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I have a samsung SSD. Has anyone used an external adapter with a Powerbook G4.

I need an adapter for Firewire to SATA for a Powerbook G4.

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 7, 2016 8:45 PM

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Posted on Jan 8, 2016 7:34 PM

What type of SSD is it? Does it have the 2.5-inch drive form factor?


I don't know of any "adapter" that goes directly from SATA to FireWire. But you use any typical FireWire external drive. If the SSD is a 2.5-inch drive, get something like this


http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MSTG800U3K/ or other FireWire external exclosure for SATA drive.

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Jan 8, 2016 7:34 PM in response to Jimphoto

What type of SSD is it? Does it have the 2.5-inch drive form factor?


I don't know of any "adapter" that goes directly from SATA to FireWire. But you use any typical FireWire external drive. If the SSD is a 2.5-inch drive, get something like this


http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MSTG800U3K/ or other FireWire external exclosure for SATA drive.

Jan 8, 2016 7:46 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I have a Samsung EVO 850 which is about 2.75 wide and .25 thick. I got a Unitek enclosure from Amazon but it did not fit in well and I don't think the connector made contact. It also used USB 3 and I have read somewhere that for the Powerbook G4 I should use firewire to be able to boot from the SSD. I would like to have it capable of booting up if ever the internal hard drive fails. I also want to move scanned pictures from the power book to my Mac mini. Wifi takes a very long time. I will check out the link in the e-mail. I was able to download the Samsung driver and maybe I can get it running connected to the Mini. Thank you for the help. Jim

Jan 8, 2016 8:58 PM in response to Jimphoto

Looks like it uses the "2.5-inch" form, so it should mount in any enclosure designed for a 2.5-inch hard drive. This listing listing shows it


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W02CZ2241


Looks like it is also available in "M.2" form and "mSATA" form. But assuming you have 2.5-inch form... I don't know why your USB enclosure has issues with the connector, unless is it just poorly designed or of low quality.


If you want to boot from an external drive with the PowerBook, it should be FireWire. Does your PowerBook G4 have FireWire 400 or 800? The Mac mini probably has FireWire 800. Either way, it is a matter of using the right FireWire cable. The linked exclosure from OWC is FireWire 800, but you can use a FireWire cable with 400 (6-pin) at one end and 800 (9-pin) at the other end, if your PowerBook has 400. On the Mac mini, use a cable with 800 at both ends.

I was able to download the Samsung driver and maybe I can get it running connected to the Mini.

No special driver needed. And you should NOT install any. Just connect it and format it for Mac, using Disk Utility, if it currently has a Windows format. Are you trying it with your current enclosure, connected to the Mac mini?

Jan 8, 2016 9:40 PM in response to Jimphoto

Just a note about re-formatting. If you want to use the external drive to boot the PowerBook, you should reformat (Erase) it using Disk Utility on the PowerBook. To be bootable with a PowerPC Mac, the drive must have Partition Scheme of Apple Partition Map. If you do the Disk Utility Erase on the PowerBook, that's the default config. And it's still accessible on the Mac mini. If you do the Disk Utility Erase on the Mac mini, Partition Scheme is GUID Partition Map by default. If the PowerBook runs Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard, it's accessible that way, but you won't be able to install Mac OS X on it for booting the PowerBook (unless you Erase it again).

Jan 18, 2016 10:23 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Hi Ken, The Samsung SSD worked fine in the QWC case. This case is well made and the SSD fits well and is secure. I set it up on the G4 powerbook and it works well and is faster for disk operations. It will not connect automatically when I plug it into the mac mini but it will come up if I do a restart. I want to thank you for your support. I only use the powerbook (with OS X 10.4.11) for scanning that requires prior-intel programs. Many thanks, Jim

I have a samsung SSD. Has anyone used an external adapter with a Powerbook G4.

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