A Clear Mac SE/30 With a CD ROM hacked into it (still cursed?)

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The Cursed Mac is getting a spooky upgrade for VCF East - We're modding a transparent MacEffects case to fit all the upgrades, and let people gander at the crazy accelerators inside!
But will the Cursed Mac lose some of it's Cursed Magic with this new set of digs? Let's find out!
Brian's Instagram: / bklindgren
🍎 The FULL Cursed Mac story, per its original builder! 🍎
---------------------------------------------
I'm sure like most of the vintage mac people, I was really into computers as a kid. You name it, I was into it: taking my parents computer apart and putting it back together again, screwing with the system files and trying to fix when things stopped working, computer games, pretty much anything having to do with a computer.
At the same time I had been studying viola since I was 8 years old. By the time I started high school in 1997 I was very serious about the viola and mid-way through HS I decided to apply for music conservatories for undergrad and pursue a career as a professional violist. It was a very rigorous process applying to these music schools, as admission was solely dependent on performing ability -- so there was a very conscious awareness that each day required lots of effort in preparing for these auditions.
At the same time it was the late 90s, and, as you know, the internet and power of the home computer opened up all sorts of possibilities. My interest in computers continued to grow through this time. I never really did anything especially 'useful' on the computer except taking programming classes in high school. Most of my interest was on the internet, downloading pirated software via Hotline (which was a p2p kind of server client thing), playing computer games, and even just getting really excited when a new MacOS update came out.
Here's where the big blank spot is in my memory: I can't remember where I bought (or acquired) the Mac SE (before upgrading to SE/30) or why I bought it. Could have been a local classified ad? At any rate, I can't remember my initial impulse to acquire it, but I do remember quite clearly where I ended up wanting to take the 'project'.
One of the big themes in my life at the time was feeling a pull between needing to practice viola and wanting to have fun with computers (before I got the SE, I used my mom's Performa 6300 and then iMac DV). Being quite aware that I would need a computer when I would go off to music school (email, papers, AIM lol) but not wanting to get incredibly side-tracked with just fooling around on the computer, I decided that the Mac SE would be my college computer. The idea was kind of how simple or 'dumb' cell phones became popular again once people realized how addictive smart-phones where. The dumb phone would give you enough functionality to get by, withouth the distractions. That was the idea for the SE. Except I wanted to make it super cool, not 'dumb'.
Of course, the SE would need to be on point, I was going to bring a 1980s computer to college, it had to look cool, it had to be able to play CDs (I had a huge classical collection), it needed a proper hard drive, of course, but it also needed some sort of removable media as well. Jaz made the most sense. I added an ethernet adapter, I believe. I think the audio cable hanging out the back was so I could use the speakers with an external audio source...
As you saw with the insides, I really had no idea what I was doing. I looked up a ton of stuff and got inspired from vintage mac websites back then, but there was only a certain amount of effort and resources I was going to be able to put forth to do a 'good job' with the computer. My main focus was music and this was ultimately a project that would help me focus on music. So yes, lots of bad practices: taped in components, speakers with no amplifier, an a ton of other things.
Ultimately, there were some insurmountable issues that forced me to abandon the idea of taking it to college. The first was that the hard drive kept getting erased somehow. I'd install the OS and get things working and then the next day I'd get the '?' on startup. My guess was that since the HD was so close to the CRT, some sort of electromagnetic emission would mess with the drive? Not sure. I had thought about trying to get a lead sheet to insulate it lol. Never did that. Another issue was that the Jaz drive stopped working. I thought it was because I had at one point tried to force eject a disk and heard a grinding sound... But I remember seeing that you had gotten it working? Which makes me think that I had probably overloaded the power supply with too many components. Those two things were probably what derailed the project ultimately. I must say, the paint job was on point though! :)

[@Astfgl]

I stand corrected. I thought going for a clear case and abandoning the black-and-blue origins of the Cursed Mac was a mistake, but this is the next level of cursed. I love it. :D

[@HughJeffreys]

Ok wow, this is cool! Great job.

