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.

• Current problems with my system

I want to say I'm sorry to anyone who hasn't recieved a reply from me yet on their email. A lot has been going on in the Mac community and for me lately, so I haven't had the time to answer them all yet. I will answer all so please be patient. Thanks.

Mac OS 8.6 released: Apple released OS 8.6 on Monday and many 6400 users have tried it with success. So far the only problems I have heard, besides compatibilities with certian older apps, is with the G3 upgrades. Vimage has a beta driver that is in the works (see next message) but Sonnet and Newer are still working on it. Here is a reply from Sonnet.

[Tom,
I have been informed by engineering of the following:
<<Yes we are working on 8.6 compatibility. We are also looking at the stability issue.>>]

I will be writting my usual review shortly. Here is MacsOnly review of 8.6.

Fix for Vimages L2 G3's running on OS 8.6!: I have been sent word from several readers that there is a fix on Vimages G3's by using the beta drivers for the Japanese version. For those that don't know, Interware is a Japanese company which makes the Vpower and Vimage is a US distributor. Vimage is still testing for compatibility before they release the US version which should be around May 21st. Until then you can use the beta drivers. Here is a letter from Pete that tells about it. Thanks to all who informed me.

[Hello,
Despite Vimage dragging their heels on a fix for OS 8.6, their parent company Interware of Japan, released an 8.6 update as early as last week. It's available on their webpage at:

http://www.iijnet.or.jp/Interware/update/Booster6454_Beta.html

I'm running it right now, and it works!

After running the updater (or before), make sure that you remove the old Vpower Extension and Control Panel from your system folder, as the new ones will be labeled "Booster" (this is what Interware calls the Vpower in Japan).

Have fun,
Pete]

I'm running Vimage 320Mhz G3 with OS 8.6 right now and it runs great! I even thing the new nanokernal sped things up a bit as I hear the HD still loading data when windows are being drawn. before I used to here gaps in the HD as windows were drawn. On a side note, I noticed the Booster control panel has options for Faster, More Compatible, and None. It seems they have added a choice to turn the cache off completely? I tried it and sure enough according to Speedmeter the cache was disabled. This might be a choice added for even further compatibility with certain apps or timing issues with older stuff? The cool part is you can disable and enable the cache without restarting! Just change your choice and its an instant boost :)

Sound garbled after installing Vimages G3: Steve writes that he is getting some pretty nasty sounds out of his 6400 since he installed Vimages 240G3. I haven't had this problem but I did notice that Marathon Infinity's opening music gets cut off and garbled. I thnk its a timing issue and maybe trying the Booster beta drivers with the control panel set to NONE will help? Of course this will slow the computer down but should still be OK as long as its only Legacy games that don't really need a G3 boost :) Let me know if any of you are having this issue. Thanks.

[I recently installed a Vimage 240 G3 upgrade card into my Performa 6400/180 and since then the sound quality has gone to hell. I'm using OS 8.1 and no external speakers. The sound is garbled and very heavy on the bass to the point where voices are completely drowned out. Any suggestions? Anyone else report this problem? Thanks
Steve]

Recap on Laserwritter 300 printing problem with a G3 upgrade: Taylor found that its not a G3 upgraded system problem or an OS issue but rather a G3 issue in general. Even Apples G3's have this problem. He did find a fix and is rather simple. If your G3 has the capability of turing the cache off without restarting then you can print fine. This maybe another reason why the Booster driver has this feature? If you have this issue then give it a try. Thanks Taylor.

[Hi Tom,
I came across your site from guest reviews and links on Breeden's site. I am researching G3 L2 upgrades for a friend w/ a 6400/200 -- I'm gathering that even with the double boot, the Vimage may be a bit more stable.

Anyway, just some info on the Laserwriter problem. . .I have a 7500 w/ a NewerTech MaxPowr 300/150/1M (I went with this more expensive, less tweakable card to assure compatibility w/ audio apps.). I also have a Laserwriter 300. As soon as I put the G3 in, I either had the "shrunk page" problem or there would be an interminable hang during imaging.

