PowerBooks &iBooks

PowerBook 3400c

Code name: Hooper

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The PowerBook 3400c, running aPowerPC 603e processor at 180-240 MHz, was designed as a no compromiselaptop and was billed as the world's fastest notebook computer when itwas introduced. It was the basis for the first PowerBook G3.

The 3400c was the first PowerBook based on Intel's PCI architecture,although it obviously doesn't include PCI expansion slots. This made itthe first PowerBook to support 33 MHz CardBus devices.

Memory is expandable to 144 MB. Using a hard drive larger than3 GB precludes the use of SCSI Disk Mode, according to PowerBook HardDrives: The Essential Upgrade.

Warning

According to the Road Warrior and Other World Computing, the drive controller in pre-G4 PowerBooks isincompatible with some ATA-6/Ultra ATA-100 hard drives.

Details

introduced 1997.02.17 at US$4,499 (180 MHz, no ethernet, modem, or CD-ROM),$4,999 (180 MHz with ethernet, modem, and 6x CD-ROM), and US$6,499 (240 MHz with 12xCD-ROM); discontinued
requires System 7.6.1 (with PowerBook 3400 Enabler) through 9.1
CPU: 180, 200, or 240 MHz PPC 603e
bus: 40 MHz
Performance: 293/308/334 (180/200/240 MHz), MacBench 4
ROM: 4 MB
RAM: 16 MB, expandable to 144 MB
Level 2 cache: 256 KB
VRAM: 1 MB
display: 12.1" 16-bit 800 x 600 83 ppi color active matrix
video out: VGA port
hard drive: 1.3, 2, or 3 GB EIDE
expansion bay: same as PowerBook 190 and 5300
CD-ROM: 6x or 12x, removable, optional on 180 MHz model
ADB: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
serial: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
SCSI: HDI30 connector on back of computer
infrared: supports IrDA and Apple's IRtalk protocol
ethernet and modem standard on most configurations
PC Card slots: 2, CardBus compliant with USB Card Support patch (seeCardBusfor Your PowerBook 3400c or Kanga G3! for details and links
size: 2.4" H x 11.5" W x 9.5" D
weight: 6.9-7.4 pounds with battery
power supply: M4896 or M4895

