Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

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gsmcten's picture
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Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Good Evening All...

I have had an SE30 with Superdrive sitting quietly in the corner for a while, so I finally brought it out to the bench and started playing.

Some things I have noticed:

- It likes OS 7.1
- It does not like OS 7.6.1
- I do not know if it likes OS 7.5.5 yet, but I'm going to find out.

Some things I have learned:

- It will accomodate 128 Meg of RAM (using 16 Meg, 30 Pin SIMMs) I haven't done this
yet, but I will soon. (I found this out on an SE Support Site and OWC has 16 Meg SIMMs)
- I finally got the external CD ROM to work and it works well.

Some questions:

- What type of Internet/Ethernet Card is the best one for this machine?
(I could use a Part Number if possible)
- Where can I get one for a reasonable price?
- Can I swap out the current hard drive for a larger one (1 Gig or more), without
any OS problems?

As usual, any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Steven Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

No one has any suggestions? Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

• Pretty sure 7.6 requires a PPC. At least that's what I seem to remember.

• I'm pretty sure there was a custom-built Ethernet card for the SE/30's PDS slot. Other PDS cards didn't fit. Best bet is probably other 'Fritters or the 'Bay.

• MLB won't see partitions larger that 2GB. If you're able to find a SCSI drive >2GB, you'll have to partition it down. Not sure if you'll see the other partitions or if you'll have wasted space.

I hope this is helpful, and not just rehash. Good luck, my friend. Keep us updated on the project please.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Pretty sure the card I had in my (long gone) SE/30 was Asante branded with a thin-net BNC connector. I wouldn't recommend that, unless you've got a hub that will bridge it to your 10-base network.
But, finding a network card for that Mac will probably a challenge. A want ad here, 68KMLA, LEM Swap, and troll ebay.

Hard drive is upgradable, and like your 6100 upgrading, you may have trouble tracking down 50-pin scsi drives but adapters *should* work like on the 6100.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

I'm pretty happy with the Asante MacCon 30si in my SE/30. What made me really happy was that Asante, unlike so many other old companies that still have a web site, still has an easy link to the software.
You should be fine with large hard drives as long as you format them using the formatting software for 7.5. I forget whether this advice is for slower SE models or includes the SE/30: If a drive is too fast it might have to be interleaved. I did take a few notes when reconditioning my SE/30 and other SE models recently:
http://shawnreeves.net/wiki/index.php?title=Install_a_new_HD_in_a_68k_Mac
http://shawnreeves.net/wiki/index.php?title=Mac_SE/30

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Just to respond to the issue of 7.6-compatible platforms raised by cwsmith:
MacTracker reports that the Mac IIci was the first computer to accept 7.6.1, long before PPC. Most Classics, Quadras, Centris, and LCs took 7.6, some even 8.1.
I used to work in a school with plenty of 68040 computers that ran 7.6.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

I stand corrected re: 7.6. Thanks for chiming in.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Thanks Everyone.

Good info comes in real handy on these projects. Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Update:

I had to set the SE30 aside while I placed an order for a T15 Torx Screwdriver.
The one I bought has an 18 inch shank on it. lol I call it "The Magic Wand"
.
I'll start the take apart when I get done with th LC II that I'm cleaning up and upgrading. I was in the process of installing OS 7.6.1 on the LC when I was unceremoniously informed that I did not have enough RAM to complete the install.

Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

The two 4Meg sticks showed up yesterday and are ready to be installed into the LC II. Once that is completed I'll load up 7.6.1 and see what I can do about hooking up to the Internet.

Then it'll be back to the SE30. Smile

Everyone have a good Thanksgiving. Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

System/MacOS 7.5.5 is the highest version an unmodded SE/30 will take. MacOS 7.6+ requires some form of '040 accelerator card, a 32bit clean ROM SIMM and/or some ResEdit hacking... I think you can take them up to MacOS 8.1.

I think there also was some software that allowed MacOS 8 on '030 machines - Born Again?

I've left my SE/30 at MacOS 7.5.5 and it purrs along just dandy, especially with 32Mb of RAM (8x4MB SIMMS). Laughable these days but I remember that amount of RAM being HUGE in 1995... would have been insane back in 1989! If you've got plenty of RAM, switch off virtual memory and increase the size of your Disk Cache, makes a big difference in performance. Netscape 3.01 is usable but I've just downgraded to v2.01 and found it much faster. Given that neither support modern day XHTML/CSS - and v3's greater Javascript support tends to cause more problems than it solves on AJAXy sites, I find v2 much more usable.

I have a PDS Network card installed in my SE/30... no idea who made it (can't identify it via software, but it has an MX chipset on the main board) and has AAUI, BNC and 10BaseT connections - quite well featured for the era. Works very well but here's a caveat I found when installing it that might be helpful for you to know.

