One of our faithful inSync readers asked several questions about how to get his sampler successfully SCSI’d up to his Power Macintosh. Here are a variety of tips and suggestions:
- It seems obvious, but double-check that each of your SCSI devices is set to a different SCSI ID number. Two devices with the same ID will definitely cause problems. The Mac will probably require two ID’s, one for the Mac itself, and another for its internal hard drive. If it has any other internal drives (CD-ROM, Tape, etc.) each of these will also take a separate ID number. Also, remember that just changing the ID setting is not enough, the device must often be powered down, and back up again for the change to take effect.
- Be sure your SCSI chain is terminated appropriately. Normally this means a terminator on each end of the chain, but we’ve seen some bizarre chains that required terminators in other places to function; it’s not "correct" but it may work! Remember to turn the power off before making ANY cabling changes to a SCSI system.
- Buy the absolute best, finest, coolest and SHORTEST SCSI cables you can find. More SCSI problems originate from cabling than we’d care to mention. This is not the place to try to save money!
- Try powering up the items in the system in different orders. Turning the computer on before the sampler may work, or you may have to power the sampler on first.
- If you have several items on the chain, try changing their order. Some devices are most comfortable on the end of the chain, others prefer being in the middle. In general, the computer will want to be on the end of the chain.
- If all else fails, let us know, and we can forward to you a collection of appropriate curses, scatological references, creative swears, and other frustration relievers. Often times simply uttering this list will intimidate the equipment into working properly. Be sure that any small animals and impressionable humans have left the area before resorting to this list!
- If cursing doesn’t work, bribe someone else to figure it out for you. (This is our favorite solution!)
Seriously, it often seems that SCSI is as much black magic as it is science; but carefully and systematically working through the various configurations and variables should result in a system that works reliably. Good luck!