Mac Daniel's Advice

Giving a Power Center Pro a Second Life

- 2001.05.18

Q: I just rescued my Power Center Pro from the basement, and I have a few questions about updating it:

  1. Where do I go to update the drivers? When I install Mac OS 8.6, it won't update the drivers because it is not an Apple hard drive. (Does this really matter?)
  2. My newly burned CDs won't read on the Power Center Pro. Is it the CD player?
  3. Every time I turn the machine on, the clock is set for some date in 1956! Is it Back To The Future or some kind of 2001 glitch?

A: Drivers certainly do matter. To install 8.6 properly with fresh drivers, you need to back everything up, reformat the internal hard drive with Drive Setup from the Mac OS 8.6 CD, partition the hard drive if you wish, and then install 8.6. Also see Upgrade a SuperMac to Mac OS 9 which also looks at the drivers issue. Ignore the references to the SuperMac and follow my instructions.

The CD issue depends on what burner you use to write CDs at what speed, what type of CD you use (rewritable or CD-R), and what brand of disc you use. CD-R discs are compatible with more CD-ROM drives than rewritable discs, and you have to make sure that your burner formats your discs correctly, and in Mac HFS. I once burned a disc that had a formatting problem. It worked fine on my G4, it had a difficult time loading on a relative's beige G3, and who knows how it would have reacted inside a clone. Once you are running 8.6 with new Apple drivers installed, however, this may not be an issue! Who knows if the clone's drivers are not doing the job right for your CDs? Also, when you purchase CDs, make sure to buy a reliable brand; my two recommendations are Sony and Maxell. A last tip: make sure that your CD burner makes reliable burns at its highest speed. If it is not the case, burn at slower speeds to ensure better results.

Back to the Future? No, it's a back to the computer store glitch to get a new battery for your Mac. When your Mac or clone thinks it's 1956, it means that the battery inside your computer has died, so it resets to a time when you may not even have been alive. Enjoy it before you come back to 2001, McFly :-)

Michael Munger is a French Canadian living in Montreal. He discovered the Mac in 1994 while studying journalism, the profession he loves and practices. He also studied history and communications. He currently writes iBasics and Macinthoughts for Low End Mac. He wrote On the Flip Side for The Mac Observer and co-founded MacSoldiers in 1998. You can learn more about him on his personal website.

Join us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
  Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Share

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Quantcast

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac Museum
DealMac
Deal Brothers
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

Low End Mac's Amazon.com store

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link