[@GigantTech]

i didnt expect you here

[@ActionRetro]

Thanks Hugh!

[@christianhansen3292]

need to test the music please!

[@brokenelectronics3665]

Well, I guess I am in the minority, but I loved the black and blue. I miss the Jaz drive, but if you are set on going with the clear case, that blue face plate doesn't really work as well. Realistically, it's not a very valuable thing, and you can put the room inside the case to better purposes. Cool that the original owner emailed you, thanks for including it, it was a great read.

[@MegaManNeo]

I love the backstory and how the cursed Mac looks now. Adding anymore drives would sort of destroy its clear looks (then again, this thing is cursed for a reason).

[@cod.liver.failure]

not going to lie. it does look excellent. it is a shame to erase some of the machines history. I think there is often a pull for people to 'restore' vintage machines, but real preservation is about keeping a machines history whilst making it useable in the modern day. maybe the clear case would be better suited to an equally cursed sibling.

[@deponia]

Personally, I'd say leave the other drive out and use external devices instead. Don't suppose you could add USB ports to open up the external devices options? I know 68K Amigas have this ability with devices like the Subway USB controller.

[@TheducksOrg]

USB Mass Storage is supported by MacOS 8.6 and later. I think this is running 8.1?

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

I dunno why but I always love the blue CD drive contrasting with the black.

[@zsombor_99]

Dude, this slot is just as good wit the clear case as the blue drive was with the black case, right? 😉

[@defconzero]

It had kinda a ps2 vibe which is _really_ cursed

[@dataterminal]

So, while the case is completely transparent. There is the option of using products like plastidip that you can spray on the internal, keeping the clear plastic look from the outside but also providing a color of sorts. Since it's plastidip it'll easily peal off if you don't want to keep it. It's used a lot to give cars a new look without having to respray it proper. It might be worth giving the front of the case a spay down with black to see how it looks. I think it'd be very imac g3 like with the clear plastic top coat as a result.

[@iiiiiifggffggffgfgfg]

iMac 040

[@ekner]

What an amazing story! I was doing much of the same back in those years, inspired by other modders and constraining myself with limited hardware. The internet is so cool.

[@armspac]

the ONE thing now is to get greyscale on the internal monitor. an external monitor would be failure in my irrelevant eyes. utterly incredible beast! recently picked up an SE/30 because of this series

[@mal2ksc]

Why grayscale when there were color CRTs the right size and the output signal is right there?

[@armspac]

@@mal2ksc you mean swap out the crt? That would be awesome no doubt, but I like the idea of keeping it black and white. As long as he doesn't stick an LCD in there

[@armspac]

@@mal2ksc also checked online, colour CRTs are longer and take more power so even if you managed to change the analog board you would still need to cut a hole on the back of the case

[@Kiyoshi_9606]

Next = Micron PDS card allowing for 256 grey scale? Ever tried it?

[@destroyer6470]

From the Cursed mac to Project Prism this machine is awsome and shall always be a main staple of the channel

[@zsombor_99]

Wow, this Macintosh become better and better! It's evolving! 👍 😏 I suggest to do a pass trough for the SD card adapter for easier file transfer (even if it requires the computer to be switched off to take the card out)! 😉

[@GeekmanCA]

A Zip or floppy drive would be a great addition to the new ghostly identity of the Cursed Mac. But I'd say that you need to find one with a translucent bezel, or find a way to make it work with the existing case (as you did with the optical drive).

[@DavidStahlOLDHAPPyMACs]

Yes Sean that is A perfect way to mount that CD drive love the clear case I think is looks better with out the Jazz drive. SD card option would be pretty neat to do Nice Work Sir

[@ericbauer4559]

Awesome back story. Makes the cursed Mac even more interesting. The guy sounds like he is about my age.

