I have an old Power Macintosh 6500, and when I first got it, I foolishly updated the OS to 9, and the boot time went up by a few minutes. I'm looking to downgrade back to 8.6 (which is what it had when I got it) or to 7.6. The only thing holding me back from just wiping it and re-installing is that it came with an ethernet card, and I've run pretty much all the other versions of Mac OS I could find, but none of them had a driver for it. What I'm asking for help on is where would the driver be located/named, or how would I find the model of the card to attempt to download new drivers.
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2012, May 21 - 9:55pm
#1
Retrieving ethernet drivers from old Power Macintosh?
Comments
2012, May 21 - 11:22pm
#2
What you're saying makes no sense. Any Mac that shipped with Ethernet capabilities would be supported by the drivers built into the OS, regardless of the version you're running. There's no need to downgrade to Mac OS 8.6 or even 7.6. What driver to you think you're looking for, and why do you think Apple would not support that card in their OS, when they built the entire thing?
The Ethernet drivers would have names that include:
Apple Enet
Apple Enet DLPI Support
Enet Shim Lib
etc…
These are installed automatically when you install Mac OS; you have no option to not install them.
2012, May 21 - 11:37pm
#3
I didn't own the mac originally, so I'm not sure if the PCI card came with it or not. The reason I'm downgrading is not because OS 9 won't support it (it very much does), but because the mac has slowed to a near unusable state. I have a second drive that I've tested different versions of Mac OS on, and none of those support the card out of the box.
2012, May 22 - 2:25am
#4
According to Mactracker, the 6500 had built-in Ethernet support for models sold in the U.S., which means it was Apple-supplied, so the built-in drivers of Mac OS support it fully. The maximum version you can officially run on this model is Mac OS 9.1.
If you're experiencing slow startup times, it could be that you don't have enough RAM for Mac OS 9, so the first thing I would do is install the maximum amount of RAM in this sysem, which is 128 MB in 2 slots. You need 2-64 MB 168 Pin EDO DIMMs that are 60ns or faster (lower numbers are faster).
2012, May 21 - 11:42pm
#5
Congrats on acquiring a 6500. This (or a 6400) is on my never owned before but still would like one list. Minutes to boot up doesn't sound too healthy though. What version of 9 is it?
None of your Mac OS disks will have a driver for this if its a 3rd party fast ethernet card occupying a PCI slot. However if it has a Comm Slot II ethernet card (10 mbit), you may be able to use the supplied Apple drivers. Do you know the difference? If your ethernet card is in the Apple PCI riser card, it will be 3rd party. The Comm Slot will either be unoccupied or have either a modem or ethernet card filling that slot.
If you still have 9 installed start the Mac up and check the "Apple System Profiler" under the Apple Menu. Click the "Devices and Volumes" tab. You don't have the drivers for this card but the Apple System Profiler may be able to read manufacturing details off the card chips and these may show up in the PCI slots info on the Devices and Volumes page.
You can also look at the card itself, it might have a manufactures mark or name on it or a production number that you can run through a search engine on-line.
2012, May 22 - 4:12am
#6
Built-in Ethernet support does not mean on-board ethernet. Which this Mac did not have. It may have been sold with an Apple branded Comm Slot II ethernet card. But these were installed as an optional purchase[1] and the CS II slot if filled, contained a CS II modem card unless the purchaser ordered the CS II enet card as an optional upgrade. [1] Sole exception was the Education market (US) which got this Mac with a CS II enet card installed. Nice pic of this card here.
If so, then Googie2149 is in with a chance. However as the Apple branded CS II enet card was only 10 Mbit, to get 10/100 speed into this Mac there is also a good chance his enet card will be a 3rd party enet card, either CS II or PCI - Of which, they usually would need their own drivers.
2012, May 22 - 4:18am
#7
If they have a CS II card, it's fully supported by the drivers in Mac OS. But if they have a PCI card without an Apple logo on it, they will need separate drivers for it. The PCI card will probably be from Asante, Dayna or another well known manufacturer.
It would help if we knew what type of card they had, and the manufacturer.
2012, May 22 - 1:52pm
#8
Thanks for all the help so far! When I get home, I'll put the drive containing OS 9 back in and see if the system profilrr can find anything, and I'll also open this thing up again and take some pictures of the card and see what I can find.
Unfortunately, more RAM isn't much of an option unless I can find some for cheap or at some recycling place. I had looked at getting some before, but it's just too expensive for me. But if I do eventually get some RAM, my next goal for this machine would be a G3 upgrade. Maybe. If Linux was more reliable on this.
