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Ra · Dec 24, 2001, 12:22 AM

I have a Mac 7300 with a Sonnet 400 Mhz upgrade card, and have decided to add a Belkin 2-port USB adapter card (F5U005-MAC) to provide USB support to an Epson 777i (USB/Parallel) printer.

For some reason the printer doesn't respond to "print" commands, nor any other function. I installed USB Adapter Card Support v. 1.4.1, and Epson driver SC 777 6.44A. The following is a list of troubleshooting steps I have taken:

1. Replaced the USB cable with a known good one.
2. Moved/reseated the Belkin USB card to another PCI slot.
3. Connected a USB mouse directly to the USB card, and the mouse's pointer moves only horizontally, but not vertically.
4. Connected the printer to another Mac (with built-in USB support); the printer worked fine.

According to some information at Belkin's web page, this card should be used in Mac computers that have PCI slots version 2.1 or newer. The PCI slots in the Mac 7300 are version 2.0. However, I have an OrangeLink FireWire card in one of the PCI slots. This FireWire card controls a LaCie 24x10x40 FireWire CDRW, and both work without a glitch. I can't think of any reason why a FireWire card works, while a USB card does not.

I also "erased" an external hard drive I have, and performed a "clean install" of Mac OS 9.1, then used this drive as the startup one. I proceeded to install the Epson software, and made sure the USB extensions and USB support were properly installed. Again, the printer didn't respond.

The printer is displayed in the Chooser, and so the USB port (USB Port 1). The following are two examples of what happens is I decide to print a document, or if I decide to use the printer's Utilities to check the ink status:

1. Page Setup's "Print" command: The Spooler displays on the screen, and after a few seconds it seems that it has used all the memory available, and finally the program locks-up. If that happens, I can only "Force Quit" the application and Restart the computer. I have nearly 400MB of RAM, and I am not using Background Printing.

2. Page Setup, Utilities, "Epson Status Monitor:" When I try this command, the printer makes the usual noise (like when getting ready to print), then it stops the noise and the following caution displays on the screen: "A communication error has occurred. Check all cable connections and make sure all devises are on..."

I plan to call Belkin after Christmas, but if you happen to know what the problem may be, I would appreciate your help on solving it. I imagine the USB card is malfunctioning.

PatGmac · Dec 24, 2001, 03:14 PM

Belkin cards (Firewire or USB) do require PCI 2.1. Get yourself another brand card (such as Keyspan, Mace/Macally). It's just the way Belkin made their cards, they'll only work with Beige G3's Rev. B or higher.

Ra · Dec 24, 2001, 04:41 PM

Originally posted by PatGmac:
<STRONG>Belkin cards (Firewire or USB) do require PCI 2.1. Get yourself another brand card (such as Keyspan, Mace/Macally). It's just the way Belkin made their cards, they'll only work with Beige G3's Rev. B or higher.</STRONG>

Thank you for your reply, Pat.
I will replace the card with a Keyspan or Mace/Macally one. That's what I was thinking of when I purchased the Belkin card, but when I saw the $24.00 price tag on it I had to give it a try. Trying to save a buck can get expensive, sometimes.