[@ctrlaltrees]

So cool to finally learn the true story behind the Cursed Mac - Brian is definitely one of us! Personally I went with keeping the black front panel but the end result has blossomed like a beautiful butterfly from a cursed caterpillar so I approve 😅

[@RamLaska]

Seeing that empty clear SE case (the SE was my stalwart companion during high school in the early nineties), I'm very tempted to buy one just to build a modern linux machine out of it. Just imagine how much battery could fit inside that case, and how long that could run with something like a raspberry pi zero, lol!!

[@CompuHacker]

18:12 That's a fucking album cover right there.

[@randomd2146]

The album coud be called “sounds from the 80’s” or something

[@migaisnotacat]

I don't consider this cursed any longer - this is more like a blessed mac now. It's beautiful.

[@48aee]

A clear modded Jaz Drive would be a match made in heaven for that mac

[@Doegiz]

Honestly that is so cool that the original owner managed to come across this.

[@fluffycritter]

I would be really tempted to use the unpainted old case front and apply the same slot-loading mod to it, just so that it looks like you have a 5.25" floppy slot on a Mac SE. Either that or sanding/frosting the current transparent front so that you can still see the glow of the lights within.

[@PiMpGranny]

I can't help but smile at people who get this excited over old computers like me. Beautiful mod!

[@ww21943]

Awesome! Good meeting you today at VCF East. I’m the StarMax guy who played on the MUD today.

[@NoobixCube]

When printing in clear filament, if you want optical clarity, you need to go for a really coarse layer height like 0.3 or 0.4mm. The more layers you have, the more refraction as the light moves from one layer to the next, so you end up with a lot of light scattering. Hence the frosty white look. It's basically like taking clear perspex and roughing it up with sandpaper.

[@Vlamat67]

Very nice transparent houses and excellent work done for the CD drive. The RGB LEDs do not convince me much of their usefulness but on a mad car and absolutely unique as this, there can be there. It would be hilarious if the control of the LEDs took place from the operating system. Other thing, the screen: it should be in color and maybe support the thousands of nuances.

[@BlackEpyon]

You'd have to replace the analog board for that, which isn't exactly easy to do.

[@mikek1187]

Great to meet you at VCF East and see the face behind the camera! I was very impressed with your cursed mac, as well as your Quadra 950 fan mod. Can't wait to see what shenanigans you come up with next ;)

[@ActionRetro]

Thanks, likewise!!

[@Stryder_The_Nite_Owl]

Awesome project! Great video! Thanks for doing this. Amazing what we can do in 2021. If you could change out the 1 bit parts on the CRT and install the Micron greyscale mod, that thing would be even more awesome, and vintage at the same time (the Micron XCeed is legit vintage). I think Bolle makes reproductions of that, too.

[@brianlindgren1445]

I love it! Great job rehabilitating this crazy little Mac, Sean 💯🔥

[@paulrippcord506]

I vote Zip Drive, more nostalgic love for it and it would be more practical overall

[@Moondream417]

I think you should put a zip drive in there. It's still iomega so it doesn't really detract from the missing jaz drive. Plus it's useful for file transfers between your machines.

[@badboybruno547]

So glad the original owner found your channel. That made my day.

[@ScarlettStunningSpace]

The cursed Mac is how I found this channel, what a cool machine. I definitely vote for leaving as is or putting something in other than a Jaz drive that would get used

[@xp8969]

Meeting a "nice guy from Philadelphia" that you met on Craigslist sounds like a suicide mission 😂☠😂

[@megatronskneecap]

I've been rewatching this series and can't tell you the relief when the CD drive and whatever the hell that other thing was finally went.

[@clintongoodfellow]

Paint the internal metal parts in the same blue as the cd drive used to be. Will carry on the theme of the old case to the new!

[@michaelmullett7327]

Very, Very, Cool Mod, the Clear Case was Fantastic and lit up it was Beyond Cool!

[@quiksr20]

Saw this computer in person today @VCF, So cool! Didnt realize while I was bs'ing with you how you built it etc that I was a subscriber to your channel for quite some time... What a bummer! Awesome build and nice chatting!

