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.

Site logo contest web page: Judging is over.To see all the other entries before I remove them click here .

Site Logo contest winners!: Well the contest has ended and I now have the 1st place winner posted at the top of this page! Congratulations go to Robert as the First Place winner. His entry was #4. Second and Third places both go to Craig for entry #'s 16 and 32. I will be emailing you both to get shipping addresses for your new "The 6400 Zone" CD's. Also, thanks to all the other participants for submitting all these great logos! I will be holding on to them for future use :)

128M Dimm usage update: Michael wrote to let me know that MacSolutions who once had the 128M Dimm listed for the 6400 now seems to have changed their ads :( Thanks Michael.

[I had been keeping up with the info and debate about 128MB DIMMs in the 6400/6500, and that MacSolutions had 128MB DIMMs that were actually made at 2k refresh rates. I was actually considering going ahead and buying a 128MB DIMM to try it out and see if it worked right, if not I'd just return it for a 64, but I just went to MacSolutions site just now <http://www.macsolutions.com and see that they have two amendments: that the 128MB FPM DIMM will not work in the 6400 and that the 128MB EDO DIMM will not work in the 6500. Bummer! :(
I wonder if someone actually ordered one of these from them and found out first-hand that it didn't work, or if they tested it themselves? I had actually been getting up hope about this for a while and I almost don't want to give up on it this easily. Oh well.
Michael]

I suspect they did it do to increased traffic from my site and didn't want to sell a bunch of them if they won't work?

More bad news with OS X Server and DP3 which includes AQUA: Joey wrote to let us know he tried both on his 6400 and had the same problem I did! Neither can change the OpenFirmware on the 6400 to allow it to boot to a UNIX partition on the install CD to complete the install. Even if we could get it installed I bet the OpenFirmware change is still needed to tell your 6400 to look for a UNIX partition to boot from? So even the latest developer release from Apple still won't work :( Thanks Joey. Click here to read more on this topic.

[Here's a little bad news on OS X Server and OS X DP3. Maybe this is isolated to me, because I seem to be the only one I've found that's crazy enough to try it.
I decided I would see if I could get either of those two running on my 6400/180, no G3 upgrade.
To get the installer to let me do it I checked the unsupported download option, once I found it in the Special menu. However, big problems followed. It wouldn't install because it said that the BootX control panel would have no effect on my computer. Then it restarted my computer. Now when I start the computer (I only get video from the built in video, not the ATI
XclaimVR) the screen just says "bootr: unknown word" at the top. If I restart once or twice and/or try to boot from a cd-rom (which it will not do) it gives that message again then follows it with something to the effect of:

Bootware 2.0
bootr: unknown word
type bye <return for MacOS
type boot <return to continue boot process

Typing "boot" gives an error, while typing "bye" starts the system. Although now I don't know how to fix the problem. Any input you or anyone else might have would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime I'll be trying whatever I can think of.
Joey]

By the way zapping the PRAM got my 6400 to boot normally again incase anyone else wants to try.

BeOS and OS 9: Tim writes that he was unable to get the BeOS to run on his G3 6400 with OS 9 installed. Reverting to OS 8.6 fixed it. Thanks Tim. Click here for more on the BeOS and the 6400.

[Thanks for the reply!
Actually, we just found out today that BeOS is NOT compatible with Mac OS9. So THAT was the problem = The Crescendo works great with it = A useful bit of info they don't bother telling you, eh? Thanks again.
Tim]

I don't blame BeOS for not telling us or even knowing about this issue since they pretty much dropped the Mac platform once they could not code for Apples G3 Macs :(

Newer Lives!: I got this info from MacsOnly. Sounds like Newer is going to stay around awhile. Great :)

[Newer Technology Lives! As we expected, a major NewerTech supplier and creditor, Tri-M, invested in NewerTech, took over management and named four members of NewerTech's Board of Directors. From NewerTech's Communications Director Eric Dahlinger, "Newer Technology announces an equity partnership with Tri-M Technologies (S) Limited of Singapore. Gerald Minjoot, managing director, Tri-M stated, 'Tri-M is delighted to combine the quality culture of Tri-M and its manufacturing capability with the creative culture of new product development at Newer Technology. This combination will propel Newer Technology into years of future growth and industry leadership.' Tri-M provides quality built, fully tested turnkey products for Newer Technology. Tri-M, fully ISO 9001 rated, has earned the highly prestigious Singapore Award of Excellence. 'In fact, Tri-M has produced the highest quality products that Newer Technology has ever offered,' said James Wiebe, Newer Technology founder and vice president of engineering." Gerald Minjoot is the new CEO.]

