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| Also known as | M0001E |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Product family | Compact Macintosh |
| Release date | April 14, 1986; 39 years ago (1986-04-14) |
| Introductory price | US$2,000 (equivalent to $5,700 in 2024) |
| Discontinued | September 1, 1987 (1987-09-01) |
| Operating system | 1.0,1.1,2.0,2.1,3.0,3.2,3.3,3.4,4.0,4.1,[1]4.2,4.3,6.0-6.0.8 |
| CPU | Motorola 68000 @ 7.8 MHz |
| Memory | 512KB RAM (built-in) |
| Predecessor | Macintosh 512K |
| Successor | Macintosh SE |
| Related | Macintosh Plus |
TheMacintosh 512Kenhanced (512Ke) was introduced in April 1986 as a cheaper alternative to the top-of-the-lineMacintosh Plus, which had debuted three months previously.[2] It is the same as theMacintosh 512K but includes the800K disk drive and 128K ofROM used in the Macintosh Plus. The new ROM allowed theHard Disk 20 to be used as a startup disk, doing away with theHard Disk 20 Startup floppy required by the Macintosh 512K. Like its predecessors, the 512Ke has little room for expansion. Some companies did create memory upgrades to bring the machine up to 2 MB or more.
Originally, the case was identical to its predecessor, except for the model number listed on the rear bucket's agency approval label. It used the same beige-like color as well. Later in its lifespan, the 512Ke was discounted and offered to the educational market, badged as theMacintosh ED (M0001D & later M0001ED).[citation needed]
The 512Ke shipped with the original shortMacintosh Keyboard, but the extendedMacintosh Plus Keyboard with built-in numeric keypad could be purchased optionally.[3] A version of the 512Ke sold only outside of North America included the full keyboard and was marketed as theMacintosh 512K/800.[4] Later, the larger keyboard would be included as standard in North America as well.
Although the 512Ke includes the same 128K ROMs and 800K disk drive as the Mac Plus, the 512Ke retains the same port connectors as the first two models. For this reason, 512Ke users' only hard disk option is the slower floppy-port-basedHard Disk 20, or similar products for the serial port, even though the 512Ke ROMs contain the SCSI Manager software that enables the use of fasterSCSI hard disks (because the ROMs are the same as those used in the Mac Plus, which does have a SCSI port). Apple did point users to certain third-party products which could be added to the 512Ke to provide a SCSI port.[5]
AMacintosh 512K could be upgraded to a 512Ke by purchasing and installing Apple's $299Macintosh Plus Disk Drive Kit. This included the following:
One further upgrademade by Apple replaced thelogic board and the rear case (to accommodate the different port configuration) with those of theMacintosh Plus, providing built-inSCSI functionality and up to 4 MBRAM. Because Apple's official upgrades were costly, many third-party manufacturers offered add-on SCSI cards, as well as RAM upgrades, to achieve the same functionality. The new ROM allowed the computer to run much newer system and application software; though it loaded more data into RAM, it only slightly decreased the amount of available memory – by 1.5KB – leaving well over 370 KB available for applications.[6][7]
After June 1986, the 512Ke shipped with System 3.2. After it was discontinued, Apple changed the recommended OS for the 512Ke to System 4.1.[1] System 6.0.8 is the maximum OS for the 512Ke.[8]
| Timeline ofCompact Macintosh models |
|---|
 See also:List of Mac models andCompact Macintosh |
