3550 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd. #107, Suwanee, GA 30024 USA - Questions: [email protected]

Tech Support FAQ - XLR8 MAChCarrier & CarrierZIF

  1. I've installed a MAChCarrier / CarrierZIF and my machine will not boot. What do I do?

    Check to see that the MAChCarrier / CarrierZIF is properly seated in the connector. Also be sure that all your RAM is seated firmly and is rated at 60 nanoseconds or faster. If your Mac still won't boot, check the manual and be sure that all jumpers and dip switch settings are set correctly to run the card at it's stock, rated speed.
  2. After installing my upgrade, I cannot get a startup chime? Is there anything I can try to fix this before assuming I have a bad card?

    In some cases, cleaning the gold connectors very lightly with an eraser tip can allow for better contact between the connector points and the J1 slot.
    If you are not feeling the second "click" as the card seats into the J1 connector, very lightly sand with sand paper or a fingernail file to open the space between the connectors just a bit. This is spot checked in production so this is only a rare occasional problem.
  • I was running my CPU over-clocked, but due to crashes, I returned it to normal speed. It still crashes, has my card gone bad?

    No. Chances are your card is fine. First make sure your crashing was not caused by a virus. If not, then, the problem is extremely likely that the crashes while running over-clocked have corrupted your hard drive. Reformat and reinstall, everything.
  • I am getting a blinking question mark on boot-up. What should I do?

    You should install the MAChSpeed Control Software before installing the card. If you did, then the blinking question mark is a sign that Virtual Firmware has been wiped clean. This can happen through multiple issues of Zapping PRAM (three in a row without going to the Finder), or a bad battery. It can be fixed by using a good battery and inserting an XLR8 emergency floppy disk (create / copy from the CD), or inserting the original CPU card and run the XLR8 installer again.
  • Since upgrading I am getting strange artifacts on my screen and occasional system freezes. What is causing this?

    You may be running the processor or bus speed too fast. Be sure that the card is set to stock settings. Running the system too fast can cause artifacts and freezes. You may also have a VRAM problem.
  • Are there any unresolved incompatibilities with the MAChCarrier and the CarrierZIF?

    The MAChCarrier and the CarrierZIF are fully compatible with a wide array of audio editing hardware, particularly Digidesign. Six slot system using more than 3 bus mastering PCI cards should use the SSE version of the MAChCarrier and CarrierZIF cards.
  • After hitting the CUDA (motherboard reset) button during the installing of mu upgrade, my clock's date is off by several decades. This leads to Norton FileSaver reporting date related disk errors. What can I do to avoid this?

    Prior to install, disable Norton FileSaver, boot-up; discard the preferences; Install the MAChSpeed Control 1.4; boot, then re-enable Norton FileSaver. The Norton protection does not like "changes"
  • I have followed seemingly all the instructions to properly run my upgrade, but I still get random freezes when using certain applications. What else can I try.

    We have linked several instances of random freezes to out of date Apple software. Visit Apple.com and download the latest system fixes.
  • 8. Will the MAChCarrier / CarrierZIF be compatible with the faster, next generation G3 and G4 Processors?

    The MAChCarrier is limited only by the multiplier of the CPU and the form factor of the CPU card being used. Although the 7400 and 7410 (through 533 MHz) CPUs work well, the 7450 (600 and up) do provide higher multipliers (up to 16x), but need to have a size card that will fit on the Carrier adapter.
  • 9. Prior to installation, should I remove my external L-2 cache, 256K, on my 7500? If not, and the L-2 cache remains installed, would performance increase if I upgraded the L-2 cache to 1 MB?

    The L-2 cache becomes an L-3 cache when the upgrade is installed. Best operation and performance is with the L-3 cache removed.
  • 10. What versions of the Mac OS will work with a G4?

    G4 processors should work with all Mac OS versions 7.5.2 or later, including Mac OS X.
  • 11. Why am I not seeing a drastically noticeable increase in performance and speed of the G4 over my previous G3 processor?

    The G4 receives the signals at the same speed as the G3. Basic, general performance is MHz for MHz with the G3. The additional performance is driven by FPU and the velocity engine, AltiVec, which requires custom drivers on an application-by-application basis for additional performance. As more software is AltiVec enabled, the performance benefits of the G4 will be become more and more apparent.