My G3 don't wanna go G4! :-\

[Protools5LEGuy]

Oh my god!
My first PowerMac. I bought from USA to Spain via Ebay part by part on 2002.
It is a rev 1 BW (originally @350) with ATI Rage 128. And 512 Mb. Ram.

Just bought from USA an G4 Zif for it but...
 http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/daystar/mach_speed_g4_zif/mach_speed_g4_zif_500.html
This G3 had updated the firmware once before I bought. 
The thing is every upgrade firmware with the programmer button involved told me that the updater is unable to update because of unknown firmware... This G3 don't wanna go G4! 

Any tip for "forcing" the updater to work involving OpenFirmware commands is welcome

[Protools5LEGuy]

My first error was to try the update using an SCSI interface only.

The upgrade works only from the only IDE that G3 B&W rev 1 has to work.
Using 2 drives on that IDE port is not recommended everywhere from XLR8yourmac to Sunrise OS9 Report. It leads to corruption on datas on both drives! Better to have only one smaller than 120 Gb and not too modern (?).

When I meet this requirements (IDE only) it gave me that error...
 

[Protools5LEGuy]

Maybe someone know of a firmware update from any of these cards that can override this update. My firmware was updated once...for G3. 
All G3 upgradable cpu boards:
http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/by_system/powermac_g3_blue.html

[supernova777]

i had a g3 400mhz a few years back around 2007 or so and i bought a zif to upgrade it to a g4 500mhz
i ended up scrapping the machine + the cpu upgrade and alot of other pci card upgrades i got so frustrated i just threw the entire thing out and said to hell with it
i regretted this really badly afterwards tho.. and thats what led me to go out and get a g4 450mhz second hand just about 1 year ago.

[Protools5LEGuy]

i had a g3 400mhz a few years back around 2007 or so and i bought a zif to upgrade it to a g4 500mhz
i ended up scrapping the machine + the cpu upgrade and alot of other pci card upgrades i got so frustrated i just threw the entire thing out and said to hell with it

The thing is that a G3 @350 with an DIGI LE system and a sonnet tempo ata66 is a cool multitrack system good enough to start demos. But just that. With a G3 @450 you have more power to mix. So I invested in a G4 500 zif module.

It is easy to give-up with troubles in supposed to be trouble-free computers (macs), but If we have reached to the point of make FW-800 machines to boot OS9, maybe to force FLASH a firmware in a G3 is not as difficult with the right documentation. It was supposed to work if you do any upgrade on G3s but it doesn't. 
 

[Protools5LEGuy]

i regretted this really badly afterwards tho.. and thats what led me to go out and get a g4 450mhz second hand just about 1 year ago.

To have the blue and white G3 with a G4 ZIF running should be "Zero Insertion Force". 

I fall in love with the G3 B&W design back in '99, and that started my Compulsive Vintage Computers Hoarding disease.    (I have 3 PowerMacs and 4 PCs, 1 Commodore C-128, 1 Philips MSX-2, and 1 Sinclair ZX-Spectrum128k )

Back to topic,

The blue is incredible ... Close to it the DigitalAudio seem a cheaper computer... I cant explain better...

The shame is the bad memory controller and bad IDE controller on rev.1 boards. I thought sometimes to buy a G4-pci motherboard for it just to keep the blue box, maybe even a Sawtooth board can work in a B&W box with minor mods.

But, come-on, it is just a FUC**ING firmware!, why is so hard?

Just to clear, all firmware updates from sonnet/daystar/etc are supposed to work with ANY Rom version...And I tested sonnet and daystar files for G4 ZIF cards for G3s B&W... Nada.

[supernova777]

are u sure the upgrade chip is not just faulty?
where is the documenation that talks about the firmware ?
which brand cpu upgrade is it?
ok i see above it says daystar
http://web.archive.org/web/20110202030757/http://daystarcomputers.com/
do u have a pdf of hte upgrade instructions?

ok look here:
https://www.macgurus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19371

this guy got his to work:

Finally, he suggested pulling out the video card and cleaning the leads with an eraser. "It works on everything... PCI cards, RAM..." he said.

