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Difference between revisions of "DayStar Turbo 601"
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If this happens then you can boot from the MacOS 8 CD and use either Apple's 601 Processor Upgrade Control Panel or Daystar's Turbo 601 Control Panel to re-set the Turbo 601 to PowerPC mode. You can use whichever one of these you have installed in your boot drive's Control Panel folder (the 601/030 mode setting is held in PRAM so it doesn't have to set-up from the boot volume). | If this happens then you can boot from the MacOS 8 CD and use either Apple's 601 Processor Upgrade Control Panel or Daystar's Turbo 601 Control Panel to re-set the Turbo 601 to PowerPC mode. You can use whichever one of these you have installed in your boot drive's Control Panel folder (the 601/030 mode setting is held in PRAM so it doesn't have to set-up from the boot volume). | ||
+ | =ROM Versions= | ||
+ | There is a trick in the Turbo 601 control panel that lets you get information about your board. Hold down Command-Control, and click on the Turbo 601 logo. Among other things, Bronson Trevor's Turbo 601 returned the following: | ||
+ | <pre> | ||
+ | ROM Family: $77D | ||
+ | ROM Checksum: $7C4F0317 | ||
+ | ROM Version: 2.5f2 | ||
+ | Patch ROM Version: 1.1 | ||
+ | </pre> | ||
+ | Willi Murray gets these same numbers from his recently purchased Turbo 601. Bronson reckons that these are the most recent versions that a board could have. This brings us to an interesting note, however, and that is that the Turbo 601 contains a Patch ROM. Like good modems it is possible to upgrade the board using a piece of software. The first time a user boots up with v1.1 of the Turbo 601 control panel installed, for example, it will do just that. | ||
+ | |||
+ | '''Update (19 Jan 1997)''' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Jubel Chen has had his Turbo 601 modified to fix the 256 colours problem and his board now returns the following data: | ||
+ | <pre> | ||
+ | ROM Family: $770 | ||
+ | ROM Checksum: $7B34B470 | ||
+ | ROM Version: 2.5f2 | ||
+ | Patch ROM Version: 1.2d4 | ||
+ | </pre> | ||
[[Category:Computing]][[Category:Apple]] | [[Category:Computing]][[Category:Apple]] |
Revision as of 16:54, 6 April 2019
About
The Turbo 601 is an PowerPC accelerator card for older Apple Macintosh computers (IIci, IIsi, IIvi, IIvx and Performa 600) that can provide a less-expensive alternative to buying a new Power Mac. It began shipping in January 1995 and was originally available in a 66MHz version for the IIci only. A 100MHz version for the IIci was released shortly after.
A few months later 100MHz and 66MHz versions became available for the IIsi, IIvi, IIvx and Performa 600.
Early in 1996, the Turbo 601 for the IIvi, IIvx, and Performa 600 was discontinued (both 100 and 66MHz versions). John Carson got this note from DayStar on the subject:
We have discontinued our Turbo 601 for the IIvx, IIvi, and Performa 600 because it does not support thousands of colours (you'd be limited to 256 colours); nor does it support stereo or microphone.
The 66 MHz versions for the IIci and IIsi are also out of production now (the last production run was in August, 1996).
Update (21 Jan)
All versions of the Turbo 601 have been discontinued. When Andy Baird sent eMail to DayStar to query why the price of the Turbo 601 has never reduced he got the following two replies:
Thanks for your comment re pricing. Let me make two comments in return: We agree totally that the upgrades are too expensive. However, I can only assure you that we have trimmed the price of upgrades extremely close to cost already. We are not getting any further breaks on the PowerPC 601 chip cost--it has been bottomed out for a while. Plus the 15ns SRAM we use is very expensive since it is a specialized use. Additionally, in order to get higher speeds without "pushing" the motherboard, we use an armload of high-speed (high speed = high price) components. And the board itself. an 8-layer, dual-sided, high-density, dual-populated surface-mount construction, did not reduce in cost either. This said, I now need to inform you that the product has just recently been discontinued, since the 601 processor chip is no longer available at all. We have no remaining stock left, nor do the mail order companies that were carrying it, nor does Ingram, our distributor that sells to all the "little guys". Sorry we cannot comply with your wishes re price, but I felt an explanation might better help your perception of the matter !
Sorry for the confusion over our pricing. 1st of all the 66MHz versions were dropped to $499 in June of last year and we discontinued them as a product line in October of last year. 2nd, the 100MHz version is now a discontinued product for the same reason the pricing never dropped - no one makes the 601 processor anymore-- not Motorola or IBM. That you are able to buy 604 upgrades cheaply reflects the fact that the manufacturers are ending the life cycle on those designs and are now working on a new design at the higher 225MHz+ speeds we will be moving to with our Genesis line. In fact, the only products we now manufacture are 2- and 4-processor Multi-proccessing machines and the 2-processor upgrade cards (604e 400+) for the 7500, 8500 and 9500 series.
