G4 867 DP (MDD) & G4 350 (AGP): PCI USB Card that Supports Deep Sleep?

Thanks for explaining that issue in "everyday speak" as opposed to a big technical article!

While looking through OWC's accessories for G4's I found this Kensington product which allows you to share USB devices among two computers and thought it might be used as a work-a-around in cases where one may be having a problem with sleep issues.

Instead of connecting it to two computers one could use it as essentially a off/on switch within a USB tree to prevent deep sleep issues with pci cards. Since its only connected to one Mac when you press the button to switch the devices to the “non-existent Mac” those devices will no longer be connected to the Mac you are using, thus preventing sleep issues.

One could position one of these, or similar products, at the start of the usb tree or anywhere in the usb tree to “turn off” the whole tree or just one branch that contains problematic usb devices.

Has anybody tried this?

Message was edited by: AntiFor

LOL, I forgot the link (it must be Homer Simpson day). That's it, although there are several other similar products too.

I’ve did some searching on Google/Google Shopping, Buy.com, Amazon, eBay, & OWC and I present my results as it may help others save time. The most plentiful cards still available appear to be the Belkin, the two IOGear units, and the BAFO.

Looks like I’ll try the IOGear GIC250U first.

Adaptec 3100LP:
PDF manual says support only to 10.1.1 and it says that the driver will disable the deep sleep option on your Mac, requiring you to uninstall the driver file if you want sleep back.

BAFO BF-460:
Manufacturer says Windows only. A buy.com listing says Windows & Mac support but no other details. A Amazon listing says it supports “wake-up” function, but does not say what platform.

Belkin F5U220:
Manufacturer says 10.2.7 or above for “F5U220V1”. Some sellers list cards as F5U220BHP or simply F5U220 so make sure it has “V1” on the end. One Amazon feedback said it has sleep issues with G5 while another said it worked good with a G4. Negative Mac feedback on http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/firewire/fwusb_card_deepsleep.html

GWC UC-160:
Can’t find much information and could not find it for sale.

IOGear GIC250U:
Manufacturer says it will work at 1.1 speeds with 8.6+ and 2.0 speeds with X. Feedback at http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/firewire/fwusb_card_deepsleep.html said it did not work with G4 400 running 10.2.6 with drivers; did work with G4/350 AGP machine & Dual G4/533 Digital Audio.

IOGear GIC251U:
Manufacturer says it will work with Mac X 10.3.9 to 10.5. LOL, diagram manufacturer has shows external hard drive connections as one example of devices you can connect (a big no, no according to advice here). Amazon feedback said has sleep issues with 10.4.2 on G4; with a G4 QuickSilver 2002 it only worked in the PCI slot next to graphics card; it worked great in a G4 Digital Audio; G4 Quicksilver running 10.4.8 works great; works great in unknown Mac running 10.3.8; never worked on a 1Ghz Mirrored Door PowerPc with any version of X from 10.3 to 10.4.9; froze computer and fried nearby pci card in a QuickSilver G4; a dual 450 G4 has sleep issues.

Keyspan U2PCI-5:
Can’t find much information and could not find it for sale.

O'toLink U2-C2A, U2-C2B, U2-P20N & U2-P50:
Can’t find much information and could not find it for sale.

Ratoc PCIU5:
Manufacturer says Windows only & discontinued.

Syba SD-LP-NEC4U:
Manufacturer site says Windows only.

USBWholesale UII-PCIP:
Seems to be listed under company named BusLink instead. A single Amazon listing says Windows only.

{quote}listing says Windows only{quote}

Yes, I should have added that - as it was noted in the articles you provided links to. When the manufacturer says Windows only support they are most likely referring to the fact that they only issued drivers for Windows. Since newer versions of the Mac OS don't need drivers it does not mean they will not run.

Do you think IOGear may have changed their chip set for the GIC251U as they've removed earlier Mac OS support from the specs (buy.com still listed the older specs for the 251 - the same specs as used for the 250 - i.e., buy.com could have older stock with different chips)? These companies are not exactly forthcoming with their chip sets - questions often go unanswered.

I decided to go with the GIC250U first as it still officially lists classic support and I was able to score 3 factory sealed units for under $17 (shipping included) - be couple days before they get here and let everyone know how they perform my my G4s. If they do not work I might try the IOGear GIC251U or the Belkin - or I may just try out my plan to use a multi-computer usb device sharing hub as a on/off switch for trouble making devices, as noted above.

Message was edited by: AntiFor

Message was edited by: AntiFor

Just wanted to add that a Belkin tech guy answered my email regarding the following Belkin card (link below) and he said it does support deep sleep under OS X:

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=107412