And here's some news from Daniel he got from Newer about the status of their L2 G3 upgrades. Thanks Daniel!

[Hi Tom.
VERY GOOD NEWS!
I was unable to get a card from upgradestuff.com, so I contacted Newer to get more info about the availability of the card later this year. This is the reply that I've got from them:
Daniel,

This product is delayed because we did a poor job of forecasting demand and 300MHz chips are constrained. We aren't likely to get more new product until late March.

Here's what's currently available for your machine.

Part# Description Speed Street Status
7MXLB+300/200 MAXpowr G3-L2 300/200MHz 750 w/1MB 1100 $299 Constrained
7MXLB300/150 MAXpowr G3-L2 300/150MHz 750 w/512K 975 $249 Constrained

I am very sorry for the delay and any inconvenience that this may have caused!
Tim

Please pass this info via your web site
Thanks!]

Just to note that the reader who did order a Newer 260Mhz card from upgradestuff.com said it was for a 4400 only :( Bummer! At least it sounds like Newer will once again sell the 6400/6500 version once they get back up to full production.

Ethernet 2.0.4 needed for Geo modem and Newers L2 G3: And here is some good news for Newer users with Geo modems. Fumiaki writes that using the Apple Ethernet extension 2.0.4 might fix the problems with running the Geo modem? This must be why Sonnet includes it with their drivers also? According to Fumiaki it seems that the Ethernet 2.0.4 extension came with OS 8.0/8.1 but became part of the System file in OS 8.5 and up. I guess the Geo modem is still looking for this extension for some reason and having it installed fixes the port issues with the Geo modem? Thanks Fumiaki

[As to the GeoPort Modem issue, I would like to share with you a cure Newer's engineering team did discover for me last December, and quote below the last email I received from their technical support supervisor for your reference. (I cannot be however 100% certain about the integrity of this solution, as shortly after they found the cure for me, I moved on to a 56K modem and then to ISDN.)
Best regards,
Fumiaki

Have you checked to make sure that you have Ethernet Built in version 2.0.4? We have noticed that you have to have it to work correctly. I just found out that this has caused several problems with this issue and resolved most. Let me know if it works for you, thanks.
Steve

You don't need to go backwards in the OS, just drop the extension into your extension folder and see if it solves your problems. Engineering says the cards don't work without this extension.
If this doesn't resolve your problem please let me know, we have a card that we need tested to see if it solves this issue, engineering believes it does, but we don't have enough machines to be confident without some feedback from end users. But this is only done if the other troubleshooting has been completed to make sure that it isn't an issue that is not related to our product.
Steve]

New Sonnet 500Mhz L2 G3 for the 6500 works with the Voodoo3: I found some info on Accelerate Your Mac's web site about Sonnets new 500Mhz card working with the Voodoo3. Later Tiong sent me some more info he got from xxx who wrote the letter to Accelerate Your Mac. Thanks guys.

From XLR8

[Sonnet L2G3/500 Solves Video Card Issues: The latest Sonnet entry in the Owner's CPU Upgrade Reviews database from 6500 owner Stefan Jeglinski reports that problems he saw with the G3/400 upgrade and PCI video cards (Voodoo3 or Rage128) were solved by the new design G3/500 card.]

From Tiong

[Hi Thomas,
I have just received an e-mail from one of the guys who tried my display preference file to try to get his V3 working with his Sonnet without the L2G3 bug.

He has good news for 64/6500 users who want both the L2G3 and V3 upgrades. Below is his message and my comments below that:

"I'm pleased to report that the Sonnet 500 card displays none of the freeze issues that the 400 card showed (in 6500). Works well with a dual monitor or single monitor setup with either an ATI RagePro or a Voodoo3 2000. I don't hang out too much at the 3dfx forum, but if you still do, please feel free to pass this info on. If anybody wants to contact me for more info, feel free to forward my address.
Regards,
Stefan"

My thoughts:
I think that it is possible that it is not just the 500 L2 G3. I'm speculating that recently shipped Sonnets (which is smaller in overall size, and shorter heatsink - no longer touches 64MB RAM modules) have been redesigned to be more compatible. However, I may be wrong and it could just be Crescendo 1.4.1?

