Restoring One of Apple's Weirdest Vintage Macs!

The Macintosh IIsi was a midrange model from late 1990 meant to go up against PC clones in business environments. But some of the compromises that its engineers had to make to hit its price point meant for some very interesting quirks.
Branchus Creations: www.recapamac.com.au and / branchuscreations
BlueSCSI: bluescsi.com
MeowTOAST: github.com/Stephen-Arsenault/...
Hakko FR-301 desoldering iron (affiliate link): amzn.to/3mNuER6
Sources:
MacUser, December 1990.
"Can new Macs restore shine to Apple's future?," Computerworld, December 24, 1990.
IIsi NuBus adapter card photo: www.recycledgoods.com/apple-8...
IIsi NuBus adapter card scan: www.applefritter.com/node/2076
DayStar dual-socket PDS and cache card riser photo: www.applefritter.com/node/10199
"Mac IIsi," Macworld, December 1990.
00:00 - Introduction
01:52 - Disassembly
03:08 - Recapping the PSU
05:33 - Completely pointless soldering montage
06:04 - PSU surface-mount caps
06:30 - Tanta-lizing motherboard repair
08:23 - Quirks and features, part 1
08:59 - It blew up! (Not really.)
09:37 - Further testing
10:31 - BlueSCSI version 2
11:52 - Tidying up
12:51 - Uh oh
14:51 - Quirks and features, part 2
17:17 - One-slot wonder
---------------------------------------­------------------------------------
Please consider supporting my work on Patreon: / thisdoesnotcompute
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! @thisdoesnotcomp
---------------------------------------­------------------------------------
Music by Soundstripe (www.soundstripe.com) and Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com).
Intro music by BoxCat Games (freemusicarchive.org/music/Bo....

[@stixpjr]

Wow! Memories! I really didn't think the "IIsi RAM-Muncher" would still be alive almost 30 years after I wrote it and released it into the wild around May 1994!

[@gammaleader96]

I love how the internet and youtube especially at that manages to bring together people even for the most obscure topic. Very cool to see the people behind old stuff like this.

[@oceanmew]

omg amazing

[@EvilyoshiJAPAN4]

My Dad had one of these for work (he was a graphic designer at the time), this got me into computers heavily, he even trusted me to install a RAM upgrade!

[@just_passing_through]

I still think Macs of this era are the most beautiful computers ever created. The still look amazing all these years later. True works of art.

[@ricl7413]

Silicon graphics computers were pretty nice and had some colour to them. For those that remember when these were available they were easy to open and easy to upgrade and fix when needed. Far more eco friendly than anything you can get now and certainly what companies claim to be.

[@just_passing_through]

@@ricl7413 True. In all honestly, nothing thrills me quite like a Burroughs B205 console. I don’t think anything ever will. (google it)

[@goclunker]

@@ricl7413 the crap we get now is built with planned obsolescence, mostly, because we reached a performance plateau

[@xerzy]

This era in general had outstanding industrial design. SGIs are indeed remarkable, and so were, say, the NeXTcube and the Sharp X68000. Guess people got tired of having good things in life, though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

The Acorn A5000 was pretty cool too 😊

[@goclunker]

Pro-tip from the car world: to release those plastic cable holder connectors that have the two teeth (look like a tree), use a socket from a socket wrench set. A small one will squeeze the tabs at the same time making it easy to pop off

[@nickwallette6201]

In the computer world, screwdriver kits usually include a nut driver for hex-headed screws, which works pretty well. Or the tube from a pen. :-)

[@goclunker]

@@nickwallette6201 pretty much the same thing, yes, a e-hex bit for standoffs will usually work

[@RikerJoe]

I completed a restoration of a IIsi where the PSU was a gooey mess from cap juice that even ate some of the traces on the logic board PSU connector. Yuk! I also made the same mistake on needing to provide external power for a BlueSCSI to work. Thank you for the explanation on using the RAM muncher to use up the extra RAM not used by the onboard video and thus improve overall performance, which I’ll add to my IIsi when I return from Spring Break vacation. Nice video, Colin!

[@vintageMIDI]

Excellent video. There's something quite satisfying about restoring well-engineered electronics. The 80s/90s offered quality equipment that was built to be repaired and restored and appreciated. Quite obvious you love these classics. Keep it going!

[@bryans8656]

I always enjoy watching you work on old Macs, but I especially like that desoldering gun. That is clearly worth the investment.

[@theshadowman1398]

Simply love retro Macs. That's why I have a G4 MDD that has a dual 1.25 ghz CPU an OS9 install and a very hard to find serial expansion card if I need to use a serial device.

