Power Mac G4 MDD and the USB 2.0 chip

[Dandu]

I have found a Power Mac near me, i will try to buy it.

 

[chriscarruthers]

I wonder if perhaps the chip is there for the AirPort Extreme + Bluetooth? That's another distinguishing feature of the FW800s compared to all other G4s.

 

[greystash]

Any other side effects of downgrading?

Because if not, it almost seems like a no-brainer as you gain OS9 support.

I have a downgraded FW800, I think the only downside was that the FW800 ports were recognised as FW400 (maybe only on OS9, i can't remember), but I never actually tested that. It's been running nicely for many years without issue.

 

[croissantking]

I wonder if perhaps the chip is there for the AirPort Extreme + Bluetooth? That's another distinguishing feature of the FW800s compared to all other G4s.

Oh they probably needed an extra internal USB port for Bluetooth. AirPort Extreme would be a PCI device.

I have a downgraded FW800, I think the only downside was that the FW800 ports were recognised as FW400 (maybe only on OS9, i can't remember), but I never actually tested that. It's been running nicely for many years without issue.

Would be good to check it FW800 still works under Mac OS X (and AirPort Extreme/BT, if you have those).