Eversmart Pro and Mac G5 Tower

[Ari]

Kumar,
Thank you; I would have cleaned the computer long ago, but I wasn't sure what harm might be done, I might inadvertently delete something important.
The scanner and the computer were working (albeit slowly), so I didn't want to fix something that wasn't broken.
But last night I spent a long time scanning film that shouldn't have taken so long to do. The G5 was available and I took it.

I'm now running OS 9.2.2 on the G5, though it's not used as the startup disk.
Getting a SCSI card to see if hooking up the scanner will work on the G5, and if the scanner and computer will communicate.
The possibility of starting from a clean computer is more appealing than deleting files off an old computer.
While I install software on the G5, I'm not changing anything on the G4, it scans and runs as before.

[Ari]

Make sure that OS9 can see a USB2 drive. I seem to remember needing to upgrade to OS10 for that to happen, but I'm not an old Mac expert by any means.

Peter, from what I've read online, USB 2.0 will work with OS 9, it will simply read as USB 1.1.
Thanks for the suggestion.

[B.S.Kumar]

Ari,

So long as you have the original software installation disks for 9.2.2, there is no problem reformatting the disk. In fact, you could remove the existing disk and put in an empty disk that you can test. If the scanner works well, great. Otherwise, not much lost, except a little time. Having dual boot on the G5 will add to your complications. The scanners are finicky, and SCSI needs everything just so. Also, if 9.2 sees USB 2 as USB 1.1, there is probably not much advantage, and again, you are adding extra hardware.

Kumar

[Ari]

Good advice, Kumar; thank you.
I'll first see if simply adding a SCSI card to the G5, then installing the software, will work.
The G5 runs very quickly and smoothly, so I'd like to try and make that work.
It will also allow me a much wider range of monitors to use, which I'd find helpful, since the G4's screen is small and lacking in detail.
Even an old Dell monitor would be a huge improvement for precise placement of the crosshairs when selecting white/black points.

[B.S.Kumar]

Don't get a fancy monitor for the G5. Something built around that time would reduce hardware compatibility issues.

Kumar

[Ari]

Don't get a fancy monitor for the G5. Something built around that time would reduce hardware compatibility issues.

Kumar

No, of course not. My own Dell is from 2004, it works perfectly with the G5, so I'd look into getting another just like it.

[Ari]

Update:

To Peter: The G4's RAM is maxed out, and the HD has lots of space left on its 80Gb capacity, so I'm not sure why the slow scan speeds.
Also, I have a Power Mac G4 1.25 DP (MDD version), which is middle-of-the-pack for these units.

The Eversmart Pro won't work (probably) with the G5.
I can buy a SCSI card for the computer, but the card's driver is not really compatible with OS 9.2; that would mean finding a driver that may work, but it's not an ideal configuration; prone to crashing and mysterious stoppages.
So I'm going to forget the G5 idea for now, get a new hard drive for the G4, and install OS 9.2 and the Eversmart software.

Once I can confirm that everything works as before, I'll remove the existing HD and keep it as a backup.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions and help!

[Peter De Smidt]

I would seriously consider one of these: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/...c-g4/2002-2004

Btw., your computer is way more powerful than my Sawtooth 450mhz. You're living the dream!

[sanking]

I would seriously consider one of these: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/...c-g4/2002-2004

Btw., your computer is way more powerful than my Sawtooth 450mhz. You're living the dream!

Peter,

Those mirrored drives are among the fastest of the G4s, but some of them do not support OS 9.2.2. I have a very late model MDD model that I keep in reserve as a back-up for scanning with the Howtek in OS 10.3.9, and it will not load OS 9.2.2.

Sandy

[Ari]

I would seriously consider one of these: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/...c-g4/2002-2004

Btw., your computer is way more powerful than my Sawtooth 450mhz. You're living the dream!

After comparing other models on the MacSales site, I agree! But I still find it puzzling that it works so slowly. Maybe the insides aren't 100%.
Thanks for the link, I might just get the 60GB version.

Peter,

Those mirrored drives are among the fastest of the G4s, but some of them do not support OS 9.2.2. I have a very late model MDD model that I keep in reserve as a back-up for scanning with the Howtek in OS 10.3.9, and it will not load OS 9.2.2.

Sandy

Sandy, I consulted with a sales rep at Mac Sales who assured me that the SSD would work with any computer/OS that is compatible with SSD technology, which includes OS 9.2.
Thanks for pointing that out.