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Making a G4 FW800 OS9 bootable.

The AGP card always appears as a "PCI" card in the Profiler. As long as the video card is in the AGP slot, it should be able to sleep fine. Byrd is right; check USB devices.

 
Hi,

Hmm... this sounds familiar.

While it's possible that a USB device could cause it not to sleep, in my experience with an Nvidia GeForce 4MX on my Quicksilver, it won't sleep unless the proper drivers are in place.

When you go to the Monitors control panel, does it list various resolutions for your display, or only one?

If only one, the missing drivers are the problem. The OS 9.2.2 you installed may be working simply because it didn't have the drivers included in the package (I've found that images of OS 9.2.2 which are intended solely for use in Classic mode, it doesn't include much in the way of display drivers (presumably because they're not necessary in Classic mode)); OS 9.2.2 will still work just fine without them, of course (although I've found that (re)drawing of UI elements is slow at higher resolutions (it seems to default to the monitor's native resolution when there's no drivers)).

I think you can download the Nvidia drivers from Other World Computing (filename is nvidia3.1.sit, I think).

I'm glad it's working otherwise, though! Good job!!

c

 
If I am not mistaken, if you do NOT have one of the original MDD video cards installed, OS 9 will go wonky. Mine did with my 256MB nVidia FX5200. Mine would only display at 640x480? (I can't remember) and 256 colors. I put back in the original Radeon 9000 Pro, and it was fine.

EDIT - Wait... didn't the MDD come with the GeForce 4MX as an option?

 
Ha! CC_333 wins the prize! Monitors shows only 1024x768 as an option, so even if it's not the sleep problem, I definitely need a driver update.

I know USB devices can cause the problem, in particular my thumb drive, but I've already dealt with that one, so I'm pretty sure it's the video card.

Update: The driver in question is called the Apple NVIDIA Driver and it was published by Apple. Apple NVIDIA Driver 3.0 v1.1 (Apr, 2002) can still be had from Apple's website.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1150

Update 2: The installer won't run on my machine, however.

 
Ha! CC_333 wins the prize!
I thought so! The symptoms you were describing seemed very familiar.
Update 2: The installer won't run on my machine, however.
That's because you need version 3.5 of the drivers. 3.0 v1.1 (Apr, 2002) is meant to update older versions of OS 9 drivers on older models of computer using older models of Nvidia cards. The card from the MDD (particularly the 2003 model) needs version 3.5 or else it won't work. I speak from experience, because I spent hours trying to find those drivers when I got that card (and it was actually for a Sawtooth model, not Quicksilver. My mistake. However, the information and experience still apply.)
There's actually a mention of a similar problem (with a link to the drivers) on this forum over here.

c

 
The Netboot image I mentioned on the previous page has 3.5.x nvidia drivers. You would probably have had the system up and running in one go if you'd used that.

But then you'd have missed out on the journey ;)

 
The AGP card always appears as a "PCI" card in the Profiler. As long as the video card is in the AGP slot, it should be able to sleep fine. Byrd is right; check USB devices.
Just to be technical, that's because AGP *IS* PCI, just with some extensions and a faster-pumped bus.

 
All of you are being super helpful. I couldn't ask for a better community.

The 3.5 drivers dropped into the system folder and were recognized as extensions and placed accordingly. They do not cause a crash.

They also don't do any good. Still limited to 1024x768 in the Monitors control panel, still got fans running during sleep, still have a message in the system profiler that I have a PCI card incompatible with low-power mode. I also verified that it is a GeForce4 MX.

Trying the NetBoot now.

Update: After I add Disk Copy to the OS 9 "install" currently on the MDD.

Update 2: NetBoot 9 System folder = flashing question mark. I'll try a couple different MacOS ROM files and see if any of them make a difference.

 
Hmm the Mac OS ROM is only 9.6.1. I must have been confusing it with the eMac disc as I could have sworn it was 10.2.x. Maybe drop in a newer one.

 
Yeah, I actually dropped in the new ROM before I tried it the first time. I'll keep fiddling, but unless I can get my hand on better disks, I'm about to call this a failed experiment.

 
The best disc is probably the eMac one trag posted the link to previously. 9.2.2, ROM 10.1.1, ATI and nVidia drivers (3.5.2 for the latter). Unless you can get the actual restore disc set for a June 2003 MDD.

 
Okay, so I played around some more and got the NetBoot image to work. Same deal in the monitors control panel, 1024x768 only. I did test my copy of Syndicate, and it runs at 640x480 in the middle of the screen with black bars all around (although the menu bar stays at the top where it belongs). This is the exact same performance I get on my 700Mhz eMac running on a clean install from its original disks.

This is actually just the performance I want, graphics-wise. So since color depth is adjustable to 256 colors and the software will run low-res programs properly, I may be fine.

Still have the sleep problem, though, even with the NetBoot system folder. So . . .

The way I see it, I can make this work and continue playing around and collating system folders to get a "best" build.

My other options are:

1) find an inexpensive Quicksilver or equivalent that I can run from a retail version of 9.1 or 9.2.1. This solution is attractive for several reasons.

2) find a set of original June 2003 MDD disks. This also is attractive, but perhaps harder to accomplish. Also not guaranteed to do what I want since my machine isn't, after all, a pure June 2003 MDD.

3) Try getting an older graphics card like a GeFrorce2 and see if that solves the sleep problem. An interesting experiment, but not as desirable a solution as the other two.

I'm definitely going to look into beefing up my records in regards to what exactly went into the various System 9 builds. This is information from which we could all benefit. More on that later.

And I'll keep you all posted on this project. Software tests coming next week.

 
Just to be technical, that's because AGP *IS* PCI, just with some extensions and a faster-pumped bus.
True, but it seems more like Apple just wanted to gloss over the differences between slots rather than be pedantic about the underlying bus protocol.

 
Software testing update:

Oni

MDD 1.25Ghz SP G4

OS 9.2.2: Ran installer. App started, opening cutscenes played. When it cut to the main menu, all I had was a black screen. Music played, but had to force quit. Couldn't see the cursor after the force quit, and had to randomly click around the screen to hit the quit button. Could not play.

OS 10.4 Tiger: App runs just fine in classic mode. No opening cutscenes, but menu shows up full-screen, and the game runs extremely smoothly with maxed-out graphics settings. (1024x768, 32-bit color). Appears to be a bug when coordinating keyboard and mouse movement that leaves me running in a straight line. Also got a hard crash after about ten minutes of playing.

Wallstreet PDQ 300Mhz G3

OS 9.2.2: Ran installer. App refused to launch. OpenGL error. Couldn't get the hardware acceleration to work. I assume it's a problem with the RageProLT.

eMac 700Mhz G4

OS 9.2.2: Had trouble getting the CD mount, and when I did, the installer crashed. I think it may be residual problems from the time sitting outside and the soaking the CD drive received. Will try installing over AppleTalk and report back.

- - - - - - - -

More to come.

Also, in use, the MDD really does feel like a machine designed for OSX. In OSX, I have the ability to adjust both color depth and resolution on the monitor. In OS 9, I can only adjust color depth. In OSX, the machine sleeps properly. In OS 9, the fan never stops. In OSX, the CD eject button on the keyboard works. In OS9, it doesn't. Some of these issues are probably fixable. But in OSX, they just work.

But at this point, I'm curious to see how high-end OS 9 apps like Oni perform on slower G4 machines like the 700Mhz eMac. If performance is good enough, I would probably recommend that a person looking for an OS 9 box choose something designed and optimized for OS9. One clue would be a machine with a button on the CD door to open the drive. That would mean anything pre-Quicksilver.

Thoughts?

 
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