Guide to flashing PC SIL3112 SATA cards for Mac

[weckart]

It really needs to be the 29150. The guy who came up with the solution was the one who wrote the Firmtek firmware and was working on an updated firmware as the existing ones are buggy. The problem is a timing issue with the chip onboard. I can't vouch for whether the 2940a will work but you can try, I suppose.

I have no idea where you are based but I got my MIC chips in the UK quite cheaply - something like £1-£2 each. It was either from Farnell or RS-online, I forget which. Mouser in the US may have it or any similar outfit.

The 29150 is much larger than the existing chip and the legs are not exactly flexible so you will need to solder trailing wires onto the chip and then onto the PCB solder pads paying attention to the pinout differences between the two. A bit of hot glue or double-sided tape should secure the chip onto the PCB somewhere out of the way.

The MacOS9lives site seems to be having issues at the moment. It looks like someone forgot to renew the certificate so I can't bring up a picture and my cards are in storage at the moment, unfortunately.

 

[adam25255]

It really needs to be the 29150. The guy who came up with the solution was the one who wrote the Firmtek firmware and was working on an updated firmware as the existing ones are buggy. The problem is a timing issue with the chip onboard. I can't vouch for whether the 2940a will work but you can try, I suppose.

I have no idea where you are based but I got my MIC chips in the UK quite cheaply - something like £1-£2 each. It was either from Farnell or RS-online, I forget which. Mouser in the US may have it or any similar outfit.

The 29150 is much larger than the existing chip and the legs are not exactly flexible so you will need to solder trailing wires onto the chip and then onto the PCB solder pads paying attention to the pinout differences between the two. A bit of hot glue or double-sided tape should secure the chip onto the PCB somewhere out of the way.

The MacOS9lives site seems to be having issues at the moment. It looks like someone forgot to renew the certificate so I can't bring up a picture and my cards are in storage at the moment, unfortunately.

Okay... RS has Slovak Website...

 

[weckart]

Okay... RS has Slovak Website...

I managed to get to the thread on MacOS9lives. This is it. http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,5279.0.html

Unfortunately, I still can't log onto the site and pictures are not loading but you can maybe follow the thread. It seems as if RS was the supplier for the 29150 chip and I can see some on the SK site for about €3 in batches of 2. Mine was the 3.3WU one so I would probably look at the 3.3WT variant on the SK site.

Here's a couple of pics I made of a card I found lying around and forgot to put in storage. You can admire my ace soldering skills but hey, it works. At least you can see which wires to twist around to account for the pinout differences.

 

[adam25255]

I managed to get to the thread on MacOS9lives. This is it. http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,5279.0.html

Unfortunately, I still can't log onto the site and pictures are not loading but you can maybe follow the thread. It seems as if RS was the supplier for the 29150 chip but this was nearly 2 years ago, so the situation may have changed since with chip shortages everywhere.

I have successfully ordered it from RS. I am just afraid of VAT issues(I will have to deal with paying of tax, as UK is not in EU) But yes, two chips will arrive someday.

 

[weckart]

I have successfully ordered it from RS. I am just afraid of VAT issues(I will have to deal with paying of tax, as UK is not in EU) But yes, two chips will arrive someday.

As far as I am aware, the VAT should already have been added at source, since RS sells to the EU, it will have an EU VAT registration. In the UK, we went through all this uncertainty at the start of the year but it seems to have settled down now. It is more of an issue for private sellers and small businesses.

 

[adam25255]

As far as I am aware, the VAT should already have been added at source, since RS sells to the EU, it will have an EU VAT registration. In the UK, we went through all this uncertainty at the start of the year but it seems to have settled down now. It is more of an issue for private sellers and small businesses.

It is without VAT, Conditions of Sale say that... I will have to pay those 3€ to courier. Slovak version of RS still operates in UK.

 

[weckart]

It is without VAT, Conditions of Sale say that... I will have to pay those 3€ to courier. Slovak version of RS still operates in UK.

That is very odd. The EU only has exemptions for small companies with less then €10k turnover a year with the EU. VAT is waived in that instance.

