The 6400 Zone is created to help you gain access to useful software updates and great shareware programs that add functionality to your system. It is also a one stop road map to other informative sites for answering your questions. Most of the info here is geared towards the 6400, but it is useful for all PCI Performa models and even the 6500 and all-in-one Macs based on the same. It's even useful to other MAC systems. I will be referring to my 6400/200 clocked to 220Mhz as just 6400/220, OK.

I will keep it updated as often as I can but I don't have much free time to work on it, so I suggest you check back at least once a week. That should be sufficient. If you don't see something you would like to see here or have your own software / web site that would benefit the MAC community, please write to me at TMK12v@aol.com and I will check it out.

Hot Topics:

• L2 G3 upgrade info for the 6400 -
• Apple Service Manuals-
• My 6400 Take Apart manual -
• Alternate OS's on a G3 accelerated 6400-
• ATI Rage 128 compatibility?-
• Voodoo3 compatibility?-
• Gaming on the 6400-
• OS 9 info-
• Clocking Sonnets L2 G3!-
• iTools info page-
• Current problems with my system -

Site logo contest web page: Some images that I have received so far are posted now. Judging will begin Feb 1st.

RamDoubler 9 out: Connectix posted info on RD9 which is needed to run under OS 9. I could not find the link to the download page myself but MacsOnly had a link to a hidden page which is working right now. I will test it shortly on my PB with OS 9 and on my other Macs with OS 8.6.

RamDoubler 9 feed back: I found this info on Accelerate Your Macs web site and it doesn't look to good? On the other hand I jsut installed RD9 on my B&W G3 and my PB G3 and both seem fine to me. MacBench5 scores did not change more then 2% in favor of RD9 so I'm not having a problem yet.

[Ram Doubler 9 Feedback: Here are two reader replies to my request for RD9 feedback in yesterday's
news:

"Mike
I ran RamDoubler 9 on my upgraded Powercenter 150 (433MHZ G3) and MacbEnched it.
The drop in performance was jaw dropping. I went from 1350 to under 1000. Or about a
35% drop in performance. Uninstalled it immediately.
John Oswald"

Another reader noted some stability issues in his system:

"Mike-
On my recently upgraded 6500 (now has a Sonnet G3/L2 500 card and Voodoo 3, running
OS 9), I was running perfectly for about 72 hours straight until installing RAM Doubler 9, at
which point I had a few random lock-ups, as well as IPNetRouter's faceless background
application failing to work properly. Needless to say, I have removed RAM Doubler 9 and
am running perfectly again. That, and while running RAM Doubler, my system used an extra
3mb of RAM that it didn't use under OS9's VM.
-Jarod Wilson "]

New Aqua look!: Well what do you think of my new Aqua navigation bar? I thought I would not only give my site an update but also give you all a look at the new Mac OS X interface :)

Kaleidoscope Aqua Scheme: Here is a link to where I got the Aqua look from. It is a scheme for Kaleidoscope and it looks great!

QT 4.1 is out: Apple has released Quick Time 4.1. You can use your QT updater app found in the QT folder to update your version. I just did it and it is about a 6M download!

L2 G4 upgrades for 4400's!: I found this info awhile ago and decided to post it now. Phase5 made a L2 G4 upgrade for 4400, StarMax, and Umax Apus computers. No word one for the 6400/6500 so if you really want one I suggest emailing them :)

[Phase 5 Lowers CPU Prices: This press release just in:

"phase 5 digital products reduces prices on all shipping versions of G4 processor upgrades for
PowerMacs and clones

Oberursel, January 9, 2000: German manufacturer phase 5 digtal products significantly lowers
the MSR prices for all available versions of G4 processor upgrades for PowerMacs and
compatibles with immediate effect. The new prices for these products are as follows:

Maccelerate!7400-350 (G4 350MHz, 1 MB Cache) for PCI PowerMacs US$ 499
Maccelerate!7400-400 (G4 400MHz, 1 MB Cache) for PCI PowerMacs US$ 649 G4
PowerBooster 350/366 (G4 350/366MHz, 1 MB Cache) for PowerMac G3 US$ 489 G4
PowerBooster 400 (G4 400MHz, 1 MB Cache) for PowerMac G3 US$ 639

Maccelerate!7400TA-360 (G4 360MHz, 1 MB Cache) for PM 4400, Starmax etc. US$ 479

Aptus G4-350 (G4 350MHz, 1 MB Cache) for Umax C series and compatibles US$ 499

All products come with a 12-month limited warranty.

Once again, phase 5 digital products provides breathtaking performance and power without the
price. North American customers may order directly from phase 5 digital products from the
website http://www.phase5.de and take advantage of these stunning G4 offers, protected by a
15-day money-back guarantee. "]

Update on 128M DIMMS in a 6400: I haven't heard back from the 6400 user that says he has 2 128M DIMMS in his computer but I did recieve word from Daniel who says it is possible but very unlikely! First let me say this again. IT IS POSSIBLE! It turns out that the 6400 memory controller can use 128M DIMMS but to his knowledge no vendor has made a 128M DIMM to the specs needed to work on a 6400. So they will only show half their value at 64M. Wow this was news to me. So there may be ram out there that will work? I sure hope that guy replies to me :) Thanks for the info Daniel.

[Hi Thomas! (please excuse my poor english, I'm french canadian)

First, congratulations for your great web site. I read it each week, and I find it very valuable. I know it's a lot of work for your to go on the web each week to give us so many informations.

About the 128Mb DIMM and 136Mb limit.

Recently, I did a search about this problem. I grabbed every informations possible about the cheap memory controller used in the 6400. What I found is not really interesting for us :(

I have tried to identify which type of memory IC chips are recognized by the controller. You will find a Word document attached to this e-mail. You will find in this document the memory specs requirement of the memory controller. Now with this information you can try to find (on a memory part manufacturer web site, for ex. Samsung) a 128 Mb DIMM corresponding to these specs. Unfortunately after many hours of search, helped by a very competent Apple technician, we can't find any memory chips with these specs. All memory part used to build a 128 Mb DIMMs are high density ones and used higher than 4K refresh rate.

Of course, it 's not beacuse we don't find it that it doesn't exist but I'm very skeptical about it. Why? Because higher density memory require a greater number of bits to address and consequently a higher refresh rate.

You can put 128Mb DIMM in a 6400 and it will works but you will only see half that memory (you already kow this).

So, if someone had succeed trying to exceed the 136Mb memory by using 128Mb DIMM, it's very important for us that you ask him to remove de DIMM and give you the brand and part number of the small memory chips used on the DIMM. This way we can try to find on the net, a manufacturer of a compatible DIMM.

I hope this will help you a little bit.
Thanks a lot!
Daniel]

Click here to read the memory document he sent me. I don't understand any of it but maybe some of you will :)

For the person who says he has 128M DIMMS working Please supply us with the following info. Thanks.

[We only need to know two things:

1. How much memory is recognized by the 6400 (ask him to give you the numbers appearing in the "about your macintosh" in the finder.

2. If the computer sees 264 Mb for two DIMM (2X128Mb+ 8Mb onboard = 264Mb), or 136Mb (one 128Mb DIMM + 8 Mb onboard), It's OK. In that case we need know where this guy bought the memory and, if possible, the brand and the part number written on the IC chips soldered on the DIMM.

Now we can dream! :)
Have a good day
Daniel]

OrangeMicro FireWire/USB card in a 6400 user info: I finally got some info from a 6400 user who installed Oranges FireWire/USB combo card. Thanks Rick.

[Hey Tom,
Happy New Year!! Well I went out and bought the Orange Micro USB/Firewire PCI card. Installation was quick and uneventful. Software installation took only seconds to load. Next I loaded my Visor PDA HotLink software then retarted the computer. After the computer came up I plugged in my USB Visor PDA cradle and put the Visor PDA into the cradle and pressed the Hotlink button. A dialog box came up and soon I was in business. I copied a few applications to my new Visor and I was in fat city. Then I tried to access the internet through my modem. No luck. My external modem wouldn't dial out. After some looking around, I found a file in the startup folder called 'serial port monitor'. I took the file out and placed it on the desk top and restarted the computer. After the computer came up I was able to long on to the web, but now had I no communication with the Visor USB cradle. After hanging up the modem I doubled-clicked the 'serial port monitor' icon and was now in business with the USB PDA cradle.

