Editing Apple Lisa

{{Infobox computer
| name           = Apple Lisa
| image          = [[File:Apple_Lisa.jpg|250px]]
| caption        = Apple Lisa with ProFile hard drive
| developer      = Apple Computer, Inc. (Project led by John Couch; GUI inspired by Xerox PARC)
| manufacturer   = Apple Computer, Inc.
| type           = Personal/business computer
| release date   = January 19, 1983
| discontinued   = August 1, 1986
| price          = US$9,995 (base model)
| cpu            = Motorola 68000 @ 5 MHz
| coprocessor    = None
| memory         = 512 KB or 1 MB on two memory boards (Apple maximum 1 MB; 2 MB with third-party boards)
| storage        = 2 × 5.25-inch FileWare ("Twiggy") drives, 871 KB formatted each; optional ProFile hard drive, 4.98 MB formatted
| display        = 12-inch monochrome CRT, 720 × 364, 60 Hz refresh
| graphics       = Bit-mapped raster display; 20 MHz dot rate, 22,900 Hz line rate
| sound          = Internal piezo speaker
| os             = Lisa OS 1.0–3.1; Microsoft Xenix available
| input          = Keyboard, one-button mouse, optional graphics tablet
| connectivity   = 2 × RS-232-C serial (DB-25); 1 × parallel (DB-25) — the ProFile connects here
| expansion      = 3 × internal expansion slots
| dimensions     = 350 mm H × 475 mm W × 388 mm D (13.8 × 18.7 × 15.2 in)
| weight         = 22 kg (48 lb)
| predecessor    = [[Apple III]]
| successor      = [[Apple Lisa 2]]
| codename       = “Lisa” (often backronymed “Local Integrated Software Architecture”)
| model          = A6S0200
}}

The '''Apple Lisa''' was Apple Computer’s first personal computer to offer a complete graphical user interface (GUI) and mouse-driven interaction, targeted at business users. It pioneered features such as protected memory, cooperative multitasking, and document-centric applications. Despite its innovations, its high cost and performance limitations led to modest sales and an eventual market withdrawal.

== History ==
=== Origins and Vision ===
The Apple Lisa project began in 1978 as Apple’s first serious effort to create a user-friendly, office-oriented personal computer, driven by CEO Steve Jobs’s vision of a graphical user interface for the mass market. A ten-person team was first housed at 20863 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino—nicknamed the “Good Earth building”—under initial leader Ken Rothmuller, who was soon replaced by John Couch as project manager.

=== Inspiration from Xerox PARC ===
In 1979, key Lisa engineers including Steve Jobs visited Xerox PARC’s Palo Alto Research Center and witnessed the Alto workstation’s pioneering WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer) interface. Impressed by the Alto’s mouse-driven desktop metaphor, Apple negotiated an exchange of stock to secure PARC demonstrations, laying the foundational GUI concepts that would define Lisa’s software and user experience.

=== Hardware Development and Challenges ===

==== Twiggy Floppies and Component Delays ====
Apple originally equipped Lisa with dual “Twiggy” 5.25″ floppy drives (codename FileWare), which proved highly unreliable in production, leading to frequent data errors and manufacturing delays. Later models replaced these with more dependable 3.5″ Sony drives.

==== Escalating Costs and Complexity ====
Rapidly rising component costs—especially of the Motorola 68000 CPU—combined with a sophisticated hardware design that included protected memory emulation and a 12″ 720×364-pixel monochrome display, pushed Lisa’s price to US\$9,995 at launch (equivalent to over US\$30,000 in 2024), limiting its appeal to large enterprises.

=== Launch and Early Reception ===
Lisa was announced on 19 January 1983 and began shipping that June. Reviewers praised its innovative GUI and its bundled Office suite, but criticised the steep
learning curve, the sluggish performance of the machine under its own operating system and
the shortage of third-party software.