In the UK, the courier or Royal Mail has no authority to collect VAT if the sale amount is less than €150/£135. The VAT is considered a supply tax and must be levied and collected by the seller at the point of sale. If the sale total is more than €150, the tax is then considered an import tax and is payable upon import - to the courier/postal service. Under €150, the normal procedure if no VAT is paid is to send the shipment back. In practice, most shipments went through without being stopped although some people reported that the post office refused some shipments and returned them back to the EU. The seller is required to fill out a form CN23 or CN22 and attach it to the package. That will inform the shipper if VAT has been paid or not.

I am pretty sure the rule is the same in the EU as this was part of an EU change to VAT rules agreed with all then 28 countries, including the UK at the time. The UK applies it more strictly as we have no exemptions at all, even for private sellers.

 

[adam25255]

That is very odd. The EU only has exemptions for small companies with less then €10k turnover a year with the EU. VAT is waived in that instance.

In the UK, the courier or Royal Mail has no authority to collect VAT if the sale amount is less than €150/£135. The VAT is considered a supply tax and must be levied and collected by the seller at the point of sale. If the sale total is more than €150, the tax is then considered an import tax and is payable upon import - to the courier/postal service. Under €150, the normal procedure if no VAT is paid is to send the shipment back. In practice, most shipments went through without being stopped although some people reported that the post office refused some shipments and returned them back to the EU. The seller is required to fill out a form CN23 or CN22 and attach it to the package. That will inform the shipper if VAT has been paid or not.

I am pretty sure the rule is the same in the EU as this was part of an EU change to VAT rules agreed with all then 28 countries, including the UK at the time. The UK applies it more strictly as we have no exemptions at all, even for private sellers.

I am not sure then. Our govemnent collects VAT from all shipments from non-EU countries.(I had to pay VAT for something cheap, that friend sent me over post from Australia, LOL)

Edit: Documents, I have got, say DDP. So I am definitely confused.

 

[adam25255]

I managed to get to the thread on MacOS9lives. This is it. http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,5279.0.html

Unfortunately, I still can't log onto the site and pictures are not loading but you can maybe follow the thread. It seems as if RS was the supplier for the 29150 chip and I can see some on the SK site for about €3 in batches of 2. Mine was the 3.3WU one so I would probably look at the 3.3WT variant on the SK site.

Here's a couple of pics I made of a card I found lying around and forgot to put in storage. You can admire my ace soldering skills but hey, it works. At least you can see which wires to twist around to account for the pinout differences.

View attachment 1902278View attachment 1902277

Oh right, thanks... So... I will attach it to bracket with tape, postioned towards PCB, will look nice..(plenty of space in these low profile cards.)

 

[adam25255]

I need some help! So… I have modified card mentioned above…

Computer recognises it, but Tiger isn’t showing it in System Profiler and Leopard does this:

Flashed with Wiebetech ROM.
Linux recognises it, shows HDD in GParted, trying installation.

Would be happy for Leopard working properly at least.

Looks like KEXT is wrong, but patched does not work right either.(is it possible to modify it for my card?)

I Just Ruined My SATA Card!!!

Well, I think I may have a lead on another one of these cards! I'm obviously going to keep trying to get this one fixed, though. Are there any other DOS flashers that I should try? Are there any which are known to successfully put a working Mac ROM on there? c

68kmla.org

ETIT: IT WORKS! (permission error, but I fixed it)
Miraclously got recognised in Tiger. This comment is now irrelewant

 

[rgwoehr]

I bought one of these cards for my DA G4, which wouldn't boot with the card installed. I did what was mentioned in this thread and replaced the voltage regulator, and now the computer boots and the card is recognized, but if I have a disk connected, it either kernel panics on startup, or gives errors in the console if it does boot OS X. I can boot with a SATA DVD drive connected, but if I put a disc in the drive, the computer freezes. Not sure if I did something wrong or if there's something about this specific card that isn't compatible.

