Okay, we’ve finally gotten closer to the bottom of the whole ultra-wide SCSI issue with Pro Tools systems. An inSync reader sent us an inquiry after our 8/25/98 post pertaining to IDE drives in G3 Macs. He informed us that, according to the Digidesign Web site, ultra-wide drives and their requisite SCSI cards could not be used for the software installation because the PACE copy protection would not work properly and it would be impossible to authorize the drive.
Since we KNOW we’ve installed systems into G3’s with the ultra-wide SCSI drive installed in place of the normal IDE drive, we realized someone’s information was wrong. I put our technical support genius, Max Gutnik on the case and he verified once and for all that this problem only exists on pre G3 Macs, like 9600, etc. On a G3 you absolutely CAN install a ultra-wide drive in place of the IDE and authorize your Pro Tools system no problem. While this is not officially supported by the PACE people we have tested it on several systems with conclusive results. Digidesign is now changing their Web site based on our findings. As for you 9600 and earlier guys, don’t panic, you can still authorize your internal SCSI drive like you always have and install a ultra-wide SCSI buss for the recording files. That’s where the speed is really needed anyway.