So to make a long story short. There is no way to make the PCI card USB port stand by itself. The Handspring/Palm software configuration software does not allow for external USB cards. It is looking for a built-in USB port, thats why it ties up my serial port. BTW, you can't use the OS9 Palm software with a Visor. Too bad though, the OS9 Palm software is actually better. After hotsinking, I have to reboot the 6400 to connect with my external modem. I went looking for a serial port reset/close app, and couldn't find one. I'm working on an Applescript version now. I have no way at present to try the Firewire ports. I will be writing the Visor (Handspring) people soon.
Rick]

The Visor HotSync issue may also happen with just any USB card and not just this one? There are some other readers who just purchased the card and will test the FireWire ports for us. Lets hope those work with out a hitch :)

Rick just sent some more info. It seems he can now get online and hotlink with the Visor. Great!

[One more update...
Last night I disabled one of the selections in the Hotsync configuration menu. I turned off the local selection (via radio button) and left just USB selection enabled. However, "serial port monitor" still has to be enabled. So far this has allowed me to perform a hotsync with the Visor and then log on to the web with my external modem (cable modem coming soon) without rebooting. More as I get it. Also it would be great if Apple would supply the same drivers it does for Palm to be used with the Visor per OS9. Apples' software seems to integrate the PDA into the OS much better. When I get the time, I'm going to try and integrate Apples PDA software with the Visor and its software and have the best of everything.
Take Care
Rick]

Here is some info I found on Accelerate Your Macs web site

[Orange Micro Firewire/USB Card Tip: A reader sent a note that disabling the Firewire enabler
improved performance of the card in his Beige G3:

" I have installed an Orange Micro Firewire/USB card and I finally got it to work in my overclocked G3 (beige). Im doing my editing with Final Cut Pro in PAL. When I first tried it, the quality when doing transitions was really horrible with color change and noise. But when disabling the "FireWire Enabler" extension everything works great. Regards
Jack Zimmermann"

I've had very mixed reports on this card over the last week or so.]

Issue getting online with a US bought 6400 used in the UK: Mark was having trouble getting online with his 6400 and found out he needed a localized version of the telecom sotware to get it working. Thanks Mark.

[The Express Modem software supplied with the Performa 6400 is US only. Whilst it claims to autosense the country on first connection, it always seems to set the country to United States. Roly Osborne, who is based in Spain but has a UK purchased 6400, sent me a copy of the UK telecom software that came with his system. Having installed this, everything seems to work now. I have attached a copy of the Stuffit archive to this message in case anyone else has the same problem.

My general comment is that if you use the Express Modem, you get what you pay for. It seems more sensitive to features of the telephone system than other modems. Roly stated that he needed to get the Spanish software to get his system to work in Spain. I still think that it works reasonably well and I have no intention of purchasing a new modem. I only wish Apple made the software easier to get hold of.

For your information, Apple UK said it should just work without any changes. My local Apple dealer stated I should upgrade to the UK version of MacOS 8.1. The UK telecom software is not available for download from any Web site I could find, although the US software is.
Mark]

Click here if you need the UK telecom version. Mark was nice enough to send it to me :)

Modem Script to give a 28.8k modem 56k speed?: Ed sent me a Hack that lets you transform your 28.8k modem into a 56k modem! Not sure how it works but I think it just increases the port speed (data transmission from computer to modem) to get the higher speeds as you cannot just change a modem to make it 56k without a hardware change. Let me know if it works for any of you. Thanks Ed.

OpenTransport 2.6 on the 6400?: Well most of you may know that Apple released OT 2.6 to fix a denial of service attack that OS 9's OT created and it also is supposed to fix the DHCP issues in OS 8.6 and 9. Well OT 2.6 is advertised as only for OS 9 users and OS 8.6 iBook, iMac DV and G4 owners so that leaves us 6400 cable/DSL modem users stuck. Wrong. I haven't tried the OT 2.6 on my 6400 yet but I am running it right now on my B&W G3 and it runs great! I can get online and use Apple Talk with no issues so far so it is compatible with older systems.

