Subject: Re: NetBSD on Mac II
To: Mathias Voell <voell@stud.uni-hannover.de>
From: Bill Studenmund <wrstuden@loki.stanford.edu>
List: port-mac68k
Date: 02/26/1997 20:53:39
> 
> Hi
> 
> Help, please (I'm new to this list)! The NetBSD web sites and FAQs are 
> great, lot of information on many things, too much for the beginning.. 
> I'm lost!
> 
> A week ago I got a Mac II for free. My faculty has dropped its old 
> computers to buy lot's of Pentium 133Mhz. They can be booted with Win95 
> or Linux. Though working on my Performa 630 is quite comfortable, I 
> really enjoy working with unix-like systems, which I have discovered 
> recently. And because I don't want to stay the whole day at the 
> university it would be great to have a unix-like system at home.
> 
> I have a Mac II with 5MB RAM and a 40MB hard disc, 256 colours 14" 
> monitor, no PMMU and no floppy at all (I had to remove the broken 800K 
> drive... I've  got it for free..). I know that I have to buy more RAM, a 
> new HD and the SuperDrive Extension kit with PMMU.
> 
> In the beginning I would like to have it at home to get used to NetBSD, I 
> don't have a lot of experience with unix-like systems yet. Later I am 
> planning to take it back to university, connect it to our ethernet and 
> use it as a WWW and mail server (maybe ftp) for a student association 
> which is eating up most of my spare time.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> - Shall I try to get another Mac or is the Mac II okay for what I want to 
> do with it?

It will be OK for learning, but it will be SLOW. It'll be like running
Linux on a slow 386. If you can get a better computer, I'd say do
it. Certainly for being a web server.

> - How much RAM etc do I have to buy (will get some money from the 
> association)?

Though more than 8 MB would be nice, it might not be a wise investment
as you can't use that ram anywhere else. Plus the II requires special
4 MB SIMMS (the motherboard will otherwise sporadically put the memory
chips into a diagnostic mode :-)

If they are getting rid of computers, steal some from a different dead
computer!

> - Which 68030 or 68040 accelarator cards are supported/ will work?
> - Will it run in monochrome only or how many colours are supported?

I think it will actually run 256 colors. Color X works on NuBus
video only, at the moment, so there you might be in luck.

> Could someone help me or tell me where to find answers? (And I will wade 
> once again through the FAQs).

Take care,

Bill