A slightly different suggestion:

If your motherboard uses an onboard battery for the real time clock and Cmos settings retention, it is a good idea to change out the battery ( if the battery is more than a couple of years old.)

A weak or dead battery can lead to all kinds of issues. I have experienced a non-booting PC come back up simply by replacing the battery.

When I work on equipment like this, I usually try and put in a fresh battery, and mark the year on the top of the battery (or put a sticker inside the case). These batteries are inexpensive if you buy them in multiples. When they get weak, all kinds of issues can surface.

https://www.technewstoday.com/motherboard-cmos-battery-dead/

Yes, I did read it, and he mentioned the drive also has a usb port. That is why a picture of the drive would be helpful to determine exactly what it is. If it is a portable drive with both ethernet and usb, the usb would bypass the IP address problems.

A picture of this drive would be helpful.

Was this drive a stand alone external drive to a video security system main unit, or is this the security system recorder itself?

If it is a stand alone drive and has a usb connection, the a usb connection to the Mac may be the easiest way to get access to the drive as it bypasses the ethernet issues. Some security systems encrypt the video data on the drive, or may use a format that is not readable by a mac.

It is not uncommon for old batteries to swell like that, and start to deform the case etc. A telltale sign can be when the trackpad can not be pushed down, (clicked) as easily as it one was,. The battery swelling has restricted its movement. I have replaced a fair amount of these batteries and it is not a hard job.

It also appears that the mac has a regular hard drive. If you replace the battery with success, you may consider putting in a solid state drive which will speed it us as well.

As others have mentioned already, many replacement batteries come in a kit with the tools you need. Battery life on the replacements can be hit or miss, I have had "name brand" replacements fail in a few months, so its good to get a battery with a decent warranty.

I was trying to offer an alternative to a 4TB ssd, in a 2 drive 6TB mirrored Nas for a similar amount of money.

The idea being to lighten the load on the laptop, which carries active data while the near line data sits on the Nas. If you have your working data with you, the need for pulling data from your Nas will be very very low. Should the odd occasion arise, it can be pulled down to the laptop encrypted. You can have secure at a transfers, even on unsecured networks.

If you carry all your data on your laptop, and the laptop is lost or stolen, it is all at risk. If you do not have it backed up, even worse.

For what its worth, I use a 1 TB SSD in my laptop, and try not to keep unnecessary files on it.

About half of what I do is on a workstation(desktop). I purchased a 2 drive NAS (network attached storage) unit and installed two conventional 6tb drives configured as mirrored pair. This is connected to my home network and the NAS appears as a drive on my computers.

This handles my backups as well as keeps all of my work accessible.

The laptop and workstation will have only projects I am actively working on.

The NAS is also accessible through the internet, so all of my files are available wherever I might be, as long as I can get an internet connection. The NAS was about 500.00 total (200.00 for the NAS and about 150.00 each for the 6TB drives.) I can then attach a 6tb external drive and back up the NAS to that, and keep that drive off site, giving me at 3 drives contain the data.

This setup has served me very well. (no pun intended)

It probably could have been predicted that this would evolve (devolve) into a brand name comparison thread. It is always good to hear from folks who have owned more than one brand and now favor A over B for whatever reason. As with many things, when you switch brands you immediately notice things that you did not have with your original brand, but it takes longer to discover some subtle things you gave up in the switch.

Canon and Nikon have a rich history of perfecting moving mirror cameras, from film to digital eras. They are close to their customers and try to deliver want they feel the photographer needs. (as does Sony etc) The rich history with Canon and Nikon also make them tend to hold on to the traditional as they have so much intellectual property invested in perfecting and fine tuning moving mirror cameras. They are reluctant to throw out all that hard earned technical and engineering knowledge. A new entry can be bold with new ideas and stake out a good position in new technology.

It will be fascinating going forward to see how Canon and Nikon leverages their knowledge of the user to develop mirrorless cameras while continuing to have mirrored units as the anchor in their product lines (for now). Sometimes, anchors slow your down though.