[@richfiles]

ngl... I would have kept the blue case. The CD drive came out amazing! I like the idea of swapping the Jazz drive for a Zip drive and making the SCSI2SD slot accessible. Have you considered painting the steel internal chassis black? I just feel like the contrast would make seeing through the case more visually appealing.

[@juanmacias5922]

hahaha this was a great episode, history on the cursed mac, update on the original owner! And, what a sweet upgrade with the clear case!

[@draggonhedd]

still love this thing, You should paint the metal chassis some bright color and swap in a green CRT.

[@mikequinlan9585]

This is best story love watching this Mac evolve 👍

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Wow. This actually turned out way better than expected. Nicely done!

[@bramvandenbroeck5060]

I would stick a floppy emu on the front of this mac where the jazz drive was, but choose one with an lcd screen, so you have a small screen underneath the big one, making it even more obscure! What a beautiful mac you have made there! Awesome job!

[@DannyBeans]

I was dubious about going full-transparent, but yeah, it was the right call. And that guide you built is perfect - if you hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have guessed it was there. Beautiful job.

[@sparroestar22]

Oh please take some high resolution photos of this while it's brand new and shiny, this deserves to be preserved as art forever!

[@GHero60]

This is turning into the ship of Theseus. Might as well make the original cursed Mac along with this new clear version.

[@jeremytravis360]

The next project could be making a beige case for the first iMacs. I Will add that's a joke. Thanks Action Retro.

[@valshaped]

It's a joke, but it doesn't have to be

[@zh84]

Back in 1990 when I had a 4MB Mac Plus I remember seeing an advertisement for an external colour adaptor for that machine. It plugged into the SCSI port (!) and then somehow into a monitor. Unfortunately I can't track it down on Google. Have you or anyone else in this channel come across it?

[@systemchris]

And in regards to the front, at most only put the SCSI2sd access panel reducing the need to reopen since you have external addons

[@carl4889]

Time to track down the CRT from a Colour Classic, mod the video board to output 640x480, then jam it in there.

[@jamesdye4603]

I saw this unit at VCF East on Saturday. Very cool.

[@Ryan.Lohman]

I love this channel - the retro technology evolving in its own way never ends!!!!!

[@dotmatrixmoe]

Thanks for taking a selfie with me, the Mac looked sick!

[@retroguy7649]

Looks amazing!!! Well done!!

[@MrLurchsThings]

I do kinda miss the black front. It’s where the Cursed Mac started. But the clear case does look pretty awesome. As for the Jazz drive, a Zip drive would be a very good substitute.

[@shh1234]

Hilarious, I can recall when people were taking classic Mac cases and putting pounds of epoxy inside to turn them into tiny fishbowls with equally tiny optics. That transparent case would make an awesome evolution of the concept.

[@emmabentley7945]

All you need is a transparent mouse and keyboard and it will look awesome! ❤️

[@Noaddedsalt01]

get the apple USB keyobards to connect it, put a usb port on it

[@KeithSurvell]

Oh wow, that is *wicked* cool; I love it! I think it's perfect as-is with just the CD drive (which is crazy enough on its own) so I don't think it needs an internal floppy/zip/etc. drive of any sort.

[@knghtbrd]

Sean, definitely Zip drive is the way to go for this machine. If you want to get the SCSI2SD card ported out, there's extension cables for those, put it wherever seems to make sense. If you want to wire in a video board … make sure it can be taken apart for maintenance and repair. This mac is cursed after all.

[@SalvoDan]

My vote is for a ZIP drive. I didn’t think that LS-120 Superfloppy drives were available in SCSI.

[@msthalamus2172]

I've been really liking this series! FWIW, I thought the solid front would have been better, as the case is so busy in front when you can see through it, but I know that the audience has spoken! :) What's missing is *color*. Have you thought about painting the inner metal frame black and blue, to bring some of the cursed Mac aesthetic back? It also definitely needs an era-appropriate Apple logo (though maybe a smaller one than last time). I'd also replace the paper insulation sheet on the analog board with a thin, clear piece of acrylic so people can see the back of the board. Of the options you listed, I would definitely set the SCSI 2 SD up to pass the sd card through the upper floppy drive slot. You'll get a lot more mileage out of being able to access that than you would a Jaz or Zip disk anyway.

