Quicksilver Thread!

[FdB]

Again, I am looking. Hopefully someone will respond with the answer that we seek.
If not, it looks like a possible "Quicksilver weekend" on tap here.

[FdB]

Well, I've got an 867MHz Quicksilver ("A"-type board) here that is not wanting to boot OS 9.2.2.
So with some OS updating on-tap this weekend, maybe that firmware update with miraculously
rear its' head/source?

[IIO]

Comparing the "stock" 7.33 MHz to the "other" Quicksilvers....

i dont know. however there there must be more models than all these websites show, because you can find many people claming that their 733 or their dual 800 (2001) would allow bigger disks.

[refinery]

apple used to have a page with all the firmware updates for each model on it.... i will try to find it.

[part12studios]

Where can I check on the board for what version it is?  Is it pretty easy to spot somewhere?  I think I have a revision A board based on this picture.. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aeiawa7vuokykan/IMG_1310.JPG?dl=0

[FdB]

Where can I check on the board for what version it is?  Is it pretty easy to spot somewhere?  I think I have a revision A board based on this picture...

http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,4905.msg35367.html#msg35367

[IIO]

u know whats weird, fury? the picture you posted shows the 933 having an "ATA 5" controller.

but according to the ATA specs, there should not be a standard prior to v6 having an 48 bit controller.

which the 933 has.

i bet this is some apple trickery which is causing the confusion here.

[part12studios]

i went through my profiler category by category and i didn't see where a mother board version was shown in the various fields.  is it hidden inside some s/n or other value?

Thanks,
Caleb

[FdB]

Have yet to test the “larger HD” claims of the QS “B” boards but did test various OS installs on the 867 MHZ QS with the “A” board, hoping that some OS X install or version of OS 9 to OS 9.2.2 would somehow provide that Firmware Update. No-go.

In the past, have seen references to other FU installers but now cannot locate a 4.3.3f2 version updater - BUT have found and updated to other FU versions in the past (mostly for Sonnet and Newertech processor upgrades) and do remember the old Apple page listing various FUs. [Thanks refinery… still looking for that here as well. Hope it is eventually found.]

After all the various OS test installs here last night with the original “A” board in place…  and only after finally installing a “B” board… did Firmware Version 4.3.3f2 actually make its’ appearance. I even tested with various 867 MHz processors.

Now, there is a very stable 867 MHz Quicksilver with 80 GB HD running OS 10.4 & OS 9.2.2 with an 867 processor manufactured in Singapore. (An earlier 867 processor - made in the US - was somewhat unstable in comparison.) Large HD tests - this weekend.

Currently… while the A or B boards are not specifically referenced in the Apple System Profiler or under the Hardware Overview in OS X on the QS - it’s probably a safe bet to assume that Firmware Version 4.2.5f1 signifies an A board while a Firmware Version 4.3.3f2 would clue one that a B board is present.

part12studios: perhaps it’s best & easiest just to look on the board for that A/B I.D. You’ve already found where that’s located. And those images I posted of the “white-tagged” 800 MHz DP QS… actually that's a 1 GHz DP processor. But it is on a “B” board.

Yes IIO, there were other Quicksilver “flavors” omitted from those two comparison images, earlier copy-pasted from everymac.com. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g4/index-powermac-g4.html I was too lazy to provide them all.

AND that earlier image posted from Wikipedia showing the 933 with an ATA 5 controller… well it is from Wikipedia and subject to perpetual and possible correction… but, if this 867 QS now with a “B” board (with ATA 5 controller) does recognize larger drives…?

Well, there’s always a bit of possible trickery (and resultant confusion) to contend with, ehh?

Yup… weird.

[FdB]

Thanks again refinery. Still looking, here.

[mikeyy00]

Hi all,

Recently acquired a 533mhz Digital Audio model locally for almost free. Got it home, cleaned it up. Moved some parts over from my Sawtooth..and she dead.

Of course I didn't test it ahead of time.. doh.

I have extensive experience troubleshooting PC hardware, and to a lesser extent, Mac. It seems like the power supply is toast. I get no power, no clicks, no fans, no lights. Popping off the ATX style connector and shorting the green pin to ground doesn't turn it on either.

Does anyone know if there's a known easy fix for bad power supplies? i.e. a Fuse, a known IC that "always goes bad on those models"? I popped the cover off of the PSU looking for a fuse, but it's pretty damn cramped inside, and looks to be quite the process if I remove everything to troubleshoot.

I did try popping my sawtooth powersupply in. Judging by the pinout should really be the same minus the 28v support for ADC. There was a purple line on the powersupply that isn't populated on the DA.. other than that, it's the same pinout (minus the 28V stuff.. which I doubt would prevent it from turning on). It's doesn't do anything either. Shorting the green pin does cause the fan to spin, and I get a red light on the Logic board.. but no life.

So, I've ordered a logic board from ebay.. surprisingly cheap. However the power supplies, holy hell. They're going for $150-200. Long story short, does anyone know how to repair an existing power supply? Or perhaps have a line on a DA/Quicksilver one they'd like to sell me for a reasonable price?

[mikeyy00]

Looks like I need to also cut the grey wire, and add 3.3v to that if using a Sawtooth PSU.

Will try later tonight.. but if anyone has any tips for repairing the original I'm all ears.

[part12studios]

yea good point about firmware indicating version..   so why would i need the firmware update?  what is improved?  No one seems to have it, which is a shame, but i figure if it's just allowing over 128gb drives that's no biggie because i have no problem with a 120gb.. which is already 40gb more than my other G4..  and i've barely scratched the surface of those drives with the songs I've recorded so far.. 

it's like my Amiga 1200 days when I had a 300mb hd.. man i NEVER could fill that thing up..  well wait.. i still have that Amiga in the studio.. and yea.. still not full..

[ovalking]

For info, my Quicksilvers...

733: board 820-1276A, Boot ROM 4.2.1f2, original 40G HD
933: board 820-1342B, Boot ROM 4.3.3f2, 160G PATA HD which shows as 128G!

[Lehnartz]

Another Newbie here who is enjoying and following this thread.  I will be picking up a 2002 Quicksilver PowerMac G4  933 MHZ I just got on ebay this coming Monday and thus will be embarking on the same journey you are on in the coming weeks.  It was a “local pickup” only which is probably the reason it was available for the price it was. It has everything but the box; original monitor (17 inch Studio Display), keyboard, mouse, manuals AND install CD’s still in their bag (though I’ll probably be attempting to use the Universal OS9 first -- don’t really want OSX at all).

I will be putting into it a 250GB OWC Mercury Pro Legacy 3.5-inch IDE/ATA SSD (which I’ll partition as DieHard suggests -- 120GB for OS volume, 130 GB data volume), 1.5 Gigs of Ram, and a new PU and chassis fan.

Here is a page of someone who upgraded the fans on his Quicksilver and documented it in good detail (including photos). I though you might find it interesting.

http://www.thorburn.se/henrik/quicksilver/index.html

He decided to turn around the chassis fan so that it sucked air inward instead of discharging it. His logic being that, in his estimate, this fan was barley needed with his PCI slots unoccupied and with two other fans blowing air outward (the power unit fan and the heat-sink/CPU fan) the system would be better served with at least one fan bringing more air into the case.

I wonder what the experienced modders on this forum have to say about this concept?

Anyway, I’ll continue to follow your progress and I hope you keep sharing it.  I will most likely be chiming in with more questions of my own soon.

[Lehnartz]

Sorry, one mistake  -  The CPU/heat-sink fan brings air in.  His configuration is having two fans bringing cool air in (the CPU and chassis fans) and one taking hot air out (the power unit fan).

[refinery]

found it.

though according to the doc, there's no update for it.

https://web.archive.org/web/20080418104426/http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117


is it possible these are just small firmware variations to account for the different IDE controller on the later machines?

[GaryN]

I think most / all the old updates are HERE:  https://support.apple.com/downloads/macdesktops

They start with newer stuff but you can keep adding more results and slowly work your way back in time.

[GaryN]

So, I've ordered a logic board from ebay.. surprisingly cheap. However the power supplies, holy hell. They're going for $150-200. Long story short, does anyone know how to repair an existing power supply? Or perhaps have a line on a DA/Quicksilver one they'd like to sell me for a reasonable price?

This guy does good work and will rebuild your POS PSU for under $100

https://www.ebay.com/str/baltimora2000?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

[Protools5LEGuy]

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1126?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US