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2380 Suwanee Dr., MS106-102, Suwanee, GA 30024 - Questions: [email protected]
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XLR8 Tech Support FAQ - MAChSpeed G4Z
- I've installed a MAChSpeed G4Z Mpe and my machine will not boot. What do I do?
Make sure you configured the ZIF jumpers correctly. Check to see that the MAChSpeed G4Z 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.
- Instead of a startup chime, I get 5 tones on boot-up. Is my Blue & White toast?
No. Apple has a small piece of firmware code that blocked G4 operation in your system with their last update (shame on Apple). You just need to run the Apple firmware update and then, run the XLR8 patch to allow G4 CPUs.
- 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. Also check your extensions and control panels. In some cases problems are due to software conflicts.
- I was running my ZIF 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.
- Are there any incompatibilities with the MAChSpeed G4Z ?
The MAChSpeed G4Z is fully compatible with a wide array of audio editing hardware, particularly Digidesign. The current version of the XLR8 MAChSpeed Control software, 1.4, allows utter compatibility with MacOS 8.6, Adaptec SCSI boards, and Dantz Retrospect. Compatibility with Media 100 has also been resolved, as has been compatibility with Retrospect and ADAPTEC SCSI products. With the release of the XLR8 MAChSpeed Control software, OS X Server compatibility has also been resolved.
- Will the MAChSpeed G4Z work in Apple’s Blue & White PowerMacs?
Yes. It has been widely circulated on the web that Apple, in its most recent firmware update, disabled the ability to upgrade a Blue & White Macintosh with a G4 processor. Continuing in our tradition of leadership in design and performance enhancements for the Mac, we include, with every MAChSpeed G4 ZIF , a simple, easy to apply patch that enable G4 ZIF to operate without problems.
- 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 G3 upgrade is installed.
Best operation and performance is with the L-3 cache removed.
- What versions of the Mac OS will work with a G4?
It is highly recommended that Macs running with a MAChSpeed G4 ZIF have Mac OS 9.0.4 or later installed. While it has been announced that Mac OS X will only run on Apple G3s and higher, we are hard at work to provide a solution to allow Mac OS X to run on our upgrades. We are eagerly awaiting Apple's next developer's version so we can continue our testing with the goal of providing compatibility.
- Why am I not seeing a drastically noticeable increase in performance and speed 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.
- 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 the Font manager font corruption issue in the Mac OS 8.6. Apple has posted a fix at http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11489
- I seem to be experiencing some conflicts since installing my ZIF upgrade in a Mac equipped with an ATI video card. Is there a fix?
There is a timing issue between the ZIF upgrades and the ATI video that can cause instability. It is advised that anyone adding a ZIF upgrade to a beige G3 or G3/BW should first install the ATI Video Software Update Version 1.0. Apple has addressed this problem with the update.
The update can be found at:
http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11475
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/MultiCountry/
Macintosh/Display_and_Peripheral/ATI/ATI_Video_SW_Update_1.0.smi.bin