=== Market Pressures and Macintosh Competition ===
In January 1984, Apple released the Macintosh at US\$2,495—roughly one-quarter of Lisa’s price—featuring a streamlined GUI and faster 3.5″ floppy drive. The Macintosh quickly captured both developer interest and retail mindshare, cannibalizing Lisa sales and contributing to Lisa’s commercial failure despite its advanced hardware and software features.

== Hardware ==

=== Published specification ===

Apple's own hardware specification for the Lisa, from Appendix 5 of the ''Lisa Owner's
Guide'':<ref name="lisaog">Apple Computer, Inc., ''Lisa Owner's Guide'' (1983), Appendix 5, "Hardware Specifications". Hosted on this wiki as [[:File:Apple Lisa Owners Guide 1983.pdf]].</ref>

<templatestyles src="Template:StyledTable/styles.css" />
{| class="wikitable styled-table"
! Item !! Apple's figure
|-
| Cabinet || 350 mm high, 475 mm wide, 388 mm deep (13.8 × 18.7 × 15.2 in); 22 kg (48 lb)
|-
| Mains, US || 90–130 V AC, 48–68 Hz
|-
| Mains, Europe/Asia || 180–260 V AC, 48–68 Hz
|-
| Operating temperature || 5–40 °C (40–104 °F)
|-
| Operating humidity || 10–80%, non-condensing
|-
| Internal memory sizes || ½ MB or 1 MB
|-
| Built-in drives || 871 KB formatted each
|-
| ProFile || 4.98 MB formatted
|-
| Screen || 30 cm (12 in) diagonal, 150 × 220 mm (6 × 8.5 in) active
|-
| Resolution || 364 lines × 720 dots per line
|-
| Screen refresh rate || '''60 Hz'''
|-
| Horizontal line rate || 22,900 Hz
|-
| Dot rate || 20 MHz
|}

Two figures on an earlier revision of this page are not Apple's: a 67 Hz refresh rate (Apple
says 60 Hz) and a 25 MHz crystal (Apple gives a 20 MHz dot rate). A "light pen interface"
was also claimed; nothing in Apple's specification or service literature describes one, and
it has been removed.

=== Memory ===

The Lisa takes '''two identical memory boards''' (Apple part 661-93105) in the card cage. A
Lisa 2 with one board fitted has 512 KB; with both fitted it has '''1 MB, which is Apple's
maximum'''. Apple notes in the same paragraph that "two megabytes of memory are possible if
third party memory boards are installed".<ref name="lisatp">Apple Computer, Inc., ''Apple Service Technical Procedures: Lisa/Macintosh XL'' &mdash; Set-up &sect;C "Checking the Battery Switch" and &sect;E "Installing the ProFile"; Diagnostics &rarr; "Interpreting the Boot ROM and I/O ROM"; Troubleshooting &rarr; error-number tables, "Basic Lisa 2/Macintosh XL Configuration Table" and "System Boards Compatibility Table"; Lisa 2 General Information. Hosted on this wiki as [[:File:Apple Service Technical Procedures Lisa-Macintosh XL.pdf]].</ref>

'''Two memory boards are required to run the diagnostic diskette''' and to run any version of
the Lisa Workshop.<ref name="lisatp" /> A machine that fails diagnostics with only one board fitted is
not necessarily faulty.

=== Storage ===

The Lisa 1 shipped with two 5.25-inch FileWare drives — universally called '''Twiggy''' —
formatted at '''871 KB''' each.<ref name="lisaog" /> They proved unreliable in service and Apple
replaced them in the Lisa 2 with a single-sided Sony 3.5-inch mechanism.