[@forceraider451]

Need to find that blue and black keyboard from those old photos.

[@anxietyprimev6983]

I'm thinking you should install some sort of clear plastic box on the side of the case that obstructs the internals that can hold those USB drives. Maybe add a USB splitter bank or something under them, too. After all, there's nothing more cursed than having ten different peripherals plugged into your computer 24/7.

[@gabegherca]

that looks DOPE asf man, amazing job

[@mek4321]

Cool. I saw this at VCF East and didn't realize it was you. Love the channel.

[@hardline2a]

I agree that it makes more sense for the zip driver to be in there than anything else. I'm partial to zip disks though.... Fond memories

[@TurdInternational]

i would go blue back case, and a black painted clear front, ideally a light coat so it retains some transparency. Maybe get the CD guide in blue, to honor the original as well.

[@emmettturner9452]

Get som Nite Shadez or whatever it is called for tinting tail lights with a coating you can peel off. You can make the front semi-transparent smoke and have the best of both worlds!

[@Natures_Intentions]

Wow the cursed MAC looks phenomenal.

[@greypatch8855]

Excellent video. I LOVE that MAC!

[@fsfs555]

Nice work. This thing looks great. A 68k Mac on the internet in the early '00s wasn't a big deal or even uncommon; I had one. Most days after school I'd use my Performa 475's 14.4k modem to dial into whatever the cheapest ISP was at the time (remember NetZero and the store-branded ISPs (Walmart, etc)?) and hop onto AIM and a few of the less flash-heavy websites that I frequented. I upgraded to a blueberry iBook around 2002 but the Performa still got AIM duties on the regular. Also I figure the best choice for an AIO 68k with CD built-in would likely be the LC/Performa 575, the last and fastest of the Trinitron AIOs; the 58x series is slightly faster (thanks to its Quadra 63x-based logic board with Valkyrie video chip) and more readily upgradeable to PPC via simple logic board swap (the 575 needs either a rare and frankly lackluster upgrade card or a lot of case hacking/chassis swapping for a new logic board), but it has a basic shadow-mask CRT in a slightly bulgy case and its plastics are much more brittle than its predecessors (these and the early 52/53xx models are the worst example of Spindler plastics. Seriously don't try to ship one or you'll end up with a box of beige shards with some bits of metal and a CRT on top).

[@2dfx]

A SCSI LS120 drive would be super sick. You get the floppy ability too!

[@ultraokletsgo]

Seeing it take in the CD was so satisfying

[@ugh.idontwanna]

First rule of being a geek: If there's a transparent option, you pick the transparent option.

[@BrainSlugs83]

Okay, crazy idea, but hear me out: make the RGB LEDs fade colors when there is disk activity. Like, you will get a little light show while you're waiting for games to load! 😎

[@Honeybearsphone]

I swear I was thinking how cool it would to so a slot loading CD drive just how you set it up before you me mentioned it, the super floppy drive you're thinking of is an LS120 drive it reads both LS120 disks and floppy disks both

[@aytviewer2421]

I had a 24-bit color PDS card mounted in my 1992/93 LC-III in the late 1990s. It ran a secondary 17" monitor at 1024x768 in all 24-bit true color glory. I wish I still had it and knew what the brand was. I think that card may have worked in the SE-30's PDS slot. I still have the LC-III (without the card, as I eventually moved it to a PowerMac LC 5215 later) and my original SE. Unfortunately they are just gathering dust in boxes these days.

[@pedro_8240]

See if you can extract a piece of the clear case and try to die it atomic purple, if it works, do it with the whole case.

[@andresbravo2003]

A CD-ROM is Needed! Amazing work!

