The Sonnet Card Drivers Thread

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Was looking at info about the Crescendo/PBPB/G3/466/1M and found a Driver CD in a box copyrighted 2001 when I bought it new in 2005.

Sonnet Processor Upgrade Card Software


Read Me Notes
Updated: January 19, 2004


General Information
Notes: For a more thorough explanation of the software components installed by this installer, refer to the ÒLearning About the SoftwareÓ chapter of the installation manual, or choose ÒCustom InstallÓ from the pop-up menu of the installer and click on an information button, designated with an ÒIÓ, on the right side of the Custom Install screen.


If you have altered the name (e.g., added spaces to the file name) of a previously installed version of Crescendoª, Sonnet Processor Upgrade, or Encoreª extension, this installer will not automatically remove the previous version. You must manually remove it from your extensions folder.


¥ This software is not required for the following processor upgrades:
Ð Crescendo/7200 (requires Crescendo/7200 software)
Ð Crescendo/WS
Ð Encore/ST G4
Ð Encore/ST G4 Duet
Ð Encore/ZIF G3
Ð HARMONi G3


¥ New in Version 2.1
- Adds support for 745x processor-based Encore/ZIF G4 (800 MHz and faster) processor upgrade cards In Power Macintosh¨ G3 Blue & White and Power Mac¨ G4 (PCI Graphics) systems.


¥ New in Version 2.0.3
- Adds support for Encore/ZIF G4 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 1.0 GHz processor upgrade cards in Beige Power Macintosh G3 computers.
- Fixes a bug which caused Apple System Profiler to report the incorrect CPU speed for 745x processor-based products.


¥ New in Version 2.0.2
Ð Fixes a bug in which 7410 processor-based Encore/ZIF G4 processor upgrade cards did not work correctly with Virtual PC 4.x when the card is installed in a Beige Power Macintosh G3 system.


¥ New in Version 2.0.1
Ð Adds support for the Crescendo/PCI G4 700 MHz/1M processor upgrade card.
Ð Fixes a bug affecting the video digitizer used in Power Macintosh 75/76/85/8600 series computers (addresses America Online 5.0 and Apple Video Player issues, in particular).
Ð Adds support in Metronomeª to accurately report processor type with Crescendo/PCI G4 800 MHz/1M and Crescendo/PCI G4 700 MHz/1M processor upgrade cards.


¥ New in Version 2.0
Ð Adds support for the Crescendo/PCI G4 800 MHz/1M processor upgrade card.
Ð Adds support for the L3 cache on the Crescendo/PCI G4 800/1M processor upgrade card.
Ð Adds support for the Crescendo/PCI G3 500 MHz/512K processor upgrade card.
Ð Adds L3 cache size/speed display line to Metronome (displayed only when L3 cache present on processor upgrade card).


¥ New in Version 1.4.8
Ð Adds support for the Crescendo/PB G3 466/1M processor upgrade card.
Ð Removes temperature display from Metronome, as temperature readings from new processors could not be reported accurately.


¥ New in Version 1.4.7
Ð Fixes an issue that prevented the installation of the Power Macintosh G3 Firmware Patch during Crescendo/Encore software installation in Power Macintosh G3 Blue & White computers.


¥ New in Version 1.4.6
Ð Replaces ÒSonnet G4 Enabler 9Ó with ÒSonnet Processor Enabler,Ó which is compatible with System 7 through Mac OS¨ 9.1. It is required for G4 AltiVecª support on pre-Blue & White Power Macintosh computers, and improves AltiVec compatibility with some programs, such as Virtual PCª 4.x*. Depending on your software and Macintosh model, Easy Install may add ÒSonnet Processor EnablerÓ to the System Folder.  
Ð Fixes extremely slow performance with Virtual PCª 4 and the Crescendo/NuBus G3 card*. Note: Requires version 4.0.2 of Virtual PCª.


