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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:


FLASH: The ATI Rage128 VR card does not look like its comaptible with Vimages G3? I as well as other users get a frozen image on the screen when the Vpower extension does its double boot. I will post more details on my tests with this card on my next update. BUMMER! and after waiting 1/2 a year!

Just Updated 11/4/1999

Search engine for my web site!: I am trying out a new free service that lets me put a search feature on my web site. I have it located at the top of this page if you haven't noticed it yet :) It is from PinPoint and I think its great. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Readers Requests page updated: I just added some new emails from readers needing some assistance. Please respond to any you might have an answer to. Thanks. The latest are labled new.

Virtual PC 2.1.3 and OS 9 compatibility?: I just tried using my VPC 2.1.3 win95 and it seems to have worked ok till Itried to shut down windows. It got 1/2 way thru and locked up my PowerBook G3 hard! It did not affect the windows environment because Win95 did not complain of an improper shutdown at the next boot but then locked up again at shutdown. I checked Connectix's web site and they only list version 3.0 as being compatible so I wrote them a letter. I'll post more as I find out.

Clocking Sonnets G3 cards!: Here is the news I bet your all waiting for, well at least the Sonnet G3 owners :) I just recieved a Realbasic app that a reader of my site sent that can modify your Crescendo extension to fool it into running the G3 faster! This is not the hack or app that Bill had mentioned in a previous posting I had about clocking the PDS versions. This should work on ANY Sonnet G3 upgrade that uses the Crescendo extension! Basically you enter your current mother board bus speed and then pick the CPU speed you want. NOTE, this can cause crashes and has only been tested on a 6360 with Sonnets L2 G3 300 to clock it to 320Mhz. Any faster and it froze but the current 8X G3's cannot go faster then 320Mhz on a 40Mhz bus anyway so it may have confused it and this locked it up. 6500 owners may get faster results if the CPU can handle it? You must pick your true mother board speed and not another one as the program was writen to use this data to configure the Crescendo extension. There are other bus speeds listed that the 6400 and 6500 do not run at because the author is hoping that this will work for all Sonnet G3 upgrades using the Crescendo extension.

Try this at your own risk as The 6400 Zone will not take any responsibility for any damages caused by it. Click here to download a .sit file which also has instructions on how to use it.

The author also added the Realbasic data used to make the app because he only had a trial version which means this app may timeout in 30days? If anyone who has a registered copy of Realbasic wishes to recompile it for me I would certianly appreciate it! Please let me know how it works if you try it.

Update on sound issues with Sonnets G3: A Sonnet G3 user wrote to let me know he found that VM being on or the sound quality in the Monitors & Sound control panel set at 44Khz caused his garbled sound. Thanks. Click here to read more on this topic.

Apples 6400 Take Apart Manual found!: Paul found a link to where Apple is hiding these manuals for me. Thanks! Remember to scan down till you find the largest file for the particular Mac you have and this will be the one with the full manual in it. most are very large like 5M or more. The littler ones are only part of the bigger manuals and they usually don't have the Take Apart section in them :( Here is the link for the 6400/6500 manual. Just delete "powermac.perf_6400.6500.pdf" to see the entire list.

ftp://ftphqx.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Misc/Service/servicemanuals/powermac.perf_6400.6500.pdf

Update on Voodoo3 cards and L2 G3 upgrades?: I have been getting info mostly stating that they are not compatible but I have had a few letters of success? The ones that are able to get it to work are the 6400 owners. All the 6500 owners have told me its not fully compatible? I wonder if its due to the onboard ATI or some other small difference thats causing the trouble? 6500 owners might try removing the ATI extensions to see if that helps? I'm not saying it works 100% on the 6400 but 6400 users are having more luck with it.

Speaking of which, here is a letter from Cryil who received info from another 6400 user that got them working. Thanks.

Sorry but no mention on whether it was a 6400 or 6500 :( I have moved my Voodoo3 info to my 6400 Gaming info page so you can read more about it there.