The installer although will not install it on older Macs :( TomeViewer did not work either because the installer file is not a typical Apple tome :( so what did your favorite 6400 Zone guy do? I placed the files on the web for you to download and try for yourself :) I included the 2 OT 2.6 files plus the Apple Talk and TCP/IP control panels from OS 9 in case they were needed? I am running OS 8.6 and just dragged out all six old 2.0.3 OT extensions and dragged over the two new OT 2.6 extensions and all is fine. If you have problems with Apple Talk after this then try the ones I supplied. I don't know if this will work for older OS's but on OS 8.6 and a B&W G3 it does. I will try the 6400 soon. OS 8.5.x and older do not have the DHCP issue so OT 2.6 is not really needed for them anyway.

I placed OT_26.sit on Apples new iDisk (thanks Apple) so let me know if you have trouble getting it to download. Apple just gave me a free 20M of web space. Wasn't that nice of them :)

Cable/DSL router info: Speaking about these, I just found on Accelerate Your Mac some info on routers to let multiple Macs and PC's share one cable/DSL IP number.

[I just bought a G4/400 Sawtooth so here my 0.02 worth ;-)

I have an ADSL at home hooked up to the MacSense XRouter ($245.99 at http://web.hardwarestreet.com/bin/catalog/getProdPage.cgi?sku=120713) - PowerMac 8500, PowerBook 3400, Windoze98 Celery 400Mhz (;-)), and a Hitachi PC Laptop. No problem sharing the 1.2Mb/sec (150KB/sec) download.

I am considering the Linksys Cable/DSL Etherfast 10/100 Router ($179.66 at http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=196823) for the ADSL at work. The setup appears similar to the Macsense XRouter, i.e.- use a Web browser to easily configure your setup. Not sure about the auto-negotiation however...

Thanh]

Guage Pro utility: Here is a new utility from Newer Tech for displaying all kinds of info on your G3 plus it can due extended memory tests to make sure all is well with your new improved system :)

[newer techs guage pro utility with memory testing
Gauge PRO reports not only the type of CPU but also its speed - to a hundredth of a megahertz. It also reports the cache bus and main system bus speeds.

Gauge PRO reports the type of CPU, the amounts of L1 and L2 cache in the system and the cache bus speed.

Gauge PRO runs diagnostic tests on a computer's RAM (Random Access Memory - what your computer uses to run programs with). Gauge PRO is able to perform one time or continuous testing.]

Gaming Info ------

Hacking the Voodoo3 Pref file to get different resolutions: Yann sent me some info that may be of use to you. He says you can open the Voodoo3 pref file found in your pref folder and change the default resolutions and make other setting changes. He did this because he found that his system was picking a resolution not supported by his monitor and this was why he could not use the Voodoo3 on his 6400 at first. Thanks Yann.

[> How do you hack the pref file to get what you want? Thanks for the info I
> forgot you had a Sonnet card :)


This is not a hack, 3dfx created a file referencing all resolutions and frequencies the V3 can use, and you can specify on this file wich settings you prefer and want as default, which could be used (but not as 1st choice) and which resolution you don't want.

All you have to do is to copy the "Voodoo3ModePrefs" file with beta 10 drivers to the "preferences" folder. Then open it (using simpletext, word or codewarrior (prefered)). Follow instructions on header. After reboot and ZPram the Voodoo 3 will choose the 640*480 resolution at default resolution you selected.

Yann.]

Input Sprockets 1.7.3: Here is an Apple TIL on the latest Input Sprockets for gaming.

OS 9 file sharing slowing down the Finder: Larry wrote me that once he started using the new iTools he noticed the having File Sharing turned on really slowed things down. Thanks Larry.

[I posted this on the MacOS board, but I'm curious if you have seen this. If I turn start up from my OS9 partition and turn on file sharing, my 6400/Newer G3 300/1Mb slows down remarkably. Eudora opens in 54 sec vs 12 sec with file sharing off and 6 sec running from my OS 8.1 partition with FS on or off. Netscape Communicator is 76 sec vs 23 sec vs 15 sec for the same test. Apple system profiler runs 1/2 as fast. This is independent of whether I am online or not. I got into this because I thought you had to have file sharing on to mount an iDisk, but it turns out you only have to have the extension active - you don't have to have it turned on. (The iDisk is SLOOOOW, but that's another story).]

iTools info page: I just created an iTools info page for storing all the info I collect about it. I just tried iTools myself and I only tested the iDisk shortly and it did slow things down for me too. I think it has to do with how many other users are on it at the time your using it. It seems to take a long time just to mount the image on your desktop! I would recommend removing it as soon as your done to keep the rest of your system speeding along.

