Q: Way to delete files off my Classic II without the mouse?

Hard to say without knowing your Mac OS version, but try pressing the OPTION key five times to turn on "Mouse Keys." Try the numeric keypad 4, 8, 6, and 2 to see if the cursor moves after activating. I thik 5 acts as a mouse click.

However, it's been a VERY long time since I've tried this on a pre-OSX Mac, so it's a long shot.

If that doesn't work, there are two sources that are good for old Mac pasrts;

1) Your local Mac User Group ("MUG"). This website will direct you to the one nearest you:

http://appleusergroupresources.com/find-a-group/

2) Schools: Some educational institutions still have old stuff hanging around you may be able to borrow or beg.

It is per se possible to navigate through the mere use of a keyboard, but only to a certain extent. One can quickly write a few letters of a file/folder name and then use keyboard shortcuts, et cetera. However, this is not enough for more complicated operations. Additionally, you would need a (formatting) utility with overwriting capabilities on a suitable startup disk.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ta28141

I prefer not to mention that the computer can be opened, in order to remove and mechanically destroy the internal hard drive.

Since the Macintosh Classic II appears to have become somewhat of a collector's item, it would probably not be a bad idea to try to find an Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) mouse. Once a mouse is available, post back for instructions regarding software if you so wish (information about other computers that you have access to for downloads, Mac or PC, would help).

Jan

This should work in the article that Jan mentioned:

Keypad Mouse (Activate/Deactivate)

To set the keypad to control mouse movement, press the Command-Shift-Clear keys. The 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, keys control movement and direction of the pointer. The 5 key is the mouse button. The 0 key locks the mouse button. The decimal point key unlocks the mouse button.

However, assuming that your Classic II has a great deal of your personal documents/info, deleting every single file in this way would be a royal pain. The most secure option would be to boot off a startup disk with a hard drive formatter such as Apple HD SC Setup and initialize the disk. If you would be interested in selling the Classic II to me (I am a collector who doesn't own this system yet), I have an extra ADB mouse and startup disks with HD SC Setup that I could send to you.

I just sent you an email!

If the email did not reach you, I also go by the name of JRL on the 68kmla.net forums.

Thank you!

Please post back with the name of a city near you so we can possibly find a user group to help you out.