Path: news.uiowa.edu!news.physics.uiowa.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!manawatu.planet.co.nz!manawatu.gen.nz!news.plain.co.nz!news.express.co.nz!actrix.gen.nz!dempson From: dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Aplle IIGS Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 23:44:21 +1200 Organization: Empsoft Lines: 152 Message-ID: <199609192344211054609@dempson.actrix.gen.nz> References: <323D4F65.41C67EA6@larc.nasa.gov> NNTP-Posting-Host: dempson.actrix.gen.nz X-Newsreader: MacSOUP 2.1 Keith L. Lee wrote: Many of your questions would be answered by reading the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions list) for comp.sys.apple2, which is posted at the start of every month, and should remain on all news servers for the whole month. > Hi. I have some questions I know you guys can answer. If there is a > better or other newsgroup for these questions, please tell me. No, comp.sys.apple2 is exactly right (though comp.sys.apple2.marketplace is more appropriate if you want to post buy/sell messages). > I have an Apple IIGS that I am about to sell to my girlfriend. It has a > 3 & 1/2" drive and a 5 & 1/4" drive, Imagewriter II color printer a 14" > screen, mouse, keyboard and all the cables needed to hook everything up. > > What I want to know is how much is the entire package worth? I haven't been paying attention to pricing of IIgs systems, but I'd say it would be worth around US$100 to US$300. The lack of a hard drive limits the system's value somewhat. You haven't said how much RAM is installed, which makes a big difference. I'm assuming it is the original IIgs motherboard with ROM version 1 and Apple's memory expansion card with 256K installed (for a total of 512K RAM). You might get a better idea of the price range by looking at some postings in comp.sys.apple2.marketplace, though "sell" notices tend to give a rather optimistic price. You can find out which ROM version is installed by looking at the screen immediately after turning on the computer. It should say "Apple IIgs" on the top line, and if it has ROM version 1 or later then there is a copyright message at the bottom of the screen, with a line that reads "ROM Version 01" or "ROM Version 3". If the screen only says "Apple IIgs" at the top, then it has the original ROM ("ROM 00"), which is not supported by IIgs system software released in 1988 or later, and is not compatible with most current applications. It is possible to upgrade ROM version 0 to version 1, but I don't think Apple's free upgrade applies any longer (you may still be able to buy the ROM upgrade from Alltech Electronics). You can find out how much memory is installed by going into the Control Panel's "RAM Disk" screen and looking at the "Largest Selectable" line. Add 256K to get the total memory size (motherboard plus memory expansion card). The RAM can be upgraded to anything up to 4 or 8 MB by installing a new RAM card. The original IIgs motherboard contains 256K RAM. A revised machine was released in 1989, which has ROM version 3 and 1152K RAM on the motherboard. Both machines have a memory expansion slot which supports cards that provide anything from 256K to 4MB of additional RAM. Some cards can provide more than this, taking the IIgs up to its limit of 8MB of RAM. It is not possible to upgrade the original IIgs to ROM version 3 without replacing the motherboard. Apart from the additional memory, most of the improvements in the later machine can be gained by running recent versions of the IIgs system software. > We have several software packages as well and would like to know how > much they are worth? Probably not much, but it depends on what they are. For example, AppleWorks 2.1 or earlier isn't worth much, but later versions should be worth a bit more. > We also want to know what software on the market is available > for the Apple IIGS? Not as much as there used to be. There are a few companies selling commercial Apple II software, but I won't mention their names in case anyone feels left out. :-) See the FAQ for a reasonable starting list. > Where would we find old software if they don't sell it at stores? comp.sys.apple2.marketplace is a good place to start if you are looking to buy specific old packages. The companies still selling IIgs software do so by mail order. > Are Mac parts compatible with it? To a limited extent. For example, Apple's current Mac mouse works fine on the IIgs, and I believe the "AppleDesign" keyboard works. External hard drives for the Mac can be used on the IIgs if you add a SCSI card. Some Mac CD-ROM drives can be used, as long as you have a SCSI card, but there are not many IIgs-specific CD-ROMs out there (you can use many generic CD-ROMs that contain graphics, sounds, etc.) Many Mac/PC printers can be used, given the right driver software (usually requiring a third-party software package), though support will be limited for most old software. Most modems will work fine, given the right serial cable and communications software. There are few (if any) currently sold monitors that will work. Mac software will not