The card came with a 68882 FPU on the main board (the one that plugs into the PDS slot - not the small board that contains the port plate) and installed as it came it WOULD NOT ALLOW THE SYSTEM TO BOOT UP. To my knowledge, the FPU was a common inclusion on many PDS cards as most of the systems that used them - LCs, IIsi, etc. - didn't include a FPU on the logic board. The PDS riser card in my IIsi (allows a video card to be fitted horizontally) contains one. Way back then the inclusion of an FPU made a big difference to system performance.

The SE/30 of course already has a 68882 soldered onto the logic board, so I figured having two in one system was a no-go. I removed the ethernet card's FPU - it's socketed and easy to remove with a $7 IC puller - and the system booted up without hesitation and has worked perfectly ever since (2002 or so I think)

Was extremely frustrating at the time to figure out - hopefully this might save you some pain. It is after all annoying enough trying to get everything seated properly in an SE/30 just once!

Cheers, Ben.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Update 25Nov11:

First of all I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. Smile

I have been trying to load OS 7.5.5 onto my LC II, but every time I get it started, the computer locks up part way through the process. I was just about ready to call it quits when it occured to me that I can use one of my PPC 6100's to load the OS onto the LC hard drive and then transfer it to the LC II. I'll do that this weekend.

I have the "Magic Wand" (T-15) and 32 Meg of RAM to place into my SE/30. I'm going to start tearing her down next week. I plan to use the 6100 to load 7.5.5 onto the SE hard drive too (get them both at the same time).

I have decided that after the new year starts,when I'm done with the SE 30 I'm going to put the Mac's away for a while and go back to the IIe's and II gs's that I have sitting here. I found an additional stash of cards that I had forgotten I have. It's about time I put them to good use. Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Update 26Nov11:

Well, it seems that I have "Wrong execution of the right idea" Syndrome.

I brought out one of the 6100's and used its CD to load the hard drive for my LC II. First I did the "Easy Install" and it loaded up fine. No problems until I placed it back into the LC II and then...No Chimes and it locked up during the "Welcome" screen.

Hmmmm?!

I placed the hd back into the 6100, brought it up using the CD and tried doing a "Custom Install" after I initialized the drive. Made sure that the System Software was for "Any Macintosh" and reloaded just the software I figured would run on the LC II. No problems until I placed it back into the LC II and then...No Chimes and it locked up during the "Welcome" screen...again.

Hmmmmm?!

I shut everything down and just walked away from it a couple of minutes ago. I was afraid that I might get mad enough to disconnect everything and toss the whole kit and caboodle out the front door. lol

Ok. I'm stumped. I just know that some how that I have the right idea, but I'm executing it wrong. I want to try a "Custom Install" using the Minimal System settings and nothing else, to see if that will work, then if it does, I'll write down what I used and build on it. I know no other way, unless someone here has a better idea? Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

gsmcten,
We're getting off the original posted topic, at least what the title of the topic is—perhaps time to make a new post.
But while we're here, Let me ask why don't you hook up your CD ROM from your 6100 to your LC? Since you need the hard drive also, you'll need an external case for one or the other, or a double-drive internal SCSI cable. Of course you'll need to ensure avoiding SCSI address redundancy. I'm also not sure the LC power supply can handle multiple internal drives.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Been There...Done That. No Help.

I'm going back to the external CD drive to see what I can do.
If "I can't get no satisfaction", then I'm going to put it away for a while and start on the SE.
As for wandering "Off Topic", it happens. Smile

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

30Nov11 Update:

Started SE 30 Tear Down last night and right away noticed that there seems to be a slight difference in the mother board it is "Supposed" to have and what is actually there.

I have an SE board. Hmmm

I had to go back to the manual to make sure of what I was seeing, and what is there is what is shown for the SE.

This only changes things a little though. I still plan the complete tear down, cleaning, and rebuild. Replace the PRAM Battery and upgrade the RAM.

I have to place things on hold for a while as my Dad passed away this last Sunday and there are many things that need to be taken care of, including attending the funeral tomorrow and looking after my Mom.

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Re: Mac SE30 and SE30 Ethernet Card / Adapter

Update 21Dec11:

I have put the SE and all the other little Macs away for a while.
I brought my G5 Tower back up on the bench and hooked her up to the Platinum IIe with the ADTPro connections. I'm going to start attempting some transfers after Christmas.
With the loss of my Dad, my Mom has been going through some rough patches, so I've been helping her as much as possible while trying to keep my own sanity in check.

I hope everyone has an excellent holiday season. Smile

gsmcten (Steven)

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