NEC chipset PCI cards and Powermac G4

Hi.

I recently brought myself a ALI USB 2.0 PCI card. Didn't need drivers, worked, but had many issues with my external hard drive, and webcam.

As I recently upgraded to Leopard, I cannot use Time Machine with my external hard drive, because of these issues. I have been told the best thing to do, is buy another one, with the NEC chipset.

I have been looking for ones that are NEC, and work with Mac, and can be shipped to me in New Zealand. I have found a few NEC cards, but done say they will work on Mac.

So, if I buy one of these, that just mentions that it will work with Windows, will it work in my Mac.

I have heard, that OSX has the appropriate drivers, but I am not 100% sure.

Thanks,
Jordan

Most PCI USB 2 cards should work OK with your Mac (assuming the machine has PCI slots available) and with a PC. I recently threw away a defective PCI ALI USB 2.0 card. It never did work correctly in my desktop PC. A card with the NEC chipset should be OK.

Regards.

Okay, thank you for your reply. Do you think I will still be fine if it does not say that it will work in Mac. Like this card: DSE PCI Card USB 2.0 5 Port

PowerMac G4's are PowerPC models and they generally are not bootable from USB, even USB2, external hard drives. To use the external drive try to get a Firewire external case for your drive. Either FW400 or SW800 will work just fine.

Yes, I know Firewire is the best way to connect my devices. But I do not have the money to buy another drive.

JordantheNerd said:

Okay, thank you for your reply. Do you think I will still be fine if it does not say that it will work in Mac. Like this card: DSE PCI Card USB 2.0 5 Port

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That card is probably as good as any. However, it might be better if you purchased the card from a local vendor rather than on line. Much easier to take the card back for a refund if it doesn't work.

Regards.

JordantheNerd said:

Yes, I know Firewire is the best way to connect my devices. But I do not have the money to buy another drive.

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Jordan any 3.5" IDE HDD will fit into an external case so you do not need another drive if you have a spare, just the Firewire external and they are pretty cheap from Hong Kong.

Today I went into DSE, and checked out the card. I noticed on the box, that it said it would support Mac. I also should be able to get a refund if it does not work.

It may be a while until I can buy it, as I currently have no money, and owe quite a bit of money, to buy this Powermac from a friend.

harryb2448, My external hard drive is an a Western Digital Elements, I don't think it would be good to transfer the hard drive into another enclosure, as I can't really get into it, and it would void my warranty, etc.

I will post here if I have any issues when I buy this card, or any further questions.

Thank you for your help,
Jordan