120GB SSDs in G4 Cube

[JDW]

I have to admit, I got burned out after my earlier failure with something that was supposed to work but didn't. I'll probably give it another shot when at least two or three more people have used the same method (either that from @Scorpio_ny or that from @jasperman . Right now, the stock spinner drive in one of my Cubes is still working. The other is dead and so I can't use that other Cube as a result, but that's OK for now. The OWC looks like the most appealing solution to my eyes, but my experience with past OWC SSD purchases have been mixed, which is why I'd like to see a few other Cube owners give it a shot and report their experiences.

I am happy to see these solutions being explored though. The Cube is one of the best PPC machines, in my opinion due to the great industrial design. Both of my Cubes are accelerated, making them very usable with software made for the G4 chip.

 

[François]

Or just buy an IDE SSD, they’re expensive, but maybe less than trying a whole bunch of adapters?

 

[jasperman]

Or just buy an IDE SSD, they’re expensive, but maybe less than trying a whole bunch of adapters?

Do you have a suggestion that is known to work? My #8 item is a 2.5” IDE to MSATA enclosure so nearly the same as an IDE SSD I would think. And for some unexplained reason it blocks access to the DVD-ROM.

i don’t believe there are any 3.5” IDE SSDs(???) so you will need a 3.5 to 2.5 adapter along with the 2.5 IDE.

 

[phunguss]

(6+7+9) This works and master/slave jumper does change the device number in “About This Mac” and “More Info...” and the ATA section. But oops, the DVD-ROM does not work in any mode.

Did you try changing the optical drive from Master/Slave as well?

 

[jasperman]

Did you try changing the optical drive from Master/Slave as well?

Yes. 9 in master and DVD in slave - DVD does not show up. 9 in slave and DVD in master - DVD does not show up. I verified that the master/slave pin on the 9 enclosure does change it's device ID in "More Info" but somehow blocks access to the DVD which is weird.

 

[phunguss]

Yes. 9 in master and DVD in slave - DVD does not show up. 9 in slave and DVD in master - DVD does not show up. I verified that the master/slave pin on the 9 enclosure does change it's device ID in "More Info" but somehow blocks access to the DVD which is weird.

I think there is something funky with the Cube DVDs, because as soon as I removed it and replaced it with another apple slot load (slim drive), the master slave issues went away for me.

 

[jasperman]

I think there is something funky with the Cube DVDs, because as soon as I removed it and replaced it with another apple slot load (slim drive), the master slave issues went away for me.

A mystery! What adapter(s) are you using and what exact DVD drive did you replace it with?

 

[phunguss]

A mystery! What adapter(s) are you using and what exact DVD drive did you replace it with?

Refer back to post #78 to see how I twisted the power cable 180 for the SSD adapter. Not wanting to pull it out right now, so this is the best shot I have, but looks like your #4+7+9 (power cable upside down).

Looks like I used #10 for the optical drive plus an additional cable to convert the 7+15pin to 7+6pin Sata+Power.

Slot load SATA dvd from an old iMac (unknown model).

It is likely you could use an older slot load optical drive that has the ATAPI connector and find an IDE adapter with a master/slave jumper. This one does not have a master/slave jumper.