AirPort-compatible .11n card for Power Mac G5
Hi all,
I recently bought a PCI-E wireless card for my Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)... It was really cheap from Hong Kong and required drivers to be installed to run. The slight annoyance with it is that it isn't recognized as an AirPort card (although it was advertised with the word "AirPort" - naughty)... When it boots up it auto-launches this really horrible control software... The AirPort menu item just says "not connected" and everything has to be done through this utility. The connection once established though seems to be okay.
I was expecting better though, and so I'm still on the hunt for a proper AIRPORT-COMPATIBLE card (one that the system recognizes as AirPort) so I can boot my computer up remotely and not have to worry about all this utility nonsense. I bought a normal PCI card one a few years ago for my G4, but that one won't fit and it's only 11g. I guess my other option is to hunt down a AirPort Extreme inc Bluetooth card that fits in the internal slot, but I'm guessing those only go up to 11g also.
Does anyone know of any proper 11n AirPort-compatible PCI-E cards I can buy for my old PM G5? If I can get one then I'd return this one on the grounds it's not as advertised.
Thanks!
:-Joe
I recently bought a PCI-E wireless card for my Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)... It was really cheap from Hong Kong and required drivers to be installed to run. The slight annoyance with it is that it isn't recognized as an AirPort card (although it was advertised with the word "AirPort" - naughty)... When it boots up it auto-launches this really horrible control software... The AirPort menu item just says "not connected" and everything has to be done through this utility. The connection once established though seems to be okay.
I was expecting better though, and so I'm still on the hunt for a proper AIRPORT-COMPATIBLE card (one that the system recognizes as AirPort) so I can boot my computer up remotely and not have to worry about all this utility nonsense. I bought a normal PCI card one a few years ago for my G4, but that one won't fit and it's only 11g. I guess my other option is to hunt down a AirPort Extreme inc Bluetooth card that fits in the internal slot, but I'm guessing those only go up to 11g also.
Does anyone know of any proper 11n AirPort-compatible PCI-E cards I can buy for my old PM G5? If I can get one then I'd return this one on the grounds it's not as advertised.
Thanks!
:-Joe
Comments
Does anyone know of any proper 11n AirPort-compatible PCI-E cards I can buy for my old PM G5? If I can get one then I'd return this one on the grounds it's not as advertised.
I doubt you'd get 802.11n PCIe with compatible drivers for the G5 For the standard one, it seems you need two parts - the runway card and rivets to mount on the motherboard:
http://www.applemacparts.co.uk/store...d-p-70931.html
http://www.applemacparts.co.uk/store...t-p-70911.html
and the wifi/bluetooth card that plugs into it:
http://www.applemacparts.co.uk/store...r-p-68772.html
The latter card can be found on eBay (search 'A1126 wifi'):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-G5-iMac-G4...ht_3072wt_1239
You might be better off with a USB adaptor:
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa...duct_Id=372137
but I'd expect them to use 3rd party software too. I'd say the proper card route will be the most reliable even if it means being stuck to 802.11g speed.
It's just a shame I can't have it initialise before the login screen... Is there anything I can do with LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons perhaps?
It's just a shame I can't have it initialise before the login screen... Is there anything I can do with LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons perhaps?
You might be able to setup a launchd item using one of the following apps:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/19879/lingon
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/18457/launchd-editor
Another option you have is to connect an 802.11n repeater next to your G5 and plug it in via ethernet:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB...press-AirTunes
You also get connectors that go over your power lines - these are faster than 802.11n:
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa...duct_Id=495008
You can get those items cheaper from other brands but they will vary in performance.
Thanks!