Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Daniel's Advice

Upgrading a Power Mac 7100

Dan Knight - 1998.12.03

JF sent this letter:

I've got a Power Mac 6100/60av, and I'm getting a 7100/66 for free. I want to "gut" the 6100's 1.2 gig HD, (2) 32 MB RAM modules, etc., and put them into the 7100. Is there any way to put the side mounted a/v card from the 6100 into the 7100? If not, can I put a big (9"?) NuBus Paintboard Lightning card into the 7100? It's in a Quadra 650 now - same box as the 7100, right?

Mac Daniel writes:

This is a good way to upgrade, since the 7100 (like the Quadra 650, which does share exactly the same case and 230W power supply) has lots of room for memory and drives.

To the best of my knowledge, the 6100, 7100, and 8100 all share the same AV card. I can't be sure, though, since we never got any 6100AVs at work. We ordered them, but the backorder was too long, so we got different models.

And the 7100 will take full-size NuBus cards, unlike the 6100 (which was limited to 7" cards - and needed an adapter to take even those).

CAT sent this letter:

I have a 7100/66 at work. It was recently upgraded with the Sonnet G3 card. I also wanted to upgrade memory, but am having trouble figuring out how to access the RAM slots. The computer now has 48 MB of RAM: the original 16 plus two 16 MB SIMMs. I bought two 32 MB SIMMs, but since the CD-ROM drive is directly over the SIMM slots, I can't easily remove and replace the old SIMMs. I suspect this involves removing the CD-ROM drive and would appreciate advice from you or directions to where I might find instructions on exactly how to do this.

Mac Daniel writes:

Some Macs are a piece of cake to upgrade, the LC family and Macintosh IIsi being among the easiest of all: pop the lid, insert the memory, seal it up, and start the computer.

The 7100, like the Centris 650 and Quadra 650 (which share the same case), isn't one of them. Nor is it one of Apple's worst designs. It's not quite intuitive, but it is fairly easy. I recently upgraded my Q650, so this one's pretty fresh in my mind.

After unplugging power cord from the computer and removing the lid, you need to find the plastic bar that holds the power supply in place. If you're facing the front of the computer, this bar sticks out the left side of the chassis holding the power supply and drives. Squeeze the two protrusions toward each other and slip the bar out to the right.

Next, you need to remove the power supply. I don't believe there's a screw from the back of the computer case holding it in place, but there is on some Macs. If so, remove it. Then you'll need to jiggle the power supply up. It's a solid fit, and getting your fingers where they have some leverage isn't easy, but once the power supply comes loose, you can just lift it out.

Now there are two screws attaching the drive chassis to the case, one to the left of the floppy drive, the other to the right of the CD-ROM. Remove both, then disconnect the floppy, SCSI, and power cables from the motherboard. Then lift the front of the drive chassis until you can separate it from the back of the computer case.

You can finally put in your SIMMs. Be sure to seat them correctly, since you'll need to reassemble the whole computer before you can test things.

Then reseat the drive chassis by inserting the two rear prongs in the slots in the back of the computer case, then reseating the two screws that hold it in place. Reconnect the power, floppy, and SCSI cables (good thing each only fits one place). Slide in the power supply, insert the plastic bar that holds it in place, close the case, reattach the power cord, and check that everything works.

Except for removing the power supply, it's very straightforward. It helps that Apple has been using robotic assembly for years, so they've had to design computers that are easy to assemble.

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 | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice 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.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." 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.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, 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.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

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

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.