Firewire and the s900 - A pilgrim's progress [long] Alternate title: Firewire for Dummies!
Hello everyone - I've prepared this posting as a guide for anyone who's thinking about trying to get Firewire working on their SuperMac, but hasn't made a go of it yet. I'm certainly no expert on the subject (hence the title), but perhaps the steps and mis-steps of my trial-and-error journey can smooth the way for you. My computer is an s900, but I believe most of what I have written will be applicable to the j700, or the c600 or c500 series as well. I also have a c600x/280 which is my "spare". I wanted to experiment with Firewire, since I had USB working (using a 4-port Entrega card I bought from Dell Computer, of all places). I had no Firewire device, so I thought I'd install a card first. My first attempt was to buy an "Apple-labeled" Firewire card I found on ebay. BIG MISTAKE, as it turned out. While I thought the Apple card would guarantee compatibility with Apple-based PCI slots, this wasn't the case. I believe the problems I experienced with the Apple card _may_ be that it was desinged to add Firewire to the beige g3 models, and _may not_ be compatible with earlier Macs for hardware reasons. It's also possible that the Apple card doesn't work properly with 6-slot machines. It didn't want to be recognized by my c600, either. In any case, I would advise anyone with a SuperMac to AVOID the so-called genuine "Apple" Firewire card. Another factoid I've discovered is that Apple System Profiler isn't of much help when trying to view PCI cards in the s900. I would imagine that this is due to the s900's unique PCI bus architecture (which has been described here by individuals more knowledgeable than I). Neither the Apple Firewire card, nor the 3rd-party card I bought later, show up using Apple System Profiler. However, I found that a utility called "PowerControl" 3.0 does indicate the presence of the card in the slot (although it doesn't identify it as a "Firewire card", per se). PowerControl came bundled with my XLR8 g/3 upgrade from Interex, which is now, unfortunately, out of business. I have not been able to find a site from which "PowerControl 3.0" is downloadable. I did find another PCI utility called "PCI Prober" which can be used to examine the PCI bus. You can find it here: <http://www.pure-mac.com/diag.html#pciprober> Here is a _direct download_ link to PCI Prober 2.0: <http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/info/hdwr/pci-prober-20.hqx> In the meantime, I set out to build my own Firewire hard drive. Although the larger 3.5" drive kits offer the most storage space for the buck, I decided to try to put together a small, portable drive using a 2.5" laptop drive and a small case kit that could be powered directly from the Firewire bus itself (not needing an external power supply). After browsing around, I found a suitable case kit from Other World Computing: <http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_MailList.cfm?ID=4636&Item=OWCME910FW911> For a drive, I chose one of the new IBM "40GNX" series 2.5" 5400rpm drives (40 gigabytes). I got mine from "newegg.com" for $150, shipped. I paid the extra $$$ for the brand-new "GNX" series drive, but careful shopping can net you "last year's" IBM "40GN" series for $110 or even less. The OWC Mercury Express case kit seems identical to one offered by <http://www.firewiredirect.com> ... called the "Spark ES", but OWC's kit is all-but identical and is $40 cheaper! There weren't any instructions that came with either the case or the drive. The case kit has some rudimentary illustrations on the box, but there is no printed instruction sheet. However, by browsing the Firewire section at <http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/> ... I was able to view illustrated articles about other 2.5" case kits that gave me enough of a perspective on what needed to be done. For anyone who purchases this case kit, a few tips: - At first, I couldn't figure out how to get the case apart, as there are no exposed screws and no obvious "disassembly path". It turns out that screws aren't needed, the case just "slides and snaps" apart or together. You need to turn it around so the ports are facing you, then pull _straight back_ on either side piece. They will unsnap and then slide straight back, exposing the case top/bottom. - With the side plates removed, hold the case in the palm of your hand. On the back of the case, above the ports, there is a seam running across it. Work a fingernail or small screwdriver into this seam, and gently lift it apart at either corner. This will separate the case halves so you can get to the controller board. - With the top of the case removed, lift the controller board out of the case. - Make sure that there are no jumpers on the drive itself (mine came without any installed, I believe "raw drives" are shipped in that configuration). Then "mate" it to the controller board. You may have to press firmly on the end of the drive to seat the pins into the receptacle. When you handle the drive, hold it by the EDGES ONLY - DO NOT press on the top or the bottom of the drive case. - Once the drive is seated in the receptacle, just turn the controller board over and install the 4 screws included in the case kit to hold the drive in place. DO NOT overtighten the screws - just "snug" is good enough. - Put the controller board back into the case bottom, matching the port end first. It should drop right into place once you get the ports aligned with their cutouts. - Now put the top back on. I found that it "snapped" into place snugly enough so that I didn't need to install the 2 "self-tapping" screws into the other half of the case (when reinstalled, the side plates hold the case halves together) - Reinstall the side plates by sliding them on until they snap into place. (continued in part 2) -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 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