So, i have a iigs but it doesnt have a keyboard or mouse. When i get those, what do i need to run gsos? Do i need to download gsos onto the computer through floppies or is it already downloaded? Do i need a boot disk to just run gsos?
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Any ADB (early Mac) keyboard and mouse should work with the IIgs.
Most (possibly all) IIgs'en don't have internal hard drives. There was a 20mb external hard drive that could plug into the floppy daisy chain, and Apple (and some 3rd parties) also offered a SCSI card. But both of these are rather rare. Most all the IIgs'en were booted from floppies. All the floppy drives were external, and it sounds like you don't have any?
Those are the "vintage" options. There are also some modern alternatives.
There's an outfit called "BMOW" (Big Mess o' Wires) that makes a contraption called FloppyEmu, which plugs into the IIgs disk drive port. You then use your PC to copy some floppy disk images (available on the asimov archive) onto an SD card. Then you put the SD card into the FloppyEmu and it presents the disk images to the IIgs as if it were a "real" floppy drive.
It can also emulate the smartport hard drive mentioned above. But it can't emulate *both* a floppy drive and a smartport hard drive at the same time. So if you want to install GSOS to the emulated hard drive, you'd still need a real floppy drive (or a second floppyemu). However, you may be able to install GSOS to the hard drive image in an emulator, and then copy that image back to the SD card.
There's a similar gadget called wDrive that is cheaper than the FloppyEmu, but I don't know anything about it.
For maximal enjoyment, you really need at least one 3.5" floppy drive and one 5.25" floppy drive. Running off the FloppyEmu all the time just isn't the same. GSOS also looks pretty bad on the composite video port, so you may start wishing you had an RGB monitor, too. Most any analog RGB monitor that can sync down to 15kHz (this makes most VGA monitors a no-go, although I think some Sony and NEC units can do it) can be made to work if you make an adapter. I used mine with a Commodore 1084 monitor before I was able to obtain the Apple RGB monitor.
If you haven't done it already, dike out the PRAM battery and replace it with a 3AA holder or something. Otherwise it will eventually leak and ruin your system board.
Good luck!!!
Thanks for the info. I think i’ll get the download floppies and the boot floppy for gs/os, as well as a 3.5 drive and adb keyboard and mouse. Is there any thread that shows how to replace the battery so it doesnt leak?
image.jpg
does the white residue mean my battery is already leaking? (Yellow battery furthest to the right)
White residue sounds like a battery leak. Clean any residue up ASAP. Clip the leads close to the side of the battery. Get a new Lithium battery or a battery holder to hold batteries of appropriate voltage. Solder them to the remaining leads minding carefully the polarity.
Are you talking about the crud INSIDE the power supply that you can see through the vent holes? The battery is actually located on the motherboard UNDERNEATH the power supply.
You may still need the FloppyEmu, to get the disk images onto the disks. Unless you have an old mac that can write 800k floppies. I don't think it can be done from a PC floppy drive.
Looking at the pic again, I see what you mean. The white residue is indeed not from the battery, it appears that there is an electrolytic capacitor inside the power supply that is leaking. That should be fixed before the machine is operated for sure. All the rest of the caps should be checked because if one is leaking it is not entirely unlikely that another may be as well. Look for any more of that residue, plus look for any caps that may appear to be bulging, etc. Many people would recommend just replacing all the caps, at least of that type just to be on the safe side.
Do apple iie computers have battery leaks as well? I have one that i have been using periodically.
No battery in a //e unless it is on a plug in card like a clock card. The IIgs has a battery because it has a built in clock.
You do have to worry about leaky capacitors in a //e, although they are primarily in the power supply because that is where all the voltage regulation, etc., is done. Also some plug in cards have them.