Also, notice that he mentioned ATI's Rage Pro, and not Rage 128. I will ask him if he had any experience with the Rage 128 chips (Orion, etc.), although judging from ATI's recent comments, I'd doubt that the Rage 128 based cards will work. Regards,
Tiong]

[Hi Tom,

Thought that maybe you'd like an update to some questions I had asked Stefan. Here's my questions and his answers:

>1. Is your Sonnet 500 of a newer design? I have noticed that the newer
>Sonnet cards are smaller in size than the older ones. Also, the newer Sonnet
>cards have heatsinks that no longer touch the RAM, especially if you have
>64MB modules installed.

I no longer have the 400 card (got rid of that thing in a hurry), but from memory... Seemed to me the 500 card and the 400 card had about the same form factor. The 500 also seems to be slightly better about not touching the RAM, but I would guess that the difference was small enough that it was just a manufacturing variance, not a design change. What I -did- notice was that (even obscured by that humongous heatsink) the electronic design was -substantially- different between the 400 and the 500. Different components, different layout. I don't know why this should be, I would have expected the boards to be the same, the only difference being a 10x clock ratio rather than an 8x. Hard to believe the clock-multiplier required -that- much different of a design. The time frame for me receiving the two cards (3 actually, I was on my second 400) was such that I found it unlikely that I had a freshly designed and built 500, but who knows? The fact that the 500 worked but that a 400 and a modified 400 card (modified for me by Sonnet) did not, and that the 2 cards are plainly different electronically, has led me to the conclusion that the 400 design is somehow defective. Hopefully my return of -2- 400 cards will help Sonnet realize in some small way that they need to own up. I would dearly love to know the return rate on the 400 cards. I'm trying to talk MacGurus into letting me know that info, but I kinda doubt they'll clue me in :-) But I would also say that MacGurus has been nothing short of spectacular in holding my return open while I went though all this madness. Good outfit.

>2. The old (very hard to find) ATI Rage Pros worked with Sonnet's L2G3. I
>wonder if your Rage Pro is a newer card, like the Xclaim VR plus (8MB).

What I have precisely is one of those 8Meg OEM Rage Pros from SmallDog. I never saw it identified as a VR plus, but frankly, I don't know -what- it is defined as. The ATI installer actually doesn't recognize the card as anything other than ATI, but the ATI control panel and extensions apparently recognized it fine. One of my tests BTW was an -exhaustive- review of every piece of ATI software I could find. I think I documented about 8-9 different sets of ATI software I tried. Of course, the key here was that the exact same freeze happened with the Voodoo card as well (all ATI extensions banished, even with the RageII on-board chip still there). I'm pretty convinced now the ATI was never the culprit (which I'm sure will disappoint some :-).

>3. Did you try a Rage 128 based card, like the Rage Orion? ATI recently
>asked all Rage 128 based 64/6500 customers to return/not use the cards as
>they have found a 60% failure rate with 64/6500 systems!

Well, that's pretty damn interesting, but no, I didn't try such a card. I'll be happy to answer any other questions you or anybody else have.
Regards,
Stefan

And here's some of my thoughts:
I had asked Stefan about the design of the Sonnet as I have noticed that my "newer" Sonnet is of a very different design from my old Sonnet. Physically, the overall dimensions of the new Sonnet is slightly smaller. Also, the heatsink no longer touches the 64MB RAM, and the placement of all supporting chips/components have been drastically changed.

The reason I had asked about this is because I think this may be one of the contributing factors to my success with V3 using only a single monitor, since my weird display pref file didn't work for anyone.

Also, during my own troubleshooting of the L2G3 bug, I had switched my Sonnet while still using the dual monitor trick. It was a little while after I had switched that I had realized that I can successfully use the V3 with just one monitor. However, at that time, my older Sonnet had already been sold and I couldn't test to see if it was the Sonnet that made the difference.

And speaking of that, I was wondering, if there is any possibility for you to set up a test of an older vs. newer Sonnet. If you don't have time, I am willing to do the test for you but I think I'll need you help in acquiring a loan unit of the older Sonnet from Sonnet. What are your thoughts?

Sorry to have bombarded you with so many long e-mails this few days!
Thanks! : )
Regards,
Tiong]

Tiong may be on to something here. Its possible that Sonnet had to totally redesign their cards to work with the 10x G3 CPU's and this change fixed the issues with the Voodoo3? Or, maybe they just found some issues and fixed them which made the Voodoo3 work? Any comments from other recently acquired Sonnet L2 G3 cards are appreciated :) Thanks.

