Earlier this year, I rescued a 1990 Macintosh Classic compact Mac. I had found it on Facebook Marketplace for $30.

In 2025, all Mac Classic computers have leaky electrolytic capacitors and potentially an exploded PRAM battery. Not great. I knew there was at least a chance to salvage this Mac because the listing showed the compact Mac running.

Once I got it home, and cracked open the case, I discovered that the caps had in fact been leaking and that the PRAM battery had leaked. Thankfully, all was not lost. This little guy could still be saved.

I purchased some replacement cap kits and got to work on recapping my Mac. It was my first attempt at performing electronics repair on a computer. Overall things went well for a first attempt, but as you will see in this video, not everything went to plan.

Look for Part 4 of this Mac recapping job in January 2026 where I will attempt do board level repairs and install replacement capacitors.