For those that need USB 2.0 in their G4 Tower...

[BGoins12]

This is a excellent solution... and it's CHEAP!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 2836wt_952

It may take a while to get from China, but it works great, and it has the NEC chip that OS X recognizes. Not sure if it will work on 9, though. Works great in my MDD with Leopard.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

fOR $3.94, i'VE JUST GOTTA GIVE IT A TRY UNDER 9.2.2

gOTTA LOVE cAPSLOCK!

[FlyingToaster]

I'll give it a whirl in my Quicksilver. If it works then it's $3.00 well spent. I do a lot of SD card transfers and the 1.1 speed has pushed me over to the PC lately Thanks for posting this

[ClassicHasClass]

If it works in OS 9 at all, it's going to be USB 1.1 only. OS 9 doesn't support USB 2.0, period.

But if you need more USB ports, it still might be worth it even then.

[Bunsen]

USB2 on X would be a good thing. I've ordered one - if it works out OK I might order a couple more.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

If it works in OS 9 at all, it's going to be USB 1.1 only. OS 9 doesn't support USB 2.0, period.

That's what I figured, but for $3.94 . . .

Interesting question:

If it works running under X, will it "work" on the "hardware" and the OS X underpinnings when running my QS'02 in OS 9 in "classic mode?"
That might actually be worth trying, just to see . . .
What kind of a performance hit will 9.2.2 take on the QS'02 if I downgrade it from OS 9.2.2 in native mode to the stock configuration?
Since I'm making the jump from the single 466GHz proc in my DOA Digital Audio to a Dual 1GHz Quicksilver 2002, any performance hit won't really be noticeable in my case!

[uniserver]

thanks!

[ClassicHasClass]

If it works running under X, will it "work" on the "hardware" and the OS X underpinnings when running my QS'02 in OS 9 in "classic mode?"
That might actually be worth trying, just to see . . .
What kind of a performance hit will 9.2.2 take on the QS'02 if I downgrade it from OS 9.2.2 in native mode to the stock configuration?
Since I'm making the jump from the single 466GHz proc in my DOA Digital Audio to a Dual 1GHz Quicksilver 2002, any performance hit won't really be noticeable in my case!

If it works in X, X will present virtualized USB to TruBluEnvironment through the Classic Enabler, so it should "just work" there too (no drivers needed). You would get USB 2 speed nominally because it's OS X doing the USB bitbanging, so it will probably be faster overall even considering the Classic virtualization overhead.

For it to work on OS 9, it must also implement a USB 1.1 bus. I think this controller does, so as long as it's OHCI compliant, it should be okay (but I really don't know).

What do you mean, "downgrade it from OS 9.2.2"?

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

For running my preferred Graphics Suite and hard-keyed CAD/CAM software, 9.2.2 is da bomb.

OS X and classic mode were definitely a downgrade, even when I waited for the BugFix version to ship in the retail box. I wasn't crazy about X OR the notion of "upgrading" so many licensed apps to run under it.

When I ran my shop it was an Helvetica free zone, MicroSoft free as much as possible and I'm still X free except for a few of my toys.

[BGoins12]

Anyone get theirs yet?

I like mine so much that I ordered 2 more... one for my PC to add more ports (I hate hubs), and another for my old DOS game rig to use my flash drive on it.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Great news! How long before you posted was it that you ordered yours?

I probably won't get to try mine out for a while, I'll likely get another big HDD for re-installing the baseline X/Classic OS suite.

Does anyone know of an inexpensive SATA card for my Dual 1GHz QuickSilver '02? I've been holding out to get the one from Sonnet, but . . .
. . . if this trick works out, I can buy a late model MDD and then I'll nee to buy two . . .

. . . or more! How far backwards might a SATA Card be compatible in OS9 boxen, or this one for that matter? At this price, USB 1.1 can't get any less expensive for pre-G3 PCI Macs!

edit: are the drivers stored on the card for auto-installation or are the drivers on storage media (Mini-CD?) included in the package?

[BGoins12]

No drivers. Leopard recognized it right away. Oh, and it was about a week and a half after I ordered. The day I posted this post was the day I got it.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

THX, I wonder how far backwards it'll work under X or if it'll work under 9 at all?

NewToyTestingTime!!!!!

[theos911]

*is also eagerly awaiting 9 compatibility report*

[Cory5412]

USB 2.0 cards have always "worked" in Mac OS 9, in that most if not all USB 2 cards will work if you have the right extensions (which get installed when you're installing OS 9 on a machine with USB onboard or with a USB card installed) will see the card and run the USB 2.0 ports at 1.1 speeds.