Using PowerLogix's Cache Profiler to change the features of Sonnets L2 G3: In the past I posted info on how to hack the Sonnet Crescendo to use utilities such as Cache Profiler to turn off Speculative Addressing to increase system stability. Tiong sends word that he found other useful and enhancing features from Cache Profiler. Thanks Tiong.

[Hi Tom,
Just want to let you know some interesting things I found out with one and a half weeks of playing around with PowerLogix's G3/4 Cache Profiler 1.3.

First off, I have some good news for users of the Sonnet overclocker! As everyone who used the overclocker found out, if you overclock by more than 50MHz, there will be some temperature increase. If you are concerned about this, I have found a way to get some free cooling when using normal applications like Word, Internet Explorer, or Netscape (basically, all non processor intensive applications).

By using PowerLogix's Cache Profiler, and enabling their Dynamic Power Management option, I have found that when running non-intensive applications, I usually run the Sonnet 4 degrees C cooler. Only when running processor intensive apps (like Unreal Tournament) do I see no immediate cooling effect. However, mileage may vary as I do have some custom fans blowing at my Sonnet's heatsink, but I'd like to see some readers try this and see if they get the same free cooling effects I got.

Some other notes about the way I use the Cache Profiler:

1. I have kept Speculative Access enabled. This is Sonnet's default. If I disable Speculative Access, the finder becomes unresponsive, especially when launching programs - there is a very long pause, about 5-10 seconds, after I double click, before the app will launch.

2. I have disabled the "Write Thru mode" for the cache as having it enabled slows my 375MHz G3 to stock 300MHz processor benchmark score, using Macbench 5.0 (did this five times to verify result).

3. Instead of changing Sonnet's Crescendo extension to scri (as suggested in one of your pages), I kept it as INIT, and used ResEdit to change the Cache Profiler's extension to INIT (from scri). This is because if I change Crescendo to scri, my 6500 becomes unstable, especially at startup. Changing Cache Profiler to INIT makes my system super stable, as like before.

4. I also played with cache speed. Keeping it at the default 2:1 (cache speed at 187.5) ratio, my 6500 is super stable. Trying to use a faster speed (3:2, cache speed becomes 250) is impossible. System will crash once I select that speed. Lower speeds (5:2, 150MHZ, and 3:1, 125MHz) is stable and although normal usage runs at the same (slightly cooler) temperatures, the processor will cool down even faster (compared with 2:1) if I leave my Mac at idle. Slower cache speeds affect processor benchmarks but not FPU benchmarks (any ideas why?). However, games do lose some FPS, although almost negligible (0.5 - 1 fps at 5:2, and 1 - 2 fps at 3:1). But this loss is noticeable when there is a lot of action going on in games, especially when many players/bots are fragging each other in UT.

There have been no conflicts to speak of whatsoever so far. And the free (since the Cache Profiler is free) cooling effect has been with me since I started this test.

Other notes about my system:
PowerMac 6500, Sonnet L2G3 300MHz/1MB @ 375MHz, Crescendo 1.4.1, 128MB, RAM DOUBLER9 set at 240MB and File Mapping on, Voodoo3 3000 PCI, b10 drivers (mentioned before that this set is 1-2fps faster than B11), Farallon 10/100 PCI Ethernet card, OS 8.6.

I have also set Crescendo to load first followed by the Cache Profiler by adding a space to the names of both extensions.

I hope you find this info useful. And it'll be interesting to see if anyone can duplicate the free cooling effect. I hope others will! : )
Regards,
Tiong]

Note that Tiong does mention he has a few extra fans in his case which might help to cool his unit faster with Dynamic Power Management so your benefits might not be as dramatic?

Update on OrangeLink Firewire/USB card and the 6500: Thomas sent me a reply he got from OrangeMicro on the status of their Firewire/USB card and the 6500. Thanks Thomas.

[Here's the reply I got from Orange Micro:

The OrangeLink FireWire/USB PCI board is currently not compatible with the following Macintosh systems:

* Power Macintosh 6500
* Power Macintosh 5500
* 20th Anniversary Macintosh

This is due to hardware limitation on these systems that disallow access to PCI expansion cards that have a PCI bridge. A bridge chip allows any hardware developer to have two features on one PCI card (in this case, FireWire and USB).

We have been communicating daily with Apple computer on this issue. Apple has duplicated this problem and is researching the best approach to fixing this issue. No guarantee that a fix will be made but we are trying our best to overcome the hardware limitation on these Macintosh models.

p.s. The OrangeLink FireWire PCI board however is compatible with the above systems, some applications may require a faster processor and faster hard drive than what comes with these systems.

