website/content/museum/apple-macintosh-se-30.md

---
title: Apple MACINTOSH SE 30
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1989'
cpus:
- Motorola MC 68030
params:
  name: MACINTOSH SE 30
  company: /companies/apple
  company_name: Apple
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: MACINTOSH SE 30
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Apple
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: January 1989
  - label: END OF PRODUCTION
    value: 21th october 1990
  - label: CPU
    value: Motorola MC 68030
  - label: SPEED
    value: 15.77 MHz
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: 'FPU: 16 MHz 68882'
  - label: RAM
    value: 1 / 4 MB (up to 128 MB) + 256 bytes of PRAM
  - label: VRAM
    value: 64 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: 256 KB
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 512 x 342
  - label: COLORS
    value: monochrome (9'' black & white display)
  - label: SOUND
    value: four stereo channels
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 13.6'' x 9.6'' x 10.9'' / 19.5 lb
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: two serial RS232/422 ports; two ADB ports (keyboard, mouse), Stereo, Floppy disk connector, SCSI, 68030 Processor Direct Slot (to connect graphic cards, or network card)
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: One double sided 3.5'' disk drive (1,4 MB)
  - label: OS
    value: MAC OS 6.0.3 or later versions
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: 'internal batteries: 3.6V lithium'
  - label: PRICE
    value: $4400 (USA, 1989)
  tabs:
  - emulators
  - links
  emulators:
  - title: Executor
    url: http://www.ardi.com/
    platform: Windows
    text: Demonstration version of a commercial software (MS DOS & Win95)
  - title: Gemulator
    url: http://www.emulators.com/
    platform: Windows
    text: A commercial Software which emulates the Atari ST/TT and the Mac 128/Plus/2 (Win95 / Win NT)
  - title: LisaEm
    url: http://lisa.sunder.net/
    platform: Windows
    text: Same as Apple lisa emulator for unix but ported to windows
  - title: PearPC
    url: http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/
    platform: Windows
    text: PearPC is an architecture-independent PowerPC platform emulator capable of running most PowerPC operating systems.
  - title: SoftMac
    url: http://www.emulators.com/
    platform: Windows
    text: good 68K Emulator For Windows
  - title: Executor
    url: http://www.ardi.com/
    platform: Unix / Linux
    text: Demo version of a commercial software (Linux / NextStep)
  - title: vMac - The Virtual Macintosh Emulator Project
    url: http://www.leb.net/vmac/
    platform: Other platform
    text: ''
  - title: Basilisk II
    url: http://basilisk.cebix.net/
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: Basilisk II is an Open Source 68k Macintosh emulator. Good emulator, runs on several platforms, even Amiga
  - title: Mini vMac
    url: http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: Mini vMac, a spin off of the program vMac, emulates a Macintosh Plus and Macintosh SE. So far it works on Macintosh OS, Microsoft Windows, and the X Window System.
  links:
  - title: Apple History
    url: http://www.apple-history.com/
    text: History of Apple computers with detail information about all of the computers to come out of Apple.
  - title: Applefritter
    url: http://www.applefritter.com
    text: Excellent site about all Apple models,clones,prototypes,etc... A must see !
  - title: CMQ - Groupes d'usagers Apple
    url: http://www.cmq.qc.ca/Groupes.html
    text: (french)
  - title: CMQ - Groupes d'usagers Apple
    url: http://www.cmq.qc.ca/cmq.html
    text: (french)
  - title: Homepage of Gamba
    url: http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/index.html
    text: A lot of interesting Mac links, for example "How To Transfer Files From PC to MAC "
  - title: Jag's House
    url: http://www.jagshouse.com/
    text: Lot of info on all non PowerMac models
  - title: Low End Mac
    url: http://www.lowendmac.com/compact/se30.shtml
    text: Excellent Mac SE/30 page
  - title: Low End Mac
    url: http://www.lowendmac.com
    text: Great site with a full catalog of ALL old macintoshes.
  - title: Mac Forums at MacForumz.com
    url: http://www.MacForumz.com
    text: Mac forums, a resource on the latest and greatest, as well as vintage, Macintosh hardware, software, and internet. Free registration.
  - title: MacDebate
    url: http://www.macdebate.com
    text: Macintosh discussion forum
  - title: The Vintage Mac Museum
    url: http://www.d4.dion.ne.jp/~motohiko/
    text: Nice dedicated website with tons of screenshots !
  - title: Titlemax - Apple products
    url: https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/every-product-apple-has-made-so-far/
    text: Nice graphic of every product Apple Has Made So Far (thanks Lily)
  - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA
    url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com
    text: Discussion of Macintosh software system
  comments:
  - author: Joshua Carle (United States)
    date: Monday 6th June 2022
    text: I have one with all working components as well as extra ram chips plus Mac bag to go with it all that I would sell to someone
  - author: Allison Divette
    date: Sunday 18th November 2012
    text: I had an SE 30 growing up and it crashed. It did the arpeggio sound the doo doo doo doo
  - author: Scot K (NYC - USA)
    date: Friday 7th October 2011
    text: I''d be interested in one of SE 30''s. that was my first PC $ when i upgraded many years ago, i didn''t have the foresight to hold onto it for nosatgia, plus, it would make a great prop for a project i am working on. skeating622@hotmail.com
  - author: SpringheelMac (Holloman AFB, NM USA)
    date: Friday 26th August 2011
    text: |-
      Joe-

