Sonnet Tempo ATA 133 PCI (Promise chipset - PDC20269)

[macStuff]

https://web.archive.org/web/20021001160954/http://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempo_ata133.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20030811071116/http://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempo_ata133.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20030716071259/http://sonnettech.com/publicfiles/pdfs/pdf_datasheets/tempo_133_datasheet.pdf
https://www.sonnettech.com/support/downloads/manuals/tempo_ata133_qsg.pdf



pc version was also called a Promise Ultra133 TX2

[macStuff]

attached tempo133_firm_325.sit
how does this have installable firmware with no flash eeprom chip?
its inside the larger chip somehow?

some firmware files retrieved from sonnettech.com website backup
http://www.sonnettech.com/support/kb/kb.php?cat=330&expand=_a3_a13_a2_a1_b325_b52_b440_b439&action=b440

"This firmware updater is only for use with Tempo ATA133, Tempo HD, and Tempo Trio PCI Host Adapter cards. Large hard drives (greater than 137GB) are supported under Mac OS 9 and OS X 10.2 with firmware Version 4.5. If you are not planning to use these large drives, download this firmware (Version 4.0)."

[macStuff]

i got my package today with 1x ultra100TX2 card, and 1x ultra133 tx2 card
1 of each to try to mod to mac

if anyone has experience modifying these cards for mac use please step forward

[(S)ATAman]

Me.
 

[(S)ATAman]

i got my package today with 1x ultra100TX2 card, and 1x ultra133 tx2 card
1 of each to try to mod to mac

if anyone has experience modifying these cards for mac use please step forward

Not only that, I just got the green light from Sonnet.
No need to modify your card, only flash properly with the factory flash utility.
Would be nice to have it posted somewhere here, for everyone's benefit.

Sonnet does not see any business with UltraTek/100/133/Trio. So why not make the factory flash public?
Benefits you - and indirectly benefits me if you are happy.

[macStuff]

lets do it 

[macStuff]

standing by to test the Promise 133 card in a Sawtooth AGP machine
also interested to try one of these in a PCI G3/G4 Video slot (which runs at 66mhz)

[(S)ATAman]

standing by to test the Promise 133 card in a Sawtooth AGP machine
also interested to try one of these in a PCI G3/G4 Video slot (which runs at 66mhz)

The only what prevents me to release for Promise 133 now is that I have only two working MacOS 9 machines and both are MDD-s.
I found a Sawtooth in rather sorry condition as well, it has no power supply.

I think I blew the power supply after we moved from Cupertino to Europe and I forgot to switch it to 220V.
Currently it's home of a dozen or so spiders, has no other function.

An idea how to get a power supply for that hing would be good.
Sawtooth is a very unusual machine with a very nasty Intel PCI-PCI bridge called "Bandit".

I always patch the bridge settings so the I/O on my cards in the Sawtooth is usually much faster on both "9" and "X".
The backside is that with that patch you should not operate two cards simultaneously, they will fight and slow down.

For a single card (ATA, SATA, etc.) it is fine.

You may have an other card in Sawtooth, but than the bridge will prioritize my card because of these settings.

Computers after the Sawtooth like do not have that "Bandit" problem, not sure about G3 "Yosemite" and it's G4 sibling with 66 MHz slot.

[macStuff]

replacing a sawtooth psu is probably the easiest psu replacement going.. find any ATX PSU (250 watts + up) and u can buy an adapter

http://atxg4.com/
not sure if these guys are still in business

its probably even easier for most of us determined folks to make your own adapter
(which allows u to do modifications to the adapter, and keep the psu as-is)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/24-Pin-Male-to-Female-ATX-Power-Supply-PSU-Extension-Cable-Extender-24cm-M-F/271767144930

i bought a bunch of these cords and used them to make my own adapter

see this thread: http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1879.0

[macStuff]

so the above firmware updates wont work to change it to a mac card?

[(S)ATAman]

so the above firmware updates wont work to change it to a mac card?

Not on my MDD because they do not show up in Open Firmware.
I 100% remember, I did update all kind of Promise cards in earlier machines.