The Orange Micro Support Team

From talking to them over the phone....it does not seem promising. Would you know if the RocketFire FireWire/USB card will work on the PowerPC 6500? MacInTouch site says one thing...but the company's site says another.....any input is appreciated.

What's bad is that I'm out $12 bucks for shipping...and will have to incur additional cost for the return....just because Orange Micro did not fully test these cards....at that cost...I could've bought a USB card without all the hassle. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Thomas]

All I know about the RapidFire card is from reading the press release on PowerLogix's web site. It says that it will work with the 6500 but I guess we won't know until the card is finished and shipping. Click here for more on this topic.

OS 9 and the internal GV modem on a 6400 work!: I found a posting on Apples 6400 forums from John who has an internal GV modem in his 6400 and it works with OS 9. I emailed him for more info and here is his reply. Thanks John.

[Hello Tom,
Here is my configuration.

Performa 6400/180
512 L2 Cache
80 megs ram
1.6 gig HD
GV Platinum V 28.8 internal modem using GV 28.8-K56 for ARA 3.0 script
OS 9

I use the modem in this. I have remote access installed and running for when my girlfriend , who has a better ISP from out of town, is here and we can use her settings. The only problem I have with this set up is that the volume of my modem is never turned on. I have to go into the sound control panel under OS 9 and through the input setting check the box that says play sound thorugh output devise. I might be one of the only ones that likes the sound of modem working, but I find it a pain to have to do this all the time.

I have no express modem control panel installed. Gave up on MegaPhone a long time ago, and I still fax.
Hope this helps.
John]

So getting online, faxing, and the modem control panel work with the GV internal modem but still no word on MegaPhone and if faxing works with the Geo modem?

OS 9 and disk access slow?: Regis writes that he reverted to OS 8.6 because he noticed his HD access has slowed down with OS 9 installed. Thanks Regis. I wonder if he had SpeedDoubler installed with OS 8.6 which is not compatible in OS 9? This might cause the slow down noticed?

[Hello Tom,
I finally go back to good old Mac OS 8.6 after upgrading my stock IDE disk with a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 Gb. Under OS9, the speed was really too slow, especially for little files. With OS 8.6, I have a transfer rate of 9350 Kb/s on reading and 8240 Kb/s on writing, and fast access even with little files. So I keep my first impression: OS9 is a bottleneck for disk access (and I think for video) on our 6400. With 10 Gb, I just keep a partition with minimum OS9 only to do audio stuff with performer. But I'm really asking me questions about a "new OS" so slow and deceptive.

For user of Norton Utilities: if under OS 8.6 use version 5.0.1 which is on the disk you have. Don't update to 5.0.2 on the Web, because it don't work with 8.6 (in my case). But with OS 9, use 5.0.2 to gain a little speed. Who is the guys who tells us that microcomputers are going more and more friendly. Sometimes, I remember my old Apple II... time where all was simple.
Regis]

OS 9.0.2 speeds up on the 6400: Speaking of slugishness with OS 9, I just found this info on Accelerate Your Mac's site from a 6400 owner that installed a copy of OS 9.0.2 and says it's much faster then OS 9. I guess he got the copy of OS 9.0.2 from the purchase of a new Mac?

[OS 9.0.2 on 6400 w/G3 Upgrade: A reader notes the new OS seems much faster on his older Mac than OS 9.0

"Regarding OS 9.0.2 - I've been using a final candidate version of OS 9.0.2 for a couple weeks now on my G3 upgraded 6400. Previously, I had run OS 9 only to switch back to OS 8.6 because the OS was so sluggish.

I was also experiencing "the delay" when the finder would load at start up Sometimes it would last as much as three minutes. After I installed the beta updater there was a dramatic change for the better. I'm ready to trash my OS 8.6 system folder. OS 9.0.2 is much much faster on my machine and much more stable. In fact, it's been more stable than OS 8.6 and it feels as if it's running about as fast as OS 8.6 was with Speed Doubler installed. It might be just a hair slower than OS 8.6, (I've not run any tests, just switched back and forth a few times and compared) but it's close enough that I'm sticking with OS 9 if only because I no longer get the finder crashes with it like I did after I upgraded to the G3 card with OS 8.6. Good job Apple.
Zoot"

I can't wait for the public release of the OS 9 update. One tip noted here previously, disabling the 'Multiple Users' control panel and extension seemed to improve responsiveness in the Finder on my older Macs running OS 9.]

