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Low End Mac's Online Tech Journal
Mac OS 8.5 issues on Umax SuperMac
Dan KnightThere are plenty of sites offering installation and troubleshooting advice for Mac OS 8.5 - at least for the Power Mac user. Since neither Apple Computer nor UMAX Corporation provides any support for Mac OS 8.5 on SuperMacs, this page exists to cover problems specifically noted by users of the UMAX SuperMac series of Macintosh compatible computers.
Hard drive crashes and data loss
FWB has not endorsed Hard Disk Toolkit 2.0.6 for Mac OS 8.1, let alone 8.5, preferring that the user buy 2.5.3 or later, which is certified by FWB for Mac OS 8.5. However, 2.0.6 does appear to work with 8.1 - it's working just fine on my J700 with a Quantum Fireball 2.1GB drive. At least one SuperMacs subscriber reports successfully using HDT 2.0.6 on the Fireball with Mac OS 8.5.
Of course, anyone with a C500 or C600 should simply use Drive Setup 1.6 and ignore Hard Disk Toolkit for their IDE drives.
With all the changes in 8.5, it may be wisest to use a driver specifically designed for it, so either HDT 2.5.3 or Drive Setup 1.6 are worth considering, especially since recent versions of Drive Setup seem to be compatible with just about any SCSI drive made.
Since Drive Setup won't run a driver update on top of a non-Apple driver, however, the only way to get the 1.6 driver on a drive would be to reformat the disk with Drive Setup, then install Mac OS 8.5 on that disk and allow it to update the Apple hard disk drivers during the installation process.
One subscriber notes,
- "That's the avenue I'm personally going to take. A low-level format on a second hard drive, followed by a full installation of 8.5, leaving the drive on which 8.1 resides completely untouched. Anyone who simply runs the 8.5 installer on their drive and doesn't update the driver with one known to be good with 8.5 - be it from Apple or some update from FWB - is, in my opinion, taking a serious risk."
MacInTouch has a page with one user's theory that the problem stems from non-Mac OS partitions.
Twin Turbo problems
The J700 and S900 models use an IX Micro Twin Turbo video card. Twin Turbo software through version 4.0.5 is not fully compatible with Mac OS 8.5. One SuperMacs subscriber reports losing resolution settings and needing to reinstall the software frequently.
You can download the latest version of the driver (4.0.6 as I
write this) from IX Micro at <http://www.ixmicro.com/1index_wnew.htm>.
Since I don't yet have Mac OS 8.5, I can't determine whether it
resolves the problems that have been noted.
Recent Online Tech Journal Columns
- Optimized Software Builds Bring Out the Best in Your Mac, 06.30. Applications compiled for your Mac's CPU can load more quickly and run faster than ones compiled for universal use.
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- The Original Macintosh, 01.12. An in-depth look at the original Macintosh and how it shaped future Macs.
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- More in the Online Tech Journal index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based iMacs ran at 1.83-2.0 GHz, came with 17" and 20" displays.
- Group of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
- November 23 in LEM history: 99: Should I buy a USB card? - 01: Can a low-end Mac be an only Mac? - Palm Desktop without a PDA - CyberDog saves the day - 05: How Consumer Reports could compare Macs fairly - Speakers for your Mac - Living with the hi-res 15" PowerBook - Birth of the PowerBook - Daystar 1.9 GHz iMac G4 upgrade - 1.92 GHz PowerBook upgrade
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Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
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- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
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- More deals in our archive.
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