Bakcground noise heard through 6400/180 speakers?: Sean is hearing some interferance through his 6400's speakers and can't seem to out why. Please email him with any suggestions. Thanks.

[Dear 6400 Guru,
You run a real sweet site, really useful! My Performa 6400/180 has white noise coming from the internal and external speakers. The noise also comes out of the front headphone jack. I can turn off the noise by turning the internal speaker down and by putting a speaker wire into the back speaker out port (but only without speakers attached to the wire). Turning the system volume down does not get rid of the noise. The noise turns into a slightly higher pitch when I click on a menu button. This noise used to occur only after long cumputer usage-6 hrs, but now it'sthere right after bootup. After consulting your AWESOME take apart manual, I took off the covers and noticed the noise correlated with the green light in the 1.6 gig HD, but the noise also was steady even without HD activity. What the heck is going on? Feel free to post this. PLEASE HELP!
Sean]

User reply on Sonnets 1.4.1 Crescendo driver: Alexander wrote to let us know that the 1.4.1 driver has made his system much more stable and Cubase is even running ok now. Thanks Alexander.

[Hi,
Just thought you'd like to know that Sonnet has posted the final version of Crescendo 1.4.1 This one seems to handle audio a lot better - in particular Cubase VST 3.x, which has had some pretty severe problems with earlier versions of Crescendo (including the 1.4.1 betas). I've been following the audio discussion on your site for quite some time and just for the record, I'm currently running Cubase VST 3.5 on a PM6500 with 96 megs of RAM, MacOS 8.6, the Sonnet 300/150 w. 512k cache and Crescendo 1.4.1. This system is now solid as a rock. So the card works great with audio apps, at least on the 6500.
Regards,
Alexander]

OS 9 issue with USB cards: Jim was having some serious issues with getting a stable internet connection while running Apples USB 1.3.5 drivers. I sent him a copy of Apples older 1.3.4b version and it seems to have helped some. Thanks for the info Jim.

[Good morning Tom,
I'm running OS 9 and TT 2.5.3, TT is a download, I ordered the CD but it's not here yet. I can't do a lot with TT since you have to boot off the CD to use most of the features when running OS 9.

I loaded 1.3.4b last night, (thanks), and ran on the net for about 2 hours without any connection problem. I turned on the computer this morning and got online and the random disconnects are back. So one thing that I can say repeats itself is, it seems to happen on a cold computer.

When I loaded 1.3.4b last night I had already been online for an hour or so and everything was will warmed up, no problem. This points to a hardware problem, but it's weird that it happens because it's cold, not because it's hot. I am going to do more testing tonight after work and will let you know.

Also I've noticed that the disconnects are never in the transmission or receiving process while online. They seem to happen only while the connection is idle, of course this is probably the majority of the time online. I've check the setup and have turned of the "disconnect if idle", actually it was already off.

So the two things I've found are, it happens more on a freshly booted, (cold), computer and mainly when the connection is idle.

I saw on a couple of sites people had gone back to 1.2 and it was working with OS 9, but I'm going to stick with 1.3.4b for a little while.
Thanks again,
Jim]

Later he replied that he found a fix for him but it might not work for everyone. Thanks

[1. Clean install OS 9
2. Loaded USB 1.3.5 and tried scanner (1200 Epson USB) out ,OK
3. Tried different combinations of the 4 USB drivers till I found the only ones that the scanner really needed to function.

These two have to be ON.


• USB Device Extension ENABLED
• USB Mass Storage Support ENABLED

4. The other two USB Extensions have to be OFF


• USB Software Locator DISABLED
• USB Mass Storage Extension DISABLED]

New OpenTransport 2.6 for OS 9 owners: Apple released OT 2.6 for OS 9 users which is supposed to not only replace the OT tuner they posted last week but also fix the issues OT tuner created. OT Tuner was created to stop a "Denial of Service" attack that OS 9 can do without the users knowledge. OT tuner was a quick fix made by Apple but it created a bunch of issues for dial internet access users. Basically it would not let you change IP addresses without rebooting and since dialup services must assign an IP address on the fly it would not take and you could not get online. OT 2.6 is supposed to have fixed both problems in on

Click here to read more and click here to download the update.

