Old scsi drive full of Mac software

[macStuff]

Anyone have any tips on how to fix this or where I could get a ribbon to replace this broken one

This drive was given to me by a 58 yo man in my hood that used to sell macs in the 80s he says it’s full of Mac software to install and that he used this to install software on Mac se machines in late 80s

[DieHard]

I should have a bunch of 50 pin cable to 50 pin SCSI centronics, I'll look

[WhiteWarlock]

Midi Interface?!
hmmm
that reminds me of my old AppleIIgs? external SCSI drive case that use for swapping drives
mount it up!

[DieHard]

No need to fix the case; you can stick terminators on the drive directly (red with row of pins) since you are missing the one to terminate the external, and read it in the famous G3 tower you have with any 50 pin SCSI card

[WhiteWarlock]

the drive controller pcb should possibly be marked what pins need jumped for termination plus manually give it scsi ID#
yeah what he said
didn't realize you were missing chain terminator
plus you can set id# on the case dip switches

[DieHard]

the drive controller pcb should possibly be marked what pins need jumped for termination plus manually give it scsi ID#

Usually the card will auto terminate, but the drive itself will need to be terminated, if you have no terminators for hard drives, just get a cable that has a termination block on the next 50 pin connector after the hard drive.
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,1712.0.html

[macStuff]

the problem is just this ribbon cable inside the case that used to connect directly to the drive, the connector has broken off and im having trouble getting it to go back into its proper spot in the ribbon becauseits bent or something now

[macStuff]

i wonder if the drive could just be used to put inside any older 80s mac as the main drive or whatever?
then i could just xnay the case..

the main reason i never bought any old macs that use these old ass SCSI drives is the drives are so old and hard to come by
and people liek to try to charge 100-200$ for useless shit that is ready to die anyway just because its SCSI

[FdB]

Can you remove that black (I assume the MIDI Interface adapter plug) from inside the blue female on the HD? Interested in knowing possible pin configuration inside that blue female.

[macStuff]

yea i pulled that off already i thought i lost the part but yea its there and removed now
i been trying to stick it back into the ribbon cable but like is aid its not working out

think i have to source out a new cable or an alternate solution

[FdB]

How many pins, or pin configuration inside the blue female? What model of IMPRIMIS drive is it? Pic of label not clear.

[WhiteWarlock]

get what's happening now with that ribbon
one of the bus connectors fell off
been through that type of scenario before
it shouldn't matter or break the cable connection
you can try putting it back on yet isn't really needed for your purpose
see if you can manually terminate drive with jumper pin
or if you have block term just use that
~shrug~
that case is actually very useful for using as external scsi drive swap chassis
looks like standard 50pin scsi drive...

[macStuff]

i need a very specific cable to replace this with
its 50pin centronics (female) on both sides with a female 50pin SCSI internal connector crimped on in between the two

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCSI-cable-50-Pin-flat-cable-3-connectors-2-external-SCSI-2-one-IDC-50-internal/282494914370?hash=item41c6024f42:g:BuAAAOSw~y9ZGThV

would this cable work? its db25 instead of the other scsi style connector.. im not sure if it would work as a swap


i guess i coudl try to connect it straight to a SCSI Card with an internal 50pin to 50pin cable

[darthnVader]

The last device on the SCSI bus must be terminated.

[macStuff]

its ok i havent got that far yet.. still havnet fixed the cable
cant find a cable to fix it
i dont have any 50pin SCSI cable

so i need a replacement cable (female 50pin centronics > internal 50pin SCSI > female 50pin centronics)
as well as a 50pin centronics terminator?
https://www.google.ca/search?q=centronics+scsi+terminator&num=40&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsuv__iMHbAhVhyoMKHQBTDPgQ_AUICigB&biw=1249&bih=585

[darthnVader]

Later SCSI drives had a terminator pin on the drive itself, if you have a Mac with SCSI and another SCSI drive that you can terminate, just set the SCSI ID of the terminated drive to be after the ID of this drive.