[@robsquared2]

Ah the Macintosh Twosey

[@helfire23]

Thanks for featuring #BlueSCSI v2! I'm actually getting a IIsi from Joel today too so perfect timing to review all the things I'll need to do.

[@TDub_ADV]

The IIsi was a good machine. I always enjoyed working on those tool less cases back then. The LC, Si and Ci were just a joy to work on.

[@gabrielledebourg2487]

IIsi was the first computer I ever used! We had one growing up. So many fond memories of that computer.

[@toddholcomb1]

Great video! The IIsi was my first color Mac, and I recently restored one and upgraded it with a Daystar 50 MHz 68030 accelerator and Ethernet card, so it's no longer an lower-end Mac. You can also easily add a HD activity light by hooking up another wire to the lead by the speaker.

[@Markimark151]

The Mac IIsi is one of the best old school color Macintosh computers! They were the first color Mac computers our schools ever used.

[@KYUBIMATIAS]

Great episode. That BlueSCSI seems like a life-saver for these older systems.

[@PotatoFi]

It is, and it’s cheap enough to easily outfit an entire collection of vintage SCSI-based Macs. I love mine, and plan to buy many more.

[@volvo09]

The convenience looks great, however I like leaving spinning disks in my retro machines. Part of the charm is listening to the drive click away as the system loads software. New hard drives are super quiet so I don't have that same fondness for newer mechanical drives, but the old ones are always satisfying to listen to.

[@PotatoFi]

@@volvo09 This is a 100 percent valid reason to stick with spinning disks.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@volvo09 yeah I think if my first computer didn’t have that clunky head motor so I could “hear it thinking” it wouldn’t have had half the charm for me. Plus the distinctive noises it made as it unparked, and less-so when it parked.

[@OldAussieAds]

@@volvo09 I agree with you there. How’s this for irony? I have a real Commodore 64 connected to a modern flash based disk drive. It lets out the occasional beep so you know it’s working. On the other hand, the VICE emulator on my Raspberry Pi (Retro Pie) actually emulates the sound of the 1541 disk drive when loading. My brain gets more of a kick loading up games on the emulator as a result. Sound was a huge part of the memories.

[@TheJurassicJunkie]

Great video! I always love your Macintosh in-depth coverage.

[@jonathankleinow2073]

System 7.1 with the desktop pattern of green boxes is my favorite version of System 7. It's what I had as a kid on my LC III and Quadra 650, and it reminds me of many happy hours spent playing SimCity 2000. Very good job!

[@OldAussieAds]

I also used that desktop pattern on our LCII and Performa 5400. I was so lucky to have such kick arse computers throughout my schooling.

[@magmajctaz1405]

I was "introduced" to the Mac Plus in middle school. Then we worked on LCs and LCIIs. In high school my Turbo Pascal teacher had a IIci. For that reason, when you first booted the wrong image in your video, I realized the boot screen was "too new" for this vintage of Mac. Thanks for this flashback!

[@PCUSER486]

The iiSi was a great unit/machine. I still use mine to this day! ❤❤

What a trip down memory lane! I owned a IIsi back in the day and I have great memories attach to it. I specially remember the time I decided to replace the internal hard drive with 2 newer and thinner ones. That was my first incursion tinkering inside a computer. That was it, I was hooked! I became the resident expert on IIsi updates and repeated the upgrades on many of my friends machines. Since then I became a computer technician and made a career outta it. Thanks for this video.

[@GarthBeagle]

Nice restoration! The IIsi doesn't get the recognition it deserves

[@markalancirino]

My first color Mac was a IIsi. I was lucky enough to be working for an Apple developer when it came out and got to go to the release party at the Apple factory in Fremont. I remember they had literal towers of prawns and lobster tails and tons of other food and liquor. A few days later, I went down to University Ave and bought my IIsi and 13" color monitor. It was the most exciting Mac purchase I ever made!

[@Raintiger88]

I've been watching a lot of these retro Mac vids lately and you guys kinda make me jealous. From the days when I fell in love with the ][+ to my first PC purchase of an LC. . .I miss those days and this community makes me want to try to find an LC with a ][e card. Problem is, I lost all my apple/mac disks long ago and doubt I can relive those glory days.

[@tomdfrog]

ahhhh, many memories of making the most out of these in the 1990's. The IIsi made me LOVE the IIci!!! And then I worshiped the Quadra 700.

