Description

Apple Mac Macintosh IIx - Cleaned/Restored/ Recapped/Tested/Working

The Apple Macintosh IIx is a rare vintage computer from the late 80s. Two reasons explain this rarity: the first is that it was one of the most expensive Macs of its time - US $7500++ in 1988 dollars! and the second is that many computer models from the late 80's time period used capacitors that were very prone to leakage - the leaking electrolyte from the capacitors is very corrosive, and if left on the printed circuit board for an extended period of time, it destroys (by corroding and "eating away") many of the very thin printed circuit board traces and some chip pins thus rendering the computer unusable. The IIx was one such affected model. Both of these reasons explain the rarity of this model - the former limited the number of units sold due to the very high price and the latter the numerous dead IIx' disposed of due to capacitor leakage.

The Mac IIx was a top-of-the-line, highly expandable,  Mac of the late 80s with 6 NuBus expansion slots, 8 memory expansion  slots and the “new” 1.4 MB SuperDrive floppy drive which could read and write Mac formatted 400 KB, 800 KB and 1.4 MB disks as well PC MS-DOS disks.

Other than some typical uneven yellowing of the case plastic, a few minor dings and use marks, this particular unit is in excellent condition for its age. The case is complete with no broken parts (except for one broken plastic clip (one out of three) holding the lid to the front of the computer). Even the original rubber feet are still present and in good condition! There is no noticeable corrosion on any of the metal parts; the metal shielding looks practically new. Many, many hours were spent repairing and restoring this computer to functional condition. These machines are very hard to find working and even harder to restore to their full original glory. Following its restoration, this Mac has been extensively tested and has passed all tests. It has been cleaned, the power supply has been disassembled and thoroughly cleaned. The computer has had all its motherboard surface mount electrolytic capacitors replaced (recapped) by long life tantalum capacitors which are immune to leakage. The motherboard's axial lead electrolytic capacitors have also been replaced. The failed SCSI hard disk has been replaced by a 2GB, modern, solid-state electronic hard disk, the 1.44 MB floppy drive has been disassembled, cleaned, serviced and lubricated - it functions as intended. (When acquired, and for an unknown reason, this computer came equipped with an 800KB floppy drive. It has since been replaced by the correct 1.4 MB drive).

This Mac is equipped with an Apple NuBus video card (required, as this model has no built-in video support) and has all 8 memory slots filled with a total of 8 MB of RAM. The Macintosh IIx is one of a few Macs which cannot be powered on without two small backup batteries being installed in the computer! The required batteries are a custom size, soldered, hard to find, expensive and often subject to leakage/explosion. In order to avoid all these problems, this computer is equipped with standard battery holders and uses readily available AAA batteries (not included). NOTE: THIS MODEL OF COMPUTER WILL NOT START WITHOUT THE BATTERIES INSTALLED.

The functionality of this Mac has been tested: sound, backup batteries, power on/off (using the power switch on the back of the computer and the "soft" power-on using the power switch on the keyboard), video, floppy, internal SCSI port, external SCSI port, ADB ports, power switch, reset switch, programmer's switch - all tested and working as intended.

Includes the Macintosh IIx with MacOS 7.1 installed, the (rare) reset/programmer's switch, a BlueSCSI electronic hard disk with 2GB storage on an included SD card (many apps and utilities are installed on the “hard disk”), an Apple original power cord, an Apple Design ADB keyboard, and an Apple ADB mouse. Note that the “Enter” key on the numeric pad of the keyboard was broken and glued, however, it functions correctly. All keyboard keys have been tested and function as intended.

Unlike most IIx being sold "for parts and repair", "does not power on", "untested", etc... this unit is fully restored, serviced and functional and with its replaced logic board capacitors, is ready to serve for many years to come.

The video signal out of the video card uses a proprietary Apple DB-15 interface; it can be converted to drive a VGA monitor by using a special DB-15 to HD-15 adapter (~$30).

NOTE: The monitor shown in the pictures IS NOT INCLUDED in this listing.

Despite this computer having been extensively tested and found to be fully functional, it IS over 30 years old technology and as such, there is no guarantee offered, or implied, for continued functioning. This lot is being sold as-is with no returns accepted.

This vintage, top-of-the-line, Macintosh IIx is a very rare find...especially in restored and working condition! It is ready to use and a great addition to any vintage Mac collection.