 

[for this]

I bought one of these cards for my DA G4, which wouldn't boot with the card installed. I did what was mentioned in this thread and replaced the voltage regulator, and now the computer boots and the card is recognized, but if I have a disk connected, it either kernel panics on startup, or gives errors in the console if it does boot OS X. I can boot with a SATA DVD drive connected, but if I put a disc in the drive, the computer freezes. Not sure if I did something wrong or if there's something about this specific card that isn't compatible.

I don't think you did it wrong. This chip is old and its firmware (either the WiebeTech's or Firmtek's) is also old (outdated I would say). It may not work with some new drives. What is the problematic drive you connect it with?

Try to connect with just one drive to the card while troubleshooting because connecting two will create more mess. Though I think you're already using just one.

 

[rgwoehr]

I don't think you did it wrong. This chip is old and its firmware (either the WiebeTech's or Firmtek's) is also old (outdated I would say). It may not work with some new drives. What is the problematic drive you connect it with?

Try to connect with just one drive to the card while troubleshooting because connecting two will create more mess. Though I think you're already using just one.

I tried a OCZ vertex 3 SSD first, it didn’t kernel panic but in console it showed an error along the lines of “drive not ready.” I tried a few different hard drives, at least two of them being hitachi drives, and none of them being any newer than 2012, with a few different cables, and at best they just gave the same error as the SSD did, but most of the time it just caused the computer to freeze or kernel panic on startup. I was only using one drive at a time.

 

[weckart]

I bought one of these cards for my DA G4, which wouldn't boot with the card installed. I did what was mentioned in this thread and replaced the voltage regulator, and now the computer boots and the card is recognized, but if I have a disk connected, it either kernel panics on startup, or gives errors in the console if it does boot OS X. I can boot with a SATA DVD drive connected, but if I put a disc in the drive, the computer freezes. Not sure if I did something wrong or if there's something about this specific card that isn't compatible.

Not sure I can help further. In my case I also replaced the ROM chip and flashed it with SeriTek's firmware. I haven't used the trimmed Wiebetech firmware from the opening post, so there may be an issue with that and SSDs. I only use spinning rust in my desktops for what it's worth.

 

[for this]

I tried a OCZ vertex 3 SSD first, it didn’t kernel panic but in console it showed an error along the lines of “drive not ready.” I tried a few different hard drives, at least two of them being hitachi drives, and none of them being any newer than 2012, with a few different cables, and at best they just gave the same error as the SSD did, but most of the time it just caused the computer to freeze or kernel panic on startup. I was only using one drive at a time.

My closest card to the card you have is Sil3512 with WiebieTech firmware. Here is my experience with it.

One SATA II WD drive = all good

One SATA III Seagate drive = OK, but it will not show up in the Startup Manager when you boot with Option key pressed.

Two SATA III Seagate drives = hangs, crashes, etc.

SATA II WD drive + SATA III Seagate drive = hangs, crashes, etc.



And here is my experience with my Sil3112 card with Firmtek firmware and regulator swapping.

One SATA II WD drive = all good

One SATA III Seagate drive (1TB or 2TB) = 1TB is all good, 2TB works and boots fine in OS X, can't boot OS 9 but works fine in it.

Two SATA III Seagate drives = hangs, crashes, very slow when copying file between the connected drives, etc.

SATA II WD drive + SATA III Seagate drive = hangs, crashes, very slow when copying file between the connected drives, etc.

Samsung 860 EVO (SATA III) = hangs, crashes, etc.


Using both of the cards with a drive connected to each one = hangs, crashes, etc.


Both cards have occasional problem about drive not mounting (disk not ready). Rebooting should fix it.


I wonder if two WD drives will work. I wish I had another WD drive to try. Because unlike other drives today, current SATA III (6Gb/s) WD drives have jumpers that you can set it to SATA I (1.5 Gb/s). This will eliminate ambiguous SATA speed that needs negotiation.

Not sure I can help further. In my case I also replaced the ROM chip and flashed it with SeriTek's firmware. I haven't used the trimmed Wiebetech firmware from the opening post, so there may be an issue with that and SSDs. I only use spinning rust in my desktops for what it's worth.