The external '''ProFile''' hard drive is '''4.98 MB formatted'''<ref name="lisaog" /> and connects to
the Lisa's '''built-in parallel port''', not to a serial port or to any AppleBus connector:
Apple's installation procedure is "connect the ribbon cable to the ProFile and to the
built-in parallel port at the back of the Lisa".<ref name="lisatp" /> The Lisa 2/10 instead carries an
internal 10 MB '''Widget''' drive, for which the I/O board and motherboard must both be the
2/10 types.<ref name="lisatp" />

A Lisa 2 with no hard disk '''cannot run the Lisa Office System at all''' — Apple states that
the Office System must be loaded onto a hard disk. It can run MacWorks from the microdisk
drive, in which case it "behaves like a Macintosh without an external disk
drive".<ref name="lisatp" />

=== Input, output and expansion ===

The Lisa 1 and Lisa 2 motherboard carries '''three DB-25 connectors: two serial and one
parallel'''. The Macintosh XL motherboard has '''no parallel connector''' and only two DB-25
connectors, both serial — which is why a Macintosh XL cannot drive a ProFile from the
built-in port.<ref name="lisatp" />

There are '''three internal expansion slots''' in the card cage. Apple's own set-up procedure
fits the Parallel Interface Card, needed for the Dot Matrix Printer, in '''expansion slot
2''' at the right rear.<ref name="lisatp" />

=== The battery pack ===

'''This is the single most destructive fault on a surviving Lisa, and the older revisions of
these pages never mentioned it.'''

The Lisa I/O board carries '''four NiCd AA cells''' in a holder on its lower right-hand side,
with an on/off switch beside them; Apple's set-up procedure has the technician confirm that
switch is set to ON.<ref name="lisatp" /> Forty years on, almost all of these packs have leaked, and
the electrolyte eats traces on the I/O board.

Whether a board has batteries at all is a useful identifier:<ref name="lisatp" />

* '''Lisa 2 and Lisa 2/5''' I/O board (620-0117-X, 661-93198) — '''has batteries'''; no resistor at R-47
* '''Macintosh XL''' (Lisa 2/10) I/O board (661-9??, 620-X14x-X) — '''no batteries'''; resistor '''is''' present at R-47
* '''Modified Macintosh XL''' and '''Modified Lisa 2''' (screen modification kit fitted) — '''has batteries'''

Remove the cells before doing anything else to a stored machine. See
[[Apple Lisa Capacitor Replacement Guide]] for the cleaning and trace-repair method and for
the power supply and video board capacitor lists.

=== Identifying a board set ===

Apple's ''System Boards Compatibility Table'' identifies each module by part number and by
ROM revision. The most useful rows:<ref name="lisatp" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table"
! Module !! Apple part number !! Notes
|-
| Motherboard, Lisa 2 || 661-93106 (620-0108-X) || Three DB-25 connectors: two serial, one parallel
|-
| Motherboard, Macintosh XL || 661-93110 (620-X141) || No parallel connector; two DB-25, both serial
|-
| I/O board, Lisa 2/5 || 661-93198 (620-0117-X) || Has batteries; no R-47; disk controller ROM 341-0290 rev. B
|-
| I/O board, Macintosh XL || (620-X14x-X) || No batteries; R-47 fitted; disk controller ROM 341-0281 rev. D
|-
| CPU board || 661-93103 (620-0119-X) || Boot ROMs 341-0175 and 341-0176, rev. H
|-
| CPU board, modified || 661-0298 or 661-93103 || Boot ROMs 341-0347 and 341-0346, rev. 3A
|-
| Memory boards (two identical) || 661-93105 (620-01XX-X) || Same for every variant
|-
| Video board || 661-93107 (620-0121-X) || Same for every variant
|}

Two power supplies were fitted: a '''5 A supply rated at 1.2 A AC''' and a '''10 A supply
rated at 1.8 A AC'''. Which one is present is part of Apple's configuration table for
telling the variants apart.<ref name="lisatp" />

== Diagnostics ==

=== Reading the ROM codes at startup ===

About 30 seconds after power-on, as the CRT warms, the Lisa draws four icons — CPU, I/O,
memory and expansion cards — and highlights each in turn as the boot ROM tests it. If a card
fails, its icon is drawn with an '''X''' through it and testing stops: reseat the board,
power up again, and swap it out if the same icon fails.<ref name="lisatp" />

