OS 8.5.1 USB Mass Storage device driver needed

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Level 1

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OS 8.5.1 USB Mass Storage device driver needed

Hi,

we are operating an PowerMac G3 to run the software for an mesuerment device. To transfer the resulting data to another PC we want to use the USB interface and flashdrive (network or CD is not an option). I found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_mass_storage_device_class that 8.5.1 can handle USB mass storage via a special driver.

Where can I get the driver?

I searched the OS CD and found some USB drivers, but only for printers, scanners and so on. I found suggestions in the net to update to 8.6 where USB support is much better, but I am totally inexperienced with the MAC thing and want to keep it as simple as possible.

Thanks in advance

Thomas

PowerMac, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier

Posted on Nov 12, 2014 4:51 AM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

72,788 points

Nov 12, 2014 7:15 AM in response to thomasp1

Welcome!

Is this a Beige G3 or the "Blue & White?" Historiaclly, it's been mnore of an issue with the Beige G3 that requires a third-party adaptor card to add USB.

"Back in the day" when a bunch of us were modding Beige G3s to keep then relevant, adding a USB card meant getting the right drivers, as you have surmised. However, most of us got them from the USB adaptor cards' manufacturers, not Apple. The cards usually cane with a disk that had what we neded,

As Apple has unwisely pulled all their older software downloads, it may be the only way to get the right drivers.

I'd check with Sonnet and see if they can supply a version. They made my USB card and it worked without issue. I doubt they have it on the web site but you may be able to ask then to e-mail it to you. I recall the files as not being too large.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,633 points

Nov 12, 2014 10:29 AM in response to thomasp1

Earliest one I can find for now os version 2.0.3b1 Apple 1998-99, 75,975 Bytes... no idea what OS version it is for.

Then there's the exact same version but 145,925 bytes!

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Answer 3

thomasp1 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 13, 2014 1:09 AM in response to Allan Jones

Hi Allan,

thanks for the welcome. It is a "Blue & White" G3 and I want to use the onboard USB Interface, there ist no third-party adaptor.

"...As Apple has unwisely pulled all their older software downloads ..."

It is so sad to lose these resources in times of cloudstorage.

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

245,633 points

Nov 14, 2014 11:41 AM in response to thomasp1

I wonder if it's included in one of these?

http://www.pure-mac.com/appud.html#macos851

http://www.gla.ac.uk/~gwm1h/macos851/

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Answer 5

thomasp1 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 17, 2014 1:21 AM in response to BDAqua

Hi BDAqua,

tanks for the links, I read the documentation of the mentioned files and found no indication, that one of these files contains the USB driver. Because of my inexperience I don't want to start experimenting with these things.

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

245,633 points

Nov 17, 2014 10:12 AM in response to thomasp1

Yeah, it's a shame Apple can't provide such small files for older OS versions. 😟

Maybe contact an Apple User Group & see if they can help...

http://appleusergroupresources.com/?s=apple+user+group+near+me

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Answer 7

Jeff

Level 6

12,220 points

Nov 18, 2014 2:16 AM in response to thomasp1

Even if you were to update from OS 8.5.1 to 8.6 via the Mac OS 8.6 Update, you might still find that the included USB Support files aren't modern enough to support your USB flash drive. I discovered that with an iMac running OS 8.6, that didn't recognize my USB flash drive. Through trial and error, I found that the extracted USB support files from the "Mac OS 9.1 Update" were the newest ones that were compatible with OS 8.6. I never tried them with OS 8.5/8.5.1, and since you've mentioned your lack of familiarity with Macs, I won't describe that involved procedure. You could download "USB Storage Support 1.3.5," which is intended for Macs having internal USB ports. The download is compressed, but your G3 should have Aladdin's Stuffit Expander in a folder in the "Apple Extras" folder or "CD Extras" folder (if either are present on the hard drive). If you use Stuffit Expander to expand the compressed download, you'll have a self-mounting image (.smi) file. Double-click on the ".smi" file and the image file will appear on the desktop. Drag that "image" to the hard drive's icon and you'll find the "USB Storage Support 1.3.5" folder. Open the folder and run the update. The database of supported devices that is included with "USB Storage Support 1.3.5" may or may not support your USB flash drive, but it's worth a try.

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