Best OS for a PB 1400c/166/64MB? 7/8/9?

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Best OS for a PB 1400c/166/64MB? 7/8/9?

Hi

What is the best OS for a Powerbook 1400c/166 with max memory? I have not messed with this stuff in a few years so am kinda hazy. I still have lots of hardware and software to play around with and have set them up with 7, 8, and 9 in the past, used RAM doubler, WiFi cards, etc.

I want the most bang for my buck as regards speed and as much functionality on the internet as I can get. I recently read that using OS 9 is not worth the additional overhead over using OS 8? I am looking for something that a vintage Mac buff can surf the net with.

I also have a PB1400 with a G3/233 upgrade, any OS recs for that one?

Not sure what I will do about batteries, all the ones I have seem dead. Have them in the freezer now and, if that does not help then I might try new cells though I hate soldering :-(

Thanks

PowerBook, Mac OS 9.2.x

Posted on Nov 14, 2013 1:33 PM

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Answer 1

dalstott

Level 4

2,639 points

Nov 14, 2013 2:04 PM in response to alfadog

I have a PB 1400 with a NewerTech G3 250MHz upgrade. I have mac OS 9.1 installed and it seems fairly quick for a older Powerbook. I know it is better than a clamshell iBook I have with a 300 MHz processor (OS X 10.3).

I used to acces the internet via a modem card and dial up phone line but have not used it for internet work since going to a wireless set up. I currently use it to play older Mac games and some graphics software. I also have Windows 3.11 through Real PC.

Sadly there are no good batteries to be had so I reset the time and date if it seems necessary but not always. Good luck and have fun. 🙂

Link to a good site for old Macs. http://retromaccast.ning.com/

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Answer 2

alfadog Author

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Nov 14, 2013 2:16 PM in response to dalstott

Nice!

I have just started getting back into this stuff now that I have retired from my day job. I have a whole room full of computers - LOL. I pulled out the MDD and about 8 or 9 PB1400's to play with 'cause the room is too full to do anything in!

Haven't gotten into the clock (PRAM) battery yet. I might pull one of these apart and see if I can make it myself, it just looks like two button cells. I am trying to get a main NiMH battery to work right now and to figure out what OS to load.

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Answer 3

alfadog Author

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Nov 14, 2013 3:09 PM in response to dalstott

Here is the PRAM battery. Only took about 10 minutes to get it out. As I suspected, it is two coin cells, 2330 size. About $4 worth of batteries and a bit of simple soldering (even for me), some heat shrink and, voila, new battery

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Answer 4

Nov 17, 2013 10:11 PM in response to alfadog

There is one very easy way to determine the answer to your question. Use the external SCSI port.

Take an external SCSI hard drive. Create four or five partitions. Install 7.53 (my favorite of 7) on one partition, 8.1 (The best power OS for more than a decade on our G3 Platinum), 8.6 ( our most problematic OS if you do not get all the updates) and then what ever version of OS 9 that you may have.

You can then boot from each partition and compare and contrast. Real time. Real life comparisons.

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Answer 5

alfadog Author

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Nov 18, 2013 3:57 AM in response to Appaloosa mac man

Or I can ask knowledgable folk like yourself and save myself a lot of time and trouble :-)

But you are right, that is the way to find out for myself. I do have all those OS's already loaded on HDD I have 12 or so PB1400's and they came with various OS's that I have not touched. I have started taking the best 166 models, putting 48MB of RAM in them, and loading 9.1. I also just ordered RAM Doubler 9, I already have RAM Doubler 8.

Question, which of those will support WiFi (open network, no WEP or WPA), and some sort of semi-capable web browser (Classilla, Safari??). I have all kinds of WiFi cards on hand - Avaya, Orinoco, Farallon, Proxim, etc. (I was doing a lot of computer work about 10 - 15 years ago.) I know that 8.6 and 9.x will support WiFI. What about 7.x? Is that a viable option for WiFi and internet?

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Answer 6

dalstott

Level 4

2,639 points

Nov 18, 2013 9:25 AM in response to alfadog

You may want to check out using compact flash memory cards for virtual memory. It is a lot faster and cheaper than hard drives.

http://lowendmac.com/myturn/2k0607.html

http://lowendmac.com/macdan/02/1114dk.html

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Answer 7

alfadog Author

Level 1

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Nov 20, 2013 12:06 PM in response to dalstott

Yes, I already ordered a IDE - CF adapter and will try it out with one of the smaller CF cards that I have around before spending $$ on an 8GB card. Are you aware of any issues with the newer fast CF cards that go to 600x (90 MB/s) and above?

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