Workstation card and a netbooted //e

With the AppleTalk server in place, it was time to put the Workstation card in the Apple //e. In order to get the necessary pieces, I’d gotten one that was new in box, shrink-wrap mostly intact.

Workstation card box

Here are the unboxing pictures, in case it ever becomes important to know just what order everything was packed in. There is something very cool about opening something like this new from the box. Perhaps doing this makes it less collectable, but I didn’t get the thing so it could sit on my shelf and then be re-sold.

Workstation card unbox 1

Workstation card unbox 2

Workstation card unbox 3

Workstation card unbox 4

Workstation card unbox 5

Workstation card unbox 6

Workstation card unbox 7

The big advantage of getting it new in box like this, apart from the fact that it is cool to open the box, is that it has this all-important connector. I have another Workstation Card, but it lacks this connector, and so is not very useful. If I’m ever going to use that other card (which I can in principle use with my other //e, although that will require doing an enhancement upgrade on it, since I am now pretty confident that it is un-enhanced), I’m going to need to fashion my own connector. But now at least I have one to model it after, should I choose to make one.

Workstation card dinbox

The card itself was so clean and nice. I don’t think the pictures here really do it justice.

Workstation card unwrapped

Workstation card label

Into the platinum //e it went. I wanted it in slot 7 so that it would be checked first, before the disk drives, but it requires one of the long openings in the back, the nearest of which is behind slot 3. So things got a little bit crowded back there, but for the moment everything fits.

Workstation card installed

Workstation card back connector

And into the back of the Power Mac G3, running LocalTalk bridge under Mac OS 9. Appletalk set to printer port.

Workstation card into pmg3

All systems go.

Workstation card green

Workstation card starting up

Workstation card starting up 2

Workstation card starting up 3

And then there it was. Now that the server is working, I just need to get some content on there, and I’ll be set. Starting up the //e is actually very fast this way, not really appreciably slower than starting off a disk.

Workstation card up

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