Just about any USB 2 card you can buy off the shelf should work like this, because USB aheres to standards, called OHCI, UHCI and xHCI, respectively.

The only snag I ever hit with USB 2 in Macs was with a blue 5-port Belkin branded PCI card -- it typically would cause my Blue/White to become a brick for a week or so until I removed the card and let it sit for a while. I knew somebody who happened to have the same card who (maybe related, maybe not) had their PowerMac G4 mirrored drive door power supply catch fire (or maybe just fail, I forget which) with that card installed. (I'm led to believe that it wasn't really the environment, he had another PowerMac and a bunch of other computers and stable electricity, etc etc etc.)

Just some thoughts.

[ianj]

The USB 2.0 card I put in my MDD G4 is a blue Belkin 5-port card (four external and one internal); I wonder if it's the same one. It has never caused any problems for me, but I understand PCI card stuff with Macs tends to be situational.

I remember at the time I got it (2004) Mac forums and whatnot were full of people obsessing over which USB cards would be compatible with their machines, but in my high-school quest to show PC gamer acquaintances that Macs were expandable without having to buy special cards (half-true), I just went to the store and bought the first one I found for $20. I never looked into whether it was really that easy or whether I just got lucky. As others have mentioned, it seemed to work okay at USB 1.1 speeds in OS 9, but I didn't test it much because using OS 9 had gotten a bit unrealistic by then.

[MacJunky]

I have never had a belkin card work in any of my G3/G4 machines, but the ones with a NEC chipset seem to work for me.
*shrug*

[Cory5412]

The Belkin card worked, it's just that there's some circumstantial evidence suggesting it didn't work well in my machine.

Fortunately, since then, even Apple has become a little bit more generous with the number of USB ports on their systems -- that and wherever possible, I use Dell UltraSharp displays, which have four-port USB hubs in them.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I just ordered four more of these cards and another interesting offer popped in the splash window display after hitting "confirm" in PayPal!

USB 2.0 (4+1-Port) & FireWire (2+1-Port) PCI Controller Combo Card, FW-F3U5

. . . for $19.95 shipped, I think I'll give this one a whirl in the Beige G-3 Desktop based BorgMacG3™ MetalTower and test it in the 6x00 based hacks as well.

Does anyone have a guess about Mac OS compatibility of the card?

[jruschme]

Based on the specs, I'd say that it should work find under both 9 and X.

The tricky one for Mac OS 9 compatibility is that it has to be OHCI compatible for USB 1.1 (not UHCI), although later versions of X do support UHCI cards. I found that one out the hard way with the Via-based card in my Sawtooth.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

THX, old buddy!

Gotta give one a try, after all, I've only got a singleTempo Trio.

[reekdaddy]

I have one coming in the mail, but nobody knows if USB 2.0 speeds are supported under 9.2.2 in general?
I mean, I'll find out when it gets here, but would be nice to know regardless. Specifically in regards to using USB flash drives.

But hey, either way I'll get to use my E-MU gear with my G4 now in OS X!

[waynestewart]

I have a dozen USB 2.0 cards. All of them turn into USB 1.0 under 9.2.2.
If you have to sneakernet larger files over then I'd suggest a 2.5" eternal drive with both firewire and USB 2.0.

[theos911]

Mac OS 9 does not have any USB 2.0 drivers, period. The cards will most likely work, they just fallback to 1.1 speeds.

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

The operative question isn't about USB-2 drivers or support running natively under 9.2.2, it's a given, that'll never work.

The question on the table is the possibility of running 9.2.2 in Classic Mode under OS-X and gaining the functional performance of USB-2 through the underlying operating system/drivers/hardware as a side benefit of taking the performance hit from running 9 within X.

I'm going from a single 466MHz G-4 Graphite DA to a Dual 1GHz Quicksilver 2002, so I won't even notice the performance hit running 9 under X will impose.

If I can get USB-2 speeds as a result that'll be great, if not, out with the X!!!!!! USB 1.1 is fine-n-dandy.

edit: ISTR running the first card successfully under 9.2.2 natively and under 10.1.1 on another drive in the Quicksilver, but I can't find the install disks for the QS'02, so I haven't been able to test transfer speeds for comparison, the QS'02 hangs on the 9.? in my 10.1 retail box . . . so I'm searching.