The same time these controllers do show up in regular PC or in my 2009 MacPro.
I have a PCIe - PCI bridge (development board).

I ordered a cheap PCI-PCIe bridge board on feeBay, it did not arrive yet.

The power supply on my Sawtooth was blown up years ago. As we moved back to Europe I forgot to switch it from 120 to 220V.
I found that there is a way to modify a regular PC power supply for the Sawtooth.
I may just do that, the machine is otherwise in OK shape.

I may also pick up some old G4 in Germany in few weeks.

[macStuff]

shouldnt be hard to find a G4 some people give them away and some people try to charge a few hundred dollars because they are money hungry;
anyways my card is here on my desk, id love to be able to flash it now

doesnt the flasher already exist? from old days?

[(S)ATAman]

shouldnt be hard to find a G4 some people give them away and some people try to charge a few hundred dollars because they are money hungry;
anyways my card is here on my desk, id love to be able to flash it now

doesnt the flasher already exist? from old days?

It is quite a chaos and I need to validate it.

[macStuff]

i thought getting the promise card to work on the mac was going to require some hardware modification
id really like to test the promise card into the 66mhz pci slot in my B+W G3 450mhz machine
because its supposed to be able to support double bandwidth running at 66mhz instead of 33mhz

but then again that is really geeky curiousity from way back

[(S)ATAman]

i thought getting the promise card to work on the mac was going to require some hardware modification
id really like to test the promise card into the 66mhz pci slot in my B+W G3 450mhz machine
because its supposed to be able to support double bandwidth running at 66mhz instead of 33mhz

but then again that is really geeky curiousity from way back

I don't recall any modification being necessary - except the driver and  flasher change to recognize the ID-s.
There was a large space in our garage in Cupertino. I bought a used Magma and many first cards were just re-flashed there to go back to Taiwan for testing.
Today I regret that I don't have that Magma box. There are very few on eBay, the price is outlandish - and the shipping cost to get them from the States to EU is even more outlandish.

[AtariMan]

I kept the original firmware, but it differs from the Windows firmware. This firmware for the Mac is 32kb, and the PC version is 16kb. Can anyone reduce its size to 16kb? In any case, I share it.

[(S)ATAman]

I kept the original firmware, but it differs from the Windows firmware. This firmware for the Mac is 32kb, and the PC version is 16kb. Can anyone reduce its size to 16kb? In any case, I share it.

Thanks,

The problem is not the firmware or even how to flash it into anything which has PDC 20268... PDC 20269 on it, most likely the PDC 20270 as well.
I do even have the PDC20271 now.

The problem is that I don't have any legacy Mac other than MDD. And PC version does not show up in my MDD at the Open Firmware level because of an apparent bug in the MDD.
I am chasing a working Quicksilver or similar - or a PCI-to-PCIe bridge.

The Quicksilver is in this part of the world is non-existing. An @sshole hit my car yesterday, that delays my travel to better part of Europe by few days.
And finally the PCI-PCIe bridge arrived and I do "see" Promise cards even in Thunderbolt-3 chassis.

Since I wrote all the Mac firmware for these cards I am fine, just need more time.

This is not a huge priority now - porting the fastest 3124 driver to "9" is.

But if anyone in Stuttgart - Karlsruhe area can get me a Quicksilver that would speed things up.
There is apparently one for sale not far away:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/APPLE-PowerMac-PC-G4-Desktop-Macintosh-funktioniert/114074766318

With luck I may even get it.

[macStuff]

perhaps some other european members of this site can help you to try to find a mac for development purposes

[(S)ATAman]

perhaps some other european members of this site can help you to try to find a mac for development purposes

The bridge board should do the trick. Once flashed as "Mac", the Promise cards do show up in MDD.

This is very interesting, by the way: if you have an MDD and a Promise card with 268, 269, 270 or 271 chip for PC: does it show up in your MDD at the Open Firmware level or not?
Maybe my MDD has a problem.

[macStuff]

tbh i havent checked but i do have both neccessary ingredients