G4 Quicksilver Upgrades

[zackkmac]

I will post some pics soon.

So today I installed the airport card, maximum RAM and the SuperDrive which was pulled from a G5. After reading some online tips, I set the drive to Master. I'm not sure what the previous one was set to due to it having no indications/markings on the drive labeling the settings.

So after finding out it should be set to Master, I did so. The drive does not function. I can't get it to eject and in Open Firmware, when trying "cd eject", it comes back saying "Cannot open eject disk" or something like that. Then I migrated my Tiger installer to a USB drive, booted it, and opened System Profiler. The drive shows up under ATA, but not under Disc Burning. Also, it shows that it is a DVR-117D rather than DVR-108AA which is what I ordered. I read that these are standard in PMG5s, so shouldn't it work in my G4?

Anyone have suggestions on getting it to work? Or should I return it and try to get an actual DVR-108?

 

[Dave H]

A DVR-117D should work fine in a G4. I had one in a Digital Audio G4 for 3 1/2 years.
Is it plugged in at the end of the data cable, or on the middle connector?

Correction: I had a DVR-115, but the 117 was similar.

 

[zackkmac]

It is plugged in at the end, right where the previous CDRW drive was. Same power cable (P6) and same IDE connector. I don't understand why System Profiler can see it but I still can't use it.

 

[4JNA]

jump the jumper a bit.

don't think it should be on 'MA' master, but on 'CS' cable select.

that cable is designed to select the channel based on which ide connector position is used, and the jumper is probably causing a conflict.

easy to power down and try moving the jumper, i've been wrong once or twice before... maybe...

EDIT to add; an easy way to tell if not marked is MA is always the pins next to the ide cable, then SL, then CS, some have two more sets, some don't, doesn't matter just worry about the first 3 groups of two. best of luck.

 

[zackkmac]

don't think it should be on 'MA' master, but on 'CS' cable select.

that cable is designed to select the channel based on which ide connector position is used, and the jumper is probably causing a conflict.

easy to power down and try moving the jumper, i've been wrong once or twice before... maybe...

EDIT to add; an easy way to tell if not marked is MA is always the pins next to the ide cable, then SL, then CS, some have two more sets, some don't, doesn't matter just worry about the first 3 groups of two. best of luck.

Thank you. This drive has the jumper markings but the one already in my G4 didn't. I tried all 3 settings and I get the same results - recognized under the ATA section but not under disc burning, and still unusable.

 

[666sheep]

Zack, what OS you're running ATM? If lower than 10.4 and this drive doesn't have Apple firmware, you'd need Patchburn or OS upgrade.
OSes prior to 10.4 need this small app to add burning support for non-Apple drives.
You can check it in ASP. It should say "(Apple Shipped Drive)" in Burn support, if it has Apple firmware.
Like on this pic:

 

[zackkmac]

Currently the PowerMac is running no OS. I booted the install USB for Tiger and erased the hard drives, then tried to install 10.4 but it would fail when getting to the "Essentials" package. With the new optical drive being inoperable, I can't even attempt to install it with the DVD.

 

[666sheep]

Maybe this Pionneer drive is DOA? Do you have another computer to test it? Mac or PC, doesn't matter. It would be extremely weird when good, working drive is visible on ATA bus and doesn't work.

 

[zackkmac]

Unfortunately I don't have another computer with an ATA interface. It's visible but won't open. When I opened Disk Utility it doesn't show up on the left with the hard drives. Not really sure what else to do but return it.

On a brighter note, I won the Sonnet 1.6GHz G4 processor upgrade on eBay I found a few days ago, and it comes with an Allegro USB 2.0 card with 5 USB ports. That should make the PM very happy.

Also got a G5 Dual 2.0 coming, it was only $100 so I figured it was a good deal. Gonna be awesome.

 

[666sheep]

When I opened Disk Utility it doesn't show up on the left with the hard drives.

If it's empty, it won't show up there. Did you try holding LMB at boot or OF eject-cd command? There should be a hole for opening tray manually.

On a brighter note, I won the Sonnet 1.6GHz G4 processor upgrade on eBay I found a few days ago, and it comes with an Allegro USB 2.0 card with 5 USB ports. That should make the PM very happy.

I've seen this one, how much it went for finally, if you don't mind asking?

 

[zackkmac]

What is LMB? I did go into OF and tried "cd eject" and it says "cannot open eject disk" or something very similar to that.

The Sonnet + the USB card went for $100 even. The next cheapest one I saw was a 1.2GHz for about $85, and I was gonna spend $15 to $25 on the USB card so this turned out to be a good buy.

 

[4JNA]

Thank you. This drive has the jumper markings but the one already in my G4 didn't. I tried all 3 settings and I get the same results - recognized under the ATA section but not under disc burning, and still unusable.

well hell, have seen jumpers cause that symptom so was worth a shot. last idea here is it's either a faulty cable or the drive is just dead. have seen a cable cause the same symptom (shows but can't read) so if you have any other cables you might give that a go. if no other cables available, you might also try using the middle connector on the current cable instead of the end connector, with the jumper still on 'CS'.

nice grab on the sonnet, should be a decent bump in performance, and usb2 is a life saver on the old systems! best of luck.

 

[zackkmac]

Thanks! My last attempt will be trying the middle connector, if not I'm declaring this drive DOA because the cable worked fine when my combo drive was in there. I have contacted the seller and I think they're gonna exchange it for me and if it the replacement shows the same signs, I'll have to research this deeper.

