Upgrading
From Niels Vølund
Hi Charles
I read your thoughts on upgrading - as a musician and Cubase user I could certainly
do with a faster and less noisy Mac than my G3/400 upgraded Umax S900, but, as you write, lack of cash
has the last word on every upgrade thought. I saw some very fine prices
for last year's model of G4 as the new ones came out, but I have to
feed my family, pay the rent, and have enough to buy fuel so I can go
play my gigs.
Anyway, the day will come when I go to a G4 more than 400 [MHz] and
hopefully a lot faster and stronger than my current setup, I can do
about 20 audio tracks with a minimum of plugins as it is, and actually
I can do anything I want as the sound is digital and has no loss of
quality when bouncing down tracks, so making a new copy of one or more
tracks is a possibility, so I can lay down more tracks, very time
consuming though and I lose the ability to add a little more of this or
that on the fly, as the sounds are made, when you bounce down.
Don't know if you can use this, just thought I would write it down,
nice knowing someone reads your stuff
Niels
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Neils. There's
always the option of popping a G4
upgrade into the S900.
Charles
PowerBooks - your favorite RAM Disk user's
guide?
From Thomas M Barclay
Hello Charles
I've just acquired a PB 190cs
with a battery that's good for about 90 minutes. I've got it up to 24
megs of RAM, 
enough for use as a portable writer's tool, but I think
I should be using the RAM disk option for more battery life and
speed.
Do you have a favorite guide reference for setting up the options?
And do I need to have my word processing app on the RAM disk as
well?
Thanks for your consideration!
Tom Barclay
Hi Tom,
Check out Working
with RAM Disks and Charles Moore
Reviews AppDisk and ramBunctious RAM Disk
Applications.
I used to run most of the time in a RAM disk on a
PowerBook 5300 with 24 MB of
RAM. I used a very stripped down version of System 7.1.2, a minimum
installation of MS Word 5.1 and a few other bits. I could spin down the
hard drive and compute in silence all day.
Charles
And I Had to Worry for Sept 30
From Alvin Chan
Hi.
And I had to worry and find a way to keep my .mac address and found
out they extended it. Anyway, at least I don't have to worry about
missing replies and informing people of a new address. I believe .mac
is good value for a year. I see that they will offer more gifts in the
gifts section. I don't even know they have Kodak prints, is that only
for the US. I'm from the Philippines.
By the way, about CD-RW. If say I burnt a CD-RW media, can I burn it
again the second or third time? Will it be compatible with normal
CD-ROM drives?
God bless,
Alvin
Philippines
Hi Alvin,
Good luck with .mac. Personally, I only ever used the
email, so I'm giving it a pass.
You should be able to burn a CD-RW a lot more than
three times; I don't know what the practical limit is. CD-RWs should
work in all recent CD drives, but not necessarily in older ones. They
won't work in the WallStreet PowerBook drive
for example.
Charles
Upgraded PCI PowerMacs
From Christopher Brown
Saw the email you received from the person who upgraded their
7300, I have also upgraded
mine, possibly beyond the point of sanity. It was originally a 7300/180
with 32 MB of RAM and a 4 GB HD. But now it's a little
different.
- Sonnet 450 MHz G4
- 512 MB RAM
- Sonnet Tango FireWire/USB
- Seagate 18.2 GB Barracuda
- Farallon 100 megabit ethernet
- ATI Radeon 7000
Not to mention the external peripherals. My only problem now is that
I want a faster SCSI card, so I might give up the 100 megabit ethernet.
Of course, I have realized for a while that all my upgrades are a
little silly, since I could have purchased a new machine for about the
same money. But then again, I just really like my 7300 and can't seem
to part with it. My wife wants a new 17" iMac, and I will probably
get her one, but I will probably still be using my little 7300.
Christopher Brown
Hi Christopher,
Think of how it would fly with one of those 700 MHz or
800 MHz Sonnet G4 upgrades.
Charles
PowerBook 520 - Ethernet Dongle Adapter
From Raymond P. Ausrotas
Hello
Found your recent article very timely.
I affectionately struggled with my PowerBook
520 as a home computer
for eight years. A couple of years ago, I even tried (unsuccessfully)
to upgrade its processor to a Newer Tech 167 MHz version. According to
our local Mac store, the processor worked, but the board couldn't run
it.
Finally, I broke down last week and got a new iMac, and I can't
connect the two machines to share files and use the documents and extra
memory still in the old girl's hard drive. Frankly, I'd still like to
use her from time to time, but it has gotten so slow doing even simple
tasks that even that may be a pipe dream.
