Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[yungjoon]

Hi,

I try to install this card in my G4 MDD (dual boot Mac OS 9.2 /10.5..

I plugged the card in a PCI slot and I started with this:

https://www.macintoshrepository.org/33044-adaptec-powerdomain-29160

For mac os x there is a driver, the 29160 works well under mac os 10.5.8. The scsi drive attached can be used.

For mac os 9 there is only scsi probe. When I boot under mac os 9, the card is not recognized. I checked the extension manager and saw nothing related to a 29160 scsi device. When I run scsi probe nothing is listed.

If someone has the driver for the 29160, I would very interested.

Thanks!

[aBc]

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/adaptec-powerdomain-29160 ?
Might actually be the same file.

Did you do the firmware update under OS 9?
 

[yungjoon]

yes it is the same file, thanks.

About the firmware update, how can I do that if the card is not recognized under os9? Would it be usable under OSX aftet update?

[aBc]

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/adaptec-powerdomain-scsi-card-firmware

[yungjoon]

Thanks for the file.

I tried to update the firmware. My 29160 is recognized as a 29160N, but the update fails. It tells me that no firmware is found, I get a "the firmware can't be checked, error -27" .

I checked in the documentation and It seems that this problem occurs when trying to update a PC version of a 29160N. But it works with mac os 10.5!

[robespierre]

I assume that OSX has a native AIC-7xxx driver and doesn't care what's on the flash on the card. But OS9 does care, and the "PC version" doesn't have a large enough flash chip to hold the Open Firmware-compatible card firmware. In any case, those are the avenues I would check first (is there a "Mac version" with a larger flash chip, and does the flash contain an OF package or a Wintel "BIOS")

PPC Mac peripheral cards usually don't contain native PPC code, but Open Firmware packages that can run on multiple architectures implementing OF (part of what made it "open"). For example, UltraSparc.

[ssp3]

@yungjoon, do you have a Power Domain, i.e. APD-29160 card or the regular one for use in PC? AHA-29160 or something like that. If latter, then forget about it. Adaptec had Power Domain line of cards for MacOS back then and they had larger EEPROMs to accomodate Mac specific firmware.

[aBc]

ALL working pulls of Adaptec SCSI cards from MDDs here in the last 10 years have been of slightly various AHA-2930 varieties - with the exception of one AHA-2940U2W / MAC. (Thought I might have at least one Adaptec 29160. But no!)

             



AND from two previous, 2018 posts here on the subject…
https://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=4190.msg28834#msg28834
It seems as if I got at least one of the AHA-2930CU MAC cards to work in a Quicksilver with OS 9… but there were problems (surprisingly) with OS 10.4 Tiger. But maybe if I had used one of the drivers / install disc images… noted for the 2930 from the https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/adaptec-powerdomain-scsi-card-firmware download mentioned here above, that might have solved the 10.4 Tiger issue? [Yet another task, for a later date here?]

             

I ended up using an ATTO ExpressPCI PSC card instead for an internal SCSI JAZ drive back in 2018. It’s still working.



But if you’re interested in one of the Adaptec “AHA-2930CU MAC” cards and some horrific international tariff or cost restrictive VAT tax isn’t involved for shipping it to you from the U.S. / One could be yours FREE, for the cost of shipping alone. (PM me.)

As for your Adaptec 29160… maybe some pics posted of it would be in order?

Cheers! 

[ssp3]

This is how Mac version of 29160 looks like.




See also:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815105932/http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/SCSI/ultra160SCSI/

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815064925/http://www.adaptec.com/products/guide/ultra160scsi.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815062639/http://www.adaptec.com/products/overview/pd29160n.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815210521/http://www.adaptec.com/products/guide/macintoshscsimatrix.html

[aBc]

Well it certainly looks like the APD-2160N is the better option…
IF yungjoon can get it to work under OS 9 in his MDD - and that
... if in fact, it is the actual card that he has.
 
And again, closely reading and following guidance from the Read Me
files (and the one .pdf) provided with the Flash Utilities...

             

[ssp3]

Well it certainly looks like the APD-2160N is the better option…

Actually, if it has to be fast SCSI on G4 Macs, the original Apple version of 2940U2W called 2940U2B is much better and more stable choice.
Ultra 160 cards, such as 29160 and 39160
a) were very finicky (33/66Mhz PCI slot issue),
b) with available drives, were not much faster than U2W cards,
c) required special Ultra 160 cables. With regular LVD cables they would revert to U2W speeds.

But, to be honest, I don't see any reason to use SCSI cards and drives in our vintage G4 Macs anymore. When it comes to speed, any SSD on a $5 chinese adapter will run circles around it. Sourcing good quality SCSI drives could also be a problem.
The only reason to have a SCSI card is if someone has some special peripherial, such as High-End drum or film scanner or archives on DAT tapes or MO discs.
Or vintage audio or video(?) system with its dedicated SCSI bus, like ProTools, Sonic Solutions and similar.