Adaptec Slim Scsi on a PowerBook G 4

[Allen in Montreal]

Adaptec Slim Scsi 1480 on a PowerBook G4,

I can only find OSX 10.1 drivers, has anyone made this combo work?

[Gene McCluney]

Are you wanting to use a SCSI device on a PowerBook G4 by using a SCSI to Firewire adaptor? The one I have for my Scsi based Betterlight scanning back just "works" seamlessly on my Powerbook G4 running 10.4, I didn't have to add any "drivers". I think it is a Ratoc brand. Are you wanting to use the adaptor on OS 9? for some reason.

[Allen in Montreal]

Good morning Gene,

Thank you for the reply.

In a nut shell, what I am attempting to do is Jerry Rig a way to see if and how my Linotype Topaz scanner will work before dropping the cash on software and cables and has turned to be mission impossible.

Heidelberg Canada has told me to "just copy" a Linocolor disk, they do not care and don't have time to waste pulling a disk from the library. As if i could go to the video rental counter and find such a disk at every corner. Heidelberg USA was about to sent me a disk until they realized I live in Canada. The US team was about 6000 times more pleasant to deal with than the Canuks were.

Silverfast has given me a trial version but I seem to lack the cables/drivers to do this. I thought I had it together when I picked up a Slim SCSI card.

What I have is:

Setup 1)

I have acquired all the cables needed to run on my old G3 desktop in OS9 but lack the Linocolor software.

Setup 2)

I have acquired the cables to connect via a slim scsi PCMCIA card to a PowerBook G4 in 10.4 but the systems seems not to recognize the PCMCIA card.

Perhaps I should have gone the Ratoc firewire route rather than the PCMCIA route. A forum member had graciously offered a copy of Linocolor but he runs Windows and I run Mac. Another member had offered a copy, but I guess he can not find his old disk at this point.

[Gene McCluney]

I think the Ratoc SCSI to Firewire adaptor device is probably the most compatible with G4 mac's.

[Gordon Moat]

I think the SlimSCSI card only works up to Mac OS X 10.3.9 on PowerBooks. Adaptec quit supporting them, though I think the old drivers still work in 10.3.9. When Apple went to 10.4 onwards, they broke lots of old hardware connection capability.

I have a 10.3.9 system running a Ratoc converter, and it works fairly well. On some scanners it needs the external power cable, and on others it needs to be re-booted a few times using the FR1 Utility software from Ratoc. While not super easy to use, this does work.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography