Is Apple USB the same as PC USB or Sun USB? Even though USB was supposed to be a universal standard, there
are some subtle differences between the PC, Apple, and Sun. To make
a cable that is universal across all these variations was challenging,
but has been accomplished. We made some changes in USB cable revision
20 to fix various problems with booting up Apple computers.
How do I boot from CD-ROM? To boot a Power Macintosh G3 or an iMac G3 from the CD-ROM,
press the power button, wait until the KVM keyboard’s leds flash.
For a G4, you don't have to wait.
How do I rebuild the desktop? To rebuild the desktop on a Power Macintosh G3 or an iMac G3,
press the power button and wait until the happy Mac graphic appears.
Then press and hold the left command and left alt keys until a prompt
asks if you want to rebuild the desktop. For a G4, you don't
have to wait.
How do I reset the parameter ram? To reset the Parameter RAM on a Power Macintosh G3 or an iMac
G3, press the power button and wait until the KVM keyboard’s leds
flash. Then quickly press and hold the "p", "r", "command", and
"alt" keys until you hear the startup chime a second time. You must
press the keys within one second after the keyboard leds flash in
order to reset the PRAM and cause the Mac to restart. For a G4,
you don't have to wait.
Why do I have to wait until the right time to send the power-up
keys to a G3 or iMac? The USB cable derives its power from the Apple computer. G4
models supply power to the USB adapter cable as soon as the computer
is powered on. Pressing any of the 3 key combinations immediately
after pressing the power button will achieve the intended result
on the G4.
G3 models supply power to the USB adapter 9 seconds after the power
up chime. The iMac models supply power to the USB adapter 5 seconds
after the power up chime. Keys pressed at the KVM keyboard prior
before power is supplied to the adapter will have no effect. When
using a Rose KVM switch and a Rose USB adapter cable with a Macintosh
computer, the key sequences must be pressed after the adapter has
powered up in order to work correctly. If the keys are pressed before
the adapter powers up, they will have no effect.