Online Resources

Best classic MacOS deals. Best online prices for System 6, 7.1, 7.5.x, Mac OS 7.6,8.0, 8.1, 8.5, 9.0, 9.2.2, and other versions.
Low End Mac'sCompleat Guide to Mac OS 9, 2008 edition, Charles Moore,Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.05.12. Declared dead by Steve Jobs 6years ago, Mac OS 9 remains fast and stable, but Classic softwarehasn't kept up with Web changes. What Macs support OS 9, where to buyit, and how to update to version 9.2.2.
WiFi cardsfor PowerBooks with PC Card slots, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum,2008.08.12. PC Card and CardBus 802.11b and 802.11g cards known to becompatible with Apple's PowerBooks.
Environmentallyresponsible retirement for old Macs, Rick Lawson, Pioneers in MacDevelopment, 2008.06.13. After you've scavenged what useful parts youcan from your old Mac, what's the most environmentally friendly way todispose of the rest?
What's thebest Mac OS for your iBook, PowerBook, or MacBook?, Charles Moore,'Book Value, 2008.08.19. Tips on choosing the best OS for yourPowerBook 500 Series or newer Mac notebook.
WiFi PC Cards forPowerBooks running Mac OS 9, MetaPhyzx, Mac Daniel, 2009.03.10.PCMCIA cards and drivers reported to be compatible with the Classic MacOS.
Mac 'Book powermanagement adventures, Charles Moore, 'Book Value, 2009.05.19. Ifyour 'Book won't power up, shuts down while your working, or has otherpower issues, resetting its internal power manager may clear thingsup.
500 MHz iBook keeps going, iBookvideo repair, a WiFi card that costs less than AirPort, and more,Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2009.05.13. Also Dell'salternative to the 12" PowerBook, WiFi hotspot insecurity, and feedbackfrom a Eudora fan.
Why youshould partition your Mac's hard drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings,2008.12.11. "At the very least, it makes sense to have a secondpartition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you haveproblems with your work partition, you can boot from the 'emergency'partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics."
Every workingcomputer is useful to someone, Allison Payne, The Budget Mac,2008.11.19. Whether it's a PowerBook 1400, G3 iMac, or Power Mac G4, itcould be all the computer someone needs.
TruePower ACadapter for iBooks and PowerBooks is rugged, reliable, andaffordable, Charles Moore, 'Book Value, 2008.08.14. Apple's trackrecord with AC adapters is spotty, but the TruePower adapter is toughenough to survive being run over by a truck.
The compressed airkeyboard repair, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings,2008.07.24. If your keyboard isn't working as well as it once did,blasting under the keys with compressed air may be the cure.
Praise for Opera, low cost iBookmobo replacement, IrDA and IRtalk, WaMCom recommended, and more,Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.06.18. Also the use of'compleat', booting from CD, new Toshiba 1.8" drives too thick for MBA,and PowerPC support and Snow Leopard.
CardBusfor your PowerBook 3400c or Kanga G3, Rob Frohne. Kanga and the3400 electronically support CardBus, but the card cage is slightlysmaller than required by the CardBus specification and there is nogroundplane. Cards that fit seem to work.
Wireless FAQ for OlderApple PowerBook Computers. Resources to help you to install andmaintain 802.11b/g wireless PC Cards on older PowerBook computers.
TheComplete and Utter Guide to PC Cards and Expansion Bays on thePowerBook, Insanely Great. All about the PCMCIA, PC Card, orCardBus slots used in various PowerBooks.
PowerBook 3400c andPismo: Two of Apple's best notebooks ever, Charles Moore,Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.02.11. Two PowerBooks celebrate birthdaysthis week, and each was the fastest laptop on the plant when it wasintroduced.
Solving Macstartup problems, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 2007.12.12. When yourold Mac won't boot, the most likely culprits are a dead PRAM battery ora failed (or failing) hard drive.
Better and safer surfing withInternet Explorer and the Classic Mac OS, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel,2007.11.06. Tips on which browsers work best with different Mac OSversions plus extra software to clean cookies and caches, detectviruses, handle downloads, etc.
eMac virtual screen solution,PowerBook 3400 problem, IBM Model M and the Mac, and more, DanKnight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.26. Also G4 iMacs inspire lust,TrueType fonts and vintage Macs, deinterlacing DVDs, and Allegro USBsleep issues.
Silence is golden: Runningyour existing notebook using flash memory, Dan Knight, Low EndMac Reviews, 2007.05.23. With a new adapter from Addonics, you canreplace your laptop's IDE hard drive inexpensively and bootsilently from a Compact Flash card.
Appearance Manager allowsInternet Explorer 5.1.7 to work with Mac OS 7.6.1, MaxWallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.05.23. Want a fairly modern browser withan old, fast operating system? Mac OS 7.6.1 plus the AppearanceManager and Internet Explorer may be just what you want.
Format any drive for older Macswith patched Apple tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations,2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Applebranded hard drives - until you apply the patches linked to thisarticle.
First Blu-ray drive for Apple's'Books, replace notebook hard drive with Compact Flash, andmore, The 'Book Review, 2007.04.13. Also 160 GB 7200 rpm harddrives, upgrading from a MacBook Pro to a MacBook, Waterfield'sflexible new Sling bag, bargain 'Books from $170 to $1,699, andmore.
