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Power Mac G4 IDE to SSD adapter?
- Thread starter tecneeq
- Start date
These are what OWC supplies with their IDE SSD kits, and they work fine:
I don't think you need anything particularly fancy.
I don't think you need anything particularly fancy.
Whoop posted in wrong thread sorry.
Hey- hoping someone can help.
I've got an 1999 PowerMac G4 Sawtooth with its original 20gb IDE drive that really sings. I purchased a new StarTech IDE2SAT2 red adapter with a retired 120GB Kingston SATA SSD (SH103S3/120G, SATA Rev 3.0 (6Gb/s), backward compatible to SATA Rev 2.0 (3Gb/s), SandForce® SF-2281) but when I install it, nothing happens. The Mac powers up, my screen gets a signal to wake it, but literally nothing after that. No chimes, no Mac on the screen. Just black.
At first I thought the drive was an issue, but I was able to plug it into a generic USB>SATA cable, connected to Mac (running off of the old IDE drive), and the Mac saw the SSD. I formatted it, and was able to clone the IDE>SSD. So my SSD should be good to go.
I tried unplugging the IDE CD and iOmega drives thinking for some reason they might be causing a conflict, but no, no change. I moved the SSD/StarTech adapter to the IDE cable that was previously connected to the CD. No difference.
I've tried all of the jumper settings on the StarTech, but I started with MASTER. No difference.
I tried plugging in a known-good 500GB Barracuda SATA HDD to the StarTech. Nothing.
I got on the line with StarTech chat support. (Wish I could get that hour back. The computer is older than any of their chat techs.) They suggested the adapter was defective and to swap it, which I did with the seller. (Staples). Got replacement today. Same issue.
I must be missing something. WTF?
I've got an 1999 PowerMac G4 Sawtooth with its original 20gb IDE drive that really sings. I purchased a new StarTech IDE2SAT2 red adapter with a retired 120GB Kingston SATA SSD (SH103S3/120G, SATA Rev 3.0 (6Gb/s), backward compatible to SATA Rev 2.0 (3Gb/s), SandForce® SF-2281) but when I install it, nothing happens. The Mac powers up, my screen gets a signal to wake it, but literally nothing after that. No chimes, no Mac on the screen. Just black.
At first I thought the drive was an issue, but I was able to plug it into a generic USB>SATA cable, connected to Mac (running off of the old IDE drive), and the Mac saw the SSD. I formatted it, and was able to clone the IDE>SSD. So my SSD should be good to go.
I tried unplugging the IDE CD and iOmega drives thinking for some reason they might be causing a conflict, but no, no change. I moved the SSD/StarTech adapter to the IDE cable that was previously connected to the CD. No difference.
I've tried all of the jumper settings on the StarTech, but I started with MASTER. No difference.
I tried plugging in a known-good 500GB Barracuda SATA HDD to the StarTech. Nothing.
I got on the line with StarTech chat support. (Wish I could get that hour back. The computer is older than any of their chat techs.) They suggested the adapter was defective and to swap it, which I did with the seller. (Staples). Got replacement today. Same issue.
I must be missing something. WTF?
I don’t think you’re missing anything. I have three of them (the StarTechs), coupled with various SSDs. They all work in my 6300 (OS 9.1). None work in my 6400, and they all do exactly as you describe.
I thought I’d be sneaky and boot the 6400 via a SCSI drive and then hot-plug the StarTech w/drive in while it was at the desktop, and the system freezes instantly. Did it with all three, just to verify. I came to the conclusion the newer Macs have something in firmware or other hardware that is incompatible, but I don’t really know for sure.
And like you, I tried all jumper settings.
I thought I’d be sneaky and boot the 6400 via a SCSI drive and then hot-plug the StarTech w/drive in while it was at the desktop, and the system freezes instantly. Did it with all three, just to verify. I came to the conclusion the newer Macs have something in firmware or other hardware that is incompatible, but I don’t really know for sure.
And like you, I tried all jumper settings.
StarTech works great in my PowerMac G4 350 AGP (Sawtooth). It can boot off a 120GB SSD. OS 9.2.2 can recognize over 128GB (240GB worked ok) but for a boot drive the boot ROM only recognizes less.
Drives:
- Kingston 240GB SSDNOW V300 (won't boot but works from within OS 9.2.2)
- Patriot 120GB Burst Elite (boots)
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I also have a StarTech adapter in my MDD G4 connected to a 120 GB SanDisk SSD. If I recall it is set to Cable Select.
The adapter is connected to the ATA 66 bus since at the time it was installed I had to remove the drive cage that would connect to the ATA 100 cable.
Works in OS 9 and Tiger.
I also have a couple of cheap SATA-IDE adapters from AliExpress, but haven’t had a chance to try them in the MDD. They have a completely different form factor, so it would only work on the ATA 66 IDE connector on the logic board.
The adapter is connected to the ATA 66 bus since at the time it was installed I had to remove the drive cage that would connect to the ATA 100 cable.
Works in OS 9 and Tiger.
I also have a couple of cheap SATA-IDE adapters from AliExpress, but haven’t had a chance to try them in the MDD. They have a completely different form factor, so it would only work on the ATA 66 IDE connector on the logic board.