2012, May 22 - 9:12pm
#9
Alright, I got into OS 9.0.4, and the system profiler says that PCI Slot $B1 is occupied by an Ethernet Card (obviously, but the other drive that doesn't have the drivers just says Unknown or something like that), and this:
Card type: Not available
Card name: pci1011,19
Card model: Not available
Card ROM #: Not available
Card revision: 48
Card vendor ID: 1011
I also found that within my 140 some extensions (only a few of which I know what they do or why they're there), I found something about Mac IPX Ethernet/AppleTalk/Token Ring (I think I might have installed those with StarCraft, but I'm not sure), but they didn't have a description, Apple Ethernet CS II (wouldn't make sense if that wasn't on the other drive, but I'll check in a bit), andEtherTalk Phase 2 (says it's Apple made?).
On a side note, if I were to plug in a random USB card that I got for my old PC, would it work with OS 9 or would I have to find VERY specific drivers?
2012, May 22 - 11:18pm
#10
So does this card occupy the Comm Slot II (furthest to right on mobo looking from the rear), or is it in the PCI riser card?
On a side note, if I were to plug in a random USB card that I got for my old PC, would it work with OS 9 or would I have to find VERY specific drivers?
A random card, no. But a card with the NEC chipset "NEC D720101GJ" stamped clearly on the main chip on the USB card, yes. Many manufacturers used this chip, from named to no-name brands. All USB cards on Macs without built-in USB require the USB card drivers that are still available from Apple. USB Card Support 1.4 drivers are the ones to use from Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2.2.
2012, May 22 - 9:19pm
#11
Card vendor ID: 1011 means it's a card with a DEC chipset. In System profiler, click on the Extensions tab and click on the "Apple" column (once or twice). This will list the non-Apple extensions first and should make it easier to find the extension the card uses.
2012, May 22 - 9:45pm
#12
I checked the other drive, the only one that I couldn't find (besides MacIPX, which I did actually install with StarCraft I found) was EtherTalk Phase II. That might possibly have been the difference between Mac OS 9.0.4 (which has the drivers) and Mac OS 8.6 (which does not).
In checking back on the first drive, which is much easier now (thanks Protocol!), there are a lot of random non-Apple extensions from the previous owner. I did find that DJ 800 Series and DJ 800 Series (AT) have hopeful icons, though I don't know what they are. There's also EnterNet with the description: [Along wih files "EnterNet 100" and "EnterNet Extension," this extension enables Open Transport to access a PPPoE network.] as well as EnterNet Extension.
Edit: Found that the DJ 800 extensions are for an HP Printer, and I think that EnterNet has to do with a service provider/DSL/what ever it is called
2012, May 23 - 12:21am
#13
It's in the PCI riser. I'll check for names on the card when I go to install that USB card. Thanks for that! 
2012, May 23 - 1:04am
#14
Well, that eliminates the Comm Slot II ethernet drivers you saw 
A DEC chipset, Protocol 7 says, that too could be on a number of manufacturers cards. I'm hoping its going to be a Kingston fast ethernet card for you (good reliable drivers/cards & still easy to locate drivers for).
2012, May 23 - 3:18am
#15
It might be the Apple 10/100 Base-T Ethernet card:
2012, May 23 - 5:44am
#16
Perhaps. It might be any number of cards that use that DEC chipset. For example, Googie2149's System Profiler returned a card revision 48. Here's a similar profiler report for a Farallon Fast Enet card, it also carries a card revision 48 & card vendor 1011 notice. A Kingston KNE100TX PCI card I own, has the DEC 21140 chipset mentioned in the Apple PDF. So it could be some other re badged DEC card. Googie2149 will have to look inside the box and find out.
2012, May 23 - 8:26pm
#17
I got some pictures of the card (that I thought I had posted this morning, but meh)
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/16221674/1/asdf?h=de18fe
When I try to run the USB driver installer on both 9 and 8.6, I get a type 39 error or something.
2012, May 24 - 12:59am
#18
A type -39 error indicates that the file you are attempting to use has become corrupted in some way. They are good if from the Apple Software Updates repositories, so something has happened to them between there and arriving onto your 6500.
The ethernet card looks like an Intel card with a DEC chipset - if there is such a thing (maybe its a DEC card). The closest example of your card I found is an Intel card that is a version 1.3 revision (yours is 1.2) The board and layout is identical to yours, but this 1.3 card is using an Intel chipset not a DEC branded chipset, so I'm not 100% sure. See these pics: one, two, three.
If yours has the sticker with a series of numbers on the reverse side, similar to the top left of the third pic here, then I would be more confident that it is an Intel card. Record the serial and search the Intel web site you may be able to find out the exact card (and hopefully, drivers) that way.