OS 9 and Apples TV/FM system compatibility?: Eric installed OS 9 and found his TV/FM system not working any more? He kept getting hardware not detected errors. Reverting back to OS 8.6 fixed it. Thanks Eric. Anyone else have this problem?

OS 9 Multiple Users- Energy Saver Settings Not Held: Here is an Apple TIL on how to fix this issue.

http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n31188

Airport 1.1 software download: Here is an Apple TIL to download Airport 1.1 software

http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11570

Now here is the cool part! You don't need to have an Airport compatible Mac any more to use the base station. This software package even though Apple lists that you need one of these newer Macs will work on older Macs. You don't need to run the installer to get the software. It is no longer in a Tome. It is in the base station folder and can be ran right from the self mounted disk image. I just tried and it worked for me even though I don't own a base station.

Now for the scary part! I might not own a base station but the software found 5 other base stations on my network! Yes there was even one that had a name of "Cox @ Home"? Not sure if someone named theirs like this or if Cox owns one? Just incase the owners of these are reading this, I was unable to access any of them as they were all passworded out but I wanted you all to know that at least on a cable network they are visible.

Site logo contest nearing the end!: There is only a few days left before I end the judging period! So better get your votes in now while you can :)

Link frame removed from my site: Last week I posted that my HotTopic popup menu was not usable for AOL 3 users. Well I have removed the frame from my site as it also caused me some strange issues? When I tried to go back from a link on my site to another using the BACK button I would end up at my Home page instead of the page I had left my site from. This doesn't happen all the time but it happens to much for me to put up with. Removing the frame is easy enough for me to do but I do like the HotTopics menu so I prefer to find a fix for it for AOL 3 users instead of ditching it. Can any HTML programers help me with this? Thanks.

Newer discontinues L2 G3!: Many of you may know by now that Newer has stopped production of their L2 G3 series upgrades :( I guess the market had hurt them more then we thought? Their current press release states that the L2 G3 is no longer in production along with a few other items. Also their online store does not list them. When Sonnet came out and had so many issues with their L2 G3 I didn't think anyone could top Vimages stability but Newer did it and more. I was never able to test one but from all the reports from you guys I came to the comclusion that not only did Newer get rid of the double boot like Sonnet but they also kept the same stability as Vimages and with more video card compatibility. Infact I think the only real issue was with the Geo modem not working! It will be missed as much as Vimage is :( Sonnet remains the dominant and only L2 G3 vendor now. Sonnets 1.4.1 driver has fixed many issues but still a few remain.

Newer upgraded L2 G3 cards for Geo support?: Arturo sent me a letter stating Newer told him to return his card when he emailed them he was having issues with his Geo modem. They told him they made a change to the card and would send him a replacement. I hope this is true but they might not have anymore since they stopped production? Thanks Arturo.

[Tom,
I called Newer Tech. and told them what I did. They said they were aware of the Geo problem and they had made some changes to the card and other updates to make it compabible so I should send it to them anyway. I will.
thanks again, arturo]

Reader Request on Newer G3 info: Russ would like to hear from anyone thats used the Newer L2 G3 in a heavily used business environment. I reminded him that they are no longer being produced but he still is interested in this. Thanks.

[Hi, I've been following your pages on L2 upgrades and have almost made up my mind. I think I'd like to get the Newer 300/200 card, but I was wondering if any of your readers have had experience in a work environment. I specfically use 8.6 with Quark 4.1, Illustrator 7 and Photoshop 5.5 in a printing company. Does anybody have day in day out observations of these programs? It would really help me justify the expense on our limited budget.
Thanks,
Russ
skylnprntg@aol.com]

Sonnet Clocker II recompiled: One of my readers took the source code for the Clocker II app and recompiled it for us with a full version of RealBasic so now it will no longer time out. Thank you very much!

Also since a link to my site had been posted on Accelerate Your Macs site I have gotten many non L2 G3 Mac owners like 7500 owners trying out this great app. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work for them? reports I have recieved say the system bus on the 7500 is showing at 43.3 or 46.6 with the unhacked Crescendo Sonnet G3 installed. Neither of the Sonnet Clocker apps have settings for these bus speeds at this time :( I am trying to contact the authors to see if they can make the needed changes. In the mean time I have posted a text file with instructions from another reader of mine on what these apps are really doing to the extension. If you know how to use ResEdit then maybe you can hack it your self? Please let me know if you find the combination for these bus speeds. Thanks.

