinity) on it, etc. etc. etc. Oh, and because they looked really cool, a Twentieth Anniversary Mac and a Power Mac G4 Cube.

I really wish someone would come out with a new version of Lemmings, that was such a fun game. There is a new game in the Dark Castle series called Return to Dark Castle that has all of the stuff from the original Dark Castle and Beyond Dark Castle plus a bunch of new stuff and it's REALLY well done. Someone needs to do that kind of update to Lemmings. Marathon still works, and with an utterly ridiculously fast frame rate.

And then someone needs to invent a time machine so I have enough time to actually enjoy all those games again.

 

[Bob Noel]

I find it strange to consider a computer to be "junk" when it "works fine"
and even runs that latest released versions of the OS.

 

[rpadula]

BTW, Nick, what is your budget and could you be more specific about what you want to do with the Mac? That might give us a better idea of what would suit you.

 

[mikea]

day late and a dollar short, my friend. I cleaned out the junk closet recently and trashed/recycled a IIci, IIfx, an LC and 3 PII machines ... and then I shed a tear when I recalled how much I paid for that stuff when I bought/built them ...

9-track tapes, piles of floppies and a bunch of old cds of Oracle software went to the trash bin ... I feel so much better now!

The "how much I paid" is the curse of old techies. That's why I'm still tripping over stuff.

That, and when you realize the killer system you were going to really, finally, finish has been in unused pieces for 10 years. As in, I bought a Grid laptop (You gotta see it. It's still cool. Yellow gas plasma screen. It ran DOS but wasn't PC-compatible.) and took apart the very, very expensive prolly 20MB hard drive/floppy dock it came with circa 1985. Yep. I have the parts staring at me in the basement.

I have seen the light and will be making a few trips to the recycling yard.

 

[SkyHog]

BTW, Nick, what is your budget and could you be more specific about what you want to do with the Mac? That might give us a better idea of what would suit you.

I am looking around $200 or less really, and its for a Mac that works, and runs software, but doesn't have all the new cool stuff.

 

[jesse]

I am looking around $200 or less really, and its for a Mac that works, and runs software, but doesn't have all the new cool stuff.

If you're looking to actually be able to support them I'd really advise that you get something with 10.5 or at the very least 10.4. Even with that there are dramatic technical differences between 10.5 and 10.4.

 

[Ted]

Nick, about five years back my mom started complaining about the Mac she'd had for 3 years for being too slow.

Last year (four years after she started complaining), I did something about it and bought her a used iMac G4 off of eBay. It's the one with the hemispherical base. Then, it went for $250 with keyboard and mouse. Now, I'm sure it's under $200. Mom's came with OS 10.4, and I think would be sufficient for what you're trying to do in terms of gaining familiarity. I believe it should run OS 10.5 without issue. Since all she does with it is eMail (and I use it for checking PoA and LiveChat when I'm at home), it doesn't need to be anything faster. That said, it could run quite a bit more if given the opportunity.

Anyways, it might be a good option for you and what you want to do. My mom hasn't complained about it yet, and she's a woman who likes her some complaining!

 

[mikea]

Nick, about five years back my mom started complaining about the Mac she'd had for 3 years for being too slow.
...

My Macbook Pro gets slow and "beachballs" after being up for weeks these days. I note that it gets worse when it has multiple swap files - as many as 5.

I really torture it with lotsa apps and letting Firefox grow tabs with no end.

I can't add more RAM than the 2GB I have on mine, but I'm thinking I might spring for a third party disk utility to defrag the hard drive.

As it stands I just reboot occasionally.

 

[john smith]

If you own a Mac, two disk utility apps you should own are: TechTool Pro (Micromat) and Disk Warrior (Alsoft).
How full is the hard drive? With an external firewire drive you you move files from your internal disk drive and also have an external bootable drive.

 

[mikea]

If you own a Mac, two disk utility apps you should own are: TechTool Pro (Micromat) and Disk Warrior (Alsoft).
How full is the hard drive? With an external firewire drive you you move files from your internal disk drive and also have an external bootable drive.

Thanks. I was thinking Disk Warrior. Do I need both? I'll look 'em up.

The 100GB Macbook Pro drive is(was) always full.

I have a bunch of firewire/USB drives and a 1TB Time Capsule.

I moved my 30GB(!) iTunes library to the Time Capsule, but that is not real reliable. I'm going to use one of the external drives.

I'll also replace the hard drive with a bigger one when Seagate brings out the new perpendicular 2.5" drive (500GB or larger).

 

[john smith]

Thanks. I was thinking Disk Warrior. Do I need both? I'll look 'em up.

I'll also replace the hard drive with a bigger one when Seagate brings out the new perpendicular 2.5" drive (500GB or larger).

Yes. TechTool Pro v5 is due out in a couple of weeks. If you can wait, you will avoid the additional cost. TTPro is the complete solution, but DiskWarrior targets only a couple of specific tasks and does them better than TTPro.

I just saw the 500GB 2.5" drives advertised in the flyers in this mornings paper. I hadn't heard about them.

 

[john smith]

I changed out mine and my son's for a 500g Drive.
You want Superduper to make bootable clones of the externals.
DiskWarrior for sure.
TechTool Pro is SLOOOOW on DeFrag taking overnight the last time i ran it.
I got the 500G Samsung from OWC computing and it included an external for the 100G to be mounted in.

1. Do you partition large HD's and segregate the OS from your data?
I move my iTunes/iPhoto/iMovie files to a volume separate from the OS. All downloads and personally generated files are likewise stored on a separate volume. If a problem occurs with the OS (such as the 10.5.1 update that changed all the permissions), the OS is isolated and can be repaired without affecting data files.

2. TTPro allows you to defrag the files only or the volume only. Volume defrag takes the longest because that is where most of the fragmentation occurs. My file fragments are usually only 3% of the volume (disk) fragments.

 

[AuntPeggy]

I have an old Mac, but nothing runs on it. It has signatures inside the case.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I have an old Mac, but nothing runs on it. It has signatures inside the case.

Wow... That's an OLD Mac, the original 128K from 1984!

For the non-geeks out there, the original Mac had the signatures of all of the designers on the inside of the case.

 

[Ted]

Wow... That's an OLD Mac, the original 128K from 1984!

The 512K and the Plus also had signatures on the inside. I can't remember if the SE, Classic, etc. had them, but I do know the 512K and Plus did. I took apart a number of those, and used to keep a couple around mom's apartment.

For the non-geeks out there, the original Mac had the signatures of all of the designers on the inside of the case.

Yeah, you'd never see that these days due to the added cost of it (all 1 cent, I'm sure).

 

[flyingcheesehead]

The 512K and the Plus also had signatures on the inside. I can't remember if the SE, Classic, etc. had them, but I do know the 512K and Plus did.

Makes sense, they had the same case as the 128. SE/Classic didn't have the same case, or the signatures.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Wow... That's an OLD Mac, the original 128K from 1984!

For the non-geeks out there, the original Mac had the signatures of all of the designers on the inside of the case.

That's right. It is the original, affectionately nicknamed the "skinny Mac" when the 512K "fat Mac" arrived on the scene.

 

[flyersfan31]

That's right. It is the original, affectionately nicknamed the "skinny Mac" when the 512K "fat Mac" arrived on the scene.

I was sittin' on top of the world with my Fat Mac (I had forgotten all about those signatures!!). Then the SE came out and I felt ashamed and inadequate.