Once the icons have been tested, the '''Boot ROM and I/O ROM code numbers appear in the upper
right corner of the screen''' for a few seconds. Apple's correct values:<ref name="lisatp" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table"
! System !! Boot ROM (unmodified) !! I/O ROM (unmodified) !! Boot ROM (modified) !! I/O ROM (modified)
|-
| Lisa 2 and 2/5 || H || A8 || 3A || A8
|-
| Macintosh XL (Lisa 2/10) || H || 88 || 3A || 88
|}

"Modified" means the Macintosh XL Screen Modification Kit is fitted. If the codes you read do
not match this table, Apple's instruction is to install the correct ROM. Note also that the
diagnostic diskette reports an I/O error on CPU boards whose boot ROM is earlier than
rev. F.<ref name="lisatp" />

=== Error numbers ===

The Lisa's diagnostics report numeric error codes. Apple's own table, abbreviated to the
hardware-level entries:<ref name="lisatp" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table"
! Number !! Problem !! Apple's replacement order
|-
| 22, 23, 25, 38 || Cannot clamp / read / unclamp diskette; no boot file || See the "bad diskette icon" start-up messages
|-
| 39 || Disk controller timeout || I/O board, CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 40 || MMU || CPU board
|-
| 41 || CPU selection logic || CPU board
|-
| 42 || Video circuitry || CPU board
|-
| 43 || Parity circuitry || CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2, motherboard
|-
| 44 || NMI error || CPU board, I/O board, motherboard
|-
| 45 || Bus error || I/O board, CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 46 || Address error || CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2
|-
| 47 || Exception || CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 48 || Illegal instruction || CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2
|-
| 49 || 1010 or 1111 trap || CPU board, memory board 1, memory board 2
|-
| 50 || COPS VIA || I/O board, CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 51 || Parallel port VIA || I/O board, CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 52 || I/O board COPS || I/O board
|-
| 53 || Keyboard COPS || Keyboard, I/O board, keyboard cable, motherboard
|-
| 54 || Clock error || I/O board
|-
| 55, 56 || RS-232 port A, port B || I/O board
|-
| 57 || Disk controller || I/O board, disk drive, disk drive cables, CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 58 || I/O board access || I/O board, CPU board, motherboard
|-
| 59 || I/O board COPS code || I/O board
|-
| 60 || I/O or keyboard error || Keyboard, I/O board, keyboard cable, motherboard
|-
| 70, 71 || Memory data, memory parity || Replace the memory board identified by the icon shown
|-
| 75 || Boot failure || See the start-up error messages for the icon shown
|-
| 80–85 || ProFile errors || See the "bad ProFile icon" start-up messages
|-
| 90–93 || Expansion card error || See the "bad expansion card icon" start-up messages
|}

Codes 43, 46, 48 and 49 all point at the CPU board '''or''' a memory board, which is why
Apple's order matters: swap the CPU board first, then memory board 1, then memory board 2.

== Operating System and Software ==
[[File:Interface gráfica do computador pessoal Lisa.gif|thumb|Lisa OS GUI]]
=== Lisa OS ===
Lisa OS 1.0 debuted with the hardware. Its WYSIWYG GUI featured overlapping windows,
pull-down menus, drag-and-drop icons and document-centric workflows — you opened a copy of a
stationery pad rather than launching an application. The system provided protected memory
per process and multitasking, both unusual on a desk in 1983. The final revision, Lisa OS
3.1, shipped with the Lisa 2/10.

The Lisa Office System '''must be installed on a hard disk''' — Apple states that it cannot
run on a Lisa 2 with no ProFile or internal drive.<ref name="lisatp" />

=== Microsoft Xenix on Lisa ===
An optional Microsoft Xenix port transformed Lisa into a UNIX-like multi-user system when paired with the RAM expansion and ProFile HDD. Xenix on Lisa supported multiple terminal sessions over serial ports, a Bourne shell, standard UNIX utilities, and software development tools—demonstrating the Lisa’s versatility beyond its GUI orientation.

