Hayward Matt
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Is there a way to get data to and from the hard drive of a Powerbook 180 without having to use the floppy drive?

Howdy folks!

 

I have an 20 year old Powerbook 180 with what I think is an unreliable floppy drive. Sometimes while accessing a diskette the screen flickers and usually power to the whole computer drops out.

 

I'm not familiar with Mac connectivity. Is there a way to access the hard drive--to get data off of, and install files, etc onto, the hard drive? 3.5 inch drives are 20th century.

 

But... I am happy because my old Powerbook still boots up just fine and I can look at my old files installed on the HD ok.

 

Thanks,

 

Hayward Matt

PowerBook, Other OS

Posted on Jun 24, 2013 12:51 PM

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Hayward Matt

Q: Is there a way to get data to and from the hard drive of a Powerbook 180 without having to use the floppy drive?

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  • by Jan Hedlund,Helpful

    Jan Hedlund Jan Hedlund Jun 25, 2013 2:48 AM in response to Hayward Matt
    Level 6 (9,869 points)
    Jun 25, 2013 2:48 AM in response to Hayward Matt

    Hi Hayward,

     

    This may be a power supply issue, not necessarily a problem with the floppy drive itself. Any change if you try removing the battery?

     

    Would it be correct to assume that it is a plain PowerBook 180 (not 180c)? Which power adapter are you using? It must have a 7.5 DC output, but is it capable of supplying at least 2.0 A?

     

    Unfortunately it is difficult to remove and connect the (2.5" SCSI) hard drive to a modern computer. Had it been 2.5" IDE, things would have been much easier.

     

    It is possible to set up a serial null-modem connection from a PowerBook 180 to another computer. See the following discussion for details:

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4974860

     

    If the PB 180 has an internal modem (or an external modem connected to the modem port), you could send files to another modem-equipped computer over the phone lines. With the proper software installed, the PB 180 can even use a dial-up Internet connection.

     

    Alternatively, another semi-old (pre-1998) Macintosh computer with built-in Ethernet could be used as an intermediary, You could use LocalTalk (or a plain Mac printer cable) for file sharing between the PB 180 and the semi-old Mac (the latter could then forward files over a local network or via the Internet). It is also possible to connect the PB 180 to the semi-old Mac in SCSI disk mode (see the user guide below for additional information).

     

    manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/0302674APB160180UG.pdf

     

    Jan

  • by Hayward Matt,

    Hayward Matt Hayward Matt Jun 25, 2013 12:42 PM in response to Jan Hedlund
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 25, 2013 12:42 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

    Thanks for  your reply, Jan.

     

    I can see what you mean that this might be a power supply problem. The motors in the floppy drive probably do add quite a power drain when they get going in earnest.

     

    My battery was dead and the computer wouldn't power up with it installed, so I'm currently running it with just the plug in power adapter--which does indeed provide the 7 v plus. How it is doing in terms of current would be difficult to measure at this point.

     

    I threw the battery in the freezer to see if I could temporarily rehabilitate it. It's the original battery, so it might just be stone cold dead.

     

    At any rate, thanks again....I will check out the links you provided.

     

    Matt