Local barebones Digital Audio $66 AU

[LCGuy]

You don't have a USB keyboard or mouse? Maybe find an old set from someone's old iMac or something? Even an old iMac keyboard and an iPuck will be enough to get you up and going.

Failing that, nip down to your local PC store and buy a PS/2 -> USB adaptor, i'm assuming that much like me, you have an endless supply of PS/2 keyboards. I'm using a DEC keyboard from 1994, and a MS wireless mouse on the iMac via a PS/2 adaptor, and they both work perfectly.

[Bunsen]

I'm actually hoping I can pick up a USB-ADB adapter at a non-ridiculous price. I want to keep using my Extended KBII, Logitech trackball and Wacom graphics tablet. For now, I'm borrowing my housemate's iMac keyboard till I find either a USB set or the USB-PS/2 converters I know I have .... somewhere.

Believe it or not, I don't seem to have any PS/2 keyboards about the place. I know there's a box of mice ... somewhere.

Tonight it's up and running with the dual 533 G4s. I had to cut the connector off the CPU shroud fan, solder the leads to a couple of pins (made, literally, from pins) heatshrink them into a neat little bundle and shove them into yet another unused floppy connector. And the case fan has quietened down a lot - must have been cranky from lack of use.

That was after the hour I spent making up a disk power double adapter from a dead PS - then realising it didn't have a female connector.

My *ahem* backup 10.3 CDs aren't booting; 10.2 is but there are "problems installing the software; please try again". I suspect a flaky CD drive. I tried my hard-rubbish-day Pioneer DVDR, but that doesn't appear to be bootable. Next attempt will be a slower CD drive, because that seemed to help last time on the beige.

Dunno if it's relevant or not but the drive I'm installing to is 160GB. I've formatted the space that can be seen (132GB) into four partitions.

I do have a PCI ATA controller and a SCSI card, but I don't know if they are supported under OS X or not, so I haven't tried to install them yet.

Right now DiskWarrior is having a go at repairing the 10.2 HD out of my beige.

[madmax_2069]

yea it sounds like the optical drive is having issues with the install CD/DVD.

replace it and hope for the best. i have a Pioneer DVR-110D in my DA and so far so good it works 100%

[LSD]

I put a DVR-112 in mine. Took a bit of doing to get it in there (drive is shorter than normal and the shield cage wouldn't go in far enough so I had to reverse the power cables to make it all fit right) but it works great. It even boots off it.

[Bunsen]

Optical drive, machine, and install disc seems to be one of those unsolvable three-body problems they told me about in math class. The drive in the DA boots other CDs, the 10.3 CDs boot in other machines (enough to tell me it won't install on a Beige for example)

Hmm, maybe I'll try the drive from the Beige

[dbraverman88]

AGP video is working

Bunsen,

Which card did you decide to use. BTW: I am using a 32MB AGP GeForce2 MX in my DA without any problems. Though there are games that don't like it and want more power.

--David

[Bunsen]

Just an old Radeon 128 I had lying around for the moment.

On the OS front, I think I found the problem Ruddy great scratch right through the dye layer over the very innermost tracks on the first CD. I've ordered a legit DVD of 10.4 from the US. Should be here any day.

The 10.3's I have are burnt wrong. The contents that should be on the top layer of the heirarchy are inside a folder and not bootable (strange that they seemed to on the Beige, but perhaps my memory is fuzzy).

I rang a local Mac help shop and asked if they had any CDs of 10.3 (for two 'books I'm also working on), expecting legit old stock. Turned up and was handed burns. They don't work either So I'm also buying some legit 10.3s on ebay (local)

Bah. Crime doesn't pay.

[LSD]

You don't want to go overboard on the video front, not without considering the CPU. I have a flashed 9800 Pro in my DA and performance in even the most basic tests is pretty embarassing (In the OpenGL test in Xbench, for example. my GMA950 MacBook scores 8 times higher and my B&W G3 with its PCI Rage 128 only scres 18fps less) because the 733Mhz Quicksilver CPU I have in it simply can't feed the card fast enough. The card achieves what I bought it for (decent Core Image/Quartz Extreme support) but it's a bit disappointing that I can't get some gaming done on the side with it. I'm thinking awful serious about getting one of those aftermarket G4 upgrade CPUs, something in the order of 1.4-1.6GHz, but that won't happen until after I've maxed out the RAM.

[Bunsen]

My main ambition with improved video is to free up CPU time for audio processing. So it's a cost-benefit balance between the video card, the CPU and a dedicated audio DSP card. And I gather having a dual-processor will help.

As far as gaming goes, meh. Marathon runs fine on my 6100

[MacJunky]

I would say a dual 7455 might be best on performance and budget personally. I don't know if you have access to any decently priced ones though.

[Bunsen]

I've already got a dual 533 in there. Sorry, thought I'd mentioned that above in the thread somewhere.

[Bunsen]

10.4 has arrived; iMate on the way thanks to Dr Webster at the 'fritter; USB kb and mouse lined up for setting up; ATA controller to be scavenged from my 9500: further updates soon

[Bunsen]

Immediate plans (ie running adequately soon):

* triple boot OS 9, OS X and *nix (NetBSD, Ubuntu or Yellow Dog)
* Windows via Virtual PC and/or PC Compatibility Card
* 2 x 160GB Seagates on an ATA RAID card
* 80GB boot Seagate
* Matsushita, Phillips or Samsung DVD-R
* USB floppy drive
* Flash card reader
* SCSI card
* Rage 128 AGP + Rage 128 PCI running:
* 2 x 21" Dell Trinitron CRTs
* USB-ADB, Apple Extended KBII, Kensington Turbo Mouse (huge trackball with multiple buttons)
* Tascam US-428 audio/MIDI interface and control surface
* MIDI keyboard and knob box
* 600W per side pro power amp running a pair of semi pro monitoring speakers.
* Apple Laser Printer and Stylewriter 2500
* Scanner

Everything above I have on hand bar one more 160GB Seagate. One of the Dells may have issues, in which case I'll whack me old faithful Apple 16" on it for now.

Further plans (ie as time, need and budget allow):

* Lots of sound dampening and silent-PC-ification
* Windows via MiniITX motherboard and VNC
* Dual head AGP Radeon
* Third monitor
* Overclocking
* Max out the RAM
* SATA or Firewire RAID
* Beefier CPU and/or dedicated audio DSP card
* Case mods (such as front mounting mutiple drives)
* Enormous concrete subwoofer of doooooooom

[Quadraman]

Thread necromancer.

[Bunsen]

<- eternal project procrastinator. Besides, I was overseas for a while