For now, it seems that the sony lenses excel in working quickly and seamlessly with their bodies, where the third party lenses may be wonderful optically, but a bit less fast in focusing speed and reliability. That is what makes a great horse race interesting to watch. Also, keep an eye on the software innovation in the cell phone cameras..

For the record, I am a long time Canon user, with some Nikon as well. Now moved to A7r4 from the A7r3. They each have their own personalities. The GM glass is very good, and I hope it has reliability and long life as well. Time will tell on that.

the G master lenses will help empty that pocket..

Hello Robert,

Thanks for the info. Yes, it's hard to classify an unused item. While not "new with warranty", it essentially has no use, so "new old stock", or "used with zero shutter count" might be an appropriate description.

Anyway, I am open to reasonable offers, and can always keep it as a backup as I convert to E mount lenses.

hello, 2200.00 is dollars , shutter count is zero.

It's a long complicated story, but I have an unused A7R MKIII that I purchased new from B&H when they first came out. The condition is like new in box with all paperwork and accessories, battery, charger, and a 128gb memory card. When I bought it I took it out of the box to inspect and fire it up, but have not actually used it. If you are looking for a pristine MKIII, please contact me. Will ship to the US only.

Its time to move some older gear along to someone who could get good use from it. Great inexpensive kit for a beginner.

All items are gently used and in excellent cosmetic and working condition. This is a popular combination that covers the range from 18 - 200mm. Body is 12.3 megapixels, which is fine for small prints and web applications..

Nikon D5000 body, in factory box with 3 batteries, sd card, Nikon charger, manual
Nikon AF-S VR 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G IF -ED like new in original box with hood and caps
Nikon AF-S VR 18-55mm f /3.5-5.6 G lens , like new with pouch and caps

This is a great inexpensive way for someone to learn on a Nikon DSLR.

what generation I Mac is it? The newer they are the trickier they can be to work on. Having said that, if you know how to open them up, it is not as bad as it may seem.

At this point, what happens when you try and start the machine?

An audible chime tells you the self tests have passed.
Then do you get a folder with a ? in it. or a different message?
Can you boot it from an external drive or an optical drive?

It would be good to determine that the problem is is indeed the drive before you jump in. ( it usually is the drive)
Specialized tool sets for Macs are pretty common and inexpensive. Apple likes to use non standard fastener heads.

We have similar equipment. I am using the same generation of Mac Pro, along with an Eizo. The glare of the new apple screens is an issue for me. I love the Eizo.. I do have a retina laptop, and have to deal with glare on that screen.

You can significantly speed up your MacPro with a solid state drive. I suggest the card based ones as they are faster than a regular ssd mounted in one of the drive bays. Either will be much much faster than the conventional type hard drive supplied with these machines.

These Mac towers are easy to add memory to, and use error correcting memory to eliminate corruption of the data. (Usually found in server grade equipment.)

You can also swap out the processors and go up to 3.4ghz 6 cores, giving 12 cores on a dual processor model.

The screen glare , and difficulty in servicing the newest macs has made me hesitant to upgrade, and I am waiting to see what the promised "new generation" of Mac Pro will look like. For the time being I am sticking with mine as I have done most all the speed modifications.

Just trying to present an alternative, as these older MacPros (2010) are built very well, and will run the latest OS. If they bring out an updated MacPro soon, as promised, I am afraid to see what it will cost..

Like the OP, I started with the Canon 300d when it first came out, then went to an XTi, and then to several newer bodies as the years went by.

I did notice with the 300 and the XTi that the body and sensor had a lot to offer, and that the standard zoom kit lens would not let you realize. You had to shoot them stopped down to get any kind of sharpness. What lens do you have?

When I first tried a better lens from my film EOS, I was surprised at how well these modest bodies could perform.

If you don't "need" the higher megapixels now, you might want to learn how to best use what you have. I would look into borrowing a good lens before judging what the XTi sensor can do. If you view your work on a screen, or on 8x10" prints or smaller, you should be fine as long as you are not cropping severely. Good lenses generally hold their value well, bodies much less so.