¥ New in Version 1.4.5
Ð Adds support for new Sonnet processor upgrades with Fortissimoª technology (bus-doubling).
Ð Adds system bus speed to Metronomeª display.
Ð Adds support for new processor upgrades with various backside (L2) cache ratios.
Ð Removes unnecessary patches of interrupts and guarded mode for Crescendo/L2 processor upgrades to increase stability and performance with sound and video.
Ð Restores support for original Crescendo/NuBus 604 processor upgrades and Crescendo/PCI G4 processor upgrades.
Ð Eliminates startup crashes when Sonnet extension loads, but no card is found.


¥ New in Version 1.4.4
Ð Removes ÒSonnet G4 Enabler 9Ó from Easy Install option,  because it is not compatible with Mac OS 9.0.4; Sonnet G3 and G4 cards run fine without this enabler. If you are developing AltiVec-enhanced software and need to see AltiVec registers in MacsBug, and you are using Mac OS 9 (not 9.0.4), you can install this enabler using the Custom Install option.
Ð Adds a space to the beginning of ÒSonnet Processor UpgradeÓ extension, enabling this extension to load earlier and to speed the boot process.


¥ New in Version 1.4.3
Ð Fixes Metronome to display correct temperature for processors faster than 400 MHz.
Ð Fixes a slowdown that could occur with Crescendo/NuBus processor upgrades and Mac OS 9.
Ð Unifies installer for Crescendo and Encore processor upgrades.


¥ New in Version 1.4.2
Ð Adds dynamic identification for Crescendo and Encore G3 and G4 processor upgrades.


¥ New in Version 1.4.1
Ð Changes Easy Install to Universal G3/G4 Install.
Ð Adds enhanced Mac OS 9 compatibility for Crescendo/NuBus processor upgrades.
Ð Eliminates occasional startup contention for Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades.


¥ New in Version 1.4
Ð Adds support for Crescendo/NuBus G4 processor upgrades.
Ð Adds support for Encore/ZIF G4 processor upgrades.
Ð Adds compatibility for Crescendo/NuBus cards and Mac OS 9.
Ð Fixes a problem that some Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades had in a Power Macintosh with maximum memory installed.


¥    New in Version 1.3.8
Ð Adds support for Crescendo/PCI G4 processor upgrades for PCI Macs. The Crescendo installer now installs a patch into the NVRAM (nonvolatile RAM) so the computer can boot up with a G4 installed. Crescendo G4 Enabler enables the new AltiVec libraries and MacsBug to use the G4 AltiVec acceleration on Mac OS 9.


¥    New in Version 1.3.7a
Ð Adds support for 500 MHz Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades.


¥    New in Version 1.3.7
Ð Fixes a boot problem with Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades.


¥    New in Version 1.3.6
Ð Fixes an incompatibility with Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades and Mac OS 8.6.


¥    New in Version 1.3.5
Ð Fixes a bug introduced in 1.3.4 that caused Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades to freeze in Power Mac 4400 and StarMax computers.


¥    New in Version 1.3.4
Ð Fixes a boot problem with Crescendo/L2 processor upgrades in Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh computers when the serial port was in use.
Ð New Installer.


¥    New in Version 1.3.3
Ð Adds support for Power Macintosh 4400, StarMax computers.
Ð Fixes a rare problem that caused a freeze when loading the extension before displaying the icon.


¥        New in Version 1.3.2
Ð Changes the installer interface.


¥    New in Version 1.2.8
Ð Adds support for Crescendo/L2 G3 processor upgrades.


¥ New in Version 1.2.7
Ð Adds support for Media 100 in PCI Macs.
Ð Adds support for TruVision Bravado¨, Targa¨ 1000, and Targa 2000 in PCI Macs.
Ð Adds support for Pinnacle Systems    DC20 Video Capture Card in PCI Macs.


¥ New in Version 1.2.5
Ð Adds support for Mac OS 8.5 in NuBus Macs.
Ð Improves support for NuBus video cards in NuBus Macs. Radius¨ and SuperMac¨ software require the Monitors Control Panel under Mac OS 8.x and later. The Monitors Control Panel version 7.5.6 is found in the Apple Extras folder.
Ð Adds support for Media 100 NuBus System in NuBus Macs.
Ð Adds support for Targa 2000 Video NuBus Video Capture Card in NuBus Macs.



