Encore/ZIF G3 & G4
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Driver (2)
Firmware (0)
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Manual (2)
FAQ (13)
IDArticle TitlePost Date
72 The Crescendo/Encore installer hangs, or crashes the system; occurs most often when run from the Sonnet installer CD.May-12-09
78 Why does the Encore/ZIF (700MHz and faster) require that my Blue & White or PCI Graphics G4 bus speed be slowed to 66MHz? Doesn't that slow down my computer?May-12-09
169 May I discard my original CPU after installing Sonnet's upgrade cards? May-07-09
171 The speed indicated on the G3 or G4 chip on my Sonnet processor upgrade doesn't seem to match the speed of the upgrade I purchased. What's the story?May-07-09
175 The Crescendo/Encore installer hangs, or crashes the system; occurs most often when run from the Sonnet installer CD while using Mac OS 9.May-07-09
218 The computer's standard startup process takes noticeably longer after upgrading to any Mac OS 9.x system from Mac OS 8.6 or earlier.May-12-09
238 System will not start following installation of the processor upgrade card, or may fail shortly after restart. IMPORTANT! Do not continue attempts to restart—immediately unplug your computer.May-12-09
239 Encore firmware updater must be run to allow installation of a G4 processor in these machines, but this software is not available for Mac OS X.Jun-25-09
Apple's ROM for Blue & White G3s includes code that blocks the machine from booting with a G4 processor. This block is easily removed with the firmware patcher provided on the CD-ROM included with your Sonnet Encore/ZIF G4 upgrade.

If an Encore G4 was successfully installed prior to acquiring Mac OS X, no further action is required; the Apple ROM is already updated.

If an Encore/ZIF G4 is being added to a system that already has Mac OS X installed, it is necessary to boot the computer using Mac OS 9.2.2 (or earlier) to run the Sonnet firmware updater provided with the Encore product. No new Sonnet software is required; the version included in the package is fully effective. Follow these simple steps:

1) Boot the computer using OS 9.2.2. Apple's instructions for this are found on page 30 of the "Welcome to Mac OS X" guide included with the OS X package. You may select the startup OS with the "Startup Disk" control panel.

2) Insert the Sonnet Software CD-ROM (included with the Encore product) into the CD-ROM drive and follow the installation steps as described in the Encore/ZIF manual.

Once this process is complete, there will be no need to update the ROM again. The Blue and White will now deliver G4 speed and performance under OS X and all earlier Mac OS releases.
 
240 During Crescendo/Encore Install 1.4.6 software installation, the system displays an error message stating "Your computer's firmware does not have the Sonnet G4-enabling patch installed."May-12-09
241 While applying the Sonnet G3 firmware patch on a Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White) computer, the updater stops and either: a) The error message, "Assertion (modPtr) failed in firmwareUpdater.c on line 236" appears. OR b) Your system boots to the desktop and a message stating, "Your computer's firmware does not have the Sonnet G4-enabling patch installed" appears.Jul-23-09
242 After following all of the instructions in the included User's Quick Start Guide and installing the Encore/ZIF G4 upgrade card, the computer freezes at random during boot up or boots to the desktop without any issues, but crashes randomly, and/or programs unexpectedly quit.May-12-09
In many cases, older third-party PCI adapter cards using out-of-date firmware are at fault. When used with a 700 MHz or faster Encore/ZIF G4, a PCI card that does not have up-to-date firmware can cause the issues described here.

To confirm whether a PCI card is at fault, you will need to remove each PCI card from your computer, one at a time, and reboot the computer after each card is removed. When your computer boots successfully and operates without crashing while a particular card is removed, it is likely that you have isolated the card causing the problem(s). Be sure to take all precautions against static discharge during this process, or you may inflict permanent damage to part, or your entire computer. This process will also help you determine whether multiple PCI cards are at fault. If your system\u8217 s boot drive is attached to a PCI card, you will need to boot from a drive attached to the internal ATA bus or a Mac OS installation CD to check that card. When removing any video card, you will need to attach your monitor to the video port on the logic board. If your computer does not have onboard video, you will need to install a known-compatible PCI video card to complete the testing.

To solve this issue, update the firmware and use the latest software with the PCI card(s) in question. You can usually locate the latest firmware and software on the manufacturer\u8217 s web site; contact the manufacturer directly if you can\u8217 t find what you need. Remove the Encore/ZIF processor card from your computer, reinstall the original processor, and then update the firmware and install any software following the PCI card manufacturer\u8217 s instructions. Once this is done, you may reinstall the processor upgrade and your system should operate without issue. If there are no new updates and your PCI card is already running the latest version firmware, you should replace the card.
 
243 After removing and replacing my Encore/ZIF card during the course of troubleshooting, or after moving it from one machine to another, my computer has stopped booting, or started crashing shortly after booting.May-12-09
244 After following all of the instructions in the included User's Quick Start Guide and installing the Encore/ZIF G4 upgrade card, my computer crashes during boot up. The computer generates the boot chime and video is displayed, however, the boot process stops with just a cursor on screen.May-12-09
It is likely that an Apple OEM Ultra-Wide SCSI PCI card using out-of-date firmware is causing the freeze. Because the latest firmware update for this card from Apple was released in September 2000, problems arise when this card is used with an Encore/ZIF G4 (700 MHz or faster).

To solve this issue, update the SCSI card\u8217 s firmware. Before you begin, remove the Encore/ZIF card and replace the previously installed processor, carefully following all the standard procedures. In order to update this card\u8217 s firmware, you will first need to remove the original Apple firmware code, and then \u8220 flash\u8221 the card with the latest firmware from Atto, the card\u8217 s original manufacturer. Please visit the following website that has the utilities and instructions you\u8217 ll need to update this SCSI card\u8217 s firmware:

http://www.os9forever.com/SCSICard.html

Note: All of these updates must be completed with the Encore/ZIF G4 card removed from your system. Once you\u8217 ve updated the firmware on the SCSI card, you may reinstall the Encore/ZIF G4 processor card and your system should operate normally.