[@TheOriginalCollectorA1303]

90s Macs are always interesting, even if they were considering “obsolete” soon after they were released. Just something you don’t see nowadays, the fact you can disassemble the entire machine without tools is very cool to see. The only thing holding it back is really just the plastics, but still a cool machine regardless. Great video!

[@BRBTechTalk]

Nice to see a niche event get so popular, it bodes well for those of us that like to make the retro PC videos. I hope they sort out the growing pains for next year.

[@ceruleanserpent387]

I loved the IIsi growing up, thanks for covering it!

[@StenIsaksson]

I work in electronic manufacturing. SMD department. That flux you use, I think it's banned in manufacturing these days because it's way too strong and can corrode the board itself. These days it's mostly used in old repair shops, not in modern manufacturing.

[@TMS5100]

@4:09 one of my best purchases ever. i no longer dread repairs.

[@Fifury161]

Worth mentioning the "special" soft power button. It has a slot in it and the little graphic above it hints at it purpose. If you turn the button it will remain in the powered on state - it removes the soft power option.

[@static-san]

I'm coming to love your video style. Covers lots of ground at a decent clip and a nice voice to listen to.

[@GianmarioScotti]

Tantalum caps can fail, too. And when they do, they go with a bang.

[@alextirrellRI]

I got one of these as a hand-me-down of sorts when my dad's company was cleaning out its warehouse. It was around 1998 and aside from his work PowerBook 1400, the only other computer we'd had at home was a Mac Classic, which was comparatively quite limited. My IIsi was paired with a greyscale monitor, but it still could do a lot more than the Classic. It was the first computer I had that was exclusively mine.

[@andrefelixstudio2833]

Excellent video I used to have a LC 475 which I use to use to put a 114 page magazine together!

[@retrotechguy]

I got a IIsi recently with the portrait display - love it! I actually really enjoy the design of this case. The fact it was only used for the IIsi makes it all the more special!

[@johnlarro6872]

Got me pining for the old days lol... Miss my Quadra 840av... but even the old LCIII that served me through half of the 90s.

[@minty_Joe]

Awesome job, Colin!

[@Realaudiosith]

Great content. I look forward to your next video

[@THEJapan]

I only understand about half of what you are doing but I enjoy it a lot! Thanks for the interesting videos!

[@alinosgg]

Amazing video as always

[@nuclearmonster]

Love this video and especially the lIghting on that wonderful IIsi

[@MotownBatman]

Love the videos brotha! Keep em coming!

[@PL-px3gw]

I LOVED my IIsi. I made so much music on that machine. It was such a workhorse for me.

[@dennisud]

Those 1990s Macs are my favorite 'Vintage' Macs. I had a IIci at that time in my classroom, even before they networked the school district (With Dells). So until they did, I had 6 Apple IIe's and 3 Macs all networked within my classroom. Great system back then. I wsh I had one to play my old games on!

[@insanelydigitalvids]

Excelllent video, Colin. I've got a Mac IIsi ready for restoration, and there were some great tips here! One other thing "unique" about the IIsi is its case. It was the only Mac that ever used this design -- one that I am very fond of!

[@Vaskomyr]

Always super relaxing to watch. Even if I never use some of the older pc/macs, always relaxing watching them get repaired and spring back to life.

[@parastie]

I love this stuff so much! You're getting to p play with the sane hardware I drooled over as a kid.

[@dantehicks1979]

Loved my IIsi with a passion. Never knew about that memory limitation when I was using mine - certainly explains the speed hit so many apps took!

[@ChrisCam84]

I grew up with a IIsi, the nostalgia is overwhelming!! I wish my ten year old self knew about that memory issue and how to solve it, haha!

[@markfernandes5674]

Cool video. Remember having a few of these at work when my IT group supported Macs & PCs. My recollection is that they were reasonable machines but I still preferred my IICi which was my daily driver. Had forgotten about the shared RAM issue.

[@designingbywave]

Solid is a good way to describe the IIsi, it’s a nice entry-level 68K Mac. Full color and none of the 16/32-bit issues that the LC had.

[@aurance]

The LC was the first computer I ever had, and I remember looking at the simultaneously-released IIsi with much envy.

[@compu85]

I've overclocked my IIsi to 25mhz. It required flipping the fan around, when some part on the logic board gets too hot it starts getting memory corruption. With the fan blowing directly on it it's completely stable. The internal video can drive a portrait display, too!

[@stratonarrow]

I remember these well! What a brilliant design in how it’s constructed, and a gorgeous example to boot! I long for the days of expandability and portability! A far cry from the 14” MBP I type this from.

