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Mac Daniel's Advice

Giving a Power Center Pro a Second Life

- 2001.05.18

Q: I just rescued my Power Center Pro from the basement, and I have a few questions about updating it:

Where do I go to update the drivers? When I install Mac OS 8.6, it won't update the drivers because it is not an Apple hard drive. (Does this really matter?)
My newly burned CDs won't read on the Power Center Pro. Is it the CD player?
Every time I turn the machine on, the clock is set for some date in 1956! Is it Back To The Future or some kind of 2001 glitch?

A: Drivers certainly do matter. To install 8.6 properly with fresh drivers, you need to back everything up, reformat the internal hard drive with Drive Setup from the Mac OS 8.6 CD, partition the hard drive if you wish, and then install 8.6. Also see Upgrade a SuperMac to Mac OS 9 which also looks at the drivers issue. Ignore the references to the SuperMac and follow my instructions.

The CD issue depends on what burner you use to write CDs at what speed, what type of CD you use (rewritable or CD-R), and what brand of disc you use. CD-R discs are compatible with more CD-ROM drives than rewritable discs, and you have to make sure that your burner formats your discs correctly, and in Mac HFS. I once burned a disc that had a formatting problem. It worked fine on my G4, it had a difficult time loading on a relative's beige G3, and who knows how it would have reacted inside a clone. Once you are running 8.6 with new Apple drivers installed, however, this may not be an issue! Who knows if the clone's drivers are not doing the job right for your CDs? Also, when you purchase CDs, make sure to buy a reliable brand; my two recommendations are Sony and Maxell. A last tip: make sure that your CD burner makes reliable burns at its highest speed. If it is not the case, burn at slower speeds to ensure better results.

Back to the Future? No, it's a back to the computer store glitch to get a new battery for your Mac. When your Mac or clone thinks it's 1956, it means that the battery inside your computer has died, so it resets to a time when you may not even have been alive. Enjoy it before you come back to 2001, McFly :-)

Michael Munger is a French Canadian living in Montreal. He discovered the Mac in 1994 while studying journalism, the profession he loves and practices. He also studied history and communications. He currently writes iBasics and Macinthoughts for Low End Mac. He wrote On the Flip Side for The Mac Observer and co-founded MacSoldiers in 1998. You can learn more about him on his personal website.

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

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Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
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November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
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