Hitachi ATA 500 Gb drive to Firmtek 1SC to Firmtek 1V4

[wnlewis]

I have a Hitachi ATA 500 Gb drive that I am trying to connect through a Firmtek 1SC adapter to a Firmtek 1V4 SATA card. So far, no joy. I have the jumpers set to the master position, AB and GH. It is a bootable drive. A Seagate Barracuda drive 750 Gb, runs just fine that way and boots my G4 in 10.4.11 (I've not tried in O.S. 9 yet). When I try to boot off the Hitachi drive (even by itself), the computer thinks and thinks, and then up comes the black message with white letters saying I must hold in the start button and restart. I do that and get the same result. I need to be able to boot this drive through the 1SC and the 1V4.

It is supposed to work. Any suggestions? Any questions?

Thanks for either.

wnlewis

P.S. The Hitachi is happy as a clam when it is connected to the IDE bus. This is a non-LBA G4. The drives are partitioned with the Speed Tool partitioning software to allow each of the partitions to be seen and used in 9 and 10. WNL

[macStuff]

the seritek sata adapters (and sonnet)
have a complicated firmware that is very prone to screw up if u have a hardware configuration that offends it
because it has alot of its own logic that can get screwed up if you have a funky hardware config

whats the manufacturing date of the ATA drive?
are you using a SATa-IDE convertor/adaptor of some type?

[wnlewis]

macStuff,

The manufacture date for the Hitachi drive is November 2008.

When I have (unsuccessfully) tried to connect it to the PCI bus, I have used a Firmtek/Seritek, 1SC1 adapter on the back of the Hitachi drive to convert the drive's information from PATA/IDE to SATA. An SATA cable takes the information to the first port on a Firmtek/Seritek 1V4 SATA to PCI card.

The Hitachi drive has been set to master by putting jumpers on pins A and B and pins G and H. That is the setting indicated on the drive itself for being in "master" mode.

Neal

[macStuff]

sorry to hear your drive isnt working with the seritek card
i hope u can find a better drive to use with the seritek 1v4 card

i think your problem lies in using the SC1 (more than one Seritek adapter)
ie : perhaps if u were to get an IDE to SATA adapter with a different firmware it would
work fine.

my friend has a similar problem when using more than one m-audio usb midisporto device.
it seems the firmware gets mixed up when theres more than one.

[wnlewis]

macStuff,

It hasn't worked when it was the only drive on the 1V4.

Firmtek indicated that the setup was very temperamental (my words, not theirs) when more than one IDE drive gets connected.

Although they say that each IDE drive should be set to master, they say that that is not always true. And, it would seem, the particular location for the cable on the 1V4 card is also important.

Since what I want to do can only be done with the 1V4 and the 1SC1 adapters, I will keep experimenting.

I think one of the first things I may try is to boot into safe mode to reduce as many of the variables as is possible up front.

If you have other suggestions, even if they seem screwy, let me know.

Neal Lewis

[macStuff]

i think its a complex interaction between the instructions in the firmware on the card... and the openfirmware of the mac... and that openfirmware will remember and store variables.. so sometimes u need to use the reset button or unplug the mac out of the wall for a bit to help make sure it gets fully reset..

the same way that unplugging + replugging usb devices that have specific drivers can screw up windows too sometmes.. u dont want to be changing the port around it will screw it right up and hten youll neeed to make sure it gets fully reset to be able to continue

pretty much all of the sata addon cards all have this kind of tricky firmware tho so its not a fault of the seritek 1v4, the cloned cards i have, and original sonnet, all act the same and their setup can get messed up if u go changing things around quickly

[wnlewis]

macStuff,

I can try the reset button.

Thanks,

Neal Lewis

[macStuff]

anyone else have a 1v4 card for sale

[wnlewis]

The Firmtek 1V4 is available through their online store: http://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net/sata1v4.html. $119.95 and shipping.

[macStuff]

The Firmtek 1V4 is available through their online store: http://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net/sata1v4.html. $119.95 and shipping.

did u order through that site recently? beccause i remember being told that they were out of stock.

[wnlewis]

macStuff, You have to be patient and persistent. When I ordered, the items were "out of stock". You just have to keep asking. It took about a month to get what I ordered. Neal Lewis

[macStuff]

macStuff, You have to be patient and persistent. When I ordered, the items were "out of stock". You just have to keep asking. It took about a month to get what I ordered. Neal Lewis

ok good to know! thanks for adding that important advice!

[wnlewis]

e

i think its a complex interaction between the instructions in the firmware on the card... and the openfirmware of the mac... and that openfirmware will remember and store variables.. so sometimes u need to use the reset button or unplug the mac out of the wall for a bit to help make sure it gets fully reset..