[@MaxOakland]

It has such a cute startup sound. I love it!

[@miked4377]

beautiful machine..good job

[@Applecompuser]

My Mac Centris 650 purchased at the right time for price, performance is one of my favorite computers. It was so well built and so easy to use and the chassis was also metal.

[@brendanhoffmann8402]

Awesome! I had a IIsi from 1990 to 1997. I loved the hell out of it! I even had a co-processor card for it. Ah! the adapter to turn it into pds... that's why my co-processor card never worked! Or could have been because it was used and didn't come with software. (I got the card as a gift for doing work experience at a Mac store in 1995)

[@SSR_RedDevil]

Its good to see the old macs again. When I was in high school, in 1997 - 2002 these were abundant. Atleast 200 all over the school, as well as the PowerPC's. The main things I remember are the one mouse button mice and netscape.

[@PH96Official]

I literally got so excited when I Saw You released a new video.

[@munnsie100]

My mum had a IIsi from new, here in Australia, but sadly gave it away before I was born. I would’ve loved to have it in my collection. This era of design, leading up until the PB G4/MBP was my favourite, unique, identifiable from afar, and still very svelte to this day.

[@rgdickenson]

I repaired a IIsi last year. Fun project. I was aware of the video/ram issue but not of the IIsi Ram-Muncher init option. I'll be tracking a copy down for sure.

[@brianehni5918]

I owned a model train store back in the 90’s, with POS running on an SE. We did an inventory sort and it took the whole weekend. After getting a IIsi, it only took 15 minutes. My old partner still has the IIsi.

[@JourneyPT]

I'm not a current Apple fan for "reasons" but I adore the vintage ones with all my heart. 💜🎩

[@richardthunderbay8364]

I feel a lot of nostalgia for Macs of this era. I had started a new job and was using a Mac LC at work, the first Mac had ever seen, let alone used. I eventually bought a Mac IIvi for home use. A big attraction with the latter model was the CD ROM drive. I have pleasant memories of System 7.1.

[@RetroHoosk]

Thanks for the tip on the RAM Muncher INIT, had no idea that was a thing and I usually just increased the disk cache in the past. Will try this out on my IIsi later! :D

[@sendark001]

Masterful macro shots and tasteful timelapses.

[@tonybossaller4074]

When I saw the title, I assumed you were tackling the IIcx with its weird 16/32-bit bus. The IIsi was a breeze in comparison. One of my jobs long ago had both and I could never make the IIcx work well. Eventually swapped it out for an LC II/III (can’t remember which).

[@ITGuyinaction]

👍 👍 👍 I really admire your videos and your collection! That's wonderful! I'm trying to do sth similar but first steps are so challenging... Although with Macs I don't have too much experience... Great video!

[@jace888au]

Really great to hear the story of the Sydney trams

[@ChristinaKendrick]

The systems integration and design of the interior is really impressive. This was very expensive to develop

[@joewarnstedt6748]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@Ralph-yn3gr]

I restored my own IIsi that I found at a thrift store a few years back. It came with a Daystar 33mhz 68030 accelerator and 16mb of RAM in the SIM sockets. It's easily one of my favorite computers. I love that thing to death.

[@egmccann]

The Mac IIsi and Quadra 700 were my introductions to mac ownership. The person I got them from was just getting rid of them, said it was "a mac and a hard drive or something." Given the state of PC cases at the time (sharp edges with the mandatory blood sacrifice to work on anything,) these were amazing. I'd had several - lost them as a result of a move. Still miss those systems.

[@teg24601]

I love that look of the IIsi. It is sort of cute. We just have to watch out for Action Retro, he'll get ahold of one, and figure out how to put an accelerator in it that will run a 604e. :)

[@RETROMachines]

Wow, another useful video, keep it up...

[@PotatoFi]

I’m stoked to see you make a video about this machine, and that you got it up and running! The PRAM battery was present when I received the computer; I pulled it out right away. It’s in a plastic bag with a bunch of PRAM batteries in an ongoing experiment that has become pretty spicy. 😅 One other IIsi in the stack wasn’t as lucky (but it looked to be recoverable). This was a great video. I learned a ton about the IIsi!

[@RyanMartinez]

My family bought one when I was 13 along with Aldus PageMaker 4, Lemmings, and Sim City. It started my love of computers and Macs.

