6 ms·

What are the advantages of this versus a PATA disk-on-module, a CompactFlash card, or an SD-to-PATA adapter?

asveikau 4y ago
I agree that these things are readily available, but given that we're reading it on github, maybe it's somebody's tinkering project.
- systems_glitch 4y ago
  That's really the only valid reason to do this, which is of course reason enough :P
systems_glitch 4y ago
Add in there IDE to SATA and IDE to mSATA/M.2. If you just need to plug a non-ancient disk into IDE, there are tons of options.
andrewf 4y ago
Can anyone recommend a specific device they've observed to work on a G4 Mac mini? (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087CL5KHL https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087CL5KHL and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67GX6W https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67GX6W together did not work. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QN9STY7 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QN9STY7 and a random SATA drive did not work and did not fit)
- Palomides 4y ago
  I use this in my 3400c, probably fine for your mac mini https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AQT2LCU https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AQT2LCU
  - giantrobot 4y ago
    There used to (maybe still are) PATA SSDs from a brand called King Spec on Amazon that I have used in a number of machines. I have used them in a G3 PowerBook (Lombard), a Sony VAIO laptop, and an IBM ThinkPad. These are all just for funsies machines so I make no claims of those drives' reliability. I don't have any irreplaceable data on any of those drives.
- duffyjp 4y ago
  The eBay listings are long gone, but in 2019 I ordered an adapter and a cheap used Samsung sata m.2 and they work perfectly in my G4 Mac Mini. The SSD listing descriptions were: * "2 Pack M.2 NGFF SATA SSD to 2.5 inch IDE 44PIN Converter Adapter with Case" * "256GB SATA-III Solid State Drive M.2 2280 Samsung PM871 MZ-NLN2560 Lenovo SSD"
- visualphoenix 4y ago
  I used https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Addonics/ADSAIDE/ https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Addonics/ADSAIDE/ to upgrade some Glyph drives to ssd when connected to a g5 audio rig a few years ago
- BirAdam 4y ago
  I’ve used an IDE to CF adapter successfully.
- xmodem 4y ago
  I've had success with this one, with a G4 mini. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AQT2LRK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AQT2LRK/ref=ppx_yo_dt...
joenathanone 4y ago
Nand should have better latency and write duration
- samstave 4y ago
  Sure but what are the subjective positives? Source: Ran Intel's game lab to seek out subjective positives with SIMD when the MIPS and AMD and the other CPU company were a threat... transmeta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmeta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmeta Look at what they lost.... I was talking with a DB Dev ~1998 at intel and his biggest problem was figuring out hot to expand the money fields in the DB to include the number of digits to reflect how much money they had...
rsync 4y ago
"What are the advantages of this versus a PATA disk-on-module, a CompactFlash card, or an SD-to-PATA adapter?" I wondered the same thing ... I have thousands of days of uptime on various CF->IDE configurations - many of which were critical infrastructure. It's a really elegant solution because CF and IDE are pinout compatible. No logic is required. I set filesystems to be read-only so as not to burn out the CF part and, again, some of these were in service for >10 years and I have much higher confidence in this configuration than any SSD based solution I have ever fielded.
daneel_w 4y ago
Don't use SD/microSD storage for these things. It's terrible for a number of reasons. Get yourself a cheap IDE-SATA adapter instead and plug an old used 2.5" SATA SSD in there.
- AshamedCaptain 4y ago
  > Don't use SD/microSD storage for these things. It's terrible for a number of reasons. Is it, really? My microSDs have already handled more lifetime writes than all IDE HDDs I ever had combined.
  - daneel_w 4y ago
    I don't buy it, because it contradicts the very nature of flash storage. Unless you used your IDE HDDs as piñatas, that is. But the problems specific to SD/microSD and USB flash drives are more than limited longevity. The underlying SDIO protocol/interface of this storage type has several shortcomings making it awful for general operating system use entailing frequent intermixed writes and reads, including bringing the whole storage (and with it the OS) to a complete read-blocked freeze during extended and small rapid writes.
    - mike_d 4y ago
      Tell that to the original Raspberry Pi's floating around that are old enough to be enrolled in high school.
      - mardifoufs 4y ago
        On their original SD card? Probably not, especially on the earlier raspi models.
      - daneel_w 4y ago
        I have, on numerous occasions. It's one of the reasons why general desktop use on them can be so infuriating.
      - 4y ago

