Is this PCMCIA cardbus adapter compatible with WallStreet?

Question

Greetings, I too have inherited an older laptop - in this case, a PB G3 (black) which I'm pretty sure is the Wall St. model. I'd love to bring it up to date and I found this item online for only about $14.
Sabrent USB 2.0 PCMCIA Cardbus Adapter (2 Ports) with USB Power Cable
I just don't know if it will work, though the description says it's mac compatible. If anyone here knows, please let me hear from you, or if you can recommend something that's best for this model. It looks like I can just plug it into the slot on the side and, wow, I can connect USB devices! I'd like to have one port for FireWire, but that might be pushing it with this older powerbook. BTW, it only has OS 8.1 installed...is there any problem? Of course I'd like to have OS 9.2 (I have the disc from my powermac), or even OS X 3.9...is that also possible?
Many thanks,
Keith

Answer 1

Keith,
Sounds like a good price for the CD-ROM.
I cannot say with any confidence that your machine-specific PowerMac OS 9.1 will boot the Wallstreet...it may. Starting with 9.1, some of the machine-specific MacOS CDs (Installer CDs, not the ones that had 'Restore' on the label) would boot other models. If it does not, you will have to buy the retail MacOS 9.x CD or install in the method described earlier. All I can say at this point is to wait for the CD-ROM drive to arrive, then see if your OS 9.1 CD will boot.
Just a quick note: If the OS 9.1 does not appear to boot when restarting and pressing the 'c' key, reset the PRAM, then try again.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
If the 9.1 CD does boot, I would recommend you do NOT update your installed OS 8.1; select erase and perform a clean install. You want to start out with fresh HD, not one that may have problems.
Please note this before installing 9.1: Since the Wallstreet does not have built-in USB ports, the necessary USB extensions will not be installed from the MacOS System CD. The easiest workaround is to have your USB PC card installed in the PCMCIA card slot before installing the OS. When the installer runs, it will "see" the USB hardware and install the appropriate drivers (extensions). When you pop the USB card in the slot under your OS 8.1, you will get a message that says the necessary drivers are not installed and would you like to eject the card...do not eject it. You can also Custom Install the extensions if you do not have the USB PC card.
Another little item with USB PC cards:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=31135
The OWC Universal Hard Drive (ATA/IDE) to USB 2.0 Adapter is only used for one purpose; it allows you to connect a bare HD to a USB port. I suggested using this cable if you wanted to remove the Wallstreet's HD and connect it to your PowerMac and install an OS on the WS's HD. This USB cable was an alternative to placing the Wallstreet's HD in a 2.5" USB HD enclosure.
If you want to connect USB devices like a printer to the WS, you still need the USB 2.0 PC card.
With the Wallstreet's media bay CD-ROM, you will then be able to install apps, etc, from this drive. And with compatible MacOS CDs, you will be able to boot the Wallstreet from the CD-ROM drive.
It is easy to install RAM and I would suggest buying from OWC. If you stay with 9.x, I would think a 128MB module would be plenty of RAM; this will give you a total of 160MB (32MB lower slot + 128MB upper slot).
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iBooks-PowerBooks/G3-Lombard/
Here are Apple's instructions for placing memory in the top slot:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25002