¥ Some diagnostics applications, such as Apple Personal Diagnostics and Apple System Profiler, may not report correct CPU speed, bus speed or backside cache size.


¥ For Power Macintosh computers, the Sonnet Metronome utility reports processor type, processor speed, CPU bus speed, system bus speed, Level 1 cache size, L2 cache size/speed, and L3 cache size/speed.


¥ The latest software updates and online support files are available from the Sonnet web site at www.sonnettech.com/support/default.html.


* Virtual PC 4.x is not compatible with Crescendo/NuBus G4 processor upgrade cards.
___________________________________________________________________


Remember to register your software online at http://registration.sonnettech.com to be
informed of future upgrades and product releases.


Sonnet TechnologiesÕ Customer Service hours are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Time.


To Contact Sonnet Customer Service:
Online Support Form
http://supportform.sonnettech.com
Internet
www.sonnettech.com
E-Mail
support@sonnettech.com
Fax
1-949-457-6350
Phone
1-949-472-2772


=================================================================
Copyright © 1998 Sonnet Technologies, Inc. Revised 2004. All Rights Reserved. Sonnet, the Sonnet
logotype, Simply Fast, the Simply Fast logotype, Crescendo, Encore, Fortissimo, HARMONi, and Metronome are trademarks of Sonnet Technologies, Inc. Apple, Macintosh, and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
=================================================================

Just thought I'd share, has anyone got info to share on drivers for TEMPO/TANGO etc. boards from Sonnet?

 

[Alex]

Could you add a photo of the card you need software for? Please take photos of both sides of the card if possible. If it's too much trouble to uninstall the card, something from google image could suffice.

So it is a tempo/tabgo card from sonnet that you need software for correct? Redundant question I know.

It's funny that a few months ago I scraped the waybackmachine for sonnet stuff.

If you want I can make it all available to you on my private FTP server. Just let me via a PM and I'll give you read access to the whole lot.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

There a couple of online software repositories for any software/driver additions you have discovered. [] I'm not having trouble ATM.  Hopefully thermal compound will fix what's ailing my L2 boards.

It's the bugfix log/timeline info in the readme that I thought to post. Is sheds light upon the different problems Sonnet faced with combinations of Mac Models, OS, Firmware etc. over time. If there's a readme with an update later than 2004 for their accelerators I'd love to see it.

Driver bugfix logs for their other cards would be great content as well. A quick reference thread is what I'm doing here.

Haven't looked for my Tempo and TEMPOtrio drivers yet. Reading those logs pre-dating and post-dating the mass of incompatibility that was the TAM/6500/5500 Gazelle generation might be entertaining. What are the dates/revisions of the drivers you've found?

 

[Alex]

Haven't looked for my Tempo and TEMPOtrio drivers yet. Reading those logs pre-dating and post-dating the mass of incompatibility that was the TAM/6500/5500 Gazelle generation might be entertaining. What are the dates/revisions of the drivers you've found?

I don't know the dates. If you have a machine nearby you should be able to expand them.

 

[Timtheloon]

I know this thread is a bit old but I feel the title corresponds to my question ref sonnet drivers

Many moons ago I bought a box of various Mac OS CDs and in the box was a Sonnet Crescendo L2 processor card which at the time I could not use due to not having a compatible machine so I put it in a "Safe Place"

Last year I got my self a Power Mac 5500 which actually came with a Sonnet Crescendo L2 G3 400/512k processor upgrade and I was like this looks like the one that came with them OS CD's however when looking I could only find the CD's and not the processor card. it was an extremely good safe place

Well today (when not looking for it) I found it and surprisingly it works but still shows up as a G3 400.

The card states it is a Sonnet Crescendo 400/1M G4 however when I look online for a G4 version of this processor card I'm not finding any info on it, even the Sonnetech site doesn't show a G4 version of the card however if you read the manual it mentions the Sonnet G4 enabler 9 driver

Tomorrow I'll be revisiting this but I don't remember the G4 enabler file in the normal installation files.

has any one else come across a G4 l2 card before?