Do you have problem when connecting 2 HDDs to the card?

 

[weckart]

Do you have problem when connecting 2 HDDs to the card?

Not sure if I've tried it. Tbh, SATA drives are so large that I don't need more than one drive in my older machines. That could be the issue - whether the firmware at the time wasn't geared to handling more than one or two SATA I drives.

If the chipset can handle two or more SATA II/III drives in Windows then you have narrowed down the cause to either the Mac firmware or OS.

Since the firmware and bundled driver is showing the drive to Mac OS9 as a SCSI drive, I wonder if adding more drives there causes a SCSI ID conflict.

 

[rgwoehr]

I tried out the oldest drive I have, another Hitachi (apparently all I've got are Hitachi and Seagate hard drives), and it also didn't work. I just put the card in my PC and it recognized the card, but once I connected a drive to it, the computer crashed, and the BIOS gave me an error on startup, so I guess something must be wrong with the card.

 

[weckart]

I tried out the oldest drive I have, another Hitachi (apparently all I've got are Hitachi and Seagate hard drives), and it also didn't work. I just put the card in my PC and it recognized the card, but once I connected a drive to it, the computer crashed, and the BIOS gave me an error on startup, so I guess something must be wrong with the card.

If you've flashed it with a Mac BIOS you will have to reverse it for PC again. I am assuming that you did that before trying with the Hitachi.

 

[rgwoehr]

No I didn’t flash it back. Unless the flasher utility automatically backs up the old firmware, I don’t have a copy of the original firmware.

 

[for this]

No I didn’t flash it back. Unless the flasher utility automatically backs up the old firmware, I don’t have a copy of the original firmware.

Apart from PC version of the BIOS, it looks like the card also needs a driver to work in Windows. You can find them here.

ASSP Software Archive

BIOS, Drivers, and Firmware for legacy Silicon Image products are available in the Documentation Archive below. If you are a consumer end user, please note that drivers for recent operating system updates will need to come from the company who made your drive or product.

www.latticesemi.com

 

[rgwoehr]

I flashed with the PC BIOS, and the computer didn't give me a variety of fatal error messages when I started it up with a disk connected, and the BIOS had set the disk I connected to be first in the boot priority, so it kept rebooting. Once I changed the boot order, Windows rebooted before reaching the desktop. And I do have a SiI3112 driver installed in Windows.

As far as the flashing goes, when I run updflash.exe, it gives me an error about the chip not being in its list of supported chips, but I just chose option 3 after looking up the model number of the chip and seeing that it's a 1Mb chip. Not sure if this is part of the problem.

 

[for this]

Did you get that warning when you first flashed the Mac firmware to it too? If so, the problem you've experienced might be from flashing to an unsupported chip.

Maybe others can help about what flasher to try.

PS. And there is something strange. All of the black cards in this style I've seen use a 5V chip but your card uses M29W010B which is a 2.7-3.6V chip.

 

[rgwoehr]

Yeah I got the error when flashing the Mac firmware.

The part number on the card is SD-SATA150R, which apparently is manufactured by Syba. It must be an older version as the new ones use the 3512 rather than the 3112. Also for what it's worth, out of curiosity I decided to solder the original 3.3V regulator back on the chip, but it still didn't work in the PC. Actually it may have been slightly worse with that one in there, because I couldn't even make it to the Windows bootloader without the computer restarting itself.

 

[rgwoehr]

I haven't completely given up yet. I tried a different PC that I've got running Snow Leopard and Leopard, and it will boot with the card installed and a drive connected. With the kexts installed, I get a little further than I did with the G4. The card shows in System Profiler, and so does the drive connected to it, but it still won't mount any volumes. It doesn't show the drive in Disk Utility. I think I'll put Windows on that machine and see what it does with the card, if anything, and if it still doesn't work, I think I'm just gonna consider that card e-waste.

 

[chrisnova777]

does anyone know if the Wiebetech flashed SIL3112 cards will work in a vintage intel hackintosh ? (tiger/leopard/SL) booting? non booting? any info helps thanks