Edward sends word that his Voodoo3 is not working on his Newer L2 G3 upgraded PowerBase180 which is 6400 mother board based. Sigh!

Unreal Tournament Demo on a G3/Voodoo3 accelerated 6400: I received word from a 6400 user that the new Unreal Demo plays beautifully on his speedy setup. Thanks.

I asked about his G3 Voodoo3 setup and here is his reply. For a list of the versions of each driver he has just scroll down to the Voodoo3 update in my previous Just Update on this page.

I tried it on my 6400 with a Voodoo2 and although I wouldn't play on the net at 800x600 (I think it would bog down too much) it looks just awsome! Playing at 640x480 is perfect for the Voodoo2 to make it scream right along with my Vimage 320 G3. Unfortunatly they didn't put Rave on it yet so only 3dfx and software modes work for now :(

Update on using ROAM to alleviate Sonnets boot crashing: Bill writes that he has been using ROAM for awhile and it did cure his boot crashes. Thanks Bill. Click here to read more on ROAM.

Update on ATI's Orion Rage 128 cards and the 6500: Jeff writes that he is getting crashes even with his G3 upgarde disabled which means that ATI may still have an issue with their current drivers? Thanks for the info Jeff. My VR card has shipped and is waiting at the post office for me to go pick up! I wasn't home for them to deliver it today :( It has a newer set of drivers which may work better? I'll let you all know soon.

Vimages G3 and OS 9 followup: Donato had written me before saying that his cache was disabled after the update to OS 9 and he reinstalled Vimages drivers and that fixed the problem. He had locked both the control panel and the extension to prevent it from happening again but guess what? It did, but OS 9 may not be the problem.

I use Nortin Speed disk version 4.0.3 and this has never happened to me yet. But I don't have OS 9 installed on my 6400 yet either so maybe its a combination of things? Thanks Donato.

OS 9 Multi User setup info: Her e is a letter I sent to Mike of Accelerate Your Mac who posted info from an OS 9 user having problems with apps not running when Panal User is selected for some users with the new Multi User feature.

If any of you try this and it works, please let me know. I still haven't tried it yet :)


Just Updated 10/30/1999

Farallon posts new drivers: Farallon just posted version 2.1 for their 10/100 ethernet COMM II slot card. click here for more details. It works!

My OS 9 info page: I just started an OS 9 Info page to store all the info I get on Apples latest OS. I also moved my Vimage and Sonnet with OS 9 info to that page and added some info on the Geo modem. I suggest you Geo users go read it. The modem will work but you might not be able to make any changes in the control panel!

OS 9 and Apples Color Style Writer 4000 printer?: Sheldon writes that Apples CSW 4000 has a conflict with OS 9 but he found a work around. Thanks Sheldon.

Voodoo3 and Sonnet G3 may work together?: I received some info from a user that has both running on his 6400/200 and he says he has no problems! Previously Sonnet users have told me that with the 2D driver enabled you get crashes after about 5min. Here is a list of version numbers he was running. Please let me know if anyone else gets this working. Thanks. Click here for more Voodoo3 and 6400/6500 info.

Speaking of Sonnet, I may have some interesting news to tell on how to speed up the CPU! I got word from another reader who may have a solution for you :) Stay tuned.

Newers G3 and the Geo modem update: Topny sends word that he got his Geo modem to work with Newers G3 almost by luck! Read on to find out what he did. Thanks Tony.

Here is another letter from Jonathan who also has his Geo modem working. Sounds like it may be crap shoot just like it was with Sonnets G3. Some work and some don't? Thanks Jonathan.

Update on Pioneer DVD drive in the 6400: Cytri sent me a note stating that the Pioneer DVD ROM drive he installed in his 6400 was not pin compatible with the stock CD location and had to place it in the upper bay. You can also connect it externally as you do not need to run a sound cable to the drive for DVD to work. It is passed thru the SCSI cable. Thanks Cytri. Click here for more on this topic.