I am very excited about the Sonnet card. I just now got the tracking number for it. Now to figure out how to reinstall OS 9, since I believe I have to have it to install a firmware patch to allow the computer to use the Sonnet...this shall be fun.

 

[zackkmac]

I think the SuperDrive is somewhat working - I manually ejected it and put a Tiger DVD in and it boots it just fine. Maybe it needs some type of firmware flash to work fully on the G4, although I don't think it should as it is an Apple-branded drive pulled from a G5.

Now, I am having trouble with getting an OS installed. No matter how many times I try, it will not successfully install Tiger. It will get near the end and fail at any random point, usually when installing Mail or Migration Assistant. Way after it successfully installed Base System, Essentials, etc. but sometimes it has been stopping early in the install process.

The same thing also happens when trying to install Tiger via USB, so it can't be the DVD. And, I can't even get the G4 to recognize a Leopard USB install drive. Is that because of the virtual limitation or should the installer still be bootable regardless? It doesn't show up in the boot menu, but it does show up in Disk Utility if I boot the Tiger DVD and open the application.

This is not good, because if I can't get an OS on here, then I can't even install the patch to use my new 1.6 Sonnet CPU.

Any suggestions?

 

[666sheep]

Now, I am having trouble with getting an OS installed. No matter how many times I try, it will not successfully install Tiger. It will get near the end and fail at any random point, usually when installing Mail or Migration Assistant. Way after it successfully installed Base System, Essentials, etc. but sometimes it has been stopping early in the install process.

This issue is usually caused by RAM. Try with one 512MB stick, if it would fail – try with another.

 

[zackkmac]

Thank you! I will give that a shot. When I removed the 2 ATA hard drives, I put in a SATA 2.5" drive coupled with a cheap IDE to SATA adapter, and OS X Tiger installed flawlessly. But, the adapter is a piece of junk and the Mac can only boot from it 1 out of 5 times and when it does, I can never get to the welcome video that comes after the installation.

So I will try the RAM removal and see if that helps. Surely both HDs didn't go bad at once.

EDIT: That did it! I first removed the brand new 512MB stick I just bought and was able to install 10.4 on the 80GB IDE with no issues. Thank you 666sheep! Now to work on getting OS 9 on here so I can install the patch and use the Sonnet card.

 

[Dave H]

When the OS installs are done, you might try DIMM First Aid.
It might be able to fix the problem RAM stick.
DIMM First Aid info
Download

 

[zackkmac]

Thanks! I'll download that and try it. Although I will say, after installing OS X, I reinserted that 512MB stick and the computer has been running fine so far.

Also, my last thing I need to do is get OS 9 on here. I made a DVD from an ISO, and when inserted I get a popup window with some options such as "Install OS 9" and folders, but when I try to boot from the DVD, I get no option to. Does this HAVE to be burned onto a CD? Or am I doing something wrong?

I want to install it to my blank 40GB secondary drive. I tried copying the DVD's "System Folder" over to the drive, and even "blessed" it, but no-go. All of these (the DVD and 40GB drive with System Folder at root) show up as bootable devices when I go to System Preferences > Startup Disk, but yet the computer doesn't actually start up from them.

Not sure where to go from here. I definitely do need OS 9 installed so I can get my Sonnet CPU in place.

 

[666sheep]

Did you check "install OS 9 drivers" checkbox while formatting HDD you want to boot from?
What software you've used to burn OS 9? You should use Disk Utility. Never tried burning OS 9 to DVD TBH, so can't say whether it needs to be on a CD only. CD was always working for me.

 

[4JNA]

...I made a DVD from an ISO, and when inserted I get a popup window with some options such as "Install OS 9" and folders, but when I try to boot from the DVD, I get no option to. Does this HAVE to be burned onto a CD? Or am I doing something wrong?

wherefrom and whatnot, i don't care. i can tell you that DVD and CD have a different file structure, and that the bootable sector info is being written in the wrong place in the wrong way by using a DVD (if it's valid and actually present). my 2 cents.

burn a CD from said eye-so and see! best of luck.

edit: thanks for the pic. i sure do love quicksilver systems. QS=art=awesome!

 

[zackkmac]

Update

It's been a while but my Quicksilver has seen a great boost!

It now has a dual-layer SuperDrive, 1.5GB RAM, and I changed out the 1.6GHz Sonnet G4 for a 1.8GHz of the same brand.

Now, my issue is flashing this SIL3512 card to the computer. I followed the instructions listed here:

http://www.applefritter.com/content/sil3512-flashing

And the Terminal command line for the flasher says it supports only cards with a Vendor ID of 1095 and Device ID of 3512, both of which are stated when I look at the card in System Profiler. I believe this is a Silicon Image-manufactured card too, not a third party one with the same chip.

But when I run the flash, it says "Bus error".
Not really sure what to do from here - any help is appreciated.

 

[rabidz7]

It's been a while but my Quicksilver has seen a great boost!

It now has a dual-layer SuperDrive, 1.5GB RAM, and I changed out the 1.6GHz Sonnet G4 for a 1.8GHz of the same brand.

Now, my issue is flashing this SIL3512 card to the computer. I followed the instructions listed here:

http://www.applefritter.com/content/sil3512-flashing

And the Terminal command line for the flasher says it supports only cards with a Vendor ID of 1095 and Device ID of 3512, both of which are stated when I look at the card in System Profiler. I believe this is a Silicon Image-manufactured card too, not a third party one with the same chip.

But when I run the flash, it says "Bus error".
Not really sure what to do from here - any help is appreciated.

Me and my sawtooth would highly appreciate it if you could send me your old CPU.