Power Macintosh 7200/120 PC Compatible Restoration

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  • TechGeek
    Computer Geek
    • Jan 2015
    • 2254
    • USA

    #1

    Power Macintosh 7200/120 PC Compatible Restoration

    So here we go. The system featured here is a Power Macintosh 7200/120 computer with a PowerPC 601 CPU and 24MB of RAM. It was built sometime in 1996 and appears to have been in use between 1997 and 2007, with most activity ceasing by 2005.

    The system was also ordered with the PC Compatible option, which, in this case, is a 12" long PCI card with an entire PC compatible system on it. It has a 100MHz Pentium (i586) CPU, 8MB or 16MB of onboard RAM, an ATi Mach/64 video card, and a Sound Blaster Vibra16 sound subsystem.

    It was checked into a computer repair shop (presumably around 2005 or 2007) where it was abandoned. The computer shop it was abandoned at closed in 2013 or 2014, and the system was moved into a storage unit, along with its matching 14" Multiple Scan monitor and keyboard. The ADB cables and mouse disappeared long ago.

    Fast-forward many years, and I got the system whilst I was helping the person who rents said storage unit clean some stuff out of it. I also got the matching monitor and the keyboard. All of the plastics are brittle. The case on the 7200/120 itself is fine, though the plastics inside are shattering apart. Most of the clips broke when I tried to actuate them, and the few that remain aren't in good shape. The case on the monitor is pretty bad, too. It's bad enough that I'll most likely replace it and part it out.

    The 7200/120 and the PC Compatibility Card are in good working condition. The hard disk (a 1996-built Quantum 1.2GB SCSI drive) is also in bad shape. It works and manages to boot Mac OS 8 in a reasonable amount of time (maybe a bit more slowly than it should), but it's got a bit of a self-corrupting nature to it, and the system sometimes gets uppity about things and crashes with a bus error.

    So far, I've cleaned up the PC Compatibility Card and gotten it into a working state, removed the PRAM battery, and ordered a few things for the system. I've gotten an ADB cable so I don't have to (mis)use an S-Video cable, I've gotten a PCI SCSI controller and cable so that I can image the current hard disk, and I've got a replacement 2.4GB Fujitsu drive on the way to replace the existing drive.

    My next steps for now is to image the current drive, create the Mac OS 7 (or 8) installation diskette package, replace the drive, and clean-install Mac OS onto the replacement drive. Following that, I'll get the PC Compatibility Card software installed and get a Windows for Workgroups 3.11 installation setup going.

    P.S.: photos coming later.
    P.S. 2: The first post can be deleted.
    Don't buy those $10 PSU "specials". They fail, and they have taken whole computers with them.

    My computer doubles as a space heater.

    Permanently Retired Systems:
    RIP Advantech UNO-3072LA (2008-2021) - Decommissioned and taken out of service permanently due to lack of software support for it. Not very likely to ever be recommissioned again.
    Asus Q550LF (Old main laptop, 2014-2022) - Decommissioned and stripped due to a myriad of problems, the main battery bloating being the final nail in the coffin.


    Kooky and Kool Systems
    - 1996 Power Macintosh 7200/120 + PC Compatibility Card - Under Restoration
    - 1993 Gateway 2000 80486DX/50 - Fully Operational/WIP
    - 2004 Athlon 64 Retro Gaming System - Indefinitely Parked
    - Main Workstation - Fully operational!

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