Replacement HD in SE/30?

[BishopBlougram]

I finally managed to find time to tinker with my SE/30 yesterday. Got it hooked up to my WiFi (via the Netgear N300 extender) and enjoyed some online chess.

I have a recapped motherboard, which I will switch out for the original one when I've worked up the courage to do so (poor manual dexterity and no spatial skills make for a poor DIY combination), but I was wondering about the hard drive. I have a 1 GB HD; not sure about the vintage, but maybe mid-'90s. It works like a charm, but I realize that it mightfail any time. Would you guys recommend I replace it with the SD/SCSI adaptor? Once I've opened it up I might as well do as much as possible as I don't fancy going in there more than is absolutely necessary.

 

[ben68]

The SCSI2SD costs about $80 and will last 10 to 100 times longer than a HD. They make a "50pin IDC female to SCSI-1 DB25 Adapter" that I assume is a way to connect it to the external SCSI port - that seems like the best way to go - so you can share that virtual HD with any DB25 SCSI port.

 

[BishopBlougram]

Mounting the SD/SCSI as an external drive sounds like a great idea. If so, I could backup my current HD and -- if/when it fails -- simply boot from the SD/SCSI.

1. Do I need Basilisk to partition the card or can I use a PC utility that creates empty HFV volumes? (I remember using one for Mini vMac 10 years ago)

2. What SCSI2SD version would you recommend? I am not sure if I need USB connectivity.

Cheers,

BishopBlougram

 

[Sunoo]

You can format the drive with your Mac itself.

 

[tanaquil]

There is a detailed SCSI2SD setup guide elsewhere on this site (stickied under Peripherals). I recently set one up. I found the setup process fiddly but it worked in the end. I just got my external SCSI connector, so hoping to test out that functionality soon, but so far it works well as an internal drive in my test bench IIsi.

I didn't need Basilisk. I ended up doing all the initial setup with my Windows 10 PC and the formatting in my IIsi. My MacBook Pro (running Sierra) probably would have worked too except that the USB setup didn't seem to like my USB to USB C dongle.

If you want to use the drive externally as well as internally, the FAQ recommends sticking with the 5.x version rather than 6.x. I got a 5.0b version and it is fine.

 

[ben68]

I haven't done it, but what you do is set up a 2GB or less disk image on your PC - with all the software you want to run saved on it - then use a disk image writer (win32diskimager) or dd or some other to write the image to the SD. Once it's running on the Mac, you can expand the partition or create new partitions to use the rest of the SD capacity. HFSExplorer can write files to the disk image, but I think it's better to get the image running in Basilisk or Mini vMac first. Mini vMac is easier to set up and use, but you're limited to System 7 or below, because it only emulates a Mac Plus. There are a couple of good Youtubes on how to set up Basilisk - it's not as easy, but it's more configurable - you can even navigate your PC files from within a Basilisk session. 

From what I've read, version 5 is the card to get. 

I'll likely do this in the near future and expect to write it all up. Right now, I'm waiting on a Floppy Emu to arrive.

I guess you can fool with vintage Macs without using an emulator, but the emulators make things so much easier - and can be used for file management without the need for a bridge Mac.

Here's an extensive writeup - I don't think this is stickied.

 

[tanaquil]

Here's an extensive writeup - I don't think this is stickied.

That's the writeup I was talking about - it's the top article pinned in Peripherals! 

I tend to prefer to build out my suite of vintage applications on a physical mac rather than in an emulator but I have the luxury of several physical vintage macs, zip drives, etc. I am looking forward to being able to use the SCSI2SD to move files around even more easily.

Good luck!

 

[BishopBlougram]

Thanks for the link!

I guess you can fool with vintage Macs without using an emulator, but the emulators make things so much easier - and can be used for file management without the need for a bridge Mac.

Yes, I used to play around with Basilisk and (Mini) vMac -- even with Excecutor back in the day. But with my SE/30 hooked up to my home network, I think FTP is the way to go for file transfers. (When I first got the computer I installed System 7.5 using one physical floppy. Things have definitely improved.  )

It would be great if I could partition/configure SCSI2SD into a format that my Mac will recognize without having to install Basilisk, but I might end up installing it anyway.

 

[SE30_Neal]

Just a mention the 1GB drives you have in there is circa 1996+ From a later/higher spec machine and a lot more reliable than the older quantum drives, maybe keep the drive in and use the scsi-2-sd on the back as well  why, because you can!

 

[dochilli]

I use a 8 GB SD-card and installed 4 drives with 2 GB. The SCSI2SD was configured with windows 7 and the usb cable. Then I formated the drives with Lido 7 (partitioning). This worked for the SE, SE/30, Classic, Classic II. The Plus needs a special installation process that is described in the above link. Then you can get a bootable SCSI2SD for the Plus.

An external enclosure that can be 3D printed can be found here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1131419

I use this with a 25pin Sub-d one to one cable.

Some users descibe that they could configure a SCSI2SD as a ZIP drive (removable SD card!).

 

[tanaquil]

Inertial computing also sells a bracket if you bundle it with a drive. It’s not fully enclosed like the thingiverse one, but definitely handy. It gives me something to grip when plugging and unplugging cables, lets the board rest inside an open machine for testing, etc. I am glad I included it in the order.