Fixing Up Apple's Last Compact Mac

The first Mac came with a small built-in screen. The last so-called compact Mac rolled off the assembly line a decade later in 1994, but strangely, was never sold in the US. I finally got my hands on one -- but can I get it working?

(And for anyone wondering: The accepted definition of a "compact" Mac is an all-in-one model with screen of 9-10" in size. The iMac, therefore, doesn't count.)

Sources:
"Compact and Colorful," MacUser, April 1993.
"A Long-Discontinued Mac Still Thrills Collectors to the Core," The New York Times, August 24, 2000.

----------------------------------------­-------------------------------------

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! @thisdoesnotcomp

----------------------------------------­-------------------------------------

[ukozi]

$80?!!? You lucky, lucky man. Honestly, though, I'm happy it found a home with someone that will take care of it. Great video, and I'm really happy this didn't turn into another walkman saga.

[GeekmanCA]

We had the Colour Classic II up here in Canada, and I remember how much I coveted it when I saw it in our school's computer lab. Most of the machines had monochrome displays, so its compact Trinitron really stood out. Glad you managed to find such a deal on this one!

[Josh.Davidson]

Great video. I would recommend using a larger nozzle on the hot air to remove caps.

[dmnddog]

Completely agree with your statements on the Color Classic. I had to use one when I did my internship at a magazine in the late 90's and it was a horrible experience. Apart from the "cuteness" of the case, there wasn't much to love about it. If it had been a CC2, I would probably have fonder memories of that form factor.

[CornGuo]

The Japanese auction pages says it cannot be powered on and without HDD and I think it was sold as nonoperational state, that explains its low price. Lucky you got a working machine!

[kennixox]

Thanks for the memories. My first Mac was a Centris 650 with System 7.1. That was in the deep dark days of Apple to where finding a good retailer was difficult. Thanks MicroCenter of Atlanta.

[volvo]

I have never been a Mac guy, so I really enjoy these videos. You showcase an entire class of computers I didn't know about.

[captaincrazy]

It always brings joy to my heart to see how much care you take on handling these old machines. Thank you for doing what you do!
Greetings from Austria
Thomas

[richardthunderbay]

When you said that people were passing up the Classic to buy multimedia Macs, that described me exactly. Back in 1993, I looked at the Classic, and was impressed by the Sony Trinitron display, but decided to go for a model that had a built in CDROM, a Mac IIvi. That was my first Mac.

[PotatoFi]

Wow, awesome find! I’m absolutely thrilled for you man! Thanks for sharing the journey with us.

[MacinMindSoftware]

I acquired my Color Classic about 20 years ago. Knowing about the rare CCII, I found a Sonnet Presto LC 040 upgrade card in my collection which brought it close. But it now needs attention as it won't boot and the PRAM battery is not the issue. Thanks for reigniting my ideas to do something soon.

[OneSmallStepWeb]

Wow. Just wow. What a great find and price. Get it recapped ASAP! AND, when a machine is yellowing evenly and fully retromodded / restored internally i love to see it bear its age well, a sleeper, if you will, but if the sticker mark is a deal breaker for you, you do you. I'm here regardless of your choice. Love your content.

[Gelch]

My dad bought of these (color classic II) in New Zealand in '93, and he paid alot for the best version. So many good memories on this Mac. Great times i will never forget. And frankly, more Doom 2 than was good for me. XD

[SuperNicktendo]

That's a fantastic find. I finally found a new in box Cinema display for my G4 cube and now I can focus on updating that machine. I was never a Mac guy growing up so it's fun to see all the different computers. It's like I'm discovering them for the first time.

[MaxOakland]

Wow! You got so lucky. Low price and in great shape. Probably one of the best people to get it since you love them and know how to take care of them

[ronkemperful]

Great Video as always. Way back in 1993 I considered the original Color Classic, but it was just a little bit too expensive. So, I bought a Performa 405, which had the same motherboard hobbling as the original Color Classic as it only supported a max of 10mb of ram to which I upgraded. Still, these early Macs had an appeal that was lost in later Macs, with a simple 7.0 OS that still booted reasonably fast, was fun to play with, by removing/adding control panels and extensions; to give functionality and usability. The biggest limitation for me at the time was the tiny 80mb hard drive which could only hold about a third of my programs and data, forcing me to use an external Zip drive. I networked the computer with a daisy chain to a more modern PowerPC which I bought later and even played around with early emails and Faxing. I'm nostalgic for that computer, and for the simpler times that it represented.

[JasonsLabVideos]

Colin, a quick tip to removing SMD caps, if you wiggle them side to side till the legs break off, you can use Wick to remove the broken leg & clean the pad. NO need for Hot air. I was taught this from a good friend that repairs small electronics with SMD components. Hope it helps !

[user]

just love old quicktime logo ...it gives me the shivers back then

[ravisriram]

Thank you. Brings back fond memories of my own experiences with Macs such as the Quadras and Performas. Also, some years ago at a church bazaar, I picked up both a Macintosh SE, and a StyleWriter printer for a bargain price. Mac booted up right away. The older
Macs may be slow compared to the ones today, but the quality of these older machines is amazing.

[prologik]

This is that kind of video that makes me change the name of the channel, because this machine definitely "computes". Colin is incredibly lucky, congrats for the great video!