Q: What driver is needed for a 1987 LaserWriter Plus?
I have an old and apparently working; because upon turning it on, it spit out a test page; LaserWriter Plus for 1987! I would appreciate any advise regarding if it's possible how to connect it through a series of adapters from USB to an old billion-pin plug.
LaserWriter Plus, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)
Posted on Dec 29, 2013 3:40 PM
Hi,
In principle, you could connect some kind of LocalTalk-to-Ethernet converter to the 9-pin port, or a serial-to-USB adapter to the 25-pin port. However, these would be merely small steps in a broad context. Nothing useful can be done with the printer without access to proper drivers.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA21858
http://support.apple.com/kb/sp473
The serial 25-pin port was intended for connections to a DOS or Windows computer. You may be able to find drivers in operating systems up to XP, but printing is probably going to be very slow.
The 9-pin port was intended for LocalTalk network connections to Macintosh computers. With an appropriate old Mac, and a cable set, the printer could be used almost immediately. Certain older operating systems (and printer drivers) have been made available for download by Apple.
http://www.info.apple.com/support/oldersoftwarelist.html
With modern Macs, things get much more complicated. First of all, a suitable converter would be needed to use Ethernet. Then there is the question about protocols. Have a look at the link below (mostly about other models, but the LaserWriter Plus is also mentioned), and you get the picture. To complicate matters even more, later editions of Mac OS X do not support AppleTalk.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/7910595#7910595
I would suggest that you study various posts by Grant Bennet-Alder for details about what can and what cannot be done.
Good luck!
Jan
Posted on Dec 30, 2013 4:10 PM