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PPC 601 Card in my Quadra 700, ISSUES.

uniserver

Well-known member
I just got this mega cool Quadra 700 from hap. Its got one of these Apple PPC 601 Cards in it.

Maxed vram / 20ram

Ok as long as the pram battery is out of it. it will boot up, even with the powermac like apple TONE.

This card is the Apple PPC 601 Card, 50 mhz

ALL is well… Boots up 8.1 real fast… with one of these 10k HD's in there…

Fantastic! Even ran Tech Tool pro… All Tests pass! - with the PPC card.

Here is my issue… IF i install a fresh pram battery. After the first initial boot up…

(The next start up from a shut down)

Its like the PPC card shuts its self off or something… or the Quadra 700 main board ignores it and just boots up with the onboard 68k 040 cpu.

I can't get the PPC Card to come back and work again Till, I pull the pram battery and wait about 20-30 seconds…

then PPC card is on and PowerMac Bong comes on, and boots with PPC card.

This issue is kind of strange because even on apple site, it is not possible to toggle back and forth between 68k/PPC card. Unless i had the DAYSTAR version… this version i have here is Apple version

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA31353?viewlocale=en_US

Apple PowerPC DayStar

Feature: Upgrade Card PowerPro 601

-------- ------------ ------------

RISC processor PowerPC 601 PowerPC 601

Processor Speed(s) 66 MHz 66 MHz, 80 MHz*

Restart with 68040 No Yes

is there some kind of extension i need to install or something?

any help would be fantastic… i mean otherwise this machine works fantastic.

just oiled up the floppy drive is working good… Installed one of Trags 10/100 Nubus Nic's It's ready to run!!!!!!!!!

- only if i could get the PPC card to say on, /w pram battery installed.

- i suppost i could just leave the pram battery out… but...

here are a couple pictures.

IMG_0801.JPG

IMG_0802.JPG

 

uniserver

Well-known member
ok i am really confused lol

so to verify…

This 50mhz PowerPc card in the 700 does need an enabler for MacOS 8.1?

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA28948

I installed the PowerPC601 control panel,(from the 8.1 CD) and it says that its not for this computer when i try to open it.

Also the fact that, this PPC CARD is Turning its self off when a pram battery is installed kind of leads me to believe.

They could have probably of created an extension that would allow you to TOGGLE between booting 68K or PPC Card.

When apple says here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA31353?viewlocale=en_US

Apple PowerPC Upgrade Card:

Restart with 68040 === > No

 

uniserver

Well-known member
Crap, i found this:

http://apple.doit.wisc.edu/servicesource/ss/resources/systemenablerchart.html

Power Macintosh Computers

Upgrade [a] PowerPC Upgrade Card Enabler 1.0.1

[a] No system enabler is required with this Macintosh with System 7.5 installed.

i have 8.1 installed… well i guess it looks like i do have some kind of freeky hardware issue…

Well looks like i am going to have to take the heat gun to the q700 board and remove the rom's :)

Maybe this will (make) the PPC Card always work…. Grrrrrrrrrr. [}:)] ]'> :?: :lol:

 

uniserver

Well-known member
ok i think i may have found something here looking at LEM:

http://lowendmac.com/quadra/power-mac-upgrade-card.html

Details, Apple

requires "fat" System 7.1 to 8.1

requires Apple "Power Macintosh Card" control panel

CPU: 66 MHz PowerPC 601

CPU speed: runs at twice speed of '040 CPU

40 MHz in Centris 610

50 MHz in Centris 650, Quadra 610, 700, 900

66 MHz in Quadra 650, 800, 950

reports of successful 80 MHz performance in a Quadra 950 with its bus chipped to 80 MHz

ROM: Apple PowerPC ROMs

RAM: uses memory on computer motherboard

L2 cache: 1 MB

i am thinking maybe i installed the wrong control panel. I do remember there was 2 , one said something about a "PPC 601" the other did say "PowerMacintosh Card" guess i gotta play with it some more.

This also tells me that if I OC the q700 cpu I can get more speed outta the PPC card as well :)

 

uniserver

Well-known member
ok finally ,

yes i was installing the wrong Control Panel Item!

wow.

if i would have only read the little information blips.

this crap happens when you are pressed for time and never have any of your own.

Screen Shot 2013-12-12 at 7.09.06 PM.png

Screen Shot 2013-12-12 at 7.09.20 PM.png

it still randomly freezes up when copying large files, sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't crash,

i think its a ram issue.. maybe PSU, haven't checked voltages.

 

CelGen

Well-known member
I had the same issue in a 950 running 7.6.

Large file transfers with the PPC card enabled caused the machine to lock up.

 

uniserver

Well-known member
i would like to say the this 50Mhz PPC card is night and day… it makes the machine so much faster!

I need to run some benchmarks. - and figure out why it locks up when copying big hunks o stuff 100-300mb's+ over scsi.

 

uniserver

Well-known member
it was the ram.

Its a rock solid beast now!

the only thing that annoys me slightly is the data transfers top out at 120kb/s

witch is still not bad i guess … for a half duplex 10bt NIC… but this card is a 10/100

pretty sure its linked at 100. maybe nubus is acting slow? who knows…

copied 600 megs over to the hd 5 times over (from the apple scsi cd-rom) -no lock up's

 
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