Apple LC475: Connecting a PC monitor?

Hi,

Before you try anything else, do check the (3.6 V) battery voltage. A bad internal battery can cause no video.

If you wish to connect a PC monitor, a special Mac-to-VGA adapter (typically, with switches) will be needed. See also KB article TA21581.

Jan

Once you have replaced the battery, your Mac can remember important Parameters. But what it remembers may be garbage.

Reset the PRAM before you decide your Hard Drive has a problem. It may simply have forgotten the location of the System files.

If you have a Disk Tools floppy or an appropriate System/Install CD, you can use it to do several more things to make booting more likely:

• Run Drive Setup or HD SC Setup and check that your drive is present and has a reasonable capacity (not zero). Use the non-destructive "Update Driver" function. Do not initialize -- you will lose everything if you do.

• Use the Startup Disk Control Panel to set your Hard Drive as the Startup Disk.

A bootable floppy can be made from the downloadable Network Access Disk 7.5 ( here). Normally, a semi-old Mac with a floppy drive is used to create a properly sector-copied disk.

If absolutely necessary, it is possible to create this very floppy on a PC. This requires a special technique. Please post back if of interest.

Jan

Hello,

a new hard drive with system 7 installed. I hope that'll fix matters.

According to the technical specifications, the LC 475 needs at least System 7.1 and a System Enabler 065 (the specifications for the Performa 475 list System 7.1P3 and System Enabler 364). No need for system enablers with the newer operating systems mentioned.

I don't have a Mac with a floppy drive

If you have (or could borrow) a Windows PC (with a floppy drive), it can be used for the Network Access Disk 7.5 download, but would require (Aladdin) StuffIt Expander for Windows and a suitable PC disk image utility.

Normally, never decode or decompress Mac program files on a PC. Always keep MacBinary (.bin) or BinHex (.hqx) unaltered until on a Macintosh computer.

BTW, a full System 7.5.3 is available for download from Apple (e.g., British and North American versions). The downloadable System 7.5.3 files are small enough to be transferred on 1.44 MB diskettes (in this case, a plain copying process; no separate disk image program needed). A startup floppy file is not included (use the Network Access Disk 7.5 whenever necessary).

Jan