Encore/ZIF G3 & G4
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Driver (2)
Firmware (0)
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
Due to a coding error, Crescendo/Encore Install 1.4.6 cannot complete the firmware patch successfully. Only this version of software has this issue.

To address this issue, install the latest version of Sonnet software.
 
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
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
The processor card may be overheating. When the Encore/ZIF is installed and the heat sink attached, thermal grease on the processor contacts the bottom of the heat sink to transfer heat. When the card cools after operation and the heat sink is removed, the thermal grease can come off with the heat sink, making it difficult to reestablish an effective thermal bond when the computer is put back together.

Before reinstalling the processor, or installing it into another machine, you must remove the residual thermal grease off both the processor die and the heat sink, and apply a new layer to the processor die. Thermal grease may be purchased at most electronic stores; Radio Shack, for example, carries a product called Heat Sink Grease (online catalog #276-1372)

To remove the residual grease, simply apply some rubbing alcohol to a lint free wipe and carefully clean the remaining material from both the processor area of the Encore/ZIF card and the heat sink\u8217 s bottom surface. Once clean, you can apply more thermal grease to the processor die. Apply a smooth, thin layer of the material to the center section of the processor die, making sure it covers the entire area. Take special care that the material is consistently smooth across the surface of the processor die. Repeat this process each and ever time the heat sink is removed from the Encore/ZIF card.
 
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