Anyhow, Apple tells me I need a dongle adapter that will allow me to
run an ethernet cable between the two, and then will be all set. Do you
folks have any of these, or know where I can get one? Thanks!
- Ray
Hi Ray,
What you need is an Apple Attachment Unit Interface
(AAUI) adapter. You can find one here on the Micromat
website and often find them on
eBay as well.
You will also need an ethernet crossover cable.
Charles
Please help: PowerBook 3400 USB Support
From Lorne Shapiro
Mr. Moore,
How do you do?
I am the fairly proud owner of a PowerBook 3400c and have recently run
into a problem. I would like to buy a digital camera, although, of
course, I have no USB port on my Mac. Many Mac dealers have told me that I am out of luck and
should think about upgrading.
I was reluctant to accept this advice and turned to the Net. I came
across a response that you gave to
someone's query in the Miscellaneous Ramblings on Low End Mac in the
July 22, 2002 issue, where you state, "However, PowerBook 3400s can be
quite easily modified to support CardBus devices."
Needless to say, I am somewhat encouraged by these words and would
be extremely grateful if you would be willing to tell me what is
available on the market to make my old Mac USB compatible. I eagerly
await your reply.
Thank you,
Lorne Shapiro
Hi Mr. Shapiro,
MCE does the CardBus upgrade
modification to the PowerBook 3400, 3500 (original G3), and 2400 for US$99.
CardBus PC Card slots are 32-bit PC Card slots capable
of handling superfast 32-bit PC Cards. Processing of these cards is
handled by a dedicated CardBus microprocessor running at 33 MHz -
independent of your PowerBook's CPU. CardBus cards can be are many
times more powerful than the older 16-bit cards, since they have their
own dedicated microprocessor and are 32-bit, not 16-bit. Also, the
performance hit on your PowerBook is minimized, since your PowerBook's
CPU is free to perform other tasks besides processing PC Card
commands.
With the MCE CardBus Upgrade Service, MCE enables your
system to recognize and utilize these 32-bit CardBus PC Cards at full
32-bit/33 MHz strength. You'll have 100% CardBus compliant slots. Once
the upgrade is complete, you'll be able to use all of the same 32-bit
CardBus PC Cards that previously only PowerBook G3 Series owners could
use. These include FireWire CardBus Cards, USB CardBus Cards, 100Base-T
Ethernet CardBus Cards, Ultra-SCSI and Ultra-Wide SCSI CardBus Cards,
and the ixMicro Road Rocket video-out CardBus Card that allows you to
have dual monitors (your LCD screen and a second monitor) and do true
monitor spanning on your PowerBook G3 Wall Street, not simply
mirroring.
The CardBus protocol is 100% backwards compatible with
16-bit PC Cards. As long as you could use that 16-bit card before, you
will be still be able to use it after the CardBus Upgrade procedure is
done.
You need to ship or bring your PowerBook to MCE's
facility in Irvine, California. If needed, FedEx has free laptop boxes
specifically for shipping laptop computers.
The only system requirement for the CardBus Upgrade
Service is that your PowerBook must be running Mac OS 8.6 or later when
you send in your PowerBook.
MCE also offers a USB ready bundle: a CardBus Upgrade
and a Macally USB card for $149.95.
Charles
iBook Hinge Woes
From Tom Raworth
Dear Mr. Moore,
Has anyone come up with an answer to the iBook (dual USB) hinge problem?
Mine was stiff, creaking, tight. The various Forum solutions (loosening
screws on case bottom for instance) didn't work. The machine had to go
back to Apple to have a faulty modem replaced. I mentioned the hinge
problem, and when the machine returned, all was smooth and easy.
Now, two months later, the hinges again are tight and squeaking, and
the screen base is strained when opening the iBook. As Apple won't say
anywhere what they did to solve the problem, I'm at a loss. As this
problem (according to letters) has been around for many for some time,
if there's a simple solution, surely Apple should reveal it. In the
meantime, as I don't wish to gunge up with oil, would the TiGlide (for PowerBook hinges) be a
solution?
Thanks for your good work.
Tom Raworth
Hi Tom,
Lid hinges seem to be the Apple portable's Achilles
heel.
TiGlide sounds like it's worth a shot, although that
is a surmise and not based on experience.
Charles
G3 PowerBook (FireWire) Question
From Sotiri Makris
Hi Charles,
I found your [Tools of the Trade]
article enlightening.
I was hoping you could help me with a problem I have on my
PowerBook.
I recently bought a 3 port FireWire IEEE 1394 PCMCIA CardBus, and I
can't seem to get it to work. I am running Mac OS 10.1.5. and trying to
hookup my Canon Elura DV camera.