Mac OS 8
I'm indebted to Gary Girolimon for clarifying the following:
(a) A Mac with a Turbo 601 upgrade will not boot with MacOS 8 in 030 Mode.
(b) It would appear that the Turbo 601 System Enabler is NOT required for the Turbo 601 to operate in PowerPC mode with the MacOS 8. Gary writes:
I had a few minutes today to head over to our print shop and check out the old II ci. System 8 installs a control panel called "601 processor upgrade" which seems to have the same function as the "Turbo 601 Control." It gives you the option of restarting with the 601 upgrade card on or off.If you choose "off", the computer will not start up. You are presented with a message that states: "This operating system will not work with this computer." You will have to reboot from the CD and set the "601 processor upgrade" to "on." You might want to do this and then discard the control panel so that someone doesn't accidentally turn it off. Never the less, the Daystar-supplied "Turbo 601 System Enabler" extension is not required as far as I can tell. I am not using it and the computer works just fine and is very stable.
Bronson has also confirmed that his IIci/Turbo 601 runs OK with MacOS 8 WITHOUT the Turbo 601 System Enabler.
Personally, I would prefer using the DayStar "Turbo 601 Control Panel" over the Apple "601 Processor Upgrade"--it does allow control of a number of parameters that the Apple Control Panel doesn't (SCSI Manager 4.3, CacheOn/Off etc).
The fact that the Turbo 601 System Enabler does not seem to be required for PowerPC operation with MacOS 8 is something I just find plain confusing. My instinct is that it is probably safer to keep it in the System Folder, but I can provide no rational or evidence for that opinion.
If the Turbo 601 and MacOS 8 work OK for you using Apple's Control Panel without the Turbo 601 System Enabler then what the hell...! Go for it!! But I can't explain it.
Intuitively, this SEEMS to imply that the hardware and software architecture that controls the 601 upgrade cards is common across the Turbo 601, PowerPro and Apple Upgrade cards. After all, the stuff that MacOS installs that works just fine with our Macs is actually MEANT for the PowerPC upgrade cards in 040 Macs. It's not intended for 030/Turbo 601 Macs, but, nonetheless, it works just fine.
Introduction
Neither DayStar or Apple support MacOS 8 running on Turbo 601 upgraded Macs. What exactly does this mean?
What it means is that neither DayStar or Apple have tested MacOS 8 on a Turbo 601 upgraded machine. Because of this, neither DayStar or Apple will be prepared to help anyone who runs into problems using MacOS 8 with the Turbo 601.
It DOES NOT mean that MacOS 8 will not work with the Turbo 601. In fact the evidence is quite conclusive that MacOS 8 will install and run OK on a Turbo 601 machine. It is a worthwhile upgrade for owners of the Turbo 601 and offers both speed and stability improvements.
Why Does It Work?
It's all to do with Gestalt IDs--
If you are using System 7.5 or 7.5.1 on a Mac fitted with a Turbo 601 the Mac returns a Gestalt ID of 207, 208, 209 or 210 depending on the base model. If you try to install MacOS 7.6, 7.6.1 or in the future MacOS 8 on a machine returning any of these Gestalt IDs you will get an error message saying that the installer doesn't support that particular model of Mac.
Strictly speaking this is correct. Apple does not OFFICIALLY support Macs with DayStar upgrade cards.
BUT--if you install System 7.5.3 on any Turbo 601 upgraded Mac then the Gestalt ID changes to 104 regardless of the base model. NOW THIS IS THE INTERESTING BIT. Gestalt ID 104 is really an LC475 (68040-based) with PPC upgrade--it's not a Turbo 601 upgraded Mac at all.
I have not been able to clarify if this is deliberate or not (I suspect not--I reckon it's just good luck), but either way this is what allows Turbo 601 owners to install and run Systems later than 7.5.3.
SO, once you've installed System 7.5.3 you can then go on and install System 7.5.5, MacOS 7.6, MacOS 7.6.1, and in the future MacOS 8 because the installer thinks you've got an 040 Mac with a PowerPC upgrade. Obviously our machines are NOT LC475s with PPC upgrade, BUT the System that gets installed works just fine with our Macs. What we actually get is a System for a Mac that is a "Power Macintosh Upgrade"--where, in this case, "Power Macintosh Upgrade" really means an 040 Mac with a PPC upgrade card fitted.
(Note--if you currently use Systems 7.5 or 7.5.1 you can go straight to a MacOS 8 installation without installing System 7.5.3 by using the MachID Wannabe utility. For more information see the MacOS 8 Installation Guide below.)