None of which helps if you don't have a SCSI Mac, or another SCSI drive that has internal termination jumpers.

[macStuff]

none of thatmatters yet becase i still need to fix this cable

[DieHard]

none of thatmatters yet becase i still need to fix this cable

OK, I am still trying to understand what you want to do... you have many options

1) Simply read the data with your current G3 Tower by hooking the drive to a PCI card internally with a 50 pin internal cable, preferable one that has a block on the end of the cable since I am guessing the drive itself is NOT terminated with a red connector (with pins) directly on the drive.  if you see a row of small "holes" as a connector on the drive, that is where the drive's terminators would be put on, they do NOT look like jumpers, but like flat red blocks that have pins connected to them

2) Fix the enclosure (stock), Your enclosure was originally setup as being able to be used anywhere in the SCSI chain, that is why it has an In and out centronics 50 pin, it could have been used as the last device (then you would have put an external centronics SCSI termination) or as a member of a chain with a SCSI cable going into one centronic and one going to another device, if this is the goal you will need another cable like the original

3) Fix the enclosure (modified), Your can replace the original cable with a single centronics to 50 pin cable (again try to get one with an internal terminator as a block on the end of the cable); this will convert the external case into a "one device only" external hard drive.

Please tell me the goal and I will try to come up with an exact solution

[darthnVader]

none of thatmatters yet becase i still need to fix this cable

If you have a Mac with an internal 50 or 68 pin SCSI, builtin or PCI, then you can use the drive on that bus, with a drive that is terminated.

No need to fix the SCSI cable for the external SCSI case, just get a internal SCSI cable for $8 that supports multiple drives.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atto-ExpressPCI-PSC-PCI-SCSI-Controller-Card-for-Apple-Mac/292568076358?hash=item441e6a9046:g:b3kAAOSwva1a1iX9:sc:USPSPriority!28377!US!-1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-poliges-SCSI-Cable-7-x-Devices-50-polig-7-50-pin-59-1-8In-Flat-Ribbon-K52/311718418575?hash=item4893dd988f:g:T5oAAOSwfghappYO

https://www.ebay.com/itm/internal-scsi-terminator-50-pin-male-free-shipping/132389695379?hash=item1ed30a6f93:g:ersAAOSwTO9aAMPq

I bet one of those pins on the drive you are trying to recover is the Term. Power.

I can't see the drive make and model from you pictures, if we can still find the drive specs, we can find if it supports "suicide" I.E. Self termination. Allowing the drive to be the only device on the SCSI bus.

[FdB]

Or… Door #3.
If you wanna keep it in the external case. *IDC 50 also known as SCSI 50.

Well, after dissecting 3 similar external SCSI drives here (similar to what can be discerned from the pics)… it seems that the IDC 50 (clamped / or crimped-on) HD connector, is placed in the middle of a 50-conductor flat ribbon cable loop… between the upper and the lower Centronics 50-pin SCSI port connections on the back of the enclosure.

AND if the ribbon cable is possibly damaged from attempting to put the IDC 50 [with the possibly bent blade(s)] back onto the cable and you’re good with an X-Acto knife and can determine which strand(s) of the ribbon cable has/have been damaged/severed… you can possibly cut and “jumper” those and then use a new IDC 50 (female) connector placed near where the first one was.

Mouser’s got ‘em. https://www.mouser.com/Connectors/Headers-Wire-Housings/_/N-ay0lo?P=1ytkn9pZ1ytkn06Z1z0xbmhZ1z0wxp6

If the flat cable isn’t damaged in the above manner, just clamp on a new IDC 50 near where the other one was.

Otherwise, it’s a new length of 50 strand/conductor flat ribbon cable and a new IDC 50 (female) connector too. (Provided you’re also capable of re-attaching the new cable ends to the Centronics 50s.) Unless you can find a similarly configured, new replacement (good luck) or… acquire a “near-exact” used one from someone with a dead external HD.

OR… DieHard’s #3 noted above. Perhaps you want to keep it “stock”.

Don’t we all miss SCUZZY?