 

[Phipli]

I know this thread is a bit old but I feel the title corresponds to my question ref sonnet drivers

Many moons ago I bought a box of various Mac OS CDs and in the box was a Sonnet Crescendo L2 processor card which at the time I could not use due to not having a compatible machine so I put it in a "Safe Place"

Last year I got my self a Power Mac 5500 which actually came with a Sonnet Crescendo L2 G3 400/512k processor upgrade and I was like this looks like the one that came with them OS CD's however when looking I could only find the CD's and not the processor card. it was an extremely good safe place

Well today (when not looking for it) I found it and surprisingly it works but still shows up as a G3 400.

The card states it is a Sonnet Crescendo 400/1M G4 however when I look online for a G4 version of this processor card I'm not finding any info on it, even the Sonnetech site doesn't show a G4 version of the card however if you read the manual it mentions the Sonnet G4 enabler 9 driver

Tomorrow I'll be revisiting this but I don't remember the G4 enabler file in the normal installation files.

has any one else come across a G4 l2 card before?

Only ones I've heard of were modified. If it says it is a G3 in the OS, it probably is.

Do you have a photo of the label on the card itself?

Sonnet sold cards in other formats that were G4s and sometimes their boxes say G3/G4, but I've not seen it wrong on a card before.

 

[Timtheloon]

When I look into it tomorrow I'll take it out again and put it side by side with the other and upload the pictures here. (Having a drink tonight so no touching "Retro" when drinking )

It does intrigue me that the Manual for these mentions the Sonnet G4 enabler 9 which to me will make the Mac see it has a G4

 

[Phipli]

When I look into it tomorrow I'll take it out again and put it side by side with the other and upload the pictures here. (Having a drink tonight so no touching "Retro" when drinking )

It does intrigue me that the Manual for these mentions the Sonnet G4 enabler 9 which to me will make the Mac see it has a G4

The manual might cover multiple card families. The installers mostly did.

 

[Timtheloon]

here is the manual

 

[Phipli]

here is the manual

Note how it names cards on that page for other machines? Including the blue and white G3, and 9600 etc? It is talking about other types of card, or they forget to delete this bit from the manual. The "G4 Firmware Patch" is only for the B&W mac, so it is fairly reasonable that others in the list aren't for L2 Sonnet upgrades either (the Nonvolatile RAM Patch certainly isn't as it lists machines that take the "PCI" upgrade"). The front cover of the manual only says "G3".



Also, no G4 L2 listed here :

Sonnet Technologies Mac-Compatible Upgrade Cards: EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for all Sonnet Technologies PowerPC upgrade cards.

everymac.com

 

[Timtheloon]

OK well thanks for your help, as you know I'm new to classic mac so its a big learning curve for me.

I'm primarily an Amiga User but I'm expanding my retro, I now have a variety of computers and consoles just need a bigger man cave!

I seen in one of your other post in another thread that you mention about not mentioning a certain sonnet card due to getting lots of PM's form Amiga Users, I found this funny because I have one in my Amiga 4000 and its amazing but that's a different subject

 

[Phipli]

OK well thanks for your help has you know I'm new to classic mac so its a big learning curve for me.

No problem I see from your profile that you're UK based - a lot of us are here

I'm primarily an Amiga User but I'm expanding my retro I now have a variety of computers and consoles just need a bigger man cave!

I'm not hugely familiar with Amigas, I do have an A500 Mini set up to boot into Workbench, but have mostly just played Simon the Sorcerer on it, then rage quit when it corrupted my save. A fair few of us have mixed interest, I'm mostly Macs, with a few Acorns. I have a few different 8 bit machines, most needing some repair, BBCs, a ZX Spectrum, C64, Atari 65xe (I think?). Some people here are fairly new to macs, others have had them since they were released. I'm somewhere in the middle.

5500 is quite an unusual first mac, but a good machine. I have its sister machine, the 6500, as I'm not a huge fan of all-in-ones. The monitors are big, heavy and unreliable - I'd sooner have an LCD any day of the week!