I am going to try it on my 6400 and see if it will work on it also. Would be nice to get the DHCP problems fixed without having to install OS 9!

OS 8.5 really does seem to fix te sound issues with Sonnets L2 G3: Earlier I had posted info that Sonnet recommends OS 8.5 to clear sound issues you might have while using their L2 G3 cards. David writes that it did cure his sound issues with QuickTime by upgrading to OS 8.5. Thanks David.

[Tom,
Wow, it was so easy, just updated to MacOs 8.5 and now my G3-250 upgraded 6400 works great. No more Quicktime problems, no boot problems. I wonder why Sonnet doesn't show 8.5 and the minimum OS for the upgrade......
Thanks again.
David]

BeOS and a G3 accelerated 6400: Previously I had noted that I wasn't sure if the BeOS would run with a G3 Accelerated 6400 but I now have info that it does. Yann writes that he is running the BeOS with a Sonnet G3 and it seems to run fine accept for sounds! Looks like the Mac OS is not the only OS to have sound issues. Installing OS 8.5 will probably not have any affect since your not running it when the BeOS is running. Also note his use of a Voodoo3 card. Thanks Yann.

[Hi Tom,
About BeOS, i tested it on my 6400 with and without G3 upgrade. BeOS can launch with G3 upgrade (but Crescendo extension for sonnet's must load befor OS chooser to enable G3). But there is a sound issue with BeOS + G3 on a 6400. (sound is awfull and media too). Without G3 all seems OK. Note that the Voodoo 3 with Mac firmware don't allow more than 256 colors and 800*600 resolution. In fact BeOS don't seems to recognize the voodoo 3.
Yann.]

128M Dimms in a 6400?: I have noted before and many other users have also read that the 6400 is incapable or using 128M Dimms because its memory controller only recognizes up to 64M Dimms. Well Andy just sent me some info he got from a 6400 user that has 2 128M Dimms in his 6400! I emailed for more info as this would be just awsome if it is true. Thanks Andy.

[I had no problems installing the ram, I used regular 128meg dimms. I did not use EDO ram..I did not have to hack the chips to get them to fit, they went in very easily.
Good Luck]

RamDoubler 9 coming: Connectix has posted info that says RD9 will be out on Jan 17th for downloading. Click here to read more. I also read on some other news sites that they may rethink there position on SpeedDoubler and make an OS 9 version. It seems they had no idea how popular the other features of SD8 were and thought people bought it just for the original purpose which was to speed up old 68k code. I love it for its Smart Copy features and its HotKey features and would love to have those at least in OS 9.

Apple 15" multiscan monitor issues: I have not ever posted info about this issue on Apples 15" multiscan monitor that many people bought and still own for use with their 6400's. There is a major problem with these monitors that may or may not ever come about for some users. There are some cold solder joints that over time can come loose and cause the monitor to loose one of its color guns so your display colors get distorted. In the past Apple was replacing or fixing them but has since dropped support of these monitors. Some users have been able to convince Apple to fix theirs and some users have not ben as lucky. Here is a letter from Larry that states the entire issue and includes some tips on how to approach Apple. Thanks Larry.

[The Apple 15" Multiscan Monitor has a well known design/assembly defect in which the leads for the three color guns are cold-soldered. (This defect is specific to this particular model and is not characteristic of the 15" Multiscan AV or the 17" Multiscan.) Eventually one or more of these connections fails and that color disappears, giving the screen a blue or green or red tint. Apple has never had a repair extension policy for this monitor; however for about 2 years they provided free repairs through Apple Authorized service providers or directly through Apple Customer Service on a case by case basis. Late in 1999 Apple stopped providing these free repairs. They did (and may still) offer a small discount on the (discontinued) Apple 15" Multiscan AV monitor to those whose monitor has failed (not limited to the 15" Multiscan monitor.)

