Essentially a PowerBook 180 with a color display, the 165c brought the first color screen to the PowerBook line. It was also the first notebook computer from any manufacturer with 256 colors on its internal display.

The passive-matrix screen supports 8-bit video at 640 x 400 pixels. Other than the color screen and faster CPU, it is identical to the PowerBook 160. Because of the color screen, a fully charged battery lasts about one hour.

“…it’s the best-looking passive-matrix color display I’ve seen on a notebook computer.” MacUser, April 1993

One serious design compromise was Apple’s adoption of single-ported DRAM for video instead of double-ported VRAM, as was used in the 160 and 180. This significantly slowed screen redraws and gave the 165c a sluggish feel during screen updates. The screen itself has been described as murky.

As with all early PowerBooks, when buying one be sure it has all the memory you need – new PB RAM is difficult to locate, especially at reasonable prices.

The PB 165c has a 14 MB memory ceiling, although you can go beyond that by using Virtual Memory (slow and free) or RAM Doubler (faster, not free, and discontinued). Another option is RAM Charger 8.1, which offers better memory management than the Mac OS.

• Got a PowerBook? Join our PowerBooks group.

Details

• Code name: Monet
• introduced 1993.02.10 at $3,400; discontinued 1993.12.01
• requires System 7.1 to 7.6.1, supports Mac OS 8.1 with Born Again
• CPU: 33 MHz 68030
• FPU: 68882
• Performance: 0.54, Speedometer 4
• ROM: 1 MB
• RAM: 4 MB, expandable to 14 MB using a special 85ns pseudostatic RAM card
• display: 8.9″ 8-bit 640 x 400 85 ppi color passive matrix
• video: 512 KB VRAM, VID-14 port, supports 8-bit external video at 512 x 384, 640 x 400, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 with video adapter
• external video, requires adapter
  • 512 x 384, 640 x 400, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 @ 256 colors
  • 640 x 870 (portrait) @ 16 shades
• ADB ports: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
• serial ports: 2 DIN-8 RS-422 ports on back of computer
• SCSI ports: HDI30 connector on back of computer
• Hard drive: 80, 120, or 160 MB
• proprietary modem slot
• Gestalt ID: 50
• Size (HxWxD): 2.29″ x 11.25″ x 9.3″
• Weight: 7.0 pounds
• power supply: M5652 – 24W

