Q: Powerbook Duo 280/280c (circa 1994) - Start Up Issue
I have a Powerbook Duo 280/280c (circa 1994) that I have not used for a few years. I tried to turn it on, but it does not boot up. Any suggestions on hot to get it to boot up or how I can diagnose what might need addressing? Thanks.
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PowerBook
Posted on Dec 25, 2014 8:28 PM
Hi,
Glad to hear that the computer as such is working. It may or may not be possible to charge the battery to a useful state.
http://support.apple.com/kb/sp158
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP159
The supported system versions are shown in the documents above. Until recently, a free System 7.5.3 could be downloaded from Apple (and a 7.5.5 update). Unfortunately, that older software downloads page does not appear to be available any more (an Internet archive search for an earlier asu.info.apple.com page could possibly result in additional information). System 7.6 and Mac OS 8.0/8.1 are not free.
In principle, (with the appropriate software and a sufficient amount of RAM) one could use a PowerBook Duo 280/280c on the Internet. However, without an extra dock, a dial-up connection is the only option. The choice of web browsers is limited, and pages will load slowly (unless a text-based browser like WannaBe is used). Email could be OK (but an email client with SMTP authentication is normally required). The typical field for a computer like this is word processing.
Which operating system is installed? How much RAM does the machine have? What type of applications do you wish to work with?
Jan
Posted on Dec 26, 2014 2:33 PM