In general, repair of the solder joint problem will cost more than $200 and is not cost effective compared with getting a new monitor (with a new equipment warranty). You can get an inexpensive 15" or 17" PC VGA monitor and an adapter to connect to your Performa or
Mac for about the same cost as the repair. However, before you do that, be sure to check the cable connection from the monitor to the computer - a loose connection can give the same color tint problem. Since Apple has never stated an official policy on this matter, you may also wish to call Apple Customer Service (1-800-SOS-APPLE). If you don't select a menu option you will be connected to a Customer Service representative. If you politely make a good case and get a sympathetic CS rep, there is a chance they will still fix your monitor. If not, there is no limit to the number of times you can call and speak with CS rep in hopes of finding a sympathetic one. Alternatively, you can politely but firmly insist on being bumped up the ladder to a supervisor. In any case, if they will not authorize a repair, they can still register your feelings about the matter.

It should be stressed that you should not attempt to repair the monitor yourself. Monitors have lethal voltages inside the case that are retained even when the monitor has been unplugged.

Editorial comment: As an Apple Customer from the days of the Apple II+ it is distressing to see Apple put out a piece of equipment that has a design/assembly defect and not stand behind the equipment. This is not a wear and tear or bad luck component failure problem. The problem exists in the monitors from day one - the only question is how long it will take to show up. Many of these monitors are only 2 or 3 years old and the computers they were sold with will be useful for several more years. This problem and Apple's response to it have convinced me that it is lunacy to buy an all in one model as opposed to a computer with separate monitor. ]

6400 info from Apple: Stephen sent me a copy of a TIL from Apple that has a whole bunch of info for 6400 users. i suggest you read this as it might help some of your issues. Thanks Stephen.

Language translation web site: Mike sent me a link to a site that can translate just about any web sites language into any other language. I tried it on Interwares web site and it worked but I never knew they put so much soap products in their G3 cards? I guess the translation still needs some work :) Thanks Mike.

[I found a web site which will translate Japanese sites into English. I couldn't get it to work with Interware's main page, bit it would work with some of the product description pages. In all honesty, it's not too good. but I'm glad that someone's working on Japanese translators. Have a look:

http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTran

Mike]

Gaming Info -------------

More Voodoo3 and L2 G3 info from Tiong: Tiong sent me some more info on what might be going on with the 6400/6500 and a Voodoo3/L2 G3 combo. Thanks Tiong.

[Hi Tom,

" What has happened so far: G3L2 upgraded macs with the Voodoo3 card suffer from crashes and/or freezes. Users have tried many fixes. The only one fix reported to kill this bug so far is the usage of another monitor in the on-board ati. An adaptor can be used then to replace the second (ati) monitor, and the bug still stays away.


Speeding reported that after some PRAM zapping and unplugging/replugging the 2. monitor his setup started to work without any monitor or adaptor in the ati socket, hence the name 2Speedings blessing2. It took me a while to get the urge to play this bug game again, because I had a working setup already with a adaptor in ati. The adaptor that I bought solely for this purpose is the kind of which has those dip switches on it. This type of an adaptor can fool the mac to think there1s a monitor plugged instead even through the NVPRAM zap.


So I tested, among other stupid things, these:


zap NVPRAM without an adapter > Display Preferences in Resedit says 1 monitor, bug present


zap NVPRAM with an adapter > removed the adapter > Display Preferences in Resedit says 2 monitor, bug dead


No hot swaps, of course and the NVPRAM zap from cold boot.


The Display Preferences Resedit 2scrn2 contains an item named 231142, and the first line tells you the number of displays the preferences think is appropriate. In my setup, if this is one device, I get 3D freezes. If it is 2 devices, I get no troubles.


So to kill this G3L2 bug, install a video adaptor which is capable of forcing to be recognised (= dip switches?) or another monitor. Remove the old 2Display Preferences2 file (not sure if necessary, but I did). Shut down. Start the mac and IMMEDIATELY press the cmd-opt-p-r to achieve the NVPRAM. Shut down, remove the adaptor/monitor. Start the mac, and you have a single monitor G3L2 without the V3 bug.
Good luck!


To Speeding:
This trick should not survive a NVPRAM zap without an adaptor/monitor. Speeding, have you zapped your mac from the cold boot after removing the monitor? And would you like to see what the Resedit says from your Display Preferences."


