2380 Suwanee Dr., MS106-102, Suwanee, GA 30024 - Questions: [email protected]

XLR8 Tech Support FAQ - MAChSpeed G3

  1. I've installed a MAChSpeed G3 and my machine will not boot. What do I do?

    Check to see that the MAChSpeed G3 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 dip switch settings are set correctly to run the card at it's stock, rated speed.

  2. Since upgrading I am getting strange artifacts on my screen andoccasional 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.

  3. Are there any incompatibilities with the MAChSpeed G3?

    The MAChSpeed G3 is fully compatible with a wide array of audio editing hardware, particularly Digidesign. The current version of the XLR8 MAChSpeed Control software, 1.4.3, allows utter compatibility with MacOS 9.0.4, 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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>

  6. 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.

  7. I’m experiencing some odd behavior since overclocking my MAChSpeed G3z. Is there any way to see if my speed setting is the problem without opening up my Mac?

    While it is always best to manually adjust the speed of your MAChSpeed G3, you may try a third party Control Strip module called the G3 Throttle.

    This control strip allows people to slow their card down by introducing wait states between instruction packets sent to the CPU.
    It can be downloaded at http://www.246.ne.jp/~kykz/g3throttle-e.html