Macintosh LC 550

Macintosh LC 550

The Macintosh LC 550 is an all-in-one 68030-based Macintosh that was released in February 1994.


Specifications

Spec Details
Release Date February 1994
Discontinuation Date March 1995
Processor Motorola 68LC040 @33MHz
FPU: Optional
Bus Speed: 33MHz
RAM 1x 72-pin SIMM Slot
- 5MB Standard
- 36MB Maximum
Hard Disk 3.5" SCSI
- 80 or 160MB Standard
Graphics 14" Color Trinitron CRT @640x480
- 512 or 768KB VRAM
Audio Stereo Speakers
Internal Drives Auto-inject 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive
Optional 2X CD-ROM Drive
Expansion 1x LC PDS Slot
Networking None
Other I/O - 2x ADB
- 2x Serial
- 1x DB25 SCSI
- 1x Line Out
- 1x Mic In
- 1x Headphone Out
PRAM Battery 1/2AA Lithium
Original Mac OS System 7.1
Maximum Mac OS Mac OS 7.6.1

Upgrades

CPU Upgrade

68040 accelerators were available.

SSD Upgrade

Check our page on SCSI SSD replacements for more info.


Resources


Service Manual
Capacitor Reference

Common Faults & Maintenance

PRAM Battery Leaks

The Macintosh LC 550's Lithium PRAM battery is highly prone to leaking and should absolutely be removed. The LC 550 does not need a working battery to boot.

Capacitors

The LC 550's logic board has several surface-mount electrolytic capacitors on it that leak corrosive fluid with age. These must be replaced for reliable operation.

The LC 550's analog board also sometimes needs recapping.

Brittle Plastic

The 550's case plastics are now extremely brittle. They will not survive shipping 90% of the time, even if packed very well. Handle with extreme care at all times.

The plastics also yellow with age.

Other Notes

Most original SCSI hard drives for these have gone bad, especially those made by Quantum, which suffer from sticky rubber bumpers in the head assembly.



Page last updated (MM/DD/YYYY): 03/11/2025
Update Reason: page rewritten

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