PC Card WiFi for OS X PowerBooks,installing Classic for OS X, Gmail problem with Shiira, andmore, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.01.15. Alow-cost WiFi PC Card for PowerBooks running OS X, tips oninstalling Classic under Tiger, Gmail broken with Shiira 1.2.2browser, and stimulating a flashd rive on pre-USB PowerBooks.
Watch out! Getting notebookdesign wrong, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.12.07.Some notebooks have just the right mix of design, quality, andfeatures, but others fall seriously short of the ideal.
System 7 Today, advocates ofApple's 'orphan' Mac OS 7.6.1, Tommy Thomas, Welcome toMacintosh, 2006.10.26. Why Mac OS 7.6.1 is far better for 68040 andPowerPC Macs than System 7.5.x.
30 days of old school computing:Increasing battery life with a RAM disk, Ted Hodges, VintageMac Living, 2006.09.14. When using the hard drive, the old batteryran out of juice within 30 minutes, but running from a RAM disk itstill has a 50% charge after half an hour.
Mac OS 8 and 8.1: Maximum size,maximum convenience, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations,2006.09.11. Mac OS 8 and 8.1 add some useful new features andtools, and it can even be practical on 68030-based Macs.
Inside your notebook's battery:Ordinary AA Li-Ion cells, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2006.09.08.That expensive battery in your notebook computer probably holdsless than $30 worth of off-the-shelf AA Li-Ion batteries.
Customizing Mac OS 9,Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.08.01. Fiddling withthemes, picking a browser, and making the Classic Mac OS work justthe way you want it to.
Maximizing the PowerBook3400c, Jason Schrader, Maximize Your Mac, 2006.07.26. Onceyou've acquied a PowerBook 3400c, which OS should you use, whatsoftware should you install, and how should you upgrade thehardware?
The PowerBook 3400: Surprisinglyuseful and spry with the Classic Mac OS, Charles Webb,PowerBook Beat, 2006.05.16. The last PowerBook before the G3, thePB 3400 actually outperforms the "MainStreet" PowerBook G3 - andit's generally available for under US$100.
System 7.6.1 is perfect formany older Macs, John Martorana, That Old Mac Magic,2006.03.24. Want the best speed from your old Mac? System 7.6.1 cangive you that with a fairly small memory footprint - also helpfulon older Macs.
Web browser tips for theclassic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence,2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla,Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic MacOS.
The best browsers for PowerPCMacs and the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, EmbracingObsolescence, 2005.12.16. Two browsers stand out from the pack:iCab 3 is modern and remains under development, and WaMCom bringsMozilla to older Macs.
Why you should use Mac OS 7.6 toget the most out of vintage Macs, Thomas Ahart, The ProductiveMac, 2005.12.12. Although you may be able to run OS 8 or 9 on yourold Mac, you'll generally find better performance using Mac OS7.6.
Cardbus for yourPowerBook 3400c or Kanga G3!, Rob Frohne. "...the 3400c isalready cardbus compliant as far as I can tell!"
WirelesslyNetworking a PowerBook 1400 or Other Old Apple Laptop: Step ByStep, Derek K Miller, Penmachine.com, 2003.04.12, updated2004.05.17. You can put one of these older 'Books on an AirPort(802.11b) network for under US$50.
Supersizeyour PowerBook 3400, Richard Shields, 2003.03.15. Everythingyou could want to know about hacking the PowerBook 3400.
Flash memory improvesPowerBook, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2002.11.14. Using CompactFlash to boot, save files, run silently, extend battery life, andas virtual memory on a PowerBook.
Hotrodding the PowerBook 3400, Charles Moore, MacOpinion,2001.04.17. "The first element of any 3400 hotrodding projectshould be to upgrade the RAM...."
SCSI and FireWire Disk Modes,Paulo Rodrigues, Tangerine Fusion, 2000.11.29. How to use SCSI DiskMode and FireWire Target Disk Mode for ultrafast filetransfers.
Recovering a stolenPowerBook, The 'Book Page. One user'sexperience.
PowerBook 3400c, a potentially great 'Book with unfortunatetiming, Charles Moore, Road Warrior, 10/28/1999.
PowerBook 3400memory pricing, ramseeker
PowerBooks emaillist
Best Used PowerBook, Mac Daniel
Technical specifications for 3400/180,3400/200,3400/240,Apple Knowledge Base Archive

Cautions

From PowerBook 2400,3400: Password Security and Mac OS 8.0: On PowerBook 2400 and 3400systems, Password Security software is not compatible with Mac OS8.0. Other PowerBook systems are not affected.
From Mac OS 8.1: LateBreaking Tips: Mac OS 8.1 will not install the Password Securitycontrol panel on a PowerBook 2400 or 3400 unless an earlier versionalready exists in the Control Panels folder. As noted above, PasswordSecurity is not compatible with these models under OS 8.0 or later andshould not be used.
From AppleKnowledge Base Archive Article #24014: Do not under anycircumstances enable the PowerBook 3400 password security if youhave At Ease 4.0.x installed on the PowerBook and you haveenabled the "Prevent users from bypassing security by starting upfrom a floppy disk" option in the At Ease administration program.The hard disk driver becomes corrupted in such a way that thePowerBook is unable to start up. Additionally, the computer willnot start up from a floppy disk, CD, or in SCSI disk mode.

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