This drove me crazy for a while and I searched for info. I finally found something in Apple's TIL stating that the problem exists with their own Apple branded G3 machines! (a TIL search for "Laserwriter" came up with it fairly quickly, I think). So, it's not just a 6400 problem and it's not specific to G3 upgraded machines. The solution in the TIL article (as you posted) is to ensure that virtual memory is on.

I personally don't consider this to be an acceptable work around -- speed freaks like us don't like the CPU hit w/ VM, most of us have loads of RAM, and VM conflicts w/ a lot of apps, including some Apple software! I have a lot of apps that abhor VM. Rebooting just to print doesn't make it for me. . .I thought, "Damn, am I going to have to buy a new printer?" I thought it was the only choice, as Apple discontinued the printer quite a while ago and I don't think it will be useable in any CPU w/ coming OS updates.

The important discovery I made was that Newer's G3 control panel allows you to select various cache ratios (for the different cards) INCLUDING DISABLING THE CACHE. If I disable it, the Laserwriter works fine -- no reboot necessary, and I just turn it back on after I print. A mild annoyance, but way better than a reboot. I don't know about the Sonnet and Vimage G3 software but if the backside cache can be disabled temporarily, this should also work for your readers with the problem.

BTW, I would appreciate any other tips on a G3 L2 card for my friend -- your current recommended card, experiences w/ Vimage or Sonnet tech support and return policies, major incompatibilities, etc. My friend is not a "bleeding edge" type, has no PCI cards, and is still on some version of system 7x.

Hope this sheds some light,
Taylor]

Vimage 320/325 is out: Speaking on this topic, Vimage is shipping but they were filling a lot of backorders so not many made it to the channels. I have recieved word from Bert who just got his from OtherWorld. Thanks Bert

[Tom,
Just read that on your site, everybody's having trouble finding the VPower 320/325 card. I ordered mine from Other World Computing a little over a week ago (they were in stock then), and received it last Monday. Just wanted to let you know...
Sincerely,
Bert]

And another reader sent me info they got it too. Thanks

[I received the Vimage card last Monday and put it in my 6400. It is very fast and more stable than the Sonnet 300/150 card I previously returned due to crashing. The only problem I have had is incompatibility with my Ultimate Rez card, which I would have known had I visited your site before I purchased it . The Vimage site says nothing about the Ultimate Rez and I told them they should update their site more often. Anyway, the card rums at 47 degrees c and gets the following
Macbench 5 scores:
1059 Proc
1350 Flt Pt
1158 Disk
930 Pub Disk
vs. the Sonnet which gave (all things were equal including Libmoto and a 7200 Maxtor HD for both):
832
1269
1223
958
But the main thing is - no crashes at all - once I started using the stock video instead of the Ultimate Rez it has been perhaps more stable than prior to the upgraded processor. I am going to keep it and squeeze another year or so out of the 6400 until the second coming of the G4s say next April. But I probably will keep the 6400 around as I have grown to like it and it is worth far more to me than it would fetch. I like the Vimage 320 card and I can live with the slower startups given the superior stability and to tell you the truth I am sick of waiting for the Newer Tech L2 cards to come out although by the time they do - now they say June - the price will be lower still, no doubt, As far as the video, I took a chance and ordered a Rage Orion in the hope that it will be compatible - 256 colors on my 17 " monitor aint making it - but I'm not taking any bets that it will work. You have a great site and I hope you realize that people like me really do appreciate all the hard work that must go into maintaining it.
Thanks.]

JoyPort for using other companies game controllers on a Mac: Tom reminded me of a company named Kernal which has a product called the JoyPort which allows the use of Sony Playstation, Nintendo64, Atari, and other companies game controllers to work on a Mac. They have both a USB and ADB version from my understanding. Thanks Tom.

[I saw this on the web and thought it might be of interest to your readers who use CVGS. There is now a product called "JoyPort ADB" made by Kernel Productions that allows you to use actual Playstation controllers on your Mac. Connectix has been pushing a controller that works fine for the newer USB Macs, but us folks with ADB ports haven't had a good controller option. The JoyPort ADB looks like a simple adaptor box where one end plugs into your ADB chain and the other end plugs into your Playstation controller. Thus, no PCI slots or serial ports are used up. It's a great idea, and in addition to allowing you to use controllers made for the Playstation, you can also use controllers for N64, PCs, and the old Sega Genesis or Atari 2600 systems. The cost is steep at $49.95 (just as much as CVGS itself). I'll be looking for reviews to see how this product actually performs.