[@zapakitul]

Baby’s back and it’s future looks clear!

[@UpLateGeek]

The new CD-ROM drive seems so much better than my old Pioneer slot loader. That thing you had to jam the disc a lot more than half way in before it actually sucked it in. But the case looks amazing! I think the problems with the cut-out for the CD-ROM drive aren't a big deal. It would probably look weird if you cut out the slot in the right place from the start and left the floppy slot in place, so having a black cover under the slot seems like a better solution. As for the Jaz drive, it definitely would be more cursed to have that, but having a big cut-out would look pretty ugly, and it would kind-of ruin the look. I like the idea of a Zip drive with the front bezel removed and just a slot cut out for the disk. Or a LS-120 SuperDisk, although a SCSI one might be a bit hard to find. Personally it makes more sense to have some kind of removable media accessible from the front, rather than the SCSI2SD, since that's your boot drive and you're never going to remove that in normal operation. Making it accessible from the front at a public event is just asking for someone to pull the card out while it's running. Anyway, hopefully you can get the speaker working again. But no matter what you decide to do with the machine, I can't wait to see it!

[@mikemoyercell]

beautiful leave just the cdrom in it - it turned out so nice and clean that way

[@xargon1234]

if you find a way to mount the leds along a edge of the case it should illuminate the case more instead of just shining threw it kinda like a fiber optic cable

[@nrg753]

Wow that Procom 36x CD ROM drive looks identical to the Pioneer DVD-121S 16x I used to have when I younger.

[@thelanecampbell]

Incredible work. As a geek, and admittedly not a purist, I’m curious to see if you could get this running with an LCD or OLED display.

[@yosefyacub3595]

OLED 👍🏾

[@nicwilson89]

Should keep some of the essence of the black cursed front fascia by spraying the metal parts of the chassis black :D 17:26 Goddamn that is utterly beautiful

[@Inject0r]

IMO: you should only put peripherals in there that are able to eject through software. So a Zip drive, or an LS120 drive would fit the bill. You’ll need to add another slot, but it would definitely be worth it! Oh, and it looks awesome indeed! Almost forgot to ask: did reassembling it solve the latest curse on hanging at boot?

[@MediocreTCG]

Your videos are gonna cause me to have to teardown the last gen iSight iMac I have and finally replaced the dead boot drive with an SSD. You bastard. Loooooooooool.

[@Andrew_G4CH]

That’s fantastic! I would definitely say go with that imation superdisk. 😁

[@eduardocarrasco8830]

This video is so fucking cool. I loved every second of it. And that Mac, just wow !!! Great job dude !!!

[@FPVphilly]

Sean, now do the transparent mod to the keyboard and mouse... it will complete the whole combo.

[@RWBHere]

That looks way better. And I hope that you added a Zip drive later.

[@rhysholdaway]

Ok. The clear case looks cool. Do pass through for the SD card, don't destroy the clear lines. P.S. if want to connect with the history of cursed mac a tinted black front panel might be cool. Otherwise, need a poll for new name. No longer cursed.

[@zoopercoolguy]

I think an LCD mod would be interesting for the Cursed Mac.

[@AngeloTelesforo]

Yep, RGBtoHDMI, but it would still be monochrome.

[@TheTravis1984]

Not really a mac fan, but I have to say, that old school mac with the clear case looks amazing. Thank you for sharing!

[@sisconhimejoshi]

It looks superb. speaking of the drive, if MD Data is compatible with macs and you can locate an appropriate drive, this would be super cool. Minidisc drive on Mac? Sounds 100% cursed and 100% awesome.

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

I'd have preferred using an exacto knife to score and cut the plastic as the dremel is too aggressive for precision work. Also I was wondering if raising the back of the cdrom drive would have tilted it enough not to need the extra dremelling. Said that, the end result is overall nice to look at.

[@delgardner1753]

Damn it now i wish i had photos of my G4 case and lighting mods from a million years ago. It had a fade from blue neon to black light with reactive paint on the acrylic.