Master or slave drive, does it matter

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Master or slave drive, does it matter

My primary boot drive recently crashed, but I was able to load Leopard onto my second drive and recover all the important files using Disk Warrior. Disk Warrior also stated in its report that disk malfunction occured which a "Mechanical issue". But when i run mechanical test using DW it comes back as ok. Also, after erasing the disk using DU, it shows as ok. In any case i am installing a third drive which i intend to partition and use one partition for Time Machine and second partition for documents such as music and pictures. Now my question, the drive that failed was the original that came with the machine and was therefore designated master by default, so does it matter how i configure the other two drives as master or slave now considering the second drive is my startup volume and third one is just backup?

G4 933MHz, Mac OS X (10.5), 2Gb Ram

Posted on Jun 5, 2008 8:58 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 5, 2008 9:43 AM in response to docjso

Mac OS X will only Install and only boot from Drives designated Master.

But in your Mac, I think you will find that the computer is set up for Cable Select. The telltale sign is that the drive connectors are different colors. There is wiring inside the different connectors that makes the end Drive appear as Master, the middle drive as Slave, and allows the controller end to function correctly and talk to each drive.

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Answer 2

docjso Author

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Jun 5, 2008 6:18 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Since the crash I have been booting up from what is the second drive which when i install i designated slave...so i am abit confused...and according the the G4 manual i have my mac doesn't work for ultra ata set for cable select mode...perhaps when i open up to install the third drive i can change the jumper settings to make it master?

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Answer 3

Jun 5, 2008 7:39 PM in response to docjso

That's very interesting.

I checked the users manual and an article based on it. Both indicate, as you said, that drives are installed with Drive select jumpers.

I checked the developer note on the Quicksilver 933 Mhz, and it also indicates that the drives are installed with Drive select Jumpers.

But somewhere between that intention and the actual shipping Macs, that method was changed for at least some of those (and at least some previous, and some subsequent G4s).

The applicable Service manual has pictures showing a special system connector, a black end connector and a gray middle connector. No mention is made in the swapping procedure about setting straps, but the procedure for SCSI drives is full of such warnings.

My conclusion is that at least some of these G4 Macs do use Cable Select, and that the users manual do not correctly reflect this. I stand by my previous statement: If you have different colored connectors in the middle and end positions, you are using a Cable Select Cable, and your drives should be strapped for Cable Select.

Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

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Answer 4

docjso Author

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4 points

Jun 6, 2008 6:00 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I will give it go and see what happens...all my data is backed up anyway! I let you know.

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Answer 5

docjso Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 6, 2008 2:55 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Ok, opened up machine...all the cable connectors are the same colour. So i do need to designate one as master and other as slave. Now, another issue is whether the G4 will take more than 2 Ultra ATA drives as the manual only describes two. Can a third Ultra ATA drive be put in and if so, where and how?

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Answer 6

Jun 6, 2008 5:48 PM in response to docjso

If all the connectors are the same color, you will have to strap the Boot drive as Master, and the other drive as Slave.

Your Quicksilver 933 Mac only accepts one IDE/ATA Cable for hard drives. IDE/ATA is limited to two drives per cable. If you want more at the same time, you can buy an IDE/ATA PCI-slot card, and that will give you two more cables (up to four additional drives). As a strictly temporary measure, you could install a third drive on the cable that supports the CD/DVD drive, but that Hard Drive will be as slow as a CD drive because of limitations of the IDE/ATA protocol when sharing that cable.

If you plan carefully, you can clone your original drive onto one of the other drives, swap drives around and boot from it, then install the other big drive in place of the original.

Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

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Answer 7

docjso Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 7, 2008 6:52 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

OK...so this is what I did and it seems to be working fine.
I restrapped the boot drive from slave to master.
I removed the original 60Gb HD and re-strapped that as slave.
I put the boot drive into the bottom position of U bracket.
I put new 250Gb drive as slave on top of it.
That left me with original 60Gb HD that appears to be working ok after reformatting.
The only other place that made sense was to put it in the position located under the CD/DVD drive that is meant for a ZIP drive, but has the correct power and IDE connector.
I partitioned the new 250Gb drive into two volumes.
I used one for Time Machine Backup and the other as additional storage. I will use the original 60Gb drive as storage for noncritical items in case it fails again.
I don't know if there is an issue putting the 60Gb HD in the Zip bay, but it seems to work so far.
Thanks for all the help.

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Answer 8

Jun 9, 2008 2:01 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Mac OS X will only Install and only Boot from Drives designated Master.

That was a potential problem (if there was no slave drive present) pre-10.2, but is not correct any longer.

Sorry for my mistake.

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