Can this SCSI card be made to work?

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Level 2

405 points

Can this SCSI card be made to work?

I came into possession of an Adaptec SCSI Card 29160N made for the PC market. A quick check on Adaptec's web site shows that they have what appears to be the same card for Macs (only named differently--Adaptec PowerDomain 29160N). My question is can the PC SCSI card be used in a G5 running 10.4.5? If it can't be used right out of the box, can the card somehow be flashed (not that I really know how to do that) with a Mac version of the firmware to get it to work on a G5? If this is not the place to find this information, can someone please direct me to a weblink that might?

Thanks in advance,

darkbodhi

Dual 2 Ghz G5/ 160 GB HD / 2 GB Ram, Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Mar 23, 2006 10:54 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 23, 2006 11:01 AM in response to darkbodhi

Hi darkbodhi;

It is my understanding that PowerDomain is Adaptec code for cards with Mac firmnware. If you don't have PowerDomain, no worky in Mac.

Allan

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Answer 2

Mar 26, 2006 3:12 AM in response to darkbodhi

There are some reports on www.xlr8yourmac.com in the SCSI area that report of PC to Mac conversion of an Adaptec 2940UW card by simply flashing it's firmware. One visible difference between PC and Mac versions of the cards is that the Mac versions of the controller chip are labeled AHC, and PC AHA.

Some years ago, Adaptec called all Mac users to upgrade their 2940 to e.g. 29160, of course not for free, and than dropped future support of Apple not much later. I cannot get any Adaptec product, beside the 2930 to work reliably and according to its specs in anything newer than a G3 (open firmware 2.1), regardless of firmware tweaks, etc. Personally, I will never buy any adaptec product again.

Quicksilver 800 MHz Mac OS X (10.3.9)

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Answer 3

darkbodhi Author

Level 2

405 points

Mar 26, 2006 4:58 AM in response to darkbodhi

Thanks for all the info--much appreciated!

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