SCSI to USB on Mac OS8.5?

You need to update to 8.6, then install USB Mass Storage Support 1.3.5.

And if you install PCI USB interface card, you need to install USB Adapter Card Support 1.4.1 as well.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1259?viewlocale=en_US

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1265?viewlocale=en_US

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1238

From 8.5 to 8.6 updater is available from following site and it doesn't hurt anything, I believe.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1259?viewlocale=en_US

"Is there any way to have my PowerPC recognize the USB drive when I have it connected to the output of the external hard drive connected to the PowerPC?"

That's never going to work — the protocols are too different. It would help if you post back with the model Power Mac that you have, so the availability of PCI slots or onboard USB ports is confirmed. If you have PCI slots, you can install a USB PCI card and then run the USB Adapter Card Support 1.4.1 download. This would enable you to use the same "USB-only" Zip drive on the Power Mac and the Mac mini. This assumes that the problems that you're having with Zip disk transfers are related to the older SCSI-based Zip drive. If the problem is with the Zip disks themselves or that you just want a more direct method of transfer, attempting to use flash drives with the USB Support 1.4.1 files could present a problem. The older USB Adapter Card Support downloads (1.3.5 & 1.4.1) are dated, in terms of their database of supported USB peripherals - like flash drives. Even when running OS 8.6 on some older Power Macs that I had, I found that I needed to update the USB Support driver files with those contained in the OS 9.1 Update, in order for my 1 GB flash drive to be recognized. The OS remained the same - OS 8.6, but the OS 9.1 USB Support files (v. 1.4.6) were fully-compatible with it. I'm not sure if these drivers are compatible with OS 8.5/8.5.1 - I never tested them, but I have my doubts that they'd be recognized. The OS 8.6 download is an update for systems running OS 8.5 or 8.5.1. Keep in mind that any pre-OS X version of the Mac OS will only support USB 1.1 speeds (max 12 Mbps, compared to USB 2.0's potential for data transfers at up to 480 Mbps), regardless of whether you install a USB 2.0 PCI card. Again, post back with the model Power Mac that you have, so the recommendations made here can be helpful and accurate.

Hi,

>I bought a SCSI adaptor cable, another adaptor and double female USB connector

>from the back of the external hard drive and replaced it with an adaptor cable (SCSI to HD50M) and then to a double female USB adaptor into which I plug the flash drive.

Is one of the cable components a USB-to-SCSI adapter (an adapter/converter containing electronic components)? If so, it sounds as if you are attempting to use things in the wrong direction. USB-to-SCSI adapters were originally intended for early iMac computers. The idea was to be able to connect an external SCSI device to a USB port of a computer. That is, not a SCSI port of a computer to an external USB device (so it would not be applicable in the case in question).

Could you not set up some kind of file sharing over Ethernet between the two computers instead? A Power Macintosh 8100 (BTW, do you mean 8100/100?) has built-in Ethernet, needing only an external AAUI to RJ-45 transceiver/adapter. Depending upon the exact operating system version on the more modern Mac, this can be easier or more difficult. A universal alternative could be to install an FTP server (such as NetPresenz) on the Power Macintosh 8100, and to use an FTP client on the Mac Mini.

Jan