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Q: I have a Macintosh LC II and a G3 that don't work.  Can I get data off the hard drive?

I have a obsolete Macintosh LC II and a G3 that don't work. OS 8.  Can I get data off the hard drive?

Can I get this done at an apple store at the genius bar?

 

Thank you.

Macintosh LC II and G3, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier, Obsolete Macintosh LC II and G3

Posted on Jan 23, 2015 7:44 PM

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Q: I have a Macintosh LC II and a G3 that don't work.  Can I get data off the hard drive?

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  • by Jan Hedlund,Helpful

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Jan 24, 2015 6:39 AM in response to chocchipcookie
    Level 6 (9,894 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 6:39 AM in response to chocchipcookie

    Is the G3 a desktop or a notebook? Which model? Generally speaking, an IDE/ATA hard drive can be removed from the computer and then connected to a USB adapter. Below is one example, but you will find similar devices in many computer stores.

    http://www.newertech.com/products/usb3_universaldriveadap.php

    The adapter would allow you to use a more modern Mac (or a PC with the appropriate software) to read from the hard drive.

     

    With an LC II things get more complicated. The hard drive in this case is SCSI, and you would need another (pre-1998) Mac with a SCSI port to do anything useful.

     

    However, before we continue, could you perhaps tell us a bit more about in what way the two computers are not working? Sometimes, even a bad logic board battery can cause unexpected difficulties (such as startup issues).

     

    Jan

  • by chocchipcookie,

    chocchipcookie chocchipcookie Jan 24, 2015 6:18 PM in response to Jan Hedlund
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 6:18 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

    Hi

     

    Thanks

     

    The LC II battery died and exploded all over the motherboard including the terminals to the chip. 

     

    The G3 Desktop power pc is still ok and still starts up but we haven't got a monitor for it that works.  It has an SCSI port. 

     

    Maybe the best idea is to get the monitor fixed and try and get to see the data that way?  If that is the case how do I get the data to a current storage medium because it only has a floppy disc and a SCSI port.  The other ports are for the monitor and an RS24 port (I think).


    Would an apple store with a genius bar be able to do that do you think?

  • by Jan Hedlund,Solvedanswer

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Jan 24, 2015 7:36 PM in response to chocchipcookie
    Level 6 (9,894 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 7:36 PM in response to chocchipcookie

    Hello,

     

    You have probably tried cleaning the LC II logic board already (there have been reports about people using a dishwasher with pure water for cleaning a bare board).

     

    Yes, using the G3 would not be a bad idea. If necessary, with access to a suitable Mac(DB-15)-to-VGA adapter, it may be possible to use a PC monitor.

     

    Once the beige G3 desktop is working, there are several data transfer methods available:

     

    1.44 MB floppy disks written on the G3 can be read on many modern computers via a USB floppy drive (special software for Mac disks required on a Windows PC).

     

    A SCSI Zip drive can be connected to the SCSI port of the G3. The Zip disk can then be read through a USB Zip drive on another computer.

     

    The G3 has built-in Ethernet, and can be connected to a router/switch. Transfers can be carried out through a local network or over the Internet. FTP software may be used, or one can send files as email attachments.

     

    A null-modem connection between serial ports (using standard terminal emulation software with file transfer capabilities) is yet another alternative.

     

    Do not expect the staff in any computer store to be familiar with old machines.

     

    Jan

  • by Jan Hedlund,Helpful

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Jan 25, 2015 4:26 AM in response to Jan Hedlund
    Level 6 (9,894 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 4:26 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

    Addendum

     

    The beige Power Macintosh G3 computers are excellent intermediate machines. They can handle older technology, such as ADB, 800K and 1.44 MB floppy disks, SCSI, serial communication and LocalTalk networking. Internally, both ATA and SCSI drives can be installed. Built-in Ethernet allows connections to modern networks.

     

    With optional PCI expansion cards, USB and/or FireWire is possible. Optional AV ports would, for example, allow a TV set to be used as an extra monitor.

  • by chocchipcookie,

    chocchipcookie chocchipcookie Jan 25, 2015 1:58 PM in response to Jan Hedlund
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 1:58 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

    Hi Jan,

     

    Thank you very much for the identification of the ports and all the options..  We are going to try a few monitors on it and see if we can get the G3 going then transfer the LC II data to it then get all the data out.

     

    We are glad all is not lost.