At 15:25 +0000 02/07/2003, pdimage.fsnet.co.uk wrote: > I have got the 4.1 flasher (regular and AV flavour) though there >were some warnings about 'clones' (didn't say which clones) on the >download site. But I suppose I can't restore the PC firmware if things go >pearshaped unless I find a PC 'er.
Well, if you want the ability to restore the PC firmware you must find the PC before you try to flash the card, because you need to read the PC firmware out of the card before it gets erased by the Mac flashing process. As far as I know the PC firmware is not available for download anywhere (okay, someone somewhere probably has it on a personal site) so the only source is to read it out of a PC 2940UW. If the card was fairly cheap and you don't have a use for a PC card, then this shouldn't be much of a consideration. > Will the U2W flash with the UW firmware? No. The thing to consider is the chip used on the card. The firmware is specific to each chip. So the PowerDomain 2940UW firmware works with pretty much any card with an AIC-7880P chip on it. The 2940UW Pro and 2940UW Dual use a newer chip which is why they won't work in a Mac even though they have the name "2940UW". The 2940U2W uses an AIC-7895, IIRC, but in any event, it is not a 7880, so it needs different firmware. > or the powerdomain U2W firmware. This will probably work. Keep in mind that there are a couple of variations on the Adaptec 2940U2X cards. There's the 2940U2W and the 2940U2B. If you have a U2B you need to use Apple's firmware updater for that card. It's available on MacGurus ftp site. If you have a 2940U2W then you can probably use the PowerDomain 2940U2W firmware. I have converted a 2940U2B but I have not converted a 2940U2W. However, my conversion of the 2940U2B required replacing the Flash ROM with a larger capacity chip, and the chip is a PLCC-32 (type of package) which, while not super difficult to desolder, is very challenging unless you have some experience. The instructions in my XLR8yourmac.com article on the 2940UW conversion would be relavent for the 2940U2W, because there is no DIP chip position on the 2940U2W--at least there isn't on the 2940U2B. Of course, you could experiment with the various PowerDomain flashers and see if any of them will flash the 2940U2W without hardware modification, the way the ver. 4.1 firmware works with the 2940UW. The worst consequence is that you are left with a useless card. Well, even that's not really true, because the PC 2940U2W firmware package is available from Adaptec, so no matter how badly the firmware gets munged you can always restore it, as long as you can find a friendly PC. The worst consequence is probably that the card appears to work and you get insidious data corruption down the road. :-) >whether the 2930 >can be successfully flashed to mac - there doesn't seem to be any >firmware flash for it so I can't advise him - but has anyone any >knowledge of it? My vague memory says the 2930 is not flashable and is updated by physically replacing the ROM chip. Is the EPROM or ROM in a socket on that card? If so, what does it look like and what are the markings on it. Also, have him read the numbers off the big square chip in the middle. If it's a 7880 one can probably sneak the 2940UW firmware on there somehow. Jeff Walther -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | Service & Replacement Parts [EMAIL PROTECTED] | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> SuperMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/supermacs/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/supermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
