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IIfx SCSI2SD

LaPorta

Well-known member
Hey everyone,

My IIfx still has its 5.25" original HD, and it works really well. I know that someday, indeed, it will die, and I was wondering if there is any craziness necessary as far as getting a SCSI2SD to work with the finicky IIfx SCSI bus? Have others had success without issue?
 

joshc

Well-known member
Yeah, works fine in mine although with the video card I was using in the IIfx, which was setting its resolution in PRAM, it was doing a weird thing where the SCSI2SD would unmount after a reboot after setting the screen resolution.
 

TimHD

Well-known member
Yeah, works fine in mine although with the video card I was using in the IIfx, which was setting its resolution in PRAM, it was doing a weird thing where the SCSI2SD would unmount after a reboot after setting the screen resolution.
What version SCSI2SD are you using and how did you fix that issue. My SCSI2SD in my iifx suddenly stopped working when I swapped some boards around (possibly including a video board or two) and have not been able to get it working again… Put original cards back in, but still nothing. Did you have to do anything to get it working again, or did it right itself?
 

joshc

Well-known member
SCSI2SD v5.2 I think. It was a fairly repeatable 'bug'. I think I ended up using a different video card. SCSI Probe can be used to remount an unmounted SCSI volume.
 

ktkm

Well-known member
I use version 5.1 in my IIfx without any problem. The only issues I have encountered were together with a Jackhammer.
 

TimHD

Well-known member
Has anyone gotten a V.6 to work in a IIfx. I noticed that nowadays the list of compatible/tested macs the sites selling them seem to be quite restrictive. I know the v.5 earlier models seem to be far more reliable but these latter ones seem more restricted? Anyone have a clear understanding why these aren’t just working as bare bone SCSI drives.
 

Cory5412

Daring Pioneer of the Future
Staff member
@joethezombie has, although I believe using either an SEIV or a Jackhammer.

More at https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/cheap-ide-on-scsi-bus-solution.32521/post-349069

I don't know if the IIfx's onboard SCSI is good enough to really merit a v6 unless you just happen to want it, but if it is: the SCSI2SD v6 wins every performance race I've ever seen if you put a good enough SD card in it.

As far as I know there's nothing stopping an SCSI2SD from working in any given Mac, and in terms of Big Overarching Problems, I don't think I've seen anything solidly documented except for individual people having problems with individual configurations. Basically, nothing different from regular period hardware, except with the added uncertainty that these machines are ~20-40 years old now.
 

LaPorta

Well-known member
Appreciate the input, Cory. I’ve heard the IIfx SCSI bus was finicky and could even be damaged by improper configuration, so I’m glad to hear that this has not generally been the case.
 
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