PowerBook Pismo/Baucom Computers question
From Brian Rumsey
Hi Charles,
I've enjoyed reading your columns on LEM and other places for quite
a while. I also did some writing for LEM myself a few years ago.
Recently my father was looking to buy a PowerBook. After reviewing
your columns and many other sources, I determined that a Pismo would be a good choice. I
had dealt with Baucom
Computers a couple years ago and had a good experience with
him, so that's who I recommended.
My father's experience has been far from good. It took Baucom quite
a while to ship the Pismo. It arrived last week and seems to have a
faulty DVD drive, because anytime he inserts a CD, the computer
freezes. If he boots with a CD inserted, no freeze occurs, but the CD
doesn't mount either. I've read that the DVD drive is a trouble spot in
Pismos, so I suspect that the drive in this machine is bad. FYI, it's a
Pismo 500 with 256 MB RAM and Mac OS 9.2.2. He has had trouble getting
in touch with Baucom.
I have sent you this email for a couple reasons. First, I was
wondering if you would agree that the DVD drive has failed?
Second, I was wondering if you have any experience with Baucom
Computers? I have seen that you list his prices sometimes. Have any of
your other readers reported troubles with him recently? I'm hoping that
this situation will still resolve itself well. I will update you again
and if there is no good resolution, I hope you might offer a warning to
your readers.
Thank you,
Brian Rumsey
Hi Brian,
I agree that it's likely your father's Pismo has one
of the bum Pismo DVD drives. There were two OEM suppliers of these
drives. One was dependable and the other wasn't. It's a bit of a
crap-shoot.
As for Baucom, I've purchased some items from them and
found David good to deal with. He can be a bit slow to answer emails (I
suspect that he has a day job), but he's ethical. He replaced a used
PowerBook battery I purchased that turned out to be no good.
Charles
Editor's note: As we post this article, the Baucom website in
unavailable.
'Book Upgrades - Good Article
From Tom Meade
Thanks for the info [WallStreet and Pismo
Processor Upgrades: Do They Make Economic Sense?], Charles.
Are you saving the Lombard for another time or are
there no upgrades to speak of?
Thanks very much.
Tom Meade
PowerBook Lombard G3 Question
From Christopher
I recently purchased a Lombard (333mhz, 384mb) for
$300.
I already have a 1ghz TiBook, which is my main machine, but I've
already had to send it off for warranty repairs twice. I was lucky
enough to borrow a spare iBook from a friend while that machine was out
for repairs, but he has since sold that machine.
I didn't want to be caught without a 'Book, so I got a great deal on
the Lombard and added an Orange Micro OrangeLink
FireWire card to it. I wiped the drive and installed OS X
10.3.2 on it and am rather pleased with it's performance for basic
tasks like word processing, Web surfing, etc.. (Itt takes forever to
boot, but after that it's really quite peppy.)
However, the main thing I use my PowerBook for is music production,
which a 333mhz G3 ia just not up to. The upgradability of the PowerBook
G3 Pismo and WallStreet has been a frequent topic in your columns, so I
was wondering if there are any processor upgrades available for my
Lombard.
Thanks!
Christopher
Hi Tom and Christopher,
There are no Lombard upgrades available that I'm aware
of. PowerLogix has discontinued theirs.
However, Gary Dailey of Daystar says he is considering
the possibility of offering a Lombard upgrade.
Charles
Two PowerBook Hard Drives
From Angie
Hello, Sir Charles.
I need to upgrade both my Lombard and WallStreet HDD's. I want
"whisper quiet" with capacities of preferably 60+ gigs. Of course,
reliability is always an important aspect when buying hdd's, but I also
consider dBA levels to be extremely important - especially on my
PowerBook. For me, GBs and RPMs take a backseat. With that being
said....
Most of the in-depth reviews I have found are for desktop drives.
The few current reviews I read concerning laptop drives have
conflicting information. To complicate matters, I've heard that the
numbers published by some manufacturers are not always accurate or
reliable.
The brands I've considered are Hitachi (TravelStar w/fluid dynamic
bearings), Fujitsu, Seagate, and Toshiba. I know Seagate is known for
their quiet line of Barracudas, but I've not heard much about the 2.5"
Momentus.
Can you make any recommendations or give an opinion on which drive
is considered the quietest? (It need not be from the four mentioned
above.)
Thanks for your time!
Angie
Hi Angie,
Bearings are the bigest factor in hard drive noise. My
frame of reference is limited to my own computers and those of
relatives and friends, and it's difficult to generalize.
Those Hitachi fluid dynamic bearings have a reputation
for quiet running. I have no experience at all with Seagate laptop
drives.
Quiet performance when a drive is new is also no
guarantee it will stay that way. The Toshiba drive I put in my
WallStreet was whisper quiet when new, but it gradually bacame
cacophonous over the first year of use. OTOH, the OEM Toshiba drive in
my Pismo is still delightfully quiet after nearly 3-1/2 years of
use.
I've found that Fujitsu drives tend to get noisy, but
that is an anecdotal observation.
Probably the Hitachi (or Seagate?) drives are a good
bet.
Charles
PowerBook Upgrades, Bootleg and Otherwise
From Vernon Woolsey
Greetings,
Where you ever able to upgrade your series II (512k cache) 233
WallStreet daughtercard with a 292 or other, say iMac processor? So
far my series II 233 'Book has handled all I could throw at it until
X.
I'd appreciate any additional experiences and resources on
economical processor upgrades.
Regards,
Vernon Woolsey
Hi Vernon,
I replaced my WallStreet's processor, which failed,
but with another 233 MHz/512k unit. I'm still running only OS 9 on
that machine.
I don't think any iMac processor would work. Probably
a 266 MHz or 300 MHz would. There might be issues with the 250 MHz or
292 MHz due to the system bus disparity.
Another option worth checking out is the 500 MHz Allegro
WallStreet upgrade offered by Wegener Media for $239.99.
Charles
Panther Upgrade
From Fluffy Monkey Ear
Hi.
I was wondering how you feel about the upgrades rather than the full
install. I have the full version of Jaguar and would like to get
Panthe.. Would it be OK to get the upgrade disks, or should I go with
the full install?
Thanx
Hi FME,
Same disks whether you opt to upgrade your Jaguar
installation or go with a clean install. I did the former with my iBook
and the latter with my Pismo. Worked fine either way.
Charles
Color Classic Help
From Alvin
Hi, thank you for your time. I have a CC I want to revive, but I
need to have its ROM and do emulation on a PC to create the installers
and disk tools. I really need your help, and if you happen to have a CC
and use CopyROM, please send the ROM via email so I can revive this CC.
In all honesty I really do have a CC, this is the serial no
SG344380C2C.
Hoping for your kind consideration.
God bless,
Alvin Chan
Philippines
Hi Alvin,
Sorry, but I've never had a Color Classic. Perhaps
someone in readerland can help.
Charles
Editor's note: The motherboard in the Color Classic
simply slides out and can easily be replaced by a CC, Colour Classic II,
Performa/LC 550, or Performa/LC 575 motherboard, which would
eliminate the problem of cloning the ROM. The CC II and 550
motherboards offer twice the MHz speed and a higher RAM ceiling than
the stock Color Classic. The 575 board gives you a 33 MHz '040 CPU with
over twice the power of the CC II and 550 motherboards.
Probably the best online resources for modifying the Color Classic
are The Macintosh Colo(u)r
Classic FAQ and the Colo(u)r Classic
Forum, which is moderated by Stuart Bell.
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