The title of this post is "Speedings blessing confirmed and explained (big talk...)" posted by miero, and the title of the thread is "A probable and a possible fix to G3L2/ati bug" posted by miero also.

I have also posted some replies to this post and I must add that the info I presented conflicts with miero's explanation and we are both unable to come up with an answer. Also, miero is unable to duplicate my "Display Preferences" using Resedit so he can't use a single monitor setup as I can. However, he is using a dual monitor setup with no problems and his second monitor is actually an adapter.

Another good news is that "williegunn" reported no problems with his V3 and Sonnet 500MHz G3 (I'm jealous!). I believe he is running a dual monitor setup and has it that way the first day he put his V3 to use.

Other notes: speeding is me! Also, if you have time, this thread is a pretty long trouble-shooting thread for L2G3 users and I think it'll be a good read for anyone with L2G3 and thinking of using a V3 or having problems with V3.

Sorry this e-mail is so very super long! ;-P
Regards,
Tiong]

Just to note that I posted a little while ago that I tried the Voodoo3 with Vimages G3 and it did not work at all! 2 monitors or not. Once the softboot was reached my computer locked up hard! The Voodoo3 ran fine without the Vimage card though but would probably be pretty useless for games without a G3 chip.

My site logo contest: Well I am officially starting The 6400 Zones site logo contest. Email me your entries and I will post them on my Logo Contest page. I won't except any entries after Jan 31st so please get them in quickly. Judging will begin Feb 1st and last thru the month of Feb and I will post the winning logo in March. The prize for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places right now will be a CD of my web site (don't worry, for you winners its free). If anyone wishes to donate a prize then please let me know. The judges will be my visitors. Please don't submit any votes until Feb 1st as its not fair to anyone that hasn't sent me a logo yet.

Help with HTML: I need some help on how to make Popups in my web site? I want to add these to make my page a little smaller and still have all the same info present. If anyone can help me please write. Thanks :)

My Vimage Info page on Vimage's G3 upgrade for the 6400

My Vimage Compatibility page

My Vimage User Letters page

My Vimage install reviews

My Sonnet Tech Info page on Sonnet's G3 upgrade for the 6400

Hack to make Sonnets G3's more stable

My Sonnet Compatibility page

My Sonnet User Letters page

My Sonnet install review

My Newer Tech Info page on Newer's G3 upgrade for the 6400

My Newer Compatibility page

My Newer User Letters page

My PowerLogix Info page on PowerLogix's G3 upgrade for the 6400

L2/G3 comparison page

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in purchasing a CD with my entire up-to-date site as well as my 6400 Take Apart manual plus many of the past Just Updates included? I think this would be a great idea for anyone who hasn't been able to keep up or never saw my site until recently. Also for those of you with Sherlock the CD is even better cause you can tell Sherlock to index the CD and then you can do a search on any topic and if I ever talked about it, you'll find it! I have info as far back as mid 1997. I'm asking $15 which includes shipping for US residents (not sure what the price for international shipments would be yet?) and I will even include a few surprises! To make this offer even juicier I can add some download that you've been trying to get but just couldn't for some reason. Lets put my cable modem to work :)

I found a great way to earn some money while getting great deals to you on Macintosh books and software plus they have all kinds of other books, music, and more. Please click on the amazon.com link on the top of this page whenever you feel like purchasing something to help sponsor this site. If you're unsure of what you want and wish to get a list of Mac related items, just type Macintosh in the search field on their home page and you will be presented with many choices to select.

Jeff did some digging in to the new code that displays the frames on my site with AOL ads and found a link that can be used which will not show those annoying ads. Here is the address. http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/TMK12v/home.html
Thanks Jeff, for sending this info. PS don't let AOL find out :)

Here's an even better link http://members.aol.com/zone6400 I like this one better :)

I use a Performa 6400/180 OS 8.6, Performa 6400/200 OS 8.6, B&W G3/350 OS 8.6, PowerBook G3/233 OS 9, and a PowerBook DUO 270c OS 7.5.5. All of the software updates posted here are currently running on one or the other with minimal problems. If I do encounter a problem, I will post it for all to read and respond to. If you are having any problems and would like help just email me and if I can answer it I will, or I will post it here for others to read and respond to.