Online Resources

• . Best online prices for System 6, 7.1, 7.5.x, Mac OS 7.6, 8.0, 8.1, 8.5, 9.0, 9.2.2, and other versions.
• Mac ‘Book Power Management Adventures, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2009.05.19. If your ‘Book won’t power up, shuts down while your working, or has other power issues, resetting its internal power manager may clear things up.
• Why You Should Partition Your Mac’s Hard Drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.12.11. “At the very least, it makes sense to have a second partition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you have problems with your work partition, you can boot from the ’emergency’ partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics.”
• A brief history of portable computing: From Dynabook to netbooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.11.06. 40 years ago Alan Kay dreamt of a two pound handheld computer. Portables have made a lot of changes since 1981, but haven’t yet matched the Dynabook.
• Creating Classic Mac Boot Floppies in OS X, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2008.08.07. Yes, it is possible to create a boot floppy for the Classic Mac OS using an OS X Mac that doesn’t have Classic. Here’s how.
• The Compressed Air Keyboard Repair, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.07.24. If your keyboard isn’t working as well as it once did, blasting under the keys with compressed air may be the cure.
• My 4 favorite PowerBooks, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 2008.05.28. The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
• A Vintage Mac Network Can Be as Useful as a Modern One, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 2008.04.08. Old Macs can exchange data and share an Internet connection very nicely using Apple’s old LocalTalk networking.
• Vintage Mac Networking and File Exchange, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.19. How to network vintage Macs with modern Macs and tips on exchanging files using floppies, Zip disks, and other media.
• Better Classic emulation, Leopard on any G3?, CardBus and Compact Flash, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.12.18. Also where to find even older versions of BBEdit Lite, more oddball Mac video connections, installing System 7 on a PowerBook with no install disks, and lockups when faking out the Leopard installer.
• Solving Mac Startup Problems, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.12. When your old Mac won’t boot, the most likely culprits are a dead PRAM battery or a failed (or failing) hard drive.
• Better and Safer Surfing with Internet Explorer and the Classic Mac OS, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.11.06. Tips on which browsers work best with different Mac OS versions plus extra software to clean cookies and caches, detect viruses, handle downloads, etc.
• Hacking Mac OS 7.6.1 so many Mac OS 8 apps will run, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.10.30. With a little ResEdit work and a second copy of your System Folder, you can run a lot of OS 8 apps with Mac OS 7.6.1.
• Simple Macs for Simple Tasks, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.19. Long live 680×0 Macs and the classic Mac OS. For simple tasks such as writing, they can provide a great, low distraction environment.
• My PowerBook pilgrimage, 1996 to present, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.09.24. Starting with a grayscale PowerBook 5300 bought end-of-life in late 1996, the author has used six different ‘Book models over the past 11 years
• Mac System 7.5.5 Can Do Anything Mac OS 7.6.1 Can, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.06.04. Yes, it is possible to run Internet Explorer 5.1.7 and SoundJam with System 7.5.5. You just need to have all the updates – and make one modification for SoundJam.
• Appearance Manager Allows Internet Explorer 5.1.7 to Work with Mac OS 7.6.1, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.05.23. Want a fairly modern browser with an old, fast operating system? Mac OS 7.6.1 plus the Appearance Manager and Internet Explorer may be just what you want.
• Format Any Drive for Older Macs with Patched Apple Tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Apple branded hard drives – until you apply the patches linked to this article.
• Making floppies and CDs for older Macs using modern Macs, Windows, and Linux PCs, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.03.15. Older Macs use HFS floppies and CDs. Here are the free resources you’ll need to write floppies or CDs for vintage Macs using your modern computer.
• Getting notebook design ‘just right’, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.12.05. Some notebooks have just the right mix of design, quality, and features, while others fall short in one or more categories.
• System 7 Today, advocates of Apple’s ‘orphan’ Mac OS 7.6.1, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.10.26. Why Mac OS 7.6.1 is far better for 68040 and PowerPC Macs than System 7.5.x.
• 30 days of old school computing: No real hardships, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.10.11. These old black-and-white Macs are just fine for messaging, word processing, spreadsheets, scheduling, contact management, and browsing the Web.
• 30 days of old school computing: Increasing battery life with a RAM disk, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.09.14. When using the hard drive, the old battery ran out of juice within 30 minutes, but running from a RAM disk it still has a 50% charge after half an hour.
• 30 days of old school computing: Computing at work with a PowerBook 170, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.09.08. This vintage Mac laptop’s battery still holds a charge, and it’s a competent performer for browsing the Web, email, writing, and instant messaging.
• Mac OS 8 and 8.1: Maximum Size, Maximum Convenience, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.09.11. Mac OS 8 and 8.1 add some useful new features and tools, and it can even be practical on 68030-based Macs.
• Inside your notebook’s battery: Ordinary AA Li-Ion cells, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2006.09.08. That expensive battery in your notebook computer probably holds less than $30 worth of off-the-shelf AA Li-Ion batteries.
• Compact Flash with SCSI Macs, PB 1400 CD-RW upgrade problems, and Web incompatibilities, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2006.06.16. Suggested ways to use Compact Flash with vintage Macs and PowerBooks, problems getting CD-RW to work with a PowerBook 1400, and more thoughts on website incompatibilities.
• Moving files from your new Mac to your vintage Mac, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2006.06.13. Old Macs use floppies; new ones don’t. Old Macs use AppleTalk; Tiger doesn’t support it. New Macs can burn CDs, but old CD drives can’t always read CD-R. So how do you move the files?
• System 7.6.1 is perfect for many older Macs, John Martorana, That Old Mac Magic, 2006.03.24. Want the best speed from your old Mac? System 7.6.1 can give you that with a fairly small memory footprint – also helpful on older Macs.
• System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6: The beginning and end of an era, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.02.15. System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6 introduced many new features and greater modernity while staying within reach of most early Macintosh models.
• Web browser tips for the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic Mac OS.
• Which system software is best for my vintage Mac?, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.11.22. Which system software works best depends to a great extent on just which Mac you have and how much RAM is installed.
• Why you should use Mac OS 7.6 to get the most out of vintage Macs, Thomas Ahart, The Productive Mac, 2005.12.12. Although you may be able to run OS 8 or 9 on your old Mac, you’ll generally find better performance using Mac OS 7.6.
• SCSI and FireWire Disk Modes, Paulo Rodrigues, Tangerine Fusion, 2000.11.29. How to use SCSI Disk Mode and FireWire Target Disk Mode for ultrafast file transfers.
• Picking a low-end colour PowerBook, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 2000.11.10. If you want color and portability, but don’t need PowerPC speed, here are your options.
• Run Mac OS 8.1 on your ‘030 Mac, Charles W Moore, Applelinks, 2000.08.08. “Born Again enables certain 68030 Macs to support Mac OS 8.1.”
• PowerBook history, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 2000.05.12. A history of portable Macs from 1989 through 1996.
• Games for ‘030s, Brian Rumsey, Low End Mac Gaming, 2000.05.26. A look at games that run nicely on the old 68030-based Macs.
• Recovering a stolen PowerBook, The ‘Book Page. One user’s experience.
• Faster browsing on older Macs, Online Tech Journal
• Email lists: PowerBooks, Classic Macs Digest, Vintage Macs
• Links to System 6.0.8 and 7.0.1
• Apple TIL 14133: PowerBook 14x/16x/170/180 Q&A
• PowerBook 165c Technical Specifications, Apple Knowledge Base Archive

Cautions

• Apple Computer considers this computer obsolete as of 2001.07.16 in the United States and 2001.07.23 in Canada. As of that date, service parts and documentation are longer be available from Apple.
• The 100-series and 500-series PowerBooks do not provide SCSI termination power, depending on external SCSI devices to provide it. For more details, see SCSI Termination Power.
• Serial port limited to 57.6 kbps; throughput using a 56k modem may be limited. See 56k modem page.

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