I seen in one of your other post in another thread that you mention about not mentioning a certain sonnet card due to getting lots of PM's form Amiga Users, I found this funny because I have one in my Amiga 4000 and its amazing but that's a different subject

You're pretty lucky to have one - the 7200 that they were specifically designed for weren't a particularly stable or popular machine - people didn't love them enough to spend money on them and buy the upgrade. The reason for the comment is a few years back we had a few Amiga users trying to pull the wool over our eyes. They'd turn up here casually asking did anyone have one of those pointless, worthless upgrade cards... hoping that we hadn't noticed the prices they were going for.

Which model do you have? The 400, 500 or the 400 G4?

 

[Timtheloon]

It is the 7200 G3 400/1M, I'm terrible when it comes to Amigas, I have a few, the others have the Apocalypse cards which they managed to get working with the Amiga because of how hard the sonnets are to acquire. Now we struggle to find the RAMIX PCIPMC carrier boards to use the Apocalypse cards there is always something which spoils our fun. I find, when they make something work with Amiga It make the prices skyrocket.

I was very Lucky with my Sonnet I found it on eBay for less than £100 when they only just started testing the Sonnet PPC card working on the Amiga.

Amongst all my Amigas I have a a quad core G5 power mac, Acorn RISC 600 PC, my original Atari STE, I had this before my Amiga 600, Amstrad 6128, Spectrum 48K, C16 +4 C64, C128, Atari 800XL, & a BBC.

Consoles: Master system I, Mega drive II with Mega CD II, Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox, Philips CDi, NES, SNES, N64, WII, WII U, GameCube, PS1,2,3,4,5

Handhelds: Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS, PSP, Vita, Lynx and Game Gear.

 

[Timtheloon]

Little update from me

Here is pictures of the 2 cards I have side by side

I did notice the serial number on both starts BG3 so maybe the wrong sticker was stuck on it?

the major difference I see is the component on one side (Capacitors I believe) and the Xilinx chip has a different version stated on the sticker that's about it.

 

[Phipli]

Little update from me

Here is pictures of the 2 cards I have side by side

I did notice the serial number on both starts BG3 so maybe the wrong sticker was stuck on it?

the major difference I see is the component on one side that's about it.

View attachment 70936

Weird. The only way to know for sure is to poke registers in the CPU, or remove the heatsink. I don't recommend removing the heatsink because sonnet used cheap steel screws into an aluminium heatsink.

Where did you see it say G3 in software? What does Newer Gauge Pro say?

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/gauge-pro

 

[Timtheloon]

In System Profiler and metronome State it has a G3 processor

Ill try Gauge pro now give me a sec

 

[Phipli]

In System Profiler and metronome State it has a G3 processor

Does the Sonnet splash screen say G3 or G4 during boot?

The issue is that you can manually set the CPU ID and reporting string with a nvramrc script. Common if the computer's ROM isn't aware of the CPU model to make it report properly for upgrades, but if you got it wrong, it would report wrong.

You'd have to check the contents of NVRAM to see if it was being patched. Which is faff.

 

[Timtheloon]

Yep must be a G3 it's an upgrade anyway lol with the 1MB L2 cache

 

[Timtheloon]

Does the Sonnet splash screen say G3 or G4 during boot?

The issue is that you can manually set the CPU ID and reporting string with a nvramrc script. Common if the computer's ROM isn't aware of the CPU model to make it report properly for upgrades, but if you got it wrong, it would report wrong.

You'd have to check the contents of NVRAM to see if it was being patched. Which is faff.

The sonnet splash screen states G3 during boot

 

[Phipli]

The sonnet splash screen states G3 during boot

Yeah, I'd assume it is a G3 with the wrong sticker because for it to be a G4 would be one improbable thing... And for a G4 to report as a G3 is a second improbable thing.

In a practical sense in OS9, the G3 and G4 perform basically the same. The G4s more advanced features (like altivec) need software designed to use them, and there wasn't a huge amount that did.