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I just got a apple CD 600e (external) CD-ROM drive for my PowerBook 540c. I got the HDI-30 to 50-pin centronics connector and the 50-pin centronics terminator. Everything is hooked up properly, and the drive spins up, and when I use "drive Setup" I see the HD and the CD listed (so I know that the PB recognises it). However, I can't get the CD to show up when I insert it (yes, it is a mac disk). Im sort of new to macs - please assist. THANKS!!!!
If you're sure that you have it terminated correctly, and that all the IDs are set right (which it seems like you do), then it's probably a drive issue.
Sometimes cleaning the lens works, and sometimes drives go bad. The only real test would be to replace the drive itself with an identical one that is known to be good.
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Sounds like you need a driver.
Does it work if you put a bootable CD-ROM in the drive and then boot with the C key held down?
p
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There are two kind of HD-30 to centronic 50, one of the HD-30 will only have 29 pins which is made for hooking up powerbook to external scsi devices, the one with all 30 pins is for turning the powerbook into scsi device. I have both cables. Please check.
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Thanks for the help!
First of all, I definately have the drive terminated and conneccted properly. As I said, it also shows up in drive setup. I don't have a mac bootable disk, so I cant use that test. HOWEVER - I think the problem is either with the ID of the drive or that I don't have a driver (but I though all Mac OSes had CD drivers built in - it IS a genuing apple cd 600e). Does anyone know how to properly set the ID or where I can find a driver?Oh, and no matter what ID I put on it, it still shows up in Drive Setup.
THANKS!!!!
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Sorry, I forgot to say that it was the HDI-30 with the 29-pins for connecting to an external drive - the correct cable.
THANKS!
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The OS doesn't have the driver built in, but it is part of a default installation. The lack of it being built in makes it farily trivial to disable or remove, though.
Get an OS CD off eBay - you ought to have one anyway for emergencies - and use that to give your 'Book a fresh install of the OS. If that won't work in your CD-ROM drive, *then* start looking to replace the drive.
p
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Just for clarification - even if I don't have the CD drivers, the OS CD will boot the powerbook? And, What SCSI ID should I have the drive set to? It came set to 5. Thanks
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Yes, the OS CD should boot without drivers installed on the HD. The OS on the CD has mostly-universal drivers built into it. There are a few CD drives - not Apple-branded ones - that won't work to boot a Mac no matter what you do (although they will work for reading CDs after boot once you install drivers for them). Since you have an Apple drive, it shouldn't be a problem, but if it were a third-party drive, it's something to think about.
SCSI ID is pretty much irrelevant as long as it doesn't conflict with anything else on the system. The internal HD should be ID 0 unless it's been changed since the 'Book shipped (not entirely unthinkable, but quite unlikely) and the motherboard is, as always, ID 7.
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OK THANKS! I will get the OS CD.
BTW pickle... I noticed you didn't put the signature "p" after your post!! ;)
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Woops ;) Musta slipped my mind. When you post five or ten messages together, one slips by every so often.
p
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