[@chriscutress1702]

I remember using a IIFX that was loaded with early ProTools software (4 channel Pro Deck & Pro Edit) which was SOTA at the time. Soon new combined software called ProTools was released which allowed 4 channels and later 8 channels using the IIFX platform. Great little computer for the time. We also had a IISI which was a second editing machine but it never expanded beyond the original software(Pro Deck & Pro Edit) and was much slower with the processing of audio samples.

[@grandmaster1004]

Hey man, love your vids. I actually tried my hand at surface cap replacement on an old Apple CD Plus after watching countless of your videos! It was scary but I did it! Love your method. Next is the Macintosh Portable.

[@draggonhedd]

Cool little machine! Little tip for those plastic retainers for the DC plug on the psu, use the tube from a bic pen and just shove it over top. makes it nice and easy.

[@diebesgrab]

The IIsi is the computer I grew up with; it continued to see plenty of use long after my dad upgraded to a beige G3, as it was set up downstairs for me to use for schoolwork (and for my mom to play Apeiron). Played a lot of Sim games, a lot of AmbrosiaSW games, and a lot of edutainment on that thing.

[@ekner]

"Steven Jobs" at 0:40 🤣

[@Leofwine]

Steven Paul Jobs, yes.

[@ekner]

@@Leofwine wow, i didnt know that was his real name!

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@Leofwine I wonder if anyone ever annoyed him by calling him “Stevie-P”

[@bradcr152]

the IIsi was my first Mac as a kid... and I've still got it to this day. I love that it fits a full height hard drive and can take 64MB of RAM. It runs well with an FPU Card/Ethernet card, and easily overclocked with a crystal replacement and runs stable at 25MHz.

[@Ignore_This_Account.]

The fact that those caps didn't leak is just incredible, they almost always leak.

[@threethousandyen]

The glue under the SMD caps comes off quite easily by prying a bit with a hobby knife. Nice work!

[@calzonemaniacsvideocorner0804]

You said it best. These parts were really only rated for ten, maybe fifteen years, not almost 35.

[@TheSpatialTheory]

The Mac ii si was my first computer, with the portrait display too!

[@kahlil88mph]

This model was my first successful recap when I started collecting retro tech in 2019. I went ahead with the crystal upgrade tho and installed a socket. I worked around the slow onboard RAM by increasing the disk cache. Original hard drive still boots and the CPU is running stable at 25MHz.

[@wdd6864]

I had one of these Macs. Use to love it till all my software needed an 040. Then got a Quadra 660av to replace it. All were used but was nice to use

[@cozywest0721]

IISi, LCII, Quadra 700 ! Once I dreamed New Computer world then.But now that is not what I expected .

[@needfuldoer4531]

The IIsi's PDS is actually electrically compatible with the SE/30's. The only differences are that SE/30-compatible PDS cards don't have a 68882 (since the SE/30 already has one) and they're shaped a little different so they clear the steel chassis.

[@retrotechtive]

I had a very similar issue on my Macintosh IIci as you did with the BlueSCSI on this machine, just with the ZuluSCSI. It worked on the back port but not on the internal one - until I attached the power. The difference was that the drive would seem to work (the light would come on), but it would be completely unreliable, and never boot successfully. (I recapped it entirely, so it wasn't down to that either)

[@Fifury161]

8:54 - "user installable updates weren't really a thing back then", hardware wise that is true, however each OS update usually patched out the ROM - so much so that Apple realised that the ROM was usually patched coming to the end of the life cycle. This is probably one of the reasons why the went with ROM in RAM, not just a cost saving measure...

[@Madness832]

There was a bunch of those at my high school. And a few of my buddies, and I, changed the error sounds (on random machines) to burps & farts.😄😄

[@MisterStuzy]

I got my entire team the IIsi. Was a huge jump from the SEs they were using

[@static-san]

Seeing restorations like this kinda make me wish I'd been in the Mac world years and years ago. Although I could dip in to retro-ness, as I am perfectly capable of everything you did here, I don't think I'd enjoy it so much nowadays. But I'm happy to vicariously share your restoration successes.

[@OldAussieAds]

As a Mac user back in those days, I can confirm that it was a glorious platform to use back then. But you know what - none of us could have been into it all. So while I was immersed in Mac culture back then, I would have been missing out on Amiga or PC (or whatever you used back then) culture. That’s the beauty of the retro scene - We can get a glimpse of alternate paths.

[@TheInfamousLegend27]

love that you got the "glarses" gun hehe

[@pb7379-j2k]

I know you must get this every video but do give the twist method a try. It’s so good

[@matthewanderson5393]

My elementary school computer lab had these. I thought they were awesome!