Powerbook 540c and Apple 4x CD Rom drive

[Dimitris1980]

Hello,

i disconnected my Apple 4x scsi cd rom drive from Macintosh LC475 and i connected it on my Powerbook 540c via the Apple Powerbook HDI-30 adaptor. On my LC475 was working perfectly but on my Powerbook when i connect the adaptor and turn it on, the machine does not boot, a symbol with number 2 comes on screen. Do i have to do some adjustment in order to make my Powerbook continue to boot? I have System 7.1 installed.

Thank you

Dimitris from Greece

 

[Dimitris1980]

 

[Franklinstein]

Something is forcing your PowerBook into SCSI Disk Mode. Do you have one of those L-shaped HDI/SCSI Dock adapters with the switch on it? If so, make sure the switch is set to OFF and restart your PowerBook.

 

[bibilit]

IIRC two HDI-30 cables were available, one for connecting a SCSI device, the other to enable SCSI Disck mode...you probably have the second one.

 

[Dimitris1980]

I switch the adaptor to the off position, the powermac boots normally but i cannot see any cd on desktop. I have Dark Seed original cd inside the cd rom drive

 

[bibilit]

If you have Lido/ Scsiprobe or any similar software, i will give it a try and use the "mount" option if the CD rom is present in the chain.

If not, you have a hardware or termination issue.

Have you a terminator for your drive ?

 

[Paralel]

Also, have you tried loading the appropriate driver software?

 

[Franklinstein]

I switch the adaptor to the off position, the powermac boots normally but i cannot see any cd on desktop. I have Dark Seed original cd inside the cd rom drive

View attachment 25603

Judging by this picture, the CDROM does not have a terminator installed. A terminator is required for SCSI devices to operate correctly. You will need an external terminator for this drive because it does not offer a switch for internal termination. 

Check the SCSI ID selector on the CDROM drive and make sure it is not set to 0 or 2.

Also you will need the Apple CD ROM extension installed in order to use the CDROM drive.

 

[Dimitris1980]

Greetings again.

After two years I decided again to pick up my PowerBook 540c from the basement. I tried again the external 4x apple scsi cd rom with the same above results. But today it seems that i solved my problem. I searched my basement for cables and adapters and i found another one scsi cable like the above. Well, almost the same. It's shorter and it's apple cable, not a general scsi cable like the above. Tested with success Dark Seed 2.