Compatibility of Adaptec USB2connect 5100 USB 2.0 6-Port ??

Benny,

Thanks very much. It appears from the Adaptec site that this card will work. (Not sure if the URL will copy)

http://ask.adaptec.com/cgi-bin/adaptectic.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=WpBv5sMh&p_lva=&p_faqid=11131&p_created=10 88093489&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTE2JnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9dX NiMmNvbm5lY3QrcGNpLXgmcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT0zJnBfcHJvZF9sdmwxPX5hbnl_JnBfcHJvZF9sdm wyPX5hbnl_JnBfY2F0X2x2bDE9fmFueX4mcF9wYWdlPTE*&pli=

PS I guess I'll just order this part and report whether it works or not

Patrick,

Thanks much! It does seem somewhat unclear, however other references on the site seem to indicate that those notes applied at a time when Mac OS did not support USB 2.0; nor do the Adaptec notes seem to have been updated since then.

Anyhow, per above, I've ordered the card and will report back on whether it works.

Btw, you could save me a moment if you could tell me, please, how I check in OSX whether the port is running USB 2.0? (I know how to do this in Windows but have no idea about the internals of OSX, nor do I have any detailed manuals.)

Best,

g.

Well, after fussing around with this here's what I found:

The card works hemi- demi- semi- with a variety of devices, but under no conditions that I could find is it compatible with the sleep function.

With the card installed and no devices plugged in the computer works normally. My first attempt at plugging in a device was with an Epson scanner. That froze things. Then I tried a memory card reader. That worked fine. Then, a Wacom tablet, also fine. An HP photo printer (8750) also worked. Then I went back to the scanner -- after installing Epson's software (from their site) that works.

One other problem I had was with adding a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse set. At first this froze the mouse icon on screen but after installing the MS software for Mac the set actually runs quite dependably. I'd prefer, philosophically, to stick with an Apple mouse, but I find that the MS setup is ergonomically far superior. If only the sideways scrolling worked... I took a look at the new Apple button mouse but even with a future wireless version of it, other things the same, I much prefer the MS scalloped design.

What is Apple thinking? I'm sure that a majority of people who buy power macs need more USB ports than are currently standard.

In my case I need 1) the flash memory card reader 2) the tablet device 3) a flatbed scanner 4) a photo printer (an additional laser printer is on a wireless print server) 5) a mouse and keyboard set, and (I've yet to work this out) 6) a dedicated film scanner. That's not to mention plugging in portable hard drives, portable zip drives, etc. It seems to me that no matter how I organized it, including using firewire instead of USB where possible, the factory supplied options are insufficient.

I would guess the pci card problem is a software issue, but I suppose it could be both software and hardware. Anyhow, if I were an Apple manager I'd put this one high up on my list of things to fix. (I've used pci usb cards in many windows boxes with no problems whatsoever.)

Otherwise I'm thrilled beyond words with the power mac. It's a totally brilliant feat of engineering and well worth its premium price.