The FireWire card is a no name brand. <http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2057906006>,
Any help you can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks for your
time.
Sotiri Makris
Hi Sotiri,
Have you tried booting from OS 9.x to see if the card
will work under the old Mac OS (not just Classic mode in OS X).
I'm also wondering if there is a necessary driver that you don't have
for your no-name PC Card.
I had good performance from the Macally PC Card
FireWire adapter in my WallStreet, and my son has had no problems with
his KeySpan FireWire PC Card under OS X in his Lombard PowerBook.
Charles
Subject Mac WordPerfect
From Matt Blumberg
Saw the post below on your website; I'm also looking for the Mac
WordPerfect download, but I can't find it anywhere, and the link to
which you refer seems no longer active. Any suggestions where I might
look now?
Thanks for any info.
Hi Matt,
Try these:
Charles
Re: Sleep of Death
From Eric Matthieu
Charles,
You and Bob Friede were commenting about the Pismo's apparent sensitivity in
Sleep mode. If I'm not mistaken, the ability to wake from sleep by
opening the lid was deliberately engineered into those machines (also a
touted feature of iBooks of the same vintage, and you can put either to
sleep by closing the lid). The feature to wake when opened can be
disabled in the Energy Saver control panel.
Regards,
Eric
Hi Eric,
However, I don't think the lid has been closed more
than a couple of times on my Pismo since it arrived here in October,
2001. ;-)
Charles
No Sleep Bug
From Robert Crone
Hi Charles,
I seem to have the opposite problem. Ever since I installed Jaguar,
my computer wakes up at some random interval and won't go back to sleep
without my intervention. I originally thought maybe a ping on my
AirPort was waking up my eMac, but turning off my AirPort before
putting the machine to sleep hasn't fixed the problem.
Rob C
Hi Rob,
Wish I could help, but I haven't a clue as to what
this would be.
Charles
Advice for Chris Smolyk
From Adam R. S. Guha
Hello, I read Chris Smolyk's
email in your latest article, and I remember having similar
problems with a 6100. It
turned out the hard disk drivers were corrupted; reinitializing the
drive and doing a clean install of the OS fixed it, and the machine ran
fine again. A low-level format is best, but it takes a long time to do,
and not all Macs will give you the option. Hope that helps him.
Adam
WallStreet Heat Sink
From Peter J. Pedersen
Dear Sir,
You have several times mentioned in your articles that the heat sink
became unsoldered on your WallStreet, for instance like this:
"However, when I removed the processor daughtercard,
the CPU heat sink contact had become unsoldered from the CPU chip and
fell off, which is more of an imponderable."
I don't quite understand what you mean by that. Is the "CPU heat
sink contact" the shiny plate that you unscrew with two flat screws in
order to get to the daughterboard/RAM/hard disk? When you take that
off, a white gob of gum which has transferred heat from the to the
shiny plate (which then transferred the heat to the underside of the
keyboard) becomes unstuck. It is still somewhat sticky, however.
If this is what worried you, then you should know that I probably
took the shiny plate off over a hundred times, making the gob gradually
less sticky, before recently adding some "heat contact creamy
something" on top of it. During that time I had no problems with
heat whatsoever - except the always-present danger of having my thighs
fried by the underside of the WallStreet.
You shouldn't worry - and you can always round one of those small
utilities that show the CPU temperature. Also, you can be less lazy
than I and actually get round to buying a tube of that "heat transfer
creamy something" and apply it between the CPU shield top and the
plate.
I hope this might make the option of buying one of those (reasonably
priced) secondhand WallStreets instead of the recently deceased
mythical monster-of-production. With a 500 MHz G3 PowerLogix upgrade,
it will serve you for many years yet - its ability to house two
PCMCIA cards is unbeatable among PBs.
Peter J. Pedersen
Hi Peter,
Nope; I've had the heat sink off my WallStreet and
other many times as well, and I'm cognizant of the heat transfer
gunk.
What came off the CPU is the disk-shaped top item that
the heat sink contacts. Looks like a failed solder joint, but I suppose
iy could be HY epoxy. I don;t know if this is a fatal issue or not, and
the PMU has apparently died. In any case, the WS remains dead. If I can
get parts to fix it cheaply enough (i.e.: probably a junker machine), I
will try to revive it.
Charles
Editor's note: This stuff is called thermal paste, a compound
especially designed to tranfer heat from one surface, such as a CPU, to
another, such as a heat sink. There's an
interesting comparison of various brands on TechWatch.com.
dk
Go to Charles Moore's Mailbag index.
