I’ve tried to network my vintage Macs a few times in the past, to no avail. There’s too many compatibility issues. OS X 10.5 - 10.7 does’t talk to anything. 10.4 or less will only talk to OS 9. MacTCP, OpenTransport, Apple Share, TCP/IP. They all have issues talking to one another. I can get an OS 8 or OS 9 machine on the internet, but I can’t get them to talk to another machine. I’ve tried to get 7.5 to talk to OS 8 and 9. No dice. Maybe I’m just missing something.
I decided to try and get my new PowerMac 5200 on the internet and see if I can set up some kind of ftp share. First thing’s first: install a network card.
I opened up the back of the PowerMac by removing the screws on the I/O panel.
![settingupftpshare_0009](settingupftpshare_0009.jpg)
Once the panel was off, the logicboard easily slid right out.
![settingupftpshare_0011](settingupftpshare_0011.jpg)
Nice battery. I’ll need to make another 4.5v battery pack by joining a few AAs together. The Mac keeps complaining about the time not being set. These things must be pretty hard to find. Searching online showed them to run about $15-$20 bucks. Even on eBay. No way I’m paying that for what amounts to 3 AAs.
![settingupftpshare_0012](settingupftpshare_0012.jpg)
Removed the port cover by the PDS slot.
![settingupftpshare_0017](settingupftpshare_0017.jpg)
Popped in an Ethernet card and buttoned the whole thing back up.
![settingupftpshare_0018](settingupftpshare_0018.jpg)
I powered up the Mac and enabled TCP/IP, set it for DHCP and got an IP address. I fired up IE and watched Google trickle in. Most of it.
![settingupftpshare 8](settingupftpshare-8.jpg)
We have internet! I can even ping the machine from my Mac Pro. However, that’s the extent of the communication these two machines have.
![can ping](can-ping.png)
As a test, I used the ftp client Cyberduck on my Mac Pro to upload an image to my website iNeedCoffeeToCode.com. I was able to point my browser on the PowerMac to that folder on my website.
![ftp_fetch 4](ftp_fetch-4.jpg)
I could then download the image and open it.
![ftp_fetch 5](ftp_fetch-5.jpg)
![ftp_fetch 7](ftp_fetch-7.jpg)
Awesome! We have a file transfer! No more sneaker net with clumsy slow Zip disks!
Now, to ftp files back up (like the screenshots you’re looking at) I need an old school ftp client. Fetch to the rescue! I downloaded the classic version of Fetch and launched it. Once it opened, I was prompted to make a connection.
![settingupftpshare 17](settingupftpshare-17.jpg)
I typed in my credentials and I was in. There’s the shared directory with my uploaded image.
![ftp_fetch 1](ftp_fetch-1.jpg)
I can pull it down without a problem.
![ftp_fetch 2](ftp_fetch-2.jpg)
Now to uploaded the screenshots I’ve been taking.
![ftp_fetch 8](ftp_fetch-8.jpg)
Boom!
![ftp_fetch 9](ftp_fetch-9.jpg)
I can then pull them down on the Mac Pro.
![cyberduck2](cyberduck2.jpg)
So forget trying to get these old machines to talk to Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, etc. Put an ftp server in the middle!