Now for the good news, the Clocker apps seems to be working fine for 7100 and 8100 owners! Here are some letters I got. Thanks!

[I'm running a 8100/80 with 152 M of RAM. And an old (6/17/98) Sonnet accelerator card, model G3 215/225MHZ 512K 61/71/8100.

It does indeed work. Didn't need to reboot after changing the clock.

Ran Sonnet Clocker 2 on Crescendo 1.4.1, set to give 240 MHz. Temperature before was 35¡ C. Temperature rose quickly to 39C and after 2 hours it was still the same. Haven't seen any failures yet.
Bob]

[7100/66 - G3 300/512 (running at 264 due to 33 m bus speed)
Thanks, TJ]

Unfortunately with a 33Mhz bus, 264 is the fastest do to the 8X max ratio, Tom.

[Clocker II didn't work? Well I then tried the Sonnet Clocker on my 7100/80AV with a Sonnet 240MHz/512KB card. It now runs at 280MHz. I can't get it to run at any other setting (I tried them all) but I am pretty happy with a 14% speed boost (MacBench 5.0 scores) for free. I am using version 1.3.7 of the Sonnet extension. The temp. has not increase much running at 43C even under heavy work loads (games).

I also tried both out on my StarMax 3000/200 MT with a Sonnet L2 G3 running at 300MHz/1MB. No matter what I try there is no change. I would love to boost it to 320MHz or more if possible. Both systems have a 40MHz bus.

Thanks also for the info on boot up crashes. Changing the sonnet extension by adding a "z" in front solved my problem. You site has been a huge help. Give the authose of the Sonnet Clocker a big thanks from me.
---Troy]

The 7100/80AV must have a 40Mhz bus to attain 280Mhz CPU speed? Also 320Mhz is the max for any L2 G3 system unless Sonnet used the 10X bus ratio G3's in them. They did make a 400 card for the 6400/6500 and a 500 card for the 6500 but 300Mhz is the fastest listed for the StarMax systems on their web site. Its possible that they chose a 7.5X bus multiplier for the StarMax system as the highest they could run for some reason? Or maybe the correct registers in the Crescendo extension aren't being changed for StarMax systems? I'll have to look into it.

Below are some info from 7500 owners who are unable to get either Clocker app to work. But from the info I have received from them it seems that Sonnet may have hardwired the bus ratio into the card so clocking will not be possible for PCI mac owners. I have not heard from any other PCI Mac owners such as 8500, 9500, and so on so this is only theory right now. The original bus speeds with Apples CPu cards installed was set at 50Mhz but one 250Mhz G3 Sonnet owner says his now reads 46.6Mhz and a 300Mhz G3 reader says his bus speed is set to 43Mhz? I'm assuming Sonnet did this to assure better compatibility since I don't see any other reason to lower the bus speeds? Below is a letter from the 250Mhz Sonnet owner with some interesting info on using XLR8's G3 utility instead of Sonnets Crescendo driver. This info pretty much reasures this issue of the bus speed being hardwired. Notice if he removes the Crescendo extension he gets reports of the G3 speed so it would seem the CPU is activated but the L2 cache is not running. Now rememebr these are PCI G3 upgrades which means the original CPU is removed to place the new G3 card in. Unlike L2 G3's and Nubus G3 upgrades where the stock CPU is left in the system. This means that the G3 will always be activated and the Crescendo driver is only needed for the activation of the L2 cache so Sonnet may have to hardwire the CPU speed in without the need for any software? What would happen if you booted with Extensions Disabled? Well on our systems you get an old slow system but on a PCI G3 upgrade you can't let your CPU not activate! It has too! I hope I didn't drag this on to long :) I don't think that PCI G3 upgrades will be clockable :(

[Hello Tom.

I have been trying for two days to change those parameters and make the thing work, but nothing good came up so far. No matter what I change the speed is fixed at 256.3MHz.

There are a few things I can point out however:

1) If I don't use the "Crescendo" ext during boot, the speed is 256MHz according to TechTool, the L2 cache is OFF and the system reports a speed of less than 200MHz!!!

2) If I use the "Crescendo" ext during boot, the speed is 251MHz according to TechTool, the L2 cache is ON and the system reports a speed of 259MHz.

3) If I don't use the "Crescendo" ext during boot, but replace it with the known software XLR8 MACh Speed (control panel and extension), things work better: the system reports 256MHz, TechTool reports 256MHz and I can switch the cache speed to 256MHz, 172MHz or 128MHz. The first setting is a bit unstable sometimes and crashes the computer.

