| ID | | Article Title | Post Date |
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72 | 
| The Crescendo/Encore installer hangs, or crashes the system; occurs most often when run from the Sonnet installer CD. | May-12-09 |
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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 |
| This is not a malfunction and is not related in any way to Sonnet upgrade products; this is the result of an additional Mac OS 9.x startup process that did not occur during startup in earlier Mac OS versions. There is a new "hidden" Mac OS 9.x feature called Startup Memory Tests in the Memory Control Panel, which defaults to the "On" setting. This adds time during a startup or restart, as all of the RAM installed in the computer is checked.
This issue affects any machine running OS 9.x (OS X status is unknown as of this writing), with or without upgrades installed. The more RAM installed, the longer the test. (Note that a Mac upgraded with a Sonnet G3 or G4 processor card gets through this process much faster than a "stock" machine.)
Since this is not a malfunction, no solution is required. However, since RAM seldom fails after the first few days of regular use, you may turn this test off if a faster startup cycle is desired. To access this feature you must hold down the Command key and the Option key WHILE opening the Memory Control Panel. When the control panel opens, you will see a setting at the bottom of the control panel. Click the Startup Memory Tests' Off button, then close the Memory Control Panel. Be aware that from now on, when you start up or restart your computer, the Mac OS will NOT check your RAM. If in the future you suspect a memory problem and want to check your RAM, you will need to repeat this procedure and turn the Startup Memory Tests back on. |
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|
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 |
|
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 |
| Note: Prior to performing any of the solutions provided, confirm if you are using Crescendo/Encore software later than version 1.4.6.
Issue 1: The firmware patch updater's timing may be affected by the presence of a SCSI card and hard drive in the computer, and causes the update to fail.
Issue 2: The firmware patch updater may fail if you do not hold down the programmer's button on the computer long enough while your system boots.
Solution for Issue 1: If there is a SCSI card and drive(s) installed in your computer, you must disconnect them, and boot the computer from the internal ATA drive. After the firmware has been updated, you may reconnect the SCSI card and drive(s).
Note: Implementing the Solution for Issue 1 does rule out the need to follow the Solution for Issue 2.
Solution for Issue 2: Shut down your computer. Then, while holding down the programmer's button, press and release the power button on the computer. Continue holding down the programmer's button until you hear the long single tone, then release it. (Please note, holding the programmer's key for too long will result in failure to update the firmware.)
If the firmware updater fails again, you must zap your computer's PRAM to clear the partial firmware patch code installation. To do this, first shut down your computer. Then, while holding down the Command + Option + P + R keys together, power up the computer. Continue holding down all four keys until you hear the boot chime four times; after the fourth chime, release the keys and the computer will boot to the desktop normally. Rerun the Sonnet Installer, and carefully follow each instruction as it appears on screen. |
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|
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. |
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|
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. |
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