Help revive Macintosh Performa 6320CD, 1996 System Enabler 406

Production of the Performa 6320s began and ended in 1996. While the very first 6320s shipped with OS 7.5.1, that changed with version 1.1 of the 6320 Software Restore CD, which contained OS 7.5.3. It also contained the original programs that shipped with that Performa. There are 2 ebay sellers with that CD listed, but the descriptions mention some scratches. While a CD might "open" on another Mac and display its folders, unless you attempt to install the software on the designated computer, you can't be certain whether some data might be unreadable because of surface damage in a specific area. The tolerance for reading through scuff marks or light scratches could depend on the internal CD-ROM drive in your 6320.

Are you interested in restoring it to its out-of-box condition with the included programs and games or would you consider purchasing an OS-only universal installer disk and upgrading to OS 7.6.1 or 8.1? There's an ebay seller with a sealed, OS 7.6.1 universal installer disk, but it has none of the included Performa programs. You could also consider Mac OS 8.1, but I'd recommend having at least 32 MBs of memory installed to run it. With OS 7.6.1, 16 MBs would be my recommendation. OS 8.1 was the first to support the HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) hard drive format, which was useful if the hard drive were upgraded to a much larger capacity than the stock 1.2 GB drive. Many years ago, most agreed that OS 8.5 or newer was too demanding, although that Performa can technically run up to OS 9.1.

You mentioned that the battery looked OK with no leakage, but didn't indicate if you removed it. After being stored for a prolonged period, it will have completely discharged and be a leak hazard. It's not a question of IF it will leak, but when. Because of the lack of demand for that 4.5v alkaline battery, even a "new" battery that you purchase could be slightly-discharged from sitting in inventory for years.

As for hearing 4 tones, was that immediately after startup or after attempting to boot from the floppy disk with OS 7.5? The flashing "?" indicates that the hard drive (if installed) doesn't have a supported system folder on it from which to boot. It could also indicate that the drive has an electronic or mechanical problem rendering it unreadable. In that case, it needs to be replaced. Have you added any memory? If so, there could be a compatibility issue with the SIMM(s) that you installed. The 72-pin SIMMs must be non-composite and non-parity, with 80ns or faster chips. If you haven't added memory, you should remove the SIMM cards installed and examine the gold-plated contacts for oxidation. If they're discolored, use a soft, white eraser to gently scrub them. Be sure that any rubber shavings are blown off before reinstalling them.

Old PPC Macs seldom accepted an installer on a burned install disc. Even if they did, if the disc did not end up with the proper enablers, you were back at Square One.

The other issue are the enablers themselves. Some PPC Macs with the same model name had hardware “revisions” during their production life and sometimes a revision meant a new set of enablers. The Beige G3 series had three revisions; the optical disk from a Rev A would not work with a Rev B or C.

A full retail install disk would have enablers for all models capable of running that 0S version, but needs to be pressed, not burned.

The 62XX/63XX series were the most maligned Macs ever, ending up on top of Low End Macs list of “Road Apples.” They had a flawed logic board design before they ever reached the manufacturing floor. It’s very possible you could spend a lot of time and money fishing for the right disc and still not have a working computer.

If you simply need to recover data, then there is good news. That Mac series, one that ranked price point far over performance, used cheaper PATA interface drives instead of the pricier SCSI drive interfaces used in the “pro-series” Macs. Today that is a massive advantage. There are bare drive adapters and bare drive docks that accept ATA drives and let you mount them as an external drive on another computer with USB ports.

Not all accommodate the older PATA interface so be sure to look at the specs. Also, any 3.5-inch drive need to be powered. Because I own one, I know the adapter that OWC sells does both PATA and newer SATA drives and comes with the required power supply for 3.5-inch drives. Search their web site www.Macsales.com for “usb drive adapter” and I think it will pop right up.

silvanet wrote:

I need to get the correct System Enabler version, which is 406, of OS 7.5.1, the original system software.

A system enabler was used to adapt a system (7.5.1 in this case) to a later introduced Mac. Newer, supported operating system versions (for example, 7.5.3 or 7.6) did not need an enabler when used with an already existing Mac model.

In this case, if you know that the CD-ROM drive is OK, the easiest way would probably be to look for a retail version of Mac OS 7.6 on CD. If I recall correctly, the CD contained disk images as well, if one wanted to make floppies.

A full System 7.5.3 (a large self-mounting image consisting of many floppy-sized segments) was made available for download from Apple. System 7.5.3 should work with the Macintosh Performa 6320CD. However, you would then also have to find someone who could help you make a working startup floppy (such as the 8.1 Disk Tools PPC) and diskettes with some utilities.

OS 7 for PowerPC Performa 6320CD - best o… - Apple Community

A System Enabler 406 version 1.0 was mentioned for the Performa 6300 Series in an old article System Enablers: Current Versions & Change History (Feb 19, 2012). It also clearly says that No system enabler is required for this Macintosh under System 7.5.3 or later.

The enabler in question could earlier be found in the Older Software Downloads list

(download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_Enablers/System_Enabler_406_1.0.sea.bin).

The only startup sound that consists of exactly four distinct tones of increasing frequency is indicative of a hardware fault, but it is possible it can be software-related.

https://froods.ca/~dschaub/sound.html

Determine if one of those corresponds to what you're hearing. Scroll down to Crash Sounds.

I'd keep looking for what you need on eBay, or in the other half of your storage boxes. You could of course create a bootable CD-ROM or floppy but you would find an original one to create that copy anyway. They were not copy-protected.

—? There are no USB ports on that computer.

I know very well. I used to own one—and suffered through its poor design. The bare drive adapter attaches to a USB port on a ANOTHER computer so you can revover data AFTER physically removing the 6320s drive from the case.

—The internal HDD is a SATA.

No. The ATA/PATA interface in a 6320 is NOT the same as SATA. SATA was not even developed until AFTER your 6320 was discontinued Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA

— I also have an external SCSI,

Not needed for recovering data. Too outdated, too hard to set up.

If you are not in the US or Canada, OWC has world-wide trade partners who can possibly get get the adapter for you:

https://www.owc.com/partners/where-to-buy

This is the bare drive adapter I use:

NewerTech Universal Drive Adapter for 2.5-inch, 3.5-inch, 5.25-inch, IDE, ATA, ATAPI, SATA Drives

I have no connection witih OWC other than as a customer.

He didn't say there were.

Is the reason for wanting to revive that Mac strictly related to retrieving its data? If so the solution will be much simpler.

Allan Jones also reminded me of how problematic that particular model was. Mine spent more time being repaired than it did in actual service. In my opinion it's simply not worth trying to fix. They barely worked to begin with.

I suppose you would have to do your best describing those four tones, because I have no recollection of any startup / shutdown / crash tones other than the ones on that site.

You cannot, you have 15 minutes to edit it though.