To macStuff and anyone else with an idea. What am I likely to lose when I do the reset button? As I recall, PC's can be reset by unplugging them from power. However, Macs have a small battery that keeps all of the information intact. With a Mac, it seems to me, if I remember correctly, that you can either pull the battery, or push the reset button.

As I said, I am concerned about the information that could be lost.

Also, with regard to the firmware on the Hitachi drive. I just read that IBM/Hitachi used special firmware in Apple applications to provide extra noise reduction.

The problem I am having with the Hitachi drive is that even when it is the only drive and set to Master, the G4 gets a kernel panic. Would it be possible to start the G4 up in safe mode to avoid that do you think?

Thanks,

Neal Lewis

[macStuff]

i was searching for a product called 1SC by Firmtek - and there is none..
i suppose you mean the Firmtek Seritek 1SC1?

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Firmtek/SATA1SC1/

im pretty sure if you contact firmtek they will tell u that the products are not meant to be used as you are using them, using multiple adapters like that is not always compatible.. the firmware programming in the devices do a fair bit of logic on boot, and im pretty sure u are trying an incompatible combination of devices here.
the 1SC1 is not meant to be used in tandem with another Firmtek sata adapter to pci.. you are coming at this all wrong..
ie: if u were to use the 1SC1 product properly this would be to connect a SATA drive to an IDE bus.
lets just look carefully at the description?

The SeriTek/1SC1 is a Parallel ATA (PATA) to Serial ATA (SATA) converter.
It allows you to utilize new SATA interface technologies with your current PATA drives.

For IDE or ATA 40 Pin Hard Drives to SATA (Serial ATA).
Use drives from your G4 inside your G5 (not for the Mac Pro)!

this product was brought to market to be used to connect a PATA drive inside a G5 which has a BUILT IN SATA controller im pretty sure its NOT meant to be used with the 1v4... the problem being that the firmwares logic does certain investigation of your setup.. and your sending the logic into an endless loop or fucking it up in some way ie: the openfirmware paths are not resolving properly..

just please buy a new SATA Drive and save your hair.
now that im thinking about this i remember trying such a combination in a good number of different macs that i have and i always had major problems trying to use two adapters in combination like that..
some of them "worked" but it was buggy as hell and some just refused to work.. (i was testing with a Sonnet Tempo sata card which is a clone of the Firmtek 1S2)

botom line.. for all reading this.. dont mix + match any type of storage tech Adapter in combination with another adapter. this is a mac.. its not lego.. u cant mix + match components every which way just because the connectors fit doesnt mean its going to work.. use the products as simply as possible.. as they were intended to be used so that they work properly...

[wnlewis]

macStuff,

I just plugged in a second Seagate 750 Gb Barracuda PATA drive through a Firmtek 1SC1 card to the Firmtek 1V4 controller. I currently have two Seagate Barracuda PATA drives installed this way and running correctly.

The Firmtek 1SC1 can be used either with a Mac that is SATA native or with a G4 or G3 IDE bus Mac that has a Firmtek 1V4 SATA controller card plugged into the PCI bus.

Firmtek said that all ATA/PATA drives must be set to "master" mode and must go through a Firmtek 1SC1 to a Firmtek 1V4 controller.

Firmtek says not to use other brands with their equipment. They did say that if an ATA/PATA drive that is set up for Mac does not work this way, some "experimentation" can be required.

The Hitachi drive works correctly on the IDE bus. However I need it to work through the 1V4 controller. Another drive is not an option.

The problem is probably with the jumper settings and maybe the setup of the Hitachi drive and how it interacts with the 1SC1 and 1V4 cards and very likely, the jumper settings on the Hitachi drive, plus maybe how the drive is set up.

So now for more experimentation, jumper settings, and diagnostic software.

Neal Lewis

[MacTron]

Plug your ATA drive to your ATA connector on your motherboard... what's the problem? ... or what you expect? Sorry may be I really can't understand your setup...

[macStuff]

i dont understand either, other than maybe this drive has information on it that he needs?
but either way, data can be copied
im afraid i dont understand why hes making it more complex than he has to
logically it doesnt make sense

the reason i spoke up against using two adapters together is because of my own testing
i tested with cheaper widely available ones from ebay connected to my sonnet tempo sata (firmtek 1s2 clone http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-1s2/ ) and i would describe the experience as more "flaky" rather then "Solid"

if u dont have to use an adapter.. then dont use an adapter!!!
less steps, keep it simple!