Description

Vintage 1984 Apple Mac Macintosh 128K M0001 – First Model Mac/PRISTINE/Upgraded

Beautiful, classic, iconic, rare and pristine, 1984 Macintosh 128K, model M0001, professionally upgraded to 512KB of RAM (not a board swap as performed by Apple).

Back in January 1984, Apple introduced the first Macintosh. This was a revolutionary computer with a graphical user interface and 128KB of memory. Even though the computer was years ahead of the competition at the time it was introduced, it was crippled by its paltry 128KB of RAM which did not leave much free memory to run programs after the operating system was loaded. Less than nine months after the Macintosh was introduced, and to address this shortcoming, Apple launched the Macintosh 512k, dubbed “fat Mac”, with a whopping 512KB of RAM - four times as much memory as the original Macintosh.

In order not to upset its client base, Apple offered to upgrade the original 128K Macintosh to a 512K (at a cost). This upgrade was performed by Apple dealers by swapping the logic board with a redesigned logic board (that could be factory configured and populated as a 512k or a 128k) and swapping the badge on the back of the computer from “Macintosh” to “Macintosh 512K”. This resulted in a computer which is quite different from the original.

Because the majority of original Mac owners had an Apple dealer upgrade their machines, few Macs 128k with the original case and the original logic board remain. This particular 1984 Macintosh was professionally upgraded by a third party (NOT by Apple) to 512kb of memory. The upgrade was done to the highest quality standards – amazingly clean job, not an amateurish upgrade (see photos)! The memory chips were replaced by higher capacity chips, but the logic board was NOT replaced. It remains an early production, original, 1984 Macintosh logic board overall (with the 1983 copyright and with the rare purple ceramic 68000 processor – see photos). The back shell of the computer is the original shell with the “Macintosh” badge – this is one of the earliest Macintoshes. Macs with 128K of RAM sold after the Mac 512K was introduced were badged as “Macintosh 128K” and included the modified logic board.

Compared to stock 128K’s, which are crippled by the lack of memory and mostly unusable, this Mac with its 512KB of memory is functionally equivalent to a Mac 512K yet is cosmetically, an early, original Mac and it is actually very usable and even fun to use!

This Mac is in collector-grade, PRISTINE, condition. It's an even beige/cream color, not all darkly yellowed, discolored or damaged like many are now.  There is not a trace of accumulated dust inside this almost 40 years old Mac (see pictures)! This is a very rare find... compare this computer's pictures to others being sold....there aren’t many Macs of this vintage for sale in the same like-new condition!

This Mac has no battery leaks, no electrolytic capacitors leakage and no bulging capacitors. From what I could see, other than some very faint use marks/imperfections, the computer has no cracks, no chips, no dents, no missing parts, no stickers, no sticker residue, no marker writings, no pry marks and no engravings. It also has no musty or cigarette smells. It was recently dusted and cleaned. The troublesome solder joints on the analog board have been reflowed and the RIFA capacitors replaced (these old capacitors are infamous for blowing up unexpectedly with a loud bang and awful smelling, lingering  smoke). In order to avoid video issues, a fresh layer of corona dope has been applied to the flyback transformer. The 400KB floppy drive has been cleaned of old grease, serviced and lubricated – it loads, reads, writes, formats and ejects single-sided floppy disks as intended.  Original Macs are completely dependent on the floppy drive, as there is no hard drive - so having a properly serviced and tested floppy disk drive like this one is essential for actual use. The screen is clear, bright, stable and sharp with no screen burn-in. The computer starts up normally with the Apple chime. Sound is loud and clear.

 Includes an original, bottom angled, Apple power cord with Apple logo, an original Apple keyboard, an original keyboard cable, an original Apple mouse (model M0100) and a bootable floppy disk. The keyboard has been disassembled, cleaned and tested - all keys function as intended. The mouse has been cleaned, including the internal rollers, sensors and ball - it works perfectly. The rubber pads are still present and in good condition on the base of the computer and underneath the keyboard. Note: the keyboard casing is a darker shade of beige than the computer, has a couple of hairline cracks that have been repaired and two screw inserts that were broken and glued back on - without looking very closely, these blemishes are hardly visible.

The factory installed, long depleted and hard to source clock/PRAM backup battery has been replaced by a fully functional, 3D-printed, replacement battery holder using cheap, readily available button cells (not included). With the battery installed, the computer can keep time and stored parameters even when unplugged.

Unlike many Macs being sold lacking system details, lacking technical descriptions, lacking pictures of the internals, in a condition of: "as-is", "untested", "for repair or restoration", "no boot disk to test", "does not boot", “screen with disk and question mark", "original model number", no logic board details, no floppy drive details - this is a fully tested and fully documented, working computer in amazing condition.

The "Apple Macintosh" was officially released on January 24, 1984. This particular Macintosh, serial F41814TM001 - is the 1319th Mac manufactured during the 18th week of 1984 in Fremont, California, USA; this is one of the earliest Macs ever produced (it was produced many months before the Mac 512k and the “new”/modified Mac 128K were launched).

This model, in this particular configuration, is quite scarce and finding one which is in such AMAZING cosmetic condition, fully tested and fully functional, such as this unit, is not easy... This Macintosh is ready for prominent display and use by the new owner, it needs absolutely nothing!  Always stored in a smoke-free, climate-controlled, environment - so no smoke smell or musty odors absorbed into any of the included items.

This is a fantastic and unique opportunity to own a collector grade unique artifact of computing history. This is one of a handful of Apple models which have the signatures of the design team (including Steve Jobs') molded on the inside of the case.

All photos are of the exact items the buyer will receive. Nothing else is included.

Considering its age, and despite it having been thoroughly tested, I cannot guarantee its continued functioning. It’s being sold as-is. No returns.