Odds and Ends, too Small to get a Page of Their Own

 

 

Overclocking

Overclocking should be attempted only if you are very experienced with soldering and with the understanding that it will void any warranty, reduce the resale value and you may damage or destroy your Mac. If damage occurs, the fault is entirely yours.

1) 520 - 540 series PowerBooks don't like to be overclocked much. The few extra MHz you can reliably get, won't provide a noticable speed increase and it's really not worth the trouble. These models are already running at their red line. However, if you feel you must up-clock, you may get an insignificant speed increase in your 540 by replacing the 16.6 MHz oscillator on the processor module with an 18.000 MHz oscillator (DigiKey.com part #300-7037-1-ND). Frequencies higher than this will cause freeze-ups and other heat related errors. if you do overclock, I recommend using heat transfer paste between the processor and heatsink and removing the panel on the case that is directly below the screen, the one held by two screws in the back. This will provide better cooling. If you want to speed up your 520 series PowerBook, your best bet is to find a processor module from a PowerBook 540 on eBay.

2) The PowerBook 1400/166 models can be reliably overclocked to 180 MHz by changing the 33.3333 MHz oscillator to a 36 MHz one (DigiKey.com part #SE2849CT-ND). Discard the foam heat transfer (yeah, right) insert that sits between the processor and aluminum heatsink and use heat transfer paste instead. Note: Apple System Profiler will not report the change in speed. See this related article.

 

Connectivity

1) If you are using a 3Com Megahertz model 3CXM556 Cellular Modem PCMCIA card in your PowerBook and are getting really slow (21,600 bps) connections, trash the Megahertz v.90 Modems modem script and use the US Robotics High Speed modem script instead. Your connection speed may be better.

 

Floppy Disk Repair

1) As floppies get old, the glue that holds the disk to the steel hub, can harden and lose its adhesion. One cause of a "This disk is unreadable" message can be when the glue separates from the spinning hub and the disk itself remains stationary in the case. You can fix this problem by opening the case on the top and one side and slipping the disk and hub out. Don't stick anything inside the case to do this. At no time should you touch the disk with your bare fingers. It's easier to handle if you wear a clean pair of cotton gloves. Mix some epoxy glue (no other type of glue should be used), the fast setting type is fine, and apply it sparingly to the flange on the hub with a toothpick. Be careful not to use too much glue. If the old glue is still well stuck to the disk, there is no need to remove it. Press the disk back onto the hub. If you get any glue on the working part of the disk, you are done. Throw it away and don't attempt to use it. Otherwise, allow the epoxy to set then slip the disk back in the case. Apply some transparent tape along the top edge of the case to seal it and you are done. This is not something you should attempt just to save an old floppy. It is best done to save files that are not backed up elsewhere.

 

Unencoded Email Addresses

The following email contacts are from bogus whois domain-information scam sites who have posted one or more of my email addresses from this domain without asking me or encoding them. They have either refused to take my addresses off their sites or tried to extort a fee to do it. I am responding in kind:

ipaddressden contact@ipaddressden.com

whoismind contact@whoismind.com

ipaddressden / whoismind dns@media14h.com

whoisology contact@whoisology.com

If you own or manage a domain and have fallen victim to this scam, it should go without saying, don't pay these scammers or give them your credit card number. Your best defense is to use a disposable email address for your whois contact and change it as necessary.


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