[geeks] ADB to USB or ADB to PS/2 converters

[Ido Dubrawsky]

On Mon, Sep 12, 2005 at 11:31:19PM -0500, geeks-request at sunhelp.org wrote:
> Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 01:41:17 -0400
> From: velociraptor <velociraptor at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [geeks] ADB to USB or ADB to PS/2 converters
> To: The Geeks List <geeks at sunhelp.org>
> Message-ID: <b9ce685f050911224169932f2f at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> AFAIK, that's not the case.  A quick google turned this up in the
> YDL list:
> 
> http://lists.yellowdoglinux.com/yellowdog-general/January02/0105.html
> 
> "Otherwise, running headless on a Mac is simple. However, some
> machines require sensing the physical presence of a monitor through
> the video connector before they will boot. I've never used the 8500
> so I don't know if it needs to sense or not. But on those machines
> which require it, you can wire up a dummy DB-15 connector (you only
> have to connect 2 pins together) and plug it in instead of a monitor.
> ADB mouse and keyboard are completely optional."
> 
> The old-world Mac servers allowed you to redirect input/output to tty
> serial via OpenBoot; I don't know if the desktops have this ability or
> not.  I am fairly certain that the modern desktops do not as this is
> a feature touted on the server line.
> 
Turns out if you look at the NetBSD FAQ the default output for Old-World Macs 
for OpenFirmware is the serial port but can be redirected to the screen.  Very
interesting...much more Sun like than I previously thought.  That's good news.

As for booting without a DB-15 monitor I don't know...it may be the case.  I 
have a video card in the box which identifies itself as an IMS tt128mb under
the Apple System Profiler (I can't quite figure out which manufacturer it is
at this point...although it is supported under NetBSD) which has a VGA connector
and a DB-15 connector.  It seem the 8600 may not boot when I've got the monitor
attached to the VGA connecter but will boot when I've got the monitor attached
to the DB-15.  I want to replace it with an ATI Rage 128 for the Mac but I'm 
not sure what that will do (i.e. will it boot or not).  I've got an adapter
for the DB-15 connector that allows you to connect a VGA monitor but I'd rather
not be tied to the DB-15 world.  

Overall I've made progress with the box.  I installed an ATTO PCIExpress Ultra-
Wide SCSI card (although the drive I installed is probably no better than the
regular Fast-SCSI drive that came with the box -- albeit whoever put that drive
in the box slapped an IDE label on it...it's a Quantum Fireball for sure...but
SCSI...not IDE), I've got roughly 560MB of memory in the system, I've upgraded
the processor using a Sonnet Crescendo/PCI 450MHz 1MB cache processor, and I 
want to upgrade the Video as well before I install OS X.  Yeah, I could have 
bought a G4 for a few hundred dollars but where's the fun in that?

Ido
-- 
===============================================================================
Ido Dubrawsky, CISSP           		E-mail:          ido at dubrawsky.org
Network Security Architect			   idubraws at siliconsec.com
dubrawsky.org
500 Hermleigh Rd
Silver Spring, MD. 20902
(301) 651-5441 (cell)
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