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Macintosh Plus System OS

I've purchased the System 7.1 OS Personal Upgrade Kit for my Mac Plus (which didn't come with any software installed when I purchased it), but unfortunately the kit comes with 1.4 MB floppies to install and Mac Plus' only allows a maximum of 800K floppies to run on it. I've been searching for system 7.1 on 800K floppies and haven't found any luck. Any ideas what I should do or where I can get this type of software?

Posted on Jul 15, 2013 7:37 PM

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11 replies

Sep 10, 2013 9:44 AM in response to stevena1

Yes and no. The max supported OS is real, and if you have a 7.5 app you absolutely must run on a Mac Plus, it'll work within the speed/screen/memory/disk space constraints you put on it. Would you want to? Not if you could run it more comfortably on a platform that was more suited to the job.


It reminds me of "minimum specs" that operating system publishers used to put on their boxes (maybe still do). "Will run in 4MB." While strictly true... it wasn't optimal. You'll always be happier with more where computer horsepower is concerned. You never really want to be on the minimum end of the spec spectrum.

Sep 10, 2013 4:42 PM in response to JustSomeGuy

Well you can theroetically run older apps in System 7 (I know there were cutoffs like today.) Very likely in 7.0/7.1. The Mac Plus had a very long shelflife between the manufacturing and the app support, because that model like you had mentioned was the "minimum" Mac.


I have a Color Classic, 9" incher - difference is other than color, I can add more RAM beyond the 4MB hardwired memory, unlike the Plus where 4MB was the maximum. It can handle System 7.5.x fine, but I get no memory errors on occasion, partially because I have too much unneeded apps for an antique machine.


System 7 had more multitasking abilities compare to prior versions, which explains the reason why it would've been a memory hog, and why the Macintosh Plus can't run it well. Not sure about Classic Mac OS, but maybe processes might had went up in power for system resources, but I don't know that for sure.


I'd really love to see if any Mac Plus could run something "modern" (because the "Mac OS" brand has been around for more than a decade and is in many people lexicons.) Mind you, of course, that appeared in the startup screen of course! Actually, 7.5.3 was the first OS with the modern brand.

Macintosh Plus System OS

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