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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Usb 2.0 Pci Card For Powermac G4 733 Quicksilver?

pjburnhill - Sep 8, 2005 - 11:49 am

Hi,

I'd like to update my G4 Quicksilver with a few USB 2.0 ports via PCI. I was wondering if you would know which PCI cards definately work.

I'm hoping to buy Belkin's 2 port USB 2.0 PCI card (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=122894) and was wondering if you had any strong suggestions wether or not to buy it? The specifications say that it requires 3rd party drivers for OS X but I'm not sure which drivers they are referring to.

Any kind of help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

bobw - Sep 8, 2005 - 12:15 pm

Hi Pasi

OS X has USB 2.0 support built in, but if the Belkin card does need other drivers, it could be a problem.

The three cards listed here will work without any addition software;

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Sea...&Manufacturer=
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Bobw - Macosx.com Tech Support

pjburnhill - Sep 11, 2005 - 5:07 pm

I'm using:

Desktop G4 733 (Quicksilver), 1.12 GB SDRAM, OS X 10.3.9, all system and security updates installed from Software Update.

Erhhm,

Well I looked for those PCI cards and since I couldn't find any of them in UK stores, I decided to buy a 4+1 port USB 2.0 card with VIA VT6212 chip based on few favorable feedback from users.

I know, I shouldn't have been so hasty. I downloaded the VIA drivers for my G4 (http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx...0&SubCatID=122) and installed the card.

The performance is ... questionable. Apple Pro keyboard with mouse plugged on to the keyboard works and my USB 2.0 256Meg pen drive seems to work fine on the PCI card, but my D-Link wireless usb (2.0) adapter makes the system freeze when plugged in. And my usb 1.1 Emagic sound card doesn't work at all when plugged onto the card.

The Real Problem:

All this is acceptable, since I can run the sound card and the wifi adapter on my original G4 usb 1.1 ports, but there is one problem which I'd like to get rid of.

When I have my Emagic emi 6/2m card on my original G4 usb 1.1 port and I listen to music, sometimes (especially when the hard disk reads/writes) the music 'mutes' with a crackly noise and comes back same way after a second or two. Also there are some crackly noises without pauses in the music every once in a while. Never had this problem with the sound card before.

So do you have any other suggestions to this problem, besides the obvious; "Send it back and get a proper PCI card"? Or are there any usb 2.0 OS X driver updates around that I'm not aware of or other Apple specific 3rd party drivers for the ATI chip that you have come across?

I'm not getting my hopes up but thanks you for all your help!

bobw - Sep 12, 2005 - 9:39 am

Pasi

Sorry, I don't have any more ideas, other than to return this card. I've done some searching and haven't been able to find any drivers for this card and OS X.
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Bobw - Macosx.com Tech Support