      If you are serious I would gladly take one or all of them off your hands. Would you like to arrange this?
  - author: Joe (Camarillo, CA USA)
    date: Wednesday 17th August 2011
    text: I have a few of the APPLE SE 30 laying around. does anyone want them. FREE come get them.
  - author: Jamie
    date: Wednesday 24th November 2010
    text: You can also replace the ROM SIMM with an IIfx/IIsi one. This enables 32-bit computing and 128MB of RAM
  - author: STu
    date: Friday 1st October 2010
    text: Got one freshman year in 89 along with an ImageWriterII printer and still have the thing. Went through engineering school (the thing ran Mathmatica!!!) first and later loaded up SoftPC and wrote programs on it for the computer science degree. After that it got moved to the office at the internet startup (95) so we had at least one Mac to figure out how to get them online. If I had the room it would be running now with the old Pyro!!! screen saver instead of boxed away :-(
  - author: Jan (The Netherlands)
    date: Saturday 20th October 2007
    text: |-
      Yes, a great little Mac!\
      I have one with 8Mb, system 7.5.3 and a network card.\
      It is the oldest computer in my network, but it can run a webbrowser and an e-mail cient!
  - author: Raps sucks (West Covina)
    date: Friday 9th March 2007
    text: |-
      i used these at my school in the 1990"s these were great, stoled one of the new units and i have the SE right next to me .\
      This to me is a bussiness computer
  - author: '? (?)'
    date: Thursday 23rd November 2006
    text: |-
      My school had these...\
      Great Machines!
  - author: Cary Groneveldt (New York City)
    date: Saturday 15th April 2006
    text: |-
      I am the absolutely proud owner of an APPLE "Macintosh SE/30" computer & it's the best boxmac APPLE Computer makes!

      Later!\
      8^ \]
  - author: Nate Arnold (USA)
    date: Tuesday 18th October 2005
    text: 'This was certainly a classic. The upgrading was a pain. To upgrade the RAM on this macine you needed the following tools: A Sadering Gun (Its Ram didn''t come in sticks at the time), a screwdriver, and a Parybar and Rubber Mallet (To help crack the case open). I still remeber the smell of saudered silicon (it lingers in the computer room) My father had to. I recently aquired one and am still trying to get it open to get the hard drive reconnected and working.'
  - author: Aran Carrigan (USA)
    date: Friday 4th March 2005
    text: People might think a kid would take these seriously, but I did! I fiddled around with it and upgraded it from the OS 7.0.1 to 7.5 and it still works like new! (I had to do something to it. It used to belong to my school.) I'd say it's best computer I own.
  - author: mark (Cincinnati)
    date: Tuesday 5th March 2002
    text: |-
      this is one of the best computers ever made. my old boss at a college computer department bought one years ago from a woman who had been using it to run a design and publishing company; when he took it away, she cried.

      we used SE/30s as network testers because they are so portable and reliable. they are great for writers because you can tote them around all over and type wherever you please: on the porch, in your hotel, etc. I own two SE/30s.
  related:
  - /museum/apple-lisa-lisa-2-mac-xl
  - /museum/apple-macintosh
  - /museum/apple-macintosh-color-classic
  - /museum/apple-macintosh-ii
  - /museum/apple-macintosh-plus
  - /museum/apple-macintosh-portable
  - /museum/apple-macintosh-se
  oc_id: 162
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230608221539/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=162
    date: '2023-06-08'
---

The Macintosh SE/30 was the successor to the [Apple Macintosh SE](/museum/apple-macintosh-se/) and the [Macintosh Plus](/museum/apple-macintosh-plus/). It ran under Mac OS 6.0.3 or A/UX (Apple’s Unix variant).

Apple had been naming all computers using the 68030 processers with an "x", such as the IIx and IIcx. When it came time to put the 68030 processor into the SE series, they prudently decided that calling it the Macintosh "SEx" wasn't the best marketing idea, so they settled on "SE 30".

Except for the 68030, one of its main differences with the old Mac SE was its separate video RAM (64 KB which could be accessed without slowing down CPU access to the RAM). Its sound system was a limited version of the Apple II GS sound system.

Although the SE-30 had a gray-scale monitor, the onboard video actually supported color. The cost of incorporating a 9" color CRT would have made the machine far too pricey, resulting in the the grayscale CRT. However, the idea of a color CRT would be taken up again with the [Colour Classic](/museum/apple-macintosh-color-classic/).\
The SE-30 also had an expansion slot that could support a variety of 3rd party cards, an example being a combination 10BaseT Ethernet / color video out card.

---

Some information provided by **Andrew Granger**:\
The SE/30 could address up to 128MB of RAM, the SE/30 was essentially a Mac IIx/Mac IIcx crammed into a Mac 128/512/Plus/SE-sized case. The one caveat to this maximum RAM configuration is that the ROMs were not "32-bit clean." The ROM implementation was only 24 bits wide, with the result that if you installed any more than 8MB into the SE/30, you wouldn't see any more than 8MB available, but the System Software listing in the "About this Macintosh..." menu item would be \*huge\* (this same situation happened on the Mac IIx and IIcx also). In order to address more than 8MB of RAM, you needed to either install Connectix's Mode32 extension, or (later) Apple's 32-bit Enabler extension. These extensions patched the ROM code to make the machine 32-bit clean, thus allowing you to have as much RAM as your heart desired, up to 128MB.

Video extension by **Luca Rescigno**:\
SE/30s have been hacked to an even greater extent. There are many different things people have done, but one popular (if rare, and dangerous!) upgrade is to find a Micron XCeed graphics chip. This chip fits into the neck of the CRT, which is a dangerous place to work because of all the built up charge. When installed, it will allow the monochrome 512x384 display to use **256 grays at 640x480!** In addition to the 128 MB RAM upgrades some crazy souls have added, others have found out how to install systems beyond 7.5.5 onto 68030 machines. I think the software is called BornAgain, and it lets you run 7.6, 8.0 and 8.1 on old 68030s, although I don't think 68030s can use the HFS+ filesystem introduced with 8.1.