2012, May 24 - 3:49am
#19
It wasn't easy, but here it is (an older version for the Farallon branded card).
http://www.mediafire.com/?zlcu7dn7mzf2l35
Many say the older software is more reliable than the newer releases anyway 
Let me know how this goes!
2012, May 24 - 8:11pm
#20
There's two stickers on the top left, the top one reading ID: 00A04B053550, the second one just below the first reading FQ0035057. I searched both numbers on the Intel website, and couldn't find anything, and Google didn't yield anything either, though at the same time I couldn't find anything for the numbers on your card.
For the USB card, does it matter if the chip set is D720101, missing the GJ? The box looks the exact same as images I found online that do have the GJ.
2012, May 25 - 9:30am
#21
@Googie, how did that driver go?
I did a search (for the exact model name 21143-PC) and it came up as a Farallon branded card, with the same speed and transport. Those drivers are the closest thing I could find still in existence. Please try them :-/
2012, May 26 - 5:14am
#22
@themacmeister:
I did a search (for the exact model name 21143-PC) and it came up as a Farallon branded card
This chip was also in common use by Cabletron, Intel, DEC, HP, etc. Its a generic digital chip used by many. As the card itself has no manufacturer's logo or trade marks printed on it, finding a driver for it is not going to be easy. In fact it probably would be easier and quicker for Googie to find a known name branded card and use that instead.
@Googie2149: If the USB card you have doesn't have "NEC D720101GJ" stamped on the main chip on the card, then I can't say as to it usefulness to you. So far we're not having much success, sad to say 
2012, May 25 - 11:27pm
#23
Yesterday was kind of chaotic almost immediately after I posted. I had downloaded the drivers and got them over with a Zip Disk, and after things calmed down I got stuffit installed (I haven't messed with the installation much yet), but by then it was 12:00... Once school ends, I'll give them a shot.
Edit: Just tried the driver... Didn't work
The System Profiler now shows my USB card, as two separate cards, but won't do anything else. Nothing mounts and mice/keyboards don't do anything.
2012, May 26 - 12:06pm
#24
It might be the case that any card using that chipset will work with any drivers for it. I had a generic PC NIC with a Realtek chipset in my 5400 for a while and used a OS9 driver downloaded from Realtek. So if you can get a Mac OS driver package for any 21143-based card it might do the trick.
2012, May 27 - 12:00pm
#25
I have many 4xUSB PCI cards that do not function on PCI Macs. The only one that ever worked was OHCI (Open Host Controller Interface), This still required a small driver install (USB Mass Storage?) to get my thumb drives working.
Sorry about that driver, I figured with the same chipset... Have you tried resedit and changing Vendor/Device ID's to match yours? Install it in a PC, and you will get some great info, then take that info here -> www.pcidatabase.com
best of luck. once you know the vendor ID and legit device ID, you should be set!
2012, May 27 - 12:26pm
#26
OK, the only thing that comes close from DEC, is this:
0x0019
Chip Number: DC21142/3
Chip Description: PCI/CardBus 10/100 Mbit Ethernet Ctlr
Notes: SALVADOR
so now we have Ven:1011 Dev:0019
BRB
Here are the Vendors, and the names of their cards...
http://driver-id.info/srch.pci-ven-1011-dev-0019.html
You should have all you need to start some SERIOUS Google-ing
best of luck!
EDIT: It's called the "DECchip 21142/43" and is in the G3 iMac, if that helps you. I would assume that you are missing some vital System software, that you might find on the original G3 iMac (DV?) installer CDs/DVD. Also on 7600/132
EDIT: Works with Tulip driver under Linux, tho not well, from reports. I had Xubuntu (O-L-D version) working on a G3 Blue & White tower. Tested ethernet with 1.5Mb broadband, and it worked fine. Dunno if this had the Tulip driver or not, from memory.
2012, May 30 - 11:27am
#27
I can hear dust gathering...
2012, May 30 - 1:21pm
#28
Sorry, finals are coming, and I've been busy trying to fix my iMac which died saturday. It wasn't my main computer, but it made it so much easier to get things onto the Power Mac. Oh, and the last final is on tuesday, so I'll start this up again around then. Thanks for helping me out so much already!
Edit: Oh wait, I have the day off Friday, and finals actually let out early each day, so I'll see what I can do tomorrow.
2012, May 31 - 11:00am
#29
Don't forget, see here and then Google the s**t out of these brands/cards to find a working driver...
http://driver-id.info/srch.pci-ven-1011-dev-0019.html
Best of luck with finals, and the ethernet driver!