Picky QS G4 / PCI SATA card?

[dv-]

I have a 2-port SATA card that prevents my QS G4 from booting - I've read other threads where people have the same problem, apparently the QS G4 is "picky" - and have to move the card to a different slot. But I've tried it as the only card installed*, in all of the slots I have, and I get that same symptom - system chimes but never starts a video signal.

*Normally there's a SCSI and USB card in there. The system also works fine with a modded 4-port SATA card, but it only works in OS X, hence my trying to get a 2-port flashed and working.

Are there any guidelines for card that are more likely to work in the Quicksilver, or is it just trial and error? (The cards are only like $12 each, so it's not a big deal to try a couple.)

My understanding based on what I've read is that the QS's "pickiness" is related to voltage irregularities; is it possible this is an early sign of PSU failiure, or is it more likely just cheap components on the SATA card?

 

[dv-]

So it turns out the card and its design are mostly to blame. Something about the way the cheap cards handle initialization or something - different voltages have to be available at different times and the QS G4 kinda freaks out.

The four port card I have, has a VRM bodged onto it that makes it work, but even that can be hit or miss apparently. (And the four port cards only work with OSX, as a rule.)

My solution: I tried to buy a pre-modded two port card on eBay, but the sale was rejected by the seller (tariffs I think) and the only similar cards sold domestically didn’t have the VRM mod and were explicitly described as not working with the QS.

The Rabbit Hole Computing PCI/SATA Hard Card is kind of pricey but it implements a circuit design which avoids this problem, and comes with a 256GB SSD preinstalled. So I ended up flashing one of those and it actually works really darn well.

Installed the card, ran the Seritek Flasher posted here, and rebooted. Took like five minutes. Good old patched Drive Setup found and initialized the onboard SSD and I was off to the races.

 

[obsolete]

Glad to hear you had good results with the RHC card. There's some info on which regulator to swap on flashed Adaptec 1210SA cards in the main SIL3112 flashing thread. Not sure if the exact same part would work for you since your generic card may use a different footprint for the regulator, but it's worth looking into.

 

[jovianartifact]

So it turns out the card and its design are mostly to blame. Something about the way the cheap cards handle initialization or something - different voltages have to be available at different times and the QS G4 kinda freaks out.

The four port card I have, has a VRM bodged onto it that makes it work, but even that can be hit or miss apparently. (And the four port cards only work with OSX, as a rule.)

My solution: I tried to buy a pre-modded two port card on eBay, but the sale was rejected by the seller (tariffs I think) and the only similar cards sold domestically didn’t have the VRM mod and were explicitly described as not working with the QS.

The Rabbit Hole Computing PCI/SATA Hard Card is kind of pricey but it implements a circuit design which avoids this problem, and comes with a 256GB SSD preinstalled. So I ended up flashing one of those and it actually works really darn well.

Installed the card, ran the Seritek Flasher posted here, and rebooted. Took like five minutes. Good old patched Drive Setup found and initialized the onboard SSD and I was off to the races.

RHC makes a SATA card? I looked at their site and didn't see one...

 

[obsolete]

RHC makes a SATA card? I looked at their site and didn't see one...

This is it: https://shop.rabbitholecomputing.com/products/sata-pci-hard-card

 

[jovianartifact]

SICK ty