People tend not to know that MESS now has very good emulation for many classic Mac models up through the 68030. We can run System 7.6.1 with virtual memory, which is something no other emulator can do. We have user-configurable NuBus slots with a growing variety of cards available. And more models are becoming available all the time.
Here’s where the “help” aspect comes in. If you have a classic Mac, there are some things we need dumped to complete some aspects of the emulation. Fortunately, Paul Pratt of The Gryphel Project and Mini vMac has written several user-friendly apps that do this dumping for you.
If you have any non-Quadra 68040 (e.g. LC575), or any “Old World” PowerMac desktop up through and including the beige PowerMac G3, you can use EgretRom to dump your Egret or Cuda microcontroller ROM. (This may also work on “New World” G3s like the iMac, but that has not been confirmed). Simply double-click the program and then send us the Egret.ROM it creates. Please mention the model of your Mac, and if possible the part number of your Egret or Cuda (it will be a relatively tiny chip probably near the ADB ports and the Cuda or PRAM reset jumper/button, and it should be marked on the PCB as either “Egret” or “Cuda”. It may have a Motorola logo on it, as well).
UPDATE: EgretRom will also work on two New World G3s: the original Bondi blue 233 MHz iMac, and the Blue & White G3. These are the only New World machines with a Cuda MCU (all later models switched to something called “PMU99”).
UPDATE 2: We found that the “Cuda” chip used in the PowerMac 4400 and Mac clones has a larger ROM. There is now a version 1.0.2 of the EgretRom program posted on the vMac site which knows the difference. Please use that version if you have a 4400 or one of the “official” Mac clones like the Motorola StarMax or the PowerComputing or UMAX machines.
If you have NuBus cards and you don’t have an EPROM reader and don’t know anyone with an EPROM reader, then SlotRom is for you. It will scan your NuBus slots and dump the ROMs for each card, which is necessary to emulate those cards. Once again you simply double-click the program and then send us all of the SlotX.ROM files it creates. Please include at least the name of the card in each slot; a decent-quality photograph of each card would be helpful as well.
Finally, if you have a Mac Portable or PowerBook 100, 140, 145, 145B, 160, 165c, 170, 180, or 180c, then PMURom will let you dump the PMU (Power Management Unit – it handles ADB, PRAM, clock, and various power control functions in these machines). This is most needed for the Portable and PowerBook 100; we have dumps from a 170 (which should cover 140/170/145) and a 180c (which should cover 160/165c/180/180c), but additional dumps from those machine ranges are helpful too in case there are multiple versions. (In particular, it’s unclear if the 145/145B use the 140/170 version or the 160/180 version of the program, or something unique). Simply double-click the program and send us the PMU.ROM file it creates along with the model of your PowerBook or Portable.
To send files, use our MESS Bugzilla email address: messdrivers (at) gmail dot com or send a PM on MAMEWorld.info or Bannister.org. Be sure to indicate how you wish to be credited, or if you prefer to remain anonymous.
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who’s helped with this so far!
