Macintosh Classic II

Macintosh Classic II
Release date October 21, 1991 (1991-10-21) (MCII)
September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14) (MP200)
Introductory price 1900 US$ (today $3306.55)
Discontinued September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13) (MCII)
October 18, 1993 (1993-10-18) (MP200)
Operating system System 6.0.8L,
System 7.0.1-System 7.1,
System 7.1.1-Mac OS 7.6.1
CPU Motorola 68030 @ 16 MHz
Memory 2 MB, expandable to 10 MB (100 ns 30-pin SIMM)

The Apple Macintosh Classic II (also known as the Performa 200) replaced the Macintosh SE/30 in the compact Macintosh line in 1991. Like the SE/30, the Classic II was powered by a 16 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU and 40 or 80 MB hard disk, but in contrast to its predecessor, it was limited by a 16-bit data bus (the SE/30 had a 32-bit data bus) and a 10 MB memory ceiling.

While the Classic II shares a case with the earlier Classic, architecturally it is more similar to the Macintosh LC. The use of custom ICs, identical to those used in the LC, enabled the Classic II to have a lower component count than older Macs. Unlike the LC and the SE/30 before it, the Classic II did not have an internal PDS expansion slot, making it the first slotless desktop Macintosh since the Macintosh Plus.

There were two Classic II cases. Later models came with a speaker grille on the left side for enhanced sound (as pictured).

The Classic II was the last black-and-white compact Macintosh. It was also the last desktop Macintosh to include an external floppy disk drive port. Apple discontinued support for the Classic II on January 1, 2001.

Specifications

Interfaces

Rear panel showing the ports. From left to right: microphone, ADB, external floppy disk drive, SCSI, printer (serial), modem (serial) and headphones. Two TORX case screws are visible, bottom left and right.

†The Classic II has a 50-pin internal expansion slot intended for either an FPU co-processor or additional ROM. The socket is not designed to be used for any other purpose and is not suitable for use as a general expansion slot. Apple never produced an expansion card of any kind for this slot,[1] although at least one third-party FPU was available: the FastMath Classic II by Applied Engineering.[2] and Sonnet offered a synchronous (16MHz) and asynchronous (50MHz) 68882 FPU.

In 2016, a group of hobbyists at the 68k Mac Liberation Army forums produced[3] an expansion card with sockets for an FPU and a bootable, rewriteable ROM.

Timeline of compact Macintosh models

See also: Timeline of Apple Macintosh models
Power Macintosh PowerBook Macintosh LC Macintosh Portable Macintosh II Apple IIe Macintosh Color Classic Macintosh Classic II Macintosh Color Classic Macintosh SE/30 Macintosh Classic Macintosh Plus Macintosh SE FDHD Macintosh Plus Macintosh XL Macintosh SE Macintosh 512Ke Apple Lisa Macintosh 128K Macintosh 512K
 Back of the Classic II
 The interrupt (left) and reset (right) buttons protruding from the air vent on the lower left hand side of the Classic II. The interrupt button (also called the programmer's key) is used to access a debugger.
 The Apple ADB keyboard that shipped with the Classic II. On many Macs the large button at the top near the Apple logo was used to power on the machine. However the Classic II did not support this feature. The keyboard contained two ADB connectors. One connected into the back of the Macintosh, the other was used for connecting the mouse or other peripherals. The mouse could be connected to either side for left or right-handed use.
 The Apple desktop mouse that shipped with the Classic II.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Macintosh Classic II: Math Co-Processor Card Availability
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Classic II FPU/ROM card 68kMLA forum thread
Preceded by
Macintosh SE/30
Macintosh Classic		 Macintosh Classic II
Performa 200
October 21, 1991 		Succeeded by
Macintosh Color Classic
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