That this happens probably isn't as much of a surprise as you might think. Some of the PPC upgrade cards sold by Apple for 040 Macs were really re-badged DayStar cards--so by supporting the 040 upgraded Macs (which Apple MUST do because they sold the upgrade cards!!) Apple seems to have inadvertently kept the Turbo 601 in the game!!!
The problem that we might have is that our Turbo 601 upgraded Macs will probably not boot in 030 mode with MacOS 8. I never run my Mac in 030 mode anyway so I don't see this as much of a problem. It could prove problematic if the PRAM gets zapped because that re-sets the Turbo 601 to 030 mode--but the way out of this would be to boot from a System 7.5 emergency floppy and switch the Turbo 601 back to PowerPC mode and then reboot with MacOS 8.
TO SUMMARISE. MacOS 8 WILL successfully install and run on a Turbo 601 upgraded Mac in PPC mode because the installer thinks that the machine is an LC475 with PowerPC upgrade.
Although MacOS is NOT officially supported on Turbo 601 upgraded Macs, it WILL work OK because of the circumstances I have outlined above. It's worth pointing out we'll be entirely on our own. If it all goes wrong neither DayStar or Apple will be prepared to help. BUT--this has been the situation since 7.5.3 (DayStar will only help if you're still using System 7.5.1) and many, many people are successfully using System 7.5.5, MacOS 7.6 and MacOS 7.6.1 with their Turbo 601.
The other thing that's not clear is how well MacOS 8 will combine with the Turbo 601 and NuBus expansion cards. I've got a Radius Thunder/24 GT, FWB/StreamLogic JackHammer and Sonic Solutions Ethernet card fitted to my Mac IIvi/Turbo 601. This lot works beautifully with MacOS 7.6.1 and I'm hoping that everything will be compatible with MacOS 8. Unfortunately there's only going to be one way to find out...!
It's really up to you here--if you feel confident about troubleshooting your Mac then installing and using MacOS 8 shouldn't be too difficult. BUT--Caveat Emptor, Mea Culpa, Your Mileage May Vary....etc...etc
Install Guide
If you are running Systems 7.5.3, 7.5.5, 7.6 or 7.6.1 installation is straightforward. Just follow the instructions on the MacOS 8 CD. It's that simple!
If you can, we recommend booting from the MacOS 8 CD and then running the installation (note that you might not be able to boot from the CD depending on what CD-ROM you have fitted).
If you can't boot from the CD then you can make a suitable MacOS 8 boot floppy from the images supplied on the MacOS 8 CD.
If you're still running System 7.5 or 7.5.1 it's a bit more complicated, but it's still not difficult. Here's what you need to do.
- Download the MachID Wannabe utility (19k Stuffit Archive).
- Decompress the archive, and put MachID Wannabe into your Control Panels folder.
- Use Extensions Manager to select the base set for System 7.5 (or 7.5.1). Before re-starting re-enable the Turbo 601 System Enabler, Turbo 601 Control Panel, MachID Wannabe Control Panel, Apple CD-ROM Extension and anything else your particular system configuration needs to boot up.
- Restart the Mac.
- Open the MachID Wannabe Control Panel and set the Gestalt ID of your Mac to a value of 104.
- Install MacOS 8 from the CD.
Important Information (added 17 August)
If, for any reason, your Turbo 601 upgraded Mac gets re-set to 030 mode it will NOT boot with MacOS 8. You will get a mesage that says "This operating system will not work with this computer".
If this happens then you can boot from the MacOS 8 CD and use either Apple's 601 Processor Upgrade Control Panel or Daystar's Turbo 601 Control Panel to re-set the Turbo 601 to PowerPC mode. You can use whichever one of these you have installed in your boot drive's Control Panel folder (the 601/030 mode setting is held in PRAM so it doesn't have to set-up from the boot volume).
ROM Versions
There is a trick in the Turbo 601 control panel that lets you get information about your board. Hold down Command-Control, and click on the Turbo 601 logo. Among other things, Bronson Trevor's Turbo 601 returned the following:
ROM Family: $77D ROM Checksum: $7C4F0317 ROM Version: 2.5f2 Patch ROM Version: 1.1
Willi Murray gets these same numbers from his recently purchased Turbo 601. Bronson reckons that these are the most recent versions that a board could have. This brings us to an interesting note, however, and that is that the Turbo 601 contains a Patch ROM. Like good modems it is possible to upgrade the board using a piece of software. The first time a user boots up with v1.1 of the Turbo 601 control panel installed, for example, it will do just that.
Update (19 Jan 1997)
Jubel Chen has had his Turbo 601 modified to fix the 256 colours problem and his board now returns the following data:
ROM Family: $770 ROM Checksum: $7B34B470 ROM Version: 2.5f2 Patch ROM Version: 1.2d4