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Can I use this Hard Drive in my Macintosh Classic II?
Posted by: EmNem543 on 2021-12-07 08:43:33 I'd like to use this hard drive in my Macintosh Classic II. Is there anything I need to look out for? what adapter do I need for the SCSI connector? Do I need to use patched software? is the Capacity Too large? (9GB) Any help is appreciated.
Posted by: Nixontheknight on 2021-12-07 08:51:25 The capacity is a problem because HFS can only address up to 2GB per drive until OS 8 (or probably 7.5.3 (7.5.2 for PPC))
Posted by: Crutch on 2021-12-07 08:57:40 Yeah but you can solve that with partitioning right?
Posted by: Nixontheknight on 2021-12-07 09:08:08 Yeah but you can solve that with partitioning right? Yes you can
Posted by: Cory5412 on 2021-12-07 09:08:18 Here's the volume size limits: https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/volume-size-limits-under-hfs-and-hfs.3872/ On a Classic II: 7.1: 2GB/partition 7.5: 4GB/partition 7.6: 4GB/partition (can run up to 2TB partitions on '040s and PPC Macs) You should be able to partition the disk three ways.
Posted by: EmNem543 on 2021-12-07 09:13:39 Aside from Partitioning, is there anything else I need to look out for?
Posted by: beachycove on 2021-12-07 09:38:56 In no particular order, beyond what has been said: SCSI number doesn't really matter in a CII (jumperless should be 0), but set it by jumper if you wish to 1 or 2; set it to auto-spin and with termination on; be prepared for needing Silverlining or the like to partition, though standard System 7 tools may work on the drive; the power requirements of a fast drive like this may press the electrics of an ageing CII hard, so a recap of the analog/ power board is advisable; and obviously you will need a 68-pin to 50-pin converter. Say a prayer, shove it in, and give it a whirl. I wouldn't install anything beyond 7.1 on a CII, by the way.
Posted by: Cory5412 on 2021-12-07 10:43:43 So, here's what to check for: That's a 7200rpm disk - how much heat does it put out compared to whatever was stock in the CII? Adjacently, checking on whether or not the CII powers on and runs reliably with the added power draw of that disk is worth doing. TBH putting that disk in an external box is the way to work around both of those problems. That's a USCSI disk, there's high and low voltage differential USCSI ecosystems, make sure whatever you're getting is compatible with the Mac motherboard (that disk would've been connected to a dedicated PCI card when it was new) and the adapters A SCSI replacer (any, disk performance literally doesn't matter for almost any use case you can put to a Classic II) may be a better option -- not because of the partition or overall disk size, but because of the other physical concerns putting a much later and higher end disk in can present. w/re 7.1 - IME 7.6.1 runs "fine" on a CII. It's poky, but a CII is gonna be a little bit poky at literally everything. It was a cheap computer sold for under $1500 to people who wanted to replace typewriters with something that could do slightly more. (Mine's running 7.6.1 because the eventual vtools ASIP6 -> OSX10.4 migration will mean I need to use IP locally, instead of AppleTalk, for file access.) I should put 7.1 on my CII. I'm still on ASIP6 now, although as soon as I start moving I'll need to add OpenTransport and updated AppleShare back in and then it'll probably feel the same and use the same amount of memory so at that point I may as well just run the newer software. Use whatever you like and/or whatever OS gets you the functionality you need.
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