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Natarajan Kalyanaraman

Q: USB 2.0 on a Powerbook Wallstreet

Hello everyone,

I am trying to get USB 2.0 ports added to my PB wallstreet. I recently bought a iConnect PCMCIA USB 2.0 card (which explicitly says on the label that it will work under Mac OS X) but I am unable to get my computer to recognize the card. The card doesn't show up in the apple system profiler as well as when I try plugging USB devices into it.

I am exclusively running Mac OS 10.2.8 with no native Mac OS 9. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

PB Wallstreet   Mac OS X (10.2.x)  

Posted on Jun 12, 2006 8:15 PM

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Q: USB 2.0 on a Powerbook Wallstreet

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  • by jpl,

    jpl jpl Jun 12, 2006 9:17 PM in response to Natarajan Kalyanaraman
    Level 7 (28,285 points)
    Jun 12, 2006 9:17 PM in response to Natarajan Kalyanaraman
    Natarajan,

    The Wallstreet is still a nice 'book but it can have problems with USB 2.0 PC cards and OSX. Since I don't know your level of experience with PC cards in powerbooks, I may make a few suggestions that seem very basic.

    - Are you sure the PC card is fully seated? You should hear a click as it locks in place; if necessary, hold the opposite side of the powerbook and push hard...some cards are tighter than others.

    - Do you see a PC card icon in the menu bar? If you click on it, only the 'Eject Card' will be available.

    - I can eject my USB card via the menu or pushing the eject button above the card...does this work for you?

    - I am running 10.4.4 on my Wallstreet using XPostFacto and the System Profiler does see my USB PC card without anything connected; however, the Profiler in 10.2.8 may not report this...I cannot remember.

    - If possible, I would try the USB PC card in any other powerbook (Wallstreet or newer) or a PC laptop just to see if the card is alive or dead.

    - USB PC cards and FireWire PC cards do not supply bus power to external devices while built-in USB and fireWire ports do supply bus power. You will have to use self-powered USB devices; for example, printers are no problem, but a USB HD must have its own power supply. (I have found that a USB mouse will work.)

    - When Apple released 10.2.8, they added support for USB 2.0 PC cards. Prior to this, USB 1.1 and 2.0 PC cards ran at 1.1 speeds. However, not all USB 2.0 PC cards are equal; unless the USB card uses the NEC-based USB2 chipset, it will not work properly with Apple's drivers.

    Even with the wrong chipset, 10.2.8 should at least "see" the PC card, so either the PC card is non-functional or is not fully inserted or you have a hardware problem. Let's see what you find at this point.
  • by Natarajan Kalyanaraman,

    Natarajan Kalyanaraman Natarajan Kalyanaraman Jun 13, 2006 10:32 AM in response to jpl
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jun 13, 2006 10:32 AM in response to jpl
    Hi jpl,

    Thanks for your answers.

    I think the card is well seated. I tried pushing it in as far as I could. I tried using a wireless card (Linksys) and the computer seems to recognize the PC card.
    When I use the USB card however, I don't see any activity or recognition on the menu bar. I tried using a USB flash drive (which shouldn't require external power) and it doesn't mount the flash drive.

    I will try the card on another computer to ensure that the card actually works.

    Nataraj.
  • by IndiGO!,

    IndiGO! IndiGO! Jul 7, 2006 6:43 PM in response to jpl
    Level 2 (155 points)
    Jul 7, 2006 6:43 PM in response to jpl
    jpl-

    HI i just wanted to ask - because you said you're running Tiger on your Wallstreet - how much RAM do you have in it?

    I just bought an old (obviously!) Wallstreet and was wondering what kind of upgrades I can do to it.
  • by jpl,

    jpl jpl Jul 8, 2006 9:45 AM in response to IndiGO!
    Level 7 (28,285 points)
    Jul 8, 2006 9:45 AM in response to IndiGO!
    IndiGO,

    Well, there is a lot you can do with the old Wallstreet but it certainly has its limitations when running OSX. I bought my Wallstreet new and it had 32MB of RAM, so I just added a 256MB module to the top slot; max is 2x256MB and the 256s are special to the early iMac, Lombard, and Wallstreet. I have a 54Mbps wireless card for OSX, FireWire and USB PC cards for both 9.x and 10.x. This model supports up to 10.2.8 natively and using XPostFacto it can run the latest 10.4.7. I really don't use my 'book much so I cannot say how stable it is when pushed; I just do a little browsing and emailing.

    However, I would urge you to go over to the XPostFacto Forums and read the threads relating to the Wallstreet.

    http://eshop.macsales.com/OSXCenter/XPostFacto/
  • by IndiGO!,

    IndiGO! IndiGO! Jul 14, 2006 4:14 PM in response to jpl
    Level 2 (155 points)
    Jul 14, 2006 4:14 PM in response to jpl
    So you have 32+256MB RAM? Thanks - just wondering.

    I just bought a Wallstreet from a friend. Pretty happy actually.