Easiest way to access old SCSI Hard Drives from1990s

[Savage_Man]

I recently bought a Performa 630cd and as I was looking through my garage bins, I found two 1990s ear Apple SCSI hard drives. I would like to see what was stored in those drives. My Performa 630cd doesn't have a SCSI hard drive to swap in these old drives but it does come with a SCSI port in the back. What would be the easiest way, other than hunting for an old enclosure, to connect my Performa?
Any suggestion would be very appreciated.

 

[weckart]

I recently bought a Performa 630cd and as I was looking through my garage bins, I found two 1990s ear Apple SCSI hard drives. I would like to see what was stored in those drives. My Performa 630cd doesn't have a SCSI hard drive to swap in these old drives but it does come with a SCSI port in the back. What would be the easiest way, other than hunting for an old enclosure, to connect my Performa?
Any suggestion would be very appreciated.

Late reply but anyway. The Performa has a 25pin external SCSI port whereas drives of that period were usually 50pin or 68 pin so you would need to get an adapter. Those are cheap. Apart from that, you need a suitable SCSI cable to connect the two and don't forget to terminate the cable. Assign a SCSI ID to the drive other than 0. Sometimes the drive itself has a terminal jumper, which will save you the cost of a terminator.

The only thing left is to get a molex extension cable so that you can power the drive from a spare molex connector from inside the Performa. This should be enough to get the drives going so that you can see what is on them, if anything. Assuming they still work. I have drives from the late 80s, which still do so good luck.

 

[LagosCoder]

Great advice from weckart 👍
Savage_Man, if you’re not familiar with setting SCSI IDs or finding the right adapters, make sure to double-check the compatibility of the adapter and cable with your specific drives. Do you already have access to a Molex extension cable, or would you need help sourcing one? Also, consider testing the drives carefully since their age might mean they’re prone to failure.

 

[Savage_Man]

Great advice from weckart 👍
Savage_Man, if you’re not familiar with setting SCSI IDs or finding the right adapters, make sure to double-check the compatibility of the adapter and cable with your specific drives. Do you already have access to a Molex extension cable, or would you need help sourcing one? Also, consider testing the drives carefully since their age might mean they’re prone to failure.

Thank you for the advice, appreciated.

 

[Savage_Man]

Late reply but anyway. The Performa has a 25pin external SCSI port whereas drives of that period were usually 50pin or 68 pin so you would need to get an adapter. Those are cheap. Apart from that, you need a suitable SCSI cable to connect the two and don't forget to terminate the cable. Assign a SCSI ID to the drive other than 0. Sometimes the drive itself has a terminal jumper, which will save you the cost of a terminator.

The only thing left is to get a molex extension cable so that you can power the drive from a spare molex connector from inside the Performa. This should be enough to get the drives going so that you can see what is on them, if anything. Assuming they still work. I have drives from the late 80s, which still do so good luck.

Thank you for the info, appreciated. I haven't try accessing the old SCSI yet, but will try and report back just incase someone else may have the same question(s).