> Can I put the original CD drive in the ZIP drive bay? I don't use > the ZIP drive and probably never will
Two optical drives ... why?!? I've found that replacing the original optical drive with a Pioneer DVR-109 or 110 (both are supported, or are supportable in 10.3 and 10.4, and both certainly work fine with 9.2.1) was the way to go. The space where the zip formerly was is now either a 300 GB or a 400 GB drive, depending upon which B&W. The two-high drive carrier in the base (these are "Dash 2" B&Ws) has either a pair of 60 GB Apple-branded ATA drives or a pair of third-party 120 GB ATA drives, with 10.3/9.2.1 on one and 10.4/9.2.1 on the other. The 300 GB and 400 GB drives were initialized on a Beige G3 using Intech's initializer, with 128 GB as the first partition and all remaining space as the second partition. 9.2.1 fully recognizes both partitions on the Beige and the Blue & White machines. I have found NO compatibility problems with Intech's driver, either on 9 or on X; either with <=128 GB drives, or with >>129 GB hard drives. On X, Intech's "high capacity driver" is installed, and this allows 10.3 and 10.4 to use all available space, just as it was available, and is still available, on 9.2.1. (Intech's three page attachment goes into excruciating details on how to achieve complete MacOS 9/X forward and backward compatibility with <=128 GB and >>128 GB drives. This software came "bundled" with a hard drive purchased from OWC. It is the "OEM" version of Intech's product, to which I have applied all downloadable updates. "Five Mice" for Intech). The B&W's "multiword" bus is quite happy with the HUGE hard drives, and that bus comes standard with an 80-wire/40-pin cable, which fast optical drives, such as the dual-layer opticals I mentioned, above, need for full performance. These B&Ws are used mainly for DVD authoring and duplicating (public domain and/or "fair use" only, of course) and since the DVR-110 was updated with "cross-flashed" firmware from a hacker's site, said firmware mainly providing more complete media compatibility, as well as full speed ripping and burning, I haven't burned a "coaster", even on el-cheapo media, although I tend to use archival media for my own library. Oh, both the optical and the magnetic drives are not retained by screws as this makes drive changes easier. If you apply a strip of heavy duty "filament" packing tape, 1" wide and the length of the Zip drive cavity, said tape covering and insulating the "bump" on the floor of the cavity, then the Zip cavity will accommodate a HUGE hard drive with ease. The B&W media carrier, which is removable by two screws from the front, after the dual bezel has been removed, easily accommodates the two drives as I described. In order to change drives, for any reason, all that is required is to remove the bezel, remove the two screws, slide the carrier out a couple of inches, reach in and disconnect the data and power cables, slip out the drives (no drive retaining screws, remember), slip in the new drives, and reassemble in reverse. -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:g-list@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