== Software Suite ==
Apple bundled seven integrated programs under the LisaOffice umbrella. Apple's service
documentation refers to "the six basic Lisa tools" supplied on tool master diskettes
alongside the two Office System diskettes.<ref name="lisatp" /> Tool master diskettes are copy-protected
per machine: once copied by one Lisa they can never be copied onto another, and copies made
from them cannot be used on another machine.<ref name="lisatp" />
* '''LisaWrite''' – A full-featured word processor with WYSIWYG layout and proportional fonts.
* '''LisaCalc''' – Spreadsheet with cell-based formula editing and charting.
* '''LisaDraw''' – Vector-based drawing and illustration.
* '''LisaGraph''' – Data visualization and chart creation.
* '''LisaProject''' – Project management with Gantt chart scheduling.
* '''LisaList''' – Simple database and report generator.
* '''LisaTerminal''' – terminal emulator for connecting to host systems over the serial ports.

== Variants & Evolution ==
=== Lisa 2 (1984) ===
* Replaced Twiggy with a Sony 3.5″ 400 KB floppy drive.
* Models:
''' Lisa 2/5 — One 3.5″ drive + ProFile 5 MB.
''' Lisa 2/10 — Two 3.5″ drives + internal Widget 10 MB HDD.
[[File:Apple-LISA-Macintosh-XL.jpg|thumb|251x251px|Macintosh XL]]

=== Macintosh XL (1985) ===
* Rebranded Lisa 2/10.
* Shipped with MacWorks XL ROM emulator to run Macintosh System Software.
* Shipped with a screen modification kit and a different boot ROM revision; see [[#Identifying a board set|Identifying a board set]] below.

== Maintenance and Troubleshooting ==
[[File:Apple Lisa repair.jpg|thumb|Apple Lisa (without cover)]]
Aging Lisa units commonly require:
* '''The four NiCd cells on the I/O board.''' Deal with these first — see [[#The battery pack|The battery pack]] above. A leaked pack destroys traces and is the commonest reason a surviving Lisa is beyond economic repair.
* '''RIFA safety capacitors in the power supply.''' C1 and C7, both 0.33 µF X-class parts, crack and fail with smoke. Replace with modern X2 film capacitors before the first power-on of a stored machine.
* '''Electrolytic capacitors''' in the power supply and on the video board. Values are on [[Apple Lisa Capacitor Replacement Guide]].
* '''Floppy drive service.''' Twiggy drives need cleaning and fresh lubrication; many owners retrofit a Sony 3.5-inch mechanism, which is what Apple itself did for the Lisa 2.
* '''Keyboard and mouse.''' Contact oxidation in the detachable keyboard cable causes intermittent input; the keyboard uses capacitive foam-and-foil pads that crumble.

For step-by-step procedures, see the dedicated [[Apple Lisa General Maintenance|Apple Lisa Maintenance Guide]], [[Apple Lisa Troubleshooting|Apple Lisa Troubleshooting Guide]] and [[Apple Lisa Capacitor Replacement Guide]] pages.

== Legacy and Impact ==
Although commercially unsuccessful, the Lisa laid the foundational architecture for the Macintosh GUI, protected memory concepts, and integrated office productivity software. Many engineers and designers from the Lisa team transitioned to Macintosh development, carrying forward lessons in human–computer interaction and system design. Today, the Lisa is revered by historians and collectors as a pivotal moment in the evolution of personal computing.

== References ==
<references />

== See Also ==
* [[Apple Lisa General Maintenance|Apple Lisa Maintenance Guide]]
* [[Apple Lisa Troubleshooting|Apple Lisa Troubleshooting Guide]]
* [[Macintosh XL]]
* [[Apple Lisa Capacitor Replacement Guide]]
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[[Category:Apple Vintage Computers]]