>Can I anticipate that most SCSI cards will be compatible with Mandrake Linux?
I would think that this would depend primarily on the availability of drivers for the SCSI card you get and use and if they support Mandrake Linux. Tou willneed to check the different manufacturers of SCSI cards and see if they have cards that support that OS and will work in the slots of your motherboard. > Is this a significant consideration when chosing between a 3 ft and 6 ft SCSI cable, or is it > only important for longer distances? I believe that most SCSI setups will take a recommended total cable distance of 18 feet to 24 feet ( that is the distance for the whole daisey chain and not just per device in a chain). Thus, 3 or 6 feet will make little difference if it is the only device connected to the SCSI card. >get a SCSI to firewire converter and connect it with a firewire cable. Converters are a nice idea but in practice aqre not always what they are cracked up to be. You need to know if the converted and its software drivers support and are supported by Mandrake Linux, if the particular converter in question will work with not only the type of SCSI you plan to use or are required to use but the device in question, if the converter will result in a major loss in speed, etc. Converter adapters tend to be expensive (if other converter adapters are any indication, a firewire to SCSI or SCSI to firewire converter adapter may rune you as much as $100 or more). >I have a Polaroid SprintScan 4000 scanner, and need to connect it to my new computer, which runs Mandrake Linux 9.1 and Windows 2000. The real question here is if the SprintScan 4000 scanner has drivers available that will allow it to work as a device regardless of the type of connection with Mandrake Linux? Windows 2000, win XP, and even Win 98 all have Twain drivers available from Microsoft or Polaroid which will support operation of the scanner so that OS may not be as much of a problem as the Linux OS. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of patton paul Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2003 12:07 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [filmscanners] connecting scanner to computer I have a Polaroid SprintScan 4000 scanner, and need to connect it to my new computer, which runs Mandrake Linux 9.1 and Windows 2000. The output from my scanner is SCSI, and I would like opinions about how best to connect it to my computer. I could either get a SCSI card for my computer and connect it with a SCSI cable, or get a SCSI to firewire converter and connect it with a firewire cable. Can I anticipate that most SCSI cards will be compatible with Mandrake Linux? Because of the way that things are arranged on my desk, it would be much more convenient to use a 6 ft SCSI cable rather than a 3 ft cable. My understanding is that SCSI is very distance sensitive, and that a longer cable will mean more noise and therefore slower data transmission. Is this a significant consideration when chosing between a 3 ft and 6 ft SCSI cable, or is it only important for longer distances? If I want to place my scanner 6 or more feet from my computer would it be safer to go with the SCSI to firewire converter? The SCSI to firewire converter would have the advantage of allowing me to also connect my old computer, a Macintosh G3 powerbook, to the scanner. Although this machine is slower, its dual monitor feature can be quite useful when scanning. With the SCSI to firewire card however, I'm worried about the possibility of hardware or software incompatibility problems. Has anybody out their tried connecting a sprintscan 4000 to their computer using a SCSI to firewire converter? Are my worries about possible incompatibilities warrented? Am I safer in this regard to stick with a SCSI card? Is it likely that a SCSI to firewire converter would be compatible with Linux? I've found two brands of converter on the web, one by 2nd wave technology, and another by Ratoc (FR1SX). Anybody have an opinion about which is better? Help and comments would be much appreciated. __________________________________________________________________ Dr. Paul Patton Research Scientist Beckman Institute Rm 3027 405 N. Mathews St. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois 61801 work phone: (217)-265-0795 fax: (217)-244-5180 home phone: (217)-328-4064 homepage: http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~ppatton/index.html "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." -Albert Einstein __________________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe filmscanners' or 'unsubscribe filmscanners_digest' (as appropriate) in the message title or body --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.528 / Virus Database: 324 - Release Date: 10/16/2003 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.528 / Virus Database: 324 - Release Date: 10/16/2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe filmscanners' or 'unsubscribe filmscanners_digest' (as appropriate) in the message title or body
