Classic Restorations

Which System Software Is Best for My Vintage Mac?

- 2005.11.22

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94 -- Free shipping available.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: OWC Mercury On-The-Go FW400/800/USB2/eSATA Portables High Performance A/V Rated, **Bus Powered** **Up to 500GB in the Palm of your Hand** Macworld Editor's Choice, CNET 'Very Good' - from $75.99!

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

New MacPro Memory 800Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $88 / 4GB $138 / 8GB $274 - Click to Maximize your Macs...

The choice of System software for a 68k Mac* is not so simple as deciding what software to run on a modern computer. While it's very difficult to ignore the hum of "newer, faster, better" in the modern computing world, the vintage Mac user really has the option to choose.

Every decision in vintage Mac computing has the luxury of foreknowledge. You can't ever be taken by surprise at the introduction of a new killer feature or a crippling bug.

That ultimate knowledge is one of the biggest strengths of retro computing. Once the project or job is known, the Classic Restorer gets to pick the cream of nearly 20 years of engineering crops .

Due to Apple's "never say die" attitude about MacOS during the late 80s and early 90s, many of the 68k Macs can run most System Software versions between System 6 and Mac OS 8.1. Which version is best on which system is ultimately a personal choice that depends upon the preference of the user, the user's other computers, and the task the computer will perform.

I will present the version that is best for each machine, based upon what I think the "average" user will require. If this isn't the best for you, it should at least serve as a good starting place to determine your unique needs.

What System Software really is good for my 68k Mac?

Usually, the advice sounds like this: "If your Mac has some N megabytes of RAM, then you need to use System version X.Y.z". While it's true that choosing too fat an OS for your machine will lead to discontent, this advice doesn't tell the whole story.

Vintage Mac RAM is as cheap now as it is ever going to be. Unless your Mac has hard to find RAM or a small RAM configuration is part of your project (such as getting a 2 MB Plus on the Web), there is no sense in punishing yourself with a crippled Mac with little RAM.

While extreme upgrades have a "Gosh! Wow!" factor that can't be beat, today's moderate RAM upgrades are the high-end upgrades of yesteryear, and they can often be found at no or minimal cost. For example, the Quadra 800 can take up to four 72-pin SIMMs. Using only free, junk-pile 8 MB SIMMs, that machine can be upgraded to 40 MB (the Q800 has 8 MB on the motherboard as well), enough for most tasks.

I'll categorize the 68k lineup into five categories based upon maximum RAM: Antique Macs, 4 MB Macs, 10 MB Macs, Expandable Macs, and Hard-to-find-RAM Macs.

The original MacintoshAntique Macs

These Macs all have 68000 processors and no built-in capability for RAM expansion. As such, their use for modern tasks is much more limited than their brethren. While I personally have limited experience using these models, whispers on the breeze (actually the 68kMLA forums) say that System 2.1 is good for the 128 KB Macintosh, and System 5.1 functions comfortably on the Fat Mac, 512Ke, and Macintosh ED.

There are third-party RAM upgrades available on the collectors' market, and the addition of these cards can bump these machines into the "4 MB Macs" category and increase the tasks they can handle dramatically. The Dove MacSnap upgrade comes to mind as an example of such an upgrade.

Enterprising hackers have also upgraded the RAM in these machines by soldering new RAM chips in place, but this is not a task for the faint-of-heart.

Mac ClassicThe 4 MB Macs

I recommend that these models all be upgraded to 4 MB of RAM for general use. A 2.5 MB Mac Plus is fun, but a 4 MB Plus is much more useful, and 1 MB 30-pin SIMMs are really, really cheap.

Many of these models may not come with a hard drive, and for those floppy-only Macs I recommend System 6.0.8, because it is the latest system designed to be realistically useable in a floppy-only environment.

For these Macs with a hard drive, I recommend System 7.0.1 for general use. For these computers it has much lower RAM and disk requirements than 7.1 or 7.5, and it supports most programs that require System 7. Your little Mac will be happier with the slim 7.0.1.

Macintosh LC10 MB Macs

These Macs have a RAM ceiling of 6-10 MB. Your Mac experience will be greatly enhanced if these models are upgraded to their greatest capacity before being put into service.

For these machines, System 7.0.1 is still the best choice. If you have access to 7.1, they'll do nicely with that, too. The older System 7.0.1 gets the nod over 7.1 despite the technical advantages of the newer version because 7.0.1 is freely available from Apple's website.

System 7.0.1 does everything most people would expect from these machines anyway - browse the Web, network with modern computers, and so on - with only a few gotchas.

Expandable Macs

These Macs all have several 30-pin SIMM slots or at least one 72-pin slot and can thus be upgraded with lots of RAM very cheaply. These machines should be upgraded to at least 16 MB of RAM, and preferably to 32 MB or even more.

For all these Macs with 16 MB of RAM, System 7.5.5 takes the cake. With updates it can connect to virtually all modern computers and run almost any 68k software out there. If you have a Mac OS 7.6 CD, that's fine, but System 7.5.5 will be the best choice by far for most users.

Mac IIfxHard-To-Find-RAM Macs

  • Macintosh IIfx
  • PowerBook 150, 160, 165, 165c, 180, 180c, 190, 190cs
  • PowerBook Duo series
  • PowerBook 500 series

For these computers, the old advice of "Choose your Mac OS by looking at how much RAM you have right now" is true. While all of these computers have the power and speed to run System 7.5.5 or even Mac OS 8.1 comfortably, they might not have made their way to you with enough RAM for that. If you can realistically upgrade the RAM to at least 16 MB, you really should. Otherwise, they are still wonderful Macs.

When these systems are stranded below about 16 MB of RAM, you'll be more concerned with picking a System small enough to leave room for real applications. In that case, System 7.0.1 is the best bet. 7.1 might be better in some ways, but 7.0.1 is available freely and legally.

If you're lucky enough to have one of these specimens with 16 MB or more RAM, the door is open. System 7.5.5 is the best choice for most users who have a moderately fast 68030 and at least 16 MB of RAM. LEM

* 68k Macs are those using any of the Motorola 680x0 family of CPUs.

Further Reading

Recent Classic Restorations articles

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.