work on the IIgs. There is no Ethernet/Ethertalk support available, but the IIgs has LocalTalk built into the computer (the system software contains all the necessary support). This allows you to access networked ImageWriter II, ImageWriter LQ or LaserWriter printers (including many third-party Postscript printers). You can also log onto a Macintosh file server running AppleShare, or using the Mac System 7 "File Sharing" facilities. > When we boot, we have to have a disk in the drive. Is this normal? Yes. If you had a hard drive, then you could boot the IIgs from that. Otherwise, a floppy containing the appropriate operating system is required (most applications include the operating system, so you can just boot the program disk directly). > Does this mean we have no OS? It might mean that you don't have a recent copy of the Apple IIgs System Software. This should have been supplied with the computer (along with a "tour" disk), but without knowing more about its configuration, I can't hazard a guess as to which version you will have. The system software allows you to launch applications from a Macintosh-like Finder program, which also provides utility functions such as copying files and formatting disks. The latest (and final) version is System 6.0.1, which was released in 1993. System 3.2 or earlier uses the ProDOS-16 operating system, which supports ROM versions 0 and 1 (though it usually works fine on ROM version 3 as well). System 4.0 and later uses the GS/OS operating system, which requires ROM version 1 or 3. You need at least 512K of RAM to use the IIgs system software, more if you want to run any large applications or install desk accessories or other extensions. System 5.0.4 or later requires a minimum of 1MB of RAM. System 6.0 or 6.0.1 is barely usable on a IIgs with a single 3.5" drive, and isn't much better with two 3.5" drives. A hard drive is strongly recommended. (The 5.25" drive is of very limited use for native IIgs software, because it is slow, has limited capacity, and cannot be used to boot the IIgs system software.) -- David Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz Snail Mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand Path: news.uiowa.edu!news.physics.uiowa.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!manawatu.planet.co.nz!manawatu.gen.nz!news.plain.co.nz!news.express.co.nz!actrix.gen.nz!dempson From: dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Problem with II2 RAM Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 23:48:21 +1200 Organization: Empsoft Lines: 24 Message-ID: <199609192348211069069@dempson.actrix.gen.nz> References: <01bba149$aefb2600$fb5533c2@key.goto.fr> <23.48757579.Logic.IS@logicbbs.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: dempson.actrix.gen.nz X-Newsreader: MacSOUP 2.1 wrote: > When I got the infamous Apple IIe RAMtest error 01000000, I changed the > second chip from the end. It took two tries. It's the one opposite what > you would think from the error display. The display shows the bits in the order in which binary values are normally written: the most significant bit (number 7) on the left, and the least significant bit (number 0) on the right. On the IIe motherboard, the RAMs are the other way around, with bit 7 on the right and bit 0 on the left. It is debatable whether it would have been better to display the self-test result in the same order as the RAM chips. It would be rather confusing on the platinum IIe, which only uses two chips (each 4 bits wide), and it makes more sense from a software point of view. (All you have to do is look at the computer from the back, and they are around the right way.) :-) -- David Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz Snail Mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand Path: news.uiowa.edu!news.physics.uiowa.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!manawatu.planet.co.nz!manawatu.gen.nz!news.plain.co.nz!news.express.co.nz!actrix.gen.nz!dempson From: dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Question (not in FAQ) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 23:49:37 +1200 Organization: Empsoft Lines: 23 Message-ID: <199609192349371073639@dempson.actrix.gen.nz> References: <51pm1d$o9f@crl8.crl.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: dempson.actrix.gen.nz X-Newsreader: MacSOUP 2.1 Joe Kohn wrote: > Perhaps the answer to this question should go into the FAQ... I agree. > Does anyone know what error message the IIGS's self test will generate if > a Zip GS is installed? The possible errors listed in the original ZIP GS manual are 05xxxxxx, 0Bxxxxxx and 0Cxxxxxx. The 05 error is avoided by enabling the counter delay (SW1-4 OFF), but the other errors will probably still occur (the 0B error is intermittent, and may never appear with some ZIPs). You can get a reliable test result by disabling the ZIP (SW1-6 OFF) before running the self-test. Turn the computer off before changing the switch settings. -- David Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz Snail Mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand