Restoring a (Literal) Rats' Nest Macintosh IIci

This Apple Mac IIci was stored in a garage or attic and ended up with rodents living in it. Can I get this absolutely filthy retro computer from 1989 working again?
Mac floppy drive restoration walkthrough: • Repairing and Restorin...
BlueSCSI: scsi.blue
Sources:
MacUser, November 1989.
Byte, October 1989.
Computerworld, October 9, 1989.
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Music by
Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com).
Intro music by BoxCat Games (www.box-cat.com).

[@danieldavis2055]

Just an FYI - the moment you suspect mouse infestation of any kind, immediately disinfect your hands and put on rubber gloves. Mice and rats continually let out small streams of scenting urine wherever they go, so anywhere they've been, even if it doesn't look dirty, will have at least trace amounts of it. Those trace amounts of urine and feces can easily transmit Hantavirus, a relative of Ebola. Stay safe in all your future repairs! You've got a great channel!

[@minty_Joe]

So don't use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the little "presents". You'd be better off shaking them loose into a trash bag as best you can.

[@pedrofelck]

There's no way any virus would be viable ("alive") after this time.

[@JimmyDoresHairDye]

Good point. I'm in the process of restoring my old Performa 6400 which unfortunately was a rodent motel of sorts as it sat in my parents basement. I shook out the disassembled case in a large trash bag while wearing gloves and a respirator (uses a rubber gasket to form a full face seal, and paper cartridges similar to a HEPA filter). I washed the logic board in water then soaked it in IPA. The case got soaked in a barrel with dish soap and Clorox bleach (about a 30:1 water to bleach solution - way more than enough to sanitize the case but not strong enough to bleach the plastics) The Floppy and CD ROM drives were so caked with mouse turds that I decided to toss them and buy replacements. I disinfected the outside of the HDD (which wasn't that dirty) with 91% IPA and I'm in the process of dumping the contents. I'll put everything on a blue SCSI and toss the HDD too because who knows how clean it really is). TL;DR - take extreme care when cleaning rodent excrement.

[@owenrichards1418]

It's weird. I never heard of hantavirus till I moved to Colorado. I don't know if it was climate or the altitude we were at. I knew THREE people in a small town near Alamosa who died of hantavirus. I moved back to England and nobody has heard of it here.

[@karrahklinger2573]

Hearing him shout “YEAH I’M PRETTY SURE THE HARD DRIVE’S DEAD!” Over the screaming drive was comedic

[@GeekmanCA]

Hey Colin - One of the things I've learned from watching Adrian's Digital Basement is that the Mac IIs use a "Sync on Green" video signal that differs from what a standard VGA monitor is usually expecting. Not sure if your adapter or monitor accounts for this, but if neither does, then a vanilla VGA monitor won't understand what to do with the video signal the Mac II is outputting.

[@nickwallette6201]

Assuming he's using the OSSC (he mentioned a "scaler"), it'll handle that just fine.

[@SianaGearz]

Huh i remember when i bought my Mitsubishi Diamondtron CRT in the late 90s, it had one of those exact Apple adapters in the kit and the monitor specs said Sync On Green support in the monitor. Not sure why i remember that, and not that that's relevant. Anyway the adapter dongle doesn't have a sync extractor then. But he used this whole setup with Macs before, so by all reason, the issue really was the odd signal timing as he said, maybe horizontal refresh rate out of range.

[@ukozi]

The memory module clips for SIMMs is a real fear. I have an 80286 with a pretty unique/rare motherboard and I had to change a ram stick and I've never been so nervous to press against a block of plastic in my life.

[@ZXRulezzz]

If such thing ever happened to one of my machines, I'd consider just removing SIMM slots entirely and replacing them with "turned pin" SIL connectors, and soldering appropriate machined pins to SIMM modules. There was an arrangement called SIPP back in the day that was less popular apparently, but with such contacts, it could be made much more reliable than normal SIMM connector. And it would be somewhat era appropriate :)

[@SianaGearz]

@@ZXRulezzz SIMM connectors are more reliable. SIPP memory exerts a lot of unsupported force on the connector. SIMM connectors are available for purchase, it's not a problem, and you can replace them with a steel latch type instead of plastic latch type. But desoldering a large connector like that isn't terribly pleasant and offers some opportunity for damage. So there's that.

[@SianaGearz]

@@youtubeisgarbage900 Several manufacturers do. PEConn has a metal latch variant as well. They're not too expensive nor too difficult to source either. Just that nobody actually likes replacing large connectors if they don't have to.

[@ZXRulezzz]

​@@SianaGearz You're not wrong about the last part - some skill is required. I can't imagine a SIPP30 module having much connection and strain problems, in a scenario of a "PC sitting on a desk for a decade". I feel it may not pass deliberate vibration testing though :) I also later sorta realized that it may not be possible to replace slanted connectors that way - like on SoundBlaster cards. Well, maybe my opinion on SIMM reliability is biased, as I never seen a brand new SIMM30 connector in my life and ones I tried to use in my projects initially work fine, but start to crap out a week later until you reseat everything. Are SIMM30 slots still produced, or are they NOS?

[@ukozi]

I wouldn't survive 20 minutes in a Minneapolis winter, but when the weather starts to change, I'm buying a one-way plane ticket (from Tennessee) and renting a van to bring back whatever I can from Free Geek TC. I can't believe the cool projects you find there.

[@atgw2009]

II concur. I wish there was something like this in the UK.

[@videobenny3]

If you make it to the Twin Cities, you’re welcome to stop by my place. I have a number of old Mac ‘projects’ that could use some love. Would be happy to make a deal where we’re both happy.

[@DanaTheInsane]

I love that place. As soon as I recover from all the medical shit I have going on right now I wanna go there and volunteer. It’s like a two minute drive from my apartment.

[@MoneyHammer]

There’s one in Chicago too!

[@Tristand09]

Minnesota is worse and I learn from experience

[@Mr.Fahrenheit_451]

This is an awesome video, and a great tutorial on how to clean up a dirty., non-working Mac. As a note, your screenshot of the 'About this Macintosh' shows System Software using most of the RAM. That's because 32-bit addressing is needed to be turned on to access all 20MB. With it off, the system can only address 8MB, and the remainder is reported as 'used' so that it is accounted for. Of course, this requires a working PRAM battery, or installing a piece of software that forces 32-bit mode on boot (I think someone over at 68kimla has made one). Great content, I always look forward to your new videos!

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

Yeah, a segment I cut from the video for time/narrative purposes was about using a MeowToast to replace the PRAM battery - I don’t normally leave batteries in my machines otherwise.

[@GutnarmEVE]

wow, today must be memory lane day: LGR drops a vid about my first mp3 player, and, back to back, here's the IIci, the machine I learned Photoshop and XPress on. Fun memories!

[@sevenracing3092]

Just come here from watching that LGR video lol!

[@HrLBolle]

dankpods vintage calculators

[@bodevp]

@@HrLBolle this is the metaverse I'm looking for, imagine a dankpods/LGR crossover

[@HrLBolle]

@@bodevp moderator be the 8 bit Guy

[@Dontbeafraid2]

@@HrLBolle yessss

[@threethousandyen]

Try cleaning the headphone jack with contact cleaner. It may be stuck on when nothing is connected, causing the speaker to be muted.

[@kjamison5951]

This is a good tip. Given the amount of detritus in the IIci, this is one area to pay attention to.

[@wolfgangfrick4567]

Hey Colin - I've been a subscriber for quite some time, but I've never commented on a video of yours to my knowledge. Though I couldn't help but mention that the content you bless us with every week is just perpetually incredible. There's something about the excellent cinematography and your evidently astounding volume of knowledge about these old machines that has made your channel among my favorites. Coming back to my dorm after classes on Fridays and watching your uploads is always a treat. Thanks for your continued effort, man; your laborious attention to detail is seriously appreciated!

[@picklerick_91]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="875">14:35</a> "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the hard drive's dead" that gave me a good chuckle 😂 I need that on a shirt, a hat and just maybe a mug 😅

[@PhillyMotoXTS]

Your enthusiasm in the background when things work is a big reason why I keep watching. Keep up the great work!

[@donwilson]

That SD to SCSI adapter is so cool, I'm glad little tools like that is able to remain open source

[@celebratelife865]

Wow, what a fantastic video! The joy expressed at around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="660">11:00</a> when it booted up properly is relatable. I've had that same excitement after refurbishing a unit and it is one of the greatest feelings, especially after the amount of work you put into the machine up to that point. I loved every bit of this video, and especially the up close shots of the recapping. It was very inspiring watching you replace the caps, something I have never done before. Last month I had a local business recap an eMac but for some reason they didn't do the bigger caps. I might have to do them myself now. I am thrilled to have found your channel, and cannot wait to see your other videos. You are a gem!

[@Armadurapersonal]

Oh damn that's one dirty repair. Reminds me the time I had to clean a laptop that was vomited on, in my first IT job

[@SAnne-pc8hc]

This was our family computer from 1990 till 1999 (replaced by a first gen power Mac G4). The thing was amazingly upgradable, it had a Radius video card, and a Daystar accelerator, but unfortunately we couldn't seem to get it on the internet in the late 90s. I honestly miss that beige brick. My mom is in publishing, so the computer had Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, and Umax scanner. Eventually a CD rom drive was added for out childhood entertainment.

[@christianskorik5503]

I am always so impressed by the production quality of your videos. Sharp videos showing exactly what you're doing up close, with helpful explanations. Gold standard for electronics restoration!

[@mikeytappe]

The joy in your voice when the computer clicked on!

[@stevenvallarsa1765]

I loved that burst of glee when you got the machine running. I do the exact same thing when I piece of software I'm writing unexpectedly works 🤣

[@dragonma69]

As a former Mac IICX user, this restoration brought a tear to my eye. Long live the 68030 Macs!!

[@joemac8474]

I should get out my old Macs, I have my original Fat Mac, a IIFX, and a Quadra 840AV. I bought all original and now they're sitting in plastic bins

[@DanielBartholomew]

Amazing computer and excellent restoration! So glad the battery was intact.

[@footrotdog]

That exclaimation of pure joy at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="650">10:50</a> just made my day. :)

[@seanplace8192]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1038">17:18</a> Over 9000? There's no way that can be right!

[@jericoba]

Very satisfying clean-up. Those rodents will use whatever they can find and this was a secure nest. As I am the type of guy that thinks retro tools such as a computer should be as close to the original as possible, with all its pros and cons, it's a bit heartbreaking to see something modern as a BlueSCSI module. However, I can understand the alternative here, as those mechanical SCSI drives are, as you mentioned, rare and often expensive. Also, the substitute module addition is fully reversible so the ”damage” is not permanent. A very solid restoration effort - a nice rescue! Thanks for the video.

[@little_fluffy_clouds]

No reason to be that authentic unless you are going to exhibit the machine in a museum, working SCSI disks that’ll suit a vintage Mac are rare, expensive, noisy, slow and prone to failure. Same goes with CD-ROM drives. It may be authentic to use a 1x or 2x drive with a vintage computer, but life is too short to wait for loading times on such a slow optical drive these days

[@StephenDanielAddeo]

My first computer was a hand-me-down Macintosh II with a giant Laserwriter II printer. I loved that thing and played Cannon Fodder on it for hours.

[@Windeath1969]

I'm a retro console collector and just discovered your channel recently Colin. Love the content. I'm also a Mac aficionado and loved seeing you work on this IIci. I'm a subscriber!

[@AmigaofRochester]

We restore Macs on the daily. Sometimes these old boards just don't want to work. I have a Classic II that just refuses to work. We just restored a LC II, LC 575 and have a bunch of cool stuff on the bench ready for restoration like a IICX, IIX and some laser printer boards. You did great though, happy to see it working!

[@lifetimesofamultiplemediam1003]

Always wanted the IIci, but that crazy high price back in the day, meant that it was always just a dream machine. Excellent restoration!

[@kirishima638]

Nice work. Apple put so much effort into streamlining the production of these things and yet marketed them as a top end luxury product that few could afford.

[@tulippasta]

Love your work! Your videos show great craftsmanship and I enjoy your careful, methodical and open approach to fixing these cool old machines

[@ryanhanks4852]

My grandmother had a couple of these. I remember learning to use computers on them. She was still using them until like 2010.

[@kiyoshimatsutsuyu1931]

I have two of these and a bunch of power supplies, ram, add-in cards, retrobrite, mess of wires simm, and SCSI2SD adapters, and some bizarre Wi-Fi module that plugs into the networking part, all just to have.... the most baller 80s Mac ever

[@wimwiddershins]

Those stars are actually factory. Mr Jobs was on a binge that week at the design meetings.

[@SoulcatcherLucario]

this was such a satisfying video to watch man - it's hilarious how this was a literal rats nest at over point. i always love those small things you say in the b-roll footage. i laughed at the "yeah i think the hard drive's dead!" more than i'm willing to admit

[@TylerFurrison]

:0

[@matthewfrancis1360]

That was our family's first computer. Spent many long nights watching my brother play Hellcats on it. Love that machine.

[@pmr1wrt53]

Great video to see how this old mac gives a second life. I have 3 or 4 of these IIci and a PowerMac 7100/80AV or 7100/66AV. Al stored in the basement. And a lot of SCSI equipment. When i had the first IIci, i build my own scsi external hdd from a 40 mb IBM drive en powered with a Amiga power supply. I used that for letter fonts. Ow great stuff and a great time. Good channel, thumps up. 👍

[@yar0nix224]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="566">9:26</a> clipping leads after soldering is a defect in all classes. Brilliant.

[@Prophes0r]

We used these in my high school print-shop even in the late 90s. Those star stickers immediately made me think this was a school machine.

[@marciomaiajr]

That was a great restoration project and an excelent video. Loved every second of it.

[@JD3Gamer]

I can’t believe you worked on those parts without wearing gloves.

[@timvanrooyen]

Amazing work Colin! It’s gorgeous.

[@xmetal280]

The IIci was my first Mac at age 12, and set me off on my career that is still going strong today. Nice to see one of those old beasts again.

[@dooplon5083]

out of curiosity, what career is that? just tech in general?

[@paulmuaddib451]

It's always a good day when new TDNC content drops! As usual, most excellent work, Colin.

[@milbournema]

Great Job! I did IT for a big company back in the day, starting about when the first Mac II came out. And we deployed a lot of those IIci when they came out. That was even pre System 7. I see the HD had a 1992 date on it, but the earliest batches of IIci drives had a "stiction" problem where they couldn't spin up, if left off for a while. I remember at least a few Monday mornings where somebody's ci wouldn't boot due to this. We had some success getting the drives unstuck by quickly twisting the case back and forth (in the same plane as the drive platter) while powering up, using inertia to help the platter break loose. Quantum or whoever the vendor was came out with a firmware update that would occasionally exercise the drive when it was otherwise idle to ensure whatever lubrication would be properly distributed. I don't recall we actually replaced affected units, but there was probably a firmware update util that we took around to the affected machines. Man, I'm getting old. That was about 33 years ago!

[@GeorgeSomething5]

"Oh, no way!" was probably one of the best parts of this video.

[@anumeon]

I miss my old IIci.. If only that bloody battery hadn't destroyed the insides.. (I had all the good games on it,, Marathon, Sim city 2000, Sim tower, Sim ant etc.. I miss it)

[@alexcarrillo5510]

You Are a Magician, Well Done! Great Video!!

[@Markimark151]

My school had that computer, it was one of the first computers our school had with color graphics, used Printshop and printed lots of documents in color.

[@kairon156]

very cool video. I love seeing vintage things being brought back to life. It's also lovely knowing there's still a community who's making current day components for such devices. While I know some vintage machines are being made through kick-starters and the like I wonder how tough it would be to build something from say the 2005ish era with all "like new" components.

[@cosmokramer4585]

I am restoring one of these right now actually. I replaced all the caps in the power supply though, I ain’t trying to take it apart again. Seems like a beast of a machine I can’t wait to boot it up for the first time. The //fx is next

[@MrJohnBos]

I had a Mac IIci back in the 90's. It was a great machine. Thanks for the nostalgia tour.

[@John-jc3ty]

you youtubers always have the container of just the right size. i always have the container/thing of just the wrong type

[@gtwaterdeep]

Great video as usual, relaxing and educating. Keep up your great work Colin.

[@vernonbishop]

Back in 2001, 2002; I worked for a local print shop that used these machines until they retired them for e-waste. There were pallets full of these when I worked there! 🙂

[@blessedheavyelements8544]

Our whole crew had a IIci each. Hard to believe it's been that long ago. Best Regards!

[@Cardthulhu]

What? 9000? That's impossible!

[@chadsteffens1874]

I love you're channel...so much great info.

[@starsk13]

Amazing work ! You so much patience… well done.

[@mattieonutube273]

Amazing work here man great job!

[@ShiggitayMediaProductions]

Throughout my childhood in the 1990s I've had (access to) 3 Macs... a Mac Plus, a Mac IIci, and a Power Mac 8500/120. The subject of this video, the Mac IIci, means a lot to me because it was a hand-me-down from my dad when he get the aforementioned Power Mac 8500 (of which I now have again, but that's not for this comment...) I was around 12 or 13, and it was my first ever computer that was mine, though my brother used it some too. I fondly remember spending countless hours playing SimCity 2000 and other such titles of that time. Thank you for this video, Colin. Awesome restoration too! That was indeed satisfying as others here have put it, and hearing you go "OMG YES" when things unexpectedly worked was entertaining too! I do the same when working on stuff that's misbehaving! Cheers!

[@MWTD]

Same with the omg yes and I have had access to a 2007 & 2008 polycarbonate MacBook and 2012 non unibody mbp and late 2013 mbp and had access to a 2020 mba which suuuuucks

[@Fastar76]

My first mac was a IIci. It had already past it's prime, but it was still a great machine. This video is causing me to envy your final restored IIci, which made me wanting to find one as well. Great video!

[@DanLoudShirts]

I used to use one of these machines in my first job in 1992. I was in desktop publishing at the time using Aldus PageMaker and Freehand and MacDraw! I seem to remember it having a Radius card too. I also used a massive 21” monitor. We also had an Apple LaserWriter 2G, an AppleScanner and a SyQuest drive.

[@tookitogo]

I think you mean Aldus PageMaker. ;)

[@DanLoudShirts]

@@tookitogo Typed it on my phone and it autocorrected it. I'll change it now!

[@tookitogo]

@@DanLoudShirts “Duck you, autocorrect!!” :P

[@ViBENo1]

the cleaned motherboard is just so pleasing to the eyes after that mess.

[@WildkatPhoto]

That 8*24 card was so baller at the time. Cost almost as much as the IIci itself. When people complain about the cost of video cards I just chuckle.

[@brendanhoffmann8402]

My family had a IIsi which we bought in 1990. It had to serve me for almost the entire 90s as my family became poor early on. I did work experience at a mac store and they gave me a FPU card for it but I had no idea at the time that things like that needed drivers so I rightly noticed no change when I installed it.

[@ericplatt6884]

I have fond memories of the IIci and worked on many of them as a Mac consultant (89 to 2009), where I doing everything from hardware repair to upgrades and installations, and re-installs of the operating system, sales, training, etc. The IIci was so nice and compact and cute, small and light compared to the big clunky Mac II. And yes, so modular, the way everything clicked into place. A sweet design.

[@PMCRetroGamer]

Love your videos. Been a subscriber for a few years now. Great content 👍

[@ViewtifulSam]

Incredibly satisfying restoration! The results are stunning

[@awakeFromNib]

That was very impressive, not only restoration, but even upgrade! 👍

[@tim6053]

This was my first Mac back in 1990. Remember it fondly !! 😎👍🍎

[@wujtol10]

I am your new viewer, but I already know that I will stay with you for a long time, you edit your films wonderfully, very professionally, and of course thanks for repairing such wonderful machines, by the way, such a computer once cost the equivalent of a new car from the showroom.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

Thank you for the tip on the capton tape when using my heat air tool

[@iscariotproject]

freegeek is just the gift that keeps on giving,thank you for doing these videos they are very relaxing to watch

[@ceebee23]

The design shows what can be done if the manufacturer cares ...simple to open case..easy access etc... I know because I used a IIci as my main work computer for 3 years supporting Macs in my workplace connected to both a VAX network and AUX fileserver. Endless Excel 3.0 spreadsheets and Word 5 documents and FileMaker II databases and even ClarisWorks 1 diagrams!

[@derekwhidden9730]

Man you are pretty brave talking on this project! If I could of smelled that thing I would have tossed it out, I can't stand rodents. Densely looks like a biohazard. But it looks like you got it cleaned up at least 200% better and no retrobrite! Nice!

[@hessex1899]

I seem to recall, now remember this is going back 30 years, that the Iici did get a performance benefit from running a nubus graphics card, and not just for graphics. This I think had to do with the way system memory and video memory were shared, as well as offloading graphics operations from the CPU. These are great machines. I used to refer to them as the 5.0 liter Mustang of Macintoshes.

[@xyzconceptsYT]

Great vid, really enjoyed that resto!

[@Starfireaw11]

I had one of these, secondhand, as a teenager in the late 90s. I loved it and still wish I had one. This brough back some memories, thanks.

[@Gerkozielman]

Awesome restoration.

[@codys4668]

Very good video this week, Colin.

[@RikerJoe]

Great video, Colin.

[@10MARC]

Nice repair! Initially looking at that I figured the mainboard was toast! Great job!

[@jamesleetrigg]

My heart sank when he showed the Fibreglass. My friend had problems with his computer, and when I looked at it, it had exactly the same problem and the mouse droppings had completely destroyed two of his PCI cards, their pee is corrosive.

[@jimperry6463]

Very nice. Makes me want to dig mine out of the closet. Nice to know about the SCSI alternative. I'll definitely need one of those.

[@NoelsterSF]

the blue SCSI card makes me wish I still had my IIvx to tinker with. amazing that you were able to resurrect this former rodent home lol

[@kissthesky40]

Great work.

[@gavanbrennan3637]

This was one of my mostly used and favourite of the older macs.

[@Nukle0n]

That plastic gear looks like it's gonna pop any moment, it's super brown and yellow and probably very brittle.

[@p_mouse8676]

Easy to replace parts, ironic to think that was the same company once. 🤣

[@tenparkdrive]

Great vid thank you. This was my first Mac purchase for our studio back in 1990. Within a few months we added the Quadra card to it as an upgrade and pretty soon we didn’t need to buy any more typesetting services. Felt bad for one of our partners as he owned the type shop. Business boomed and we built a brilliant and highly profitable business from this starting point.

[@zbdot73]

Beautiful case design. Really embody how an ideal 90s PC should look.

[@anthropomorphicmonster9113]

Dear lord why did I turn this on while trying to eat... Awesome video btw!

[@a4e69636b]

Excellent job!

[@jovial1338]

fantastic video. congrats.

[@willptech7565]

thanks for the video! i got 20 of these all with bad caps and needed a guide on how to replace them and which ones to use. thanks!

[@massimilianoliberatore132]

Amazing work!!

[@hydrooxy84]

Awesome vid buddy

[@NiTye357]

Awesome and detailed video as usual.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

The IIci was the 2nd Mac I owned and it was one of Apple's best. It launched a great career for me - including working at both Apple + Sony.

[@jonnywishbone4805]

Underrated channel this