Tom Legare]

My 6400 Take Apart manual posted!: I just posted my version of Apples Take Apart manual. No part of my manual was taken from Apples so if there is any wrong info, don't blame them :) I wanted to make my own manual as Apple does not like having their Take Apart manual distributed. I don't have as extensive a manual as they made but I figure what is posted should help most. I still need to work on more mother board related components and hopefully they will be ready soon. Have fun!

Apples Take Apart manuals!: Apple Europe has the Take Apart manuals that a lot of you have been waiting for! I don't know how long they will be at this link so get them while you can. The Performa 6400/6500 manual is named "powermac.perf_6400..." and it's towards the end of the list. Don't download the smaller Performa 6400 items as the big manual includes them all! It is a 5.7M download. They also have the Take Apart manuals for most all other Macs. I got one for the B&W G3, iMac, and PB G3 series. All these big manuals are towards the end. Look for the largest size file and that will be it. For instance the iMac and B&W G3 are 10M downloads. HAVE FUN :)

AOL HomeTown? maybe not!: I have been pondering on whether I should stay with AOL's HomeTown service or cancel it? When I signed up I had the impression that I would be given an extra 10MB of space for my web site which was the deal they had going. I never got it! I have been emailing then back and forth many times and it seems I may never get it. I have received the most generic email responses from them that I can ever think of. Each person that emailed me practically told me the same thing and we kept going in circles! The funny thing is that I copied the text from all te previous messages to each new message as THEY wanted me to but I could tell they never read it. Oh well this service is slowing the display of my web pages with all their junky ads anyways and if I don't get thsi resolved soon I'm going to dump them.

What does this mean for you? please start visiting my site with this address http://members.aol.com/tmk12v This is what my address used to be and AOL's home town just reroutes all requests for this address to their site so if and when I cancel, you'll still be able to get to my site with this original address.

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 :)

I don't know if Sonnets L2/G3 cards are causing this problem but neither of my 6400's will sleep now. The monitors will sleep but the HD just spins down and then right back up and the fan never slows at all. I'm using OS 8.5.1 and have a 300/512k and 300/1M G3 card installed. I know the sleep function used to work but I haven't tried it in awhile. If any of you have this problem or if your system will sleep with Sonnets cards then please email me the details. Thanks.

Update 3/2/1999 Its not Sonnets G3 cards causing the problem. I just removed the G3 and left the L2 slot empty and the 6400/180 will still not sleep? Hmmmmmmm!

I just tried to print a gif file from AOL 3.0 and AOL crashes with a type 10. I have the Epson stylus 600, background printing turned on, OS 8.0, and I was not logged on at the time. If any of you have had this problem and fixed it, please email me the details.

Update 10/31/97: I have been in contact with another person having a similar problem but he was not running OS 8.0. This tells me the problem is more likely AOL's and not Apples.

Update 6/9/98: Thought I forgot about this did ya? Well I just tried it again and even with Epsons newest printer drivers I still got a type 10 error. This definitely leads me to believe that AOL 3.0.x is the problem as my entire system has pretty much been changed since my last update. I have not had a problem printing when online.

Update 1/1/1999: Since I have the newer Epson 700 printer and no longer use the 600 I may never know if ths problem was fixed? I will attempt to test the 700 for this problem and will note it here.

Final Answer!: I finally found what sounds to be an answer to this problem. I found this on MacFixIt

[Explorer and Epson 600 conflict? We have received several reports of system crashes/freezes when printing from Internet Explorer 4.5 to an Epson Stylus Color 600 printer, especially so if you use any options beyond the Print button. (Thanks, Andrew Sorensen, Mike Beshara and others.)]

Since AOL has started using IE for its browser, I think this issue holds true for me as well. Now who knows when it will get fixed?

I use a Performa 6400/180 OS 8.5.1, Performa 6400/200 OS 8.5.1, PowerBook G3/233 OS 8.5.1, 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.