Now to answer your question below... I don't really know. The speed numbers are shown in that text of the "pref" resource I mailed you. If you compare the numbers your "mystery" friend gave you and my "pref" file, everything is there.

I used an HP48 calculator to change the numbers from hex to real and I got the data shown in the file I mailed you. When I punch 233 I get 0DE34C40 and so on.

I have to stay away of this machine for a few days, but once I come back I'll check a few more tricks. Not that I expect anything though. All the manuals I downloaded from Motorola, say that you can not change the speed of the G3 with software, since they use 4 pins of the chip to program the internal PLL according to their needs. They tie the pins to either "0" or "1".

Your readers say other things however. I am getting a bit confused but I'll try one more time later]

Now you L2 G3 and Nubus owners don't go run out and get the XLR8 utility! Since your CPU is dependant on software to activate the G3 CPU I bet this utility won't work by itself (meaning you need your extension no matter what!)

Apple Techinfo on new Macs: Here are some links to Apples very informative info on their new PB G3, iBook, and G4. They have much the same info found in the PDF manuals except I couldn't find any Take Apart info in them? I believe these are for hardware and software developers to get much needed info on the new systems. I wonder if this is going to be the new way Apple posts service manuals for their service centers also?

http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/Developer_Notes/Macintosh_CPUs-G3/PowerBook/index.html

http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/Developer_Notes/Macintosh_CPUs-G3/iBook/index.html

http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/Developer_Notes/Macintosh_CPUs-G4/PowerMac_G4/index.html

iTools info page for non OS 9 users: I found this page, which is using one of Apples new iTools home pages, that describes how to sign up and use most of the features from Apples iTools without the need for OS 9. Click here for more info on iTools.

AirPort, Configuring a Base Station With a non-AirPort-Capable Computer: Here is an Apple TIL on how to configure an AirPort Base Station with non-AirPort Macs. Looks like they removed the need for AirPort Macs only :)

Reader Request on OT 2.6 for older OS's: Dan says he tried the OT 2.6 extensions I posted for use with older OS's but they aren't working for him? Please email him if you have an answer. Thanks.

[Hi,
great site!!
I just tried the 2.6 ot fix ( I use mediaone cable) and the 6400 would not start after removing the 6 files and replacing them with the 2 new ones, I then tried all 4 and still the same problem, any thoughts??. It hung up in the middle and refused to budge.

Sys = 6400/88meg ram, RD 8, Spdblr 8, ROAM, Geoport which is removed, sys 8.6

keep up the great work!!
regards, dan]

ATI conflict with TechTool Protection?: I found this info on MacFixIt.

[Daniel Sass writes that "ATI confirmed that there is an conflict between the ATI XClaim VR128 and MicroMat's TechTool Protection extension. As long as the Protection Extension is enabled, you are not able to capture video." We have contacted MicroMat about this and they are investigating.]

Unreal Tournament Bonus Pack: Well it seems that Epic has released some more levels and extra skins for UT. I just downloaded and and will try it out :)

[http://www.fileplanet.com/index.asp?file=38078

File Information: UTBonusPack.zip
Title: Unreal Tournament Bonus Pack
Author: Epic
Description: This bonus pack from Epic contains eleven new levels and three new character skins. There is also a new "Relics" system which adds various new power-ups to the game. The new skins are Skaarj Hybrid, Nali, and the Nali WarCow. New levels are DM-Agony, DM-Cybrosis][, DM-ArcaneTemple, DM-Malevolence, DM-Shrapnel][, DM-HealPod][, DM-Mojo][, CTF-Cybrosis][, CTF-Hydro16, CTF-Noxion16, and CTF-Darji16.
Size: 13.8 MB (14487626 bytes)]

My new popup menu doesn't working in older browsers: Russ wrote to let me know that my new popup menu for the Hot Topics list gives him errors when he tries to use it. He is running AOL 3.0. Thanks for the info Russ. If anyone with HTML experience can help me correct this I would appreciate it. I have tried it with AOL 4.0 and Netscape 4.6-4.7 and they all work fine.

[ Just tried your Pop up menu and got this:

Could not find a procedure to handle method "POST" of URL
"/_ht_a/TMK12v/(Empty Reference!)" on members.
For further assistance, contact the server administrator


AOL 3.0 built in browser. Just the pop up menu. The pop up pops up but every selection goes to the error page. The "go" button has selectable text in it, not just a button that clicks.
Good luck
Russ]

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.