Although the leads looked pretty clean, I did the eraser trick. Next thing, my system was starting under the new G4 upgrade chip.

An eraser.

Thanks, everybody, for your help. I thought you'd want to hear the solution to this baffler.

maybe some contact cleaner spray? that is really bizarre.. makes no sense how cleaning the leads on the video card would affect system booting or not.. unless its doing something with static electricity or something?
very wierd! but worth a try?? find a pencil!

[filipetolhuizen]

Sorry for replying to this old topic, but do you guys know that Apple once released a firmware update for the G3 B&W which blocked it from being upgraded to a G4? Newer Technologies, I think, once released a unblocking firmware update. I might still have it on my old Mac. If I find it I can post it here if you guys want it. Maybe that's what is blocking your G4 upgrade.

[Protools5LEGuy]

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, my B&W has the firmware updated and blocked to G3s. I bought it with the firmware updated...  I have the G3 rev.1 with a G3 450 ZIF and the G4 ZIF module is unused...

Please, try to find that file. All "unblockers"/"updaters" I found cant work because the firmware was previously updated...

[Mat]

Sonnet has a Firmware Updater as well. I am not sure if it will work with G4s of other vendors, and it is just existing as X 10.3/10.4 or 10.5 software. But perhaps it works well for all G4s and Mac OS 9 (subsequently to patching the ROM with this software)? At least I found hints that it should enable BW G3s to use Yikes G4 CPUs.

And it is for Encore ZIF, Encore ST and ST Duet G4 cards for all G4s and the BW G3s:
http://www.sonnettech.com/support/kb/kb.php?cat=314&expand=_a3_b400_a2_b176&action=b153

[supernova777]

few years ago i had a g3 300 or 350 and i had ordered a ziff 500mhz upgrade for it..
and i could never get it to work and i ended up throwign the g3 + the cpu upgrade into a dumpster.. this was before i ever came on this site and i felt guilty about wasting that computer lol

i actually did the same do a korg poly61 keyboard that needed repair.. i dunno wtf i was thinking to throw that in a dumpster.. i was trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible but wow that was a mistake... i should have at least gave the keyboard to someone to fix for free..

im a horrible person  i loved the sound of that synth too.. but i hate having things that dont work properly!!!!!!!

[SonikArchitects]

Chris don't feel bad about the Poly 61. When the battery goes in that synth (which is probably what it was) its dead dead.

Fell a little bad because I collect old Korg parts but not terrible lol.
_BT

[supernova777]

i forget exactly what was wrong with it but i knew it was kind of fucked... and i wanted to find a poly61M !!! but i did just love playin around on it it had a very movie-esque 80s sound to it
where i could sit + mess around with the same patch for like 10 min

[chokobo]

Way back in the day when I had my first G3 I ordered a faster processor for it from Otherworld. It's the only thing I ever bought from them that didn't work. Even though I had to pay a HUGE return fee it got sent back, and I eventually bought a B/W G3.

Today I wouldn't bother with trying to upgrade one of those machines. Much less expensive to just buy a used G4, and call it a day. I ran into the same situation with my Gigabit. It was/is having power supply issues. It was way less money to buy a FW800 machine than to try to source a power supply for the Giga.

LE I didn't know you were from Spain. You cats make the great motorcycles. I'm probably one of the few riders in the States that still rides Spanish.

[Protools5LEGuy]

Just wanted to add all the files I have found for G3 machines to G4 stuff and firmware related.


Chokobo, you should look at classic spanish bikes like the Ossa https://www.google.es/search?q=Ossa&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=FcNUVemTCKmIsQT2moGwBQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=644

Also Rieju, Derbi, Montesa and Bultaco. Awesome machines. Angel Nieto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81ngel_Nieto won the 50 c.c. world championship various times with them.

[Protools5LEGuy]

Sadly, Angel Nieto, 13th times motorcycles world championship has pass away. 





A hero in my childhood.