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MacRescue Upgrade Board and Software for 128k and 512k macs.

magisterludi

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Joined
Dec 31, 2017
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Northern California
I am attempting a restoration of my first personal computer which is a Macintosh 128k with an installed Mac Rescue upgrade board.

I am attempting to assemble software that originally came with the Mac or with the upgrade board.

I lost the software in an arson fire a few years ago, and have been slowly finding replacements.

One crucial piece of software that I need is the original ram disk software that came with the Mac Rescue upgrade board from Computer Care Corporation.

This company no longer exists and no web repository seems to have the specially written software that allows the full functionality of the Mac Rescue board which is unique in that it has six ram sockets allowing 4 megabytes of ram for the system and an additional two megabytes for a ram disk from which the OS can be installed for fast access.

If anyone can lead me to that software, I can make this upgrade fully functional again.

Vince
 
Are you thinking maybe of Connectix Virtual Compact? It shipped with a lot of upgrades and allowed earlier machines to utilize more than 4MBs of RAM by mapping virtual memory to a RAM disk, essentially bypassing the 4MB barrier.
 
Thanks for your reply.

I cannot remember the software title, only that it was written specifically for the upgrade board from Computer Care Inc., for their MacRescue upgrade board.

The board itself is rare and gave new life to 128k macs of the era. It added scsi and ram slots making the machine the slightly better equivalent to the Mac Plus.

The software that came with these upgrade boards was able to map physical ram above the 4 megabyte limit to a ram disk. This allowed the system to see 4 megabytes ram and allowed for a 2 megabyte ram disk (totaling 6 megabytes), the system software could be run from the 2 megabyte ram disk thus allowing faster response times equivalent to the speed of ram (Heady stuff in those days).
 
Sadly not

Sadly not

That's exactly what Connectix's software did. It'd be worth trying if you can't find the original software.

Recognising that I'm reviving a fairly old conversation, but it comes up high on the list of searches for MacRescue. Compact Virtual makes virtual memory, not a RAM disk: it's the opposite of a RAM disk. And it won't work on a Mac without a Paged Memory Management Unit, which no 68000 has. A 68000 with an 030 accelerator probably does have one, but not with the MacRescue.

I'd love to get my hands on the right software though.
 
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