32bit drivers for DOS cards?: Paul found some info that a company is working on 32bit drivers for Apples DOS cards? I hope this is true as many people got stuck with old DOS cards that can only run 16bit drivers which means Windows pretty much left them in the dust. Thanks Paul.

Audio card and software for the professional recordist: A few people have requested some info on good sound cards so here is a PCI card and software that Adam uses for mastering CD's with his 6400. He sent me some sample CD's and they sound very good. Thanks Adam.

Avid and QT4?: A few users are having trouble getting Avid to work with QT4 installed. Keith had this setup and he said it worked for him Although he did remove QT4 for other reasons? Thanks Keith.

David also has QT4 amd Avid running together. Thanks David.

L2 G3 review from MacWorld: In case any of you didn't get the November issue of MacWorld, they had a review of Sonnets and Newers L2 G3's. I thought you might get a kick out of reading how the big boys thought they performed. I guess they didn't get to keep the cards long enough to find any trouble :)

John was also nice enough to forward me a copy of a letter he sent to them regarding their review. I wonder if they will reply :) Thanks John


Just Updated 10/21/1999

Request: Yann, who owns a 6400 with Sonnets G3 and has a Voodoo3 card, could you please email me. Thanks


Just Updated 9/24/1999

The 6400 Zone's new Home Address: Well I haven't actually moved my web site but I did make a new home address thanks to all the replys I recieved on how to make a redirect page. My new home address is:

http://members.aol.com/zone6400

Its not much different from the previous home address but it is much nicer on older Macs with slower connections. AOL has been placing ads at the top of my home page for some time now and I have always hated it! One of my readers found away around it so the ads would not appear but typing the long address (or even remembering it) was a tough job. Now thanks to you out their who helped me, I have made a page with a similar and easy to remember address that when called on just redirects you to my real home page but with out the AOL ads :) This only takes but a few seconds longer on the first link but now visiting all of my other pages will be much more enjoyable without having to wait for those ads to appear. And as a benefit, I can have my sites name in the address :)

Don't worry though if you forget this address, the old address works just fine but with the ads showing :(


L2G3 upgrade info for the 6400

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


CD containing the 6400 Zone plus past history for sale 9/3/1999

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 :)

amazon.com, books and more 7/2/98

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.

Link to my site that gets rid of AOL's ads! 9/16/98

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 :)


Current Problems with my System

System Pause with USB card and OS 8.67/8/1999

I have been having a pause in all apps and the mouse when using Logitecs USB Wheel mouse on an ADS USB card. I haven't traced it down but one other person had a similar issue but with an ADB trackball which means it may not be a USB issue? Click here for more info.

Freeze at shutdown with Farallons COMM II ethernet card and OS 8.67/10/1999

When I first installed the cable modem I got some crashes when I shut down. I traced it to Farallons COMM II ethernet extension version 2.0. With version 1.1 the 6400 shuts down fine. I emailed Farallon and am waiting for a reply.

10/28/1999 FIX is out!: Farallon just released version 2.1 for their 10/100 COMM II slot ethernet card and so far it is working fine on my 6400 with OS 8.6 as well as some other users :) Plus it seems much faster then the 1.1 driver I had before! Click here to goto Farallons download page. NOTE that it is listed as NEW but still only showing as version 2.0? I think its a typo as once you download it Get Info does show it as 2.1.


[ Home ]_[ Updates & Upgrades ]_ [ Info & Help ]_[ Magazines ]_[ 6400 Info ]
[ My Reviews ]_[Readers Reviews]_[My OS reviews]_[6400 Clocking Info]
[Reader Reqests]_[Mac Equipment for Sale]_[Geo Modem Info]

I use a Performa 6400/180 OS 8.6, Performa 6400/200 OS 8.6, PowerBook G3/233 OS 8.6, 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.

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Since 1/22/1998

If any of the links do not work properly, please send an email to me the Site Master
This page last updated 11/4/1999