Q: SCSI external not recognized on Beige G3 with 8.6
Hi, I decided i wanted to read what was on an old 2GB external HD with SCSI port. I attached to the SCSI port
on my Beige G3 running OS 8.6. After attaching and powering on the external HD, then starting up the G3, i got
no video - at least not a desktop - after powering down and removing the external SCSI and restarting, it booted
into 8.6 normally. Also i notice that, using "C" key, i can't get this machine to boot up from a startup disk such
as DW or my 8.6 OS disk. Peripherals like printer and the mouse/keyboard all respond normally and an active
ethernet internet connection works as usual. I have the SCSI # selection on the external HD set to 5 - so it isn't
conflicting with either of the two internal HDs in the G3 afaik.
I reset PRAM a few times but that didn't seem to make a difference. Just looking for a way to view and backup
what's on this HD and this G3 has a PCI USB card which would give me a way to offload the external contents
to a thumb drive -- but first have to figure out how to get it to recognize an attached external drive. Always worked
fine - a long time ago ; )
Any ideas appreciated!
Thanks,
Mike
G4 Dual Boot 1.25 MDD, TiBookG4, IbookG3, older PMacs, Mac OS 9.2.x, OS 9.2.2. + Tibook-OSX 10.39, Ibook 10.39
Posted on May 7, 2014 8:36 AM
"It worked with the different cable..."
That can make a big difference. Years ago, I bought a Belkin SCSI cable with a DB-25 connector on one end and a Centronics-50 on the other. It never worked correctly, and I think it was the lack of additional grounds in the cable. The O.D. of the cable jacket was only about 5/16," which probably indicated that they used an outer shield and tied that to some of the ground pins. The better quality cables - which I started buying - had the additional 25 ground conductors, making the cable jacket's O.D. at least 1/2" - if not more. You get what you pay for — not that the Belkin cable was inexpensive.
"...perhaps i can fire it up in Target Firewire mode but i suspect it may be too old for that."
To be the target computer, it needs to have onboard FireWire ports and not an add-on PCI card. You can connect a newer Mac in Target Disk Mode to a beige G3 (host), and then start up the newer computer. Its hard drive should show up on the beige G3's desktop.
Posted on May 9, 2014 10:14 AM