I agree that these things are readily available, but given that we're reading it on github, maybe it's somebody's tinkering project.

systems_glitch 4y ago
That's really the only valid reason to do this, which is of course reason enough :P

systems_glitch 4y ago

Add in there IDE to SATA and IDE to mSATA/M.2. If you just need to plug a non-ancient disk into IDE, there are tons of options.

andrewf 4y ago

Can anyone recommend a specific device they've observed to work on a G4 Mac mini? (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087CL5KHL https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087CL5KHL and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67GX6W https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67GX6W together did not work. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QN9STY7 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QN9STY7 and a random SATA drive did not work and did not fit)

Palomides 4y ago
I use this in my 3400c, probably fine for your mac mini https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AQT2LCU https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AQT2LCU
- giantrobot 4y ago
  There used to (maybe still are) PATA SSDs from a brand called King Spec on Amazon that I have used in a number of machines. I have used them in a G3 PowerBook (Lombard), a Sony VAIO laptop, and an IBM ThinkPad. These are all just for funsies machines so I make no claims of those drives' reliability. I don't have any irreplaceable data on any of those drives.
duffyjp 4y ago
The eBay listings are long gone, but in 2019 I ordered an adapter and a cheap used Samsung sata m.2 and they work perfectly in my G4 Mac Mini. The SSD listing descriptions were: * "2 Pack M.2 NGFF SATA SSD to 2.5 inch IDE 44PIN Converter Adapter with Case" * "256GB SATA-III Solid State Drive M.2 2280 Samsung PM871 MZ-NLN2560 Lenovo SSD"
visualphoenix 4y ago
I used https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Addonics/ADSAIDE/ https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Addonics/ADSAIDE/ to upgrade some Glyph drives to ssd when connected to a g5 audio rig a few years ago
BirAdam 4y ago
I’ve used an IDE to CF adapter successfully.
xmodem 4y ago
I've had success with this one, with a G4 mini. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AQT2LRK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AQT2LRK/ref=ppx_yo_dt...

joenathanone 4y ago

Nand should have better latency and write duration

samstave 4y ago
Sure but what are the subjective positives? Source: Ran Intel's game lab to seek out subjective positives with SIMD when the MIPS and AMD and the other CPU company were a threat... transmeta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmeta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmeta Look at what they lost.... I was talking with a DB Dev ~1998 at intel and his biggest problem was figuring out hot to expand the money fields in the DB to include the number of digits to reflect how much money they had...

rsync 4y ago

"What are the advantages of this versus a PATA disk-on-module, a CompactFlash card, or an SD-to-PATA adapter?" I wondered the same thing ... I have thousands of days of uptime on various CF->IDE configurations - many of which were critical infrastructure. It's a really elegant solution because CF and IDE are pinout compatible. No logic is required. I set filesystems to be read-only so as not to burn out the CF part and, again, some of these were in service for >10 years and I have much higher confidence in this configuration than any SSD based solution I have ever fielded.

daneel_w 4y ago

Don't use SD/microSD storage for these things. It's terrible for a number of reasons. Get yourself a cheap IDE-SATA adapter instead and plug an old used 2.5" SATA SSD in there.

AshamedCaptain 4y ago
> Don't use SD/microSD storage for these things. It's terrible for a number of reasons. Is it, really? My microSDs have already handled more lifetime writes than all IDE HDDs I ever had combined.
- daneel_w 4y ago
  I don't buy it, because it contradicts the very nature of flash storage. Unless you used your IDE HDDs as piñatas, that is. But the problems specific to SD/microSD and USB flash drives are more than limited longevity. The underlying SDIO protocol/interface of this storage type has several shortcomings making it awful for general operating system use entailing frequent intermixed writes and reads, including bringing the whole storage (and with it the OS) to a complete read-blocked freeze during extended and small rapid writes.
  - mike_d 4y ago
    Tell that to the original Raspberry Pi's floating around that are old enough to be enrolled in high school.
    - mardifoufs 4y ago
      On their original SD card? Probably not, especially on the earlier raspi models.
    - daneel_w 4y ago
      I have, on numerous occasions. It's one of the reasons why general desktop use on them can be so infuriating.
    - 4y ago