Don't be intimidated by the number of steps here - it's long because I didn't skip any aspect of the complete installation. I can install this card in 5 minutes, but it takes 5 pages to explain it.

1. Remove the side cover of the PowerTower Pro (remove the two thumbscrews at the rear right side and slide the cover back and off the case). 8500/9500 owners - loosen 4 screws in the back of the case, and lift cover off.

2. Attach a anti-static wrist strap to yourself and the Mac.

3. Touch the power supply metal case to discharge any static charge you have *before* touching any cards or internal components.

4. Locate a free PCI slot, and remove the PCI slot external cover (screwed in on the PTP, tab retained on the Apple Models).

5. On most Apple Tower Mac's - you must depress and lower the Cpu card Latch to have free access to the PCI slots. (Not needed for the PowerTower Pro).

6. IF you're going to use an existing drive (not a new one):
   • Remove the SCSI cable that is connected to the Hard Disk you wish to attach to the 2940UW. Connect the SCSI cable from the PCI SCSI cable to the existing drive. Try to minimize the number of bends in the cable.

     NOTE: If the drive you disconnected was the last one on the stock SCSI cable, then you'll have to enable termination (via jumper usually) on the last drive left on the stock cable. An alternative is to buy a external terminator block and attach it to the end of the scsi cable.

7. If adding a new drive:
   • Configure the SCSI ID on the drive (it must not be the same ID as any other SCSI disk on the same cable) and set the termination jumper (terminated only if it's the last drive on the cable). If you don't know the proper jummper settings for your drive (often on the drive cover itself), see my Links page, Gen/SCSI area for a link to Blue Planet which claims to have the jumper settings for every drive ever made.

   • The Drive will need partitioning and formatting in most cases (ProDirect and OtherWorld often ship drives already formatted however).

8. Carefully insert the 2940UW PCI SCSI card into that PCI slot.

9. Attach the ribbon cable to the 2940UW connector (for Narrow scsi used in this example, the raised Keying notch on the connector mates with a slot on the card connector). Orient the cable as shown for reduced cable bends - one end of the cable will allow this better than the other. Note how the cable attaches with a straight exit from the card in this photo.

10. This step applies only if you removed the cables from the drives instead of the Motherboard scsi connector, or in the case of a new Disk install:

    Carefully route the 2940UW's SCSI ribbon cable to the Hard Disk and connect it - observing the notch keying (if narrow SCSI, wide SCSI Connectors can only go on one way) as on the SCSI card.

11. Examine both ends of the cable to ensure they are fully seated in the connectors. I run my finger across each one pressing down to ensure they are bottomed in the mating connectors. If the connectors are not fully seated the system will not boot - it's the first thing to check should this happen on initial powerup.

12. Verify that the PCI scsi card is fully seated in the PCI slot.

13. Leave the case cover off until you verify that all is well.

14. Boot the Mac. It will usually be somewhat slower to boot as it has to search the PCI bus for the SCSI controller - be patient. If the system is not booting after a minute or so, restart and Zap the Pram ( Apple + Option + P + R keys held down at start - hold them down until you hear the "bong" repeat three times).

15. Install the Adaptec PowerDomain Control Panel (Drag it into the System folder Control Panel folder. Also copy all the other files on the supplied disks as well, I use a "Adaptec 2940UW" folder for this on the HD. Double click on the "Read Me" file before using the control panel or other software to view any last minute notes about the card or software from Adaptec.

16. With a standard SCSI-2 disks like those that came with your Apple Mac, there will be no need to change the default settings in the PowerDomain control panel, as my tests show it defaulted to the proper settings. More detail on the control will be shown in later pages of this tutorial.

17. Once you've verified that operation if OK, replace the Mac's case cover. Note: Be sure to set your startup disk if you're using a drive connected to the PCI SCSI card to boot from. It often cuts a few seconds off the startup time.

• Anti-Static Wrist Strap (avail. at Radio Shack, etc.).
• Screwdrivers (philips head for PTP use, straight blade for Apple case screws).

The "Plus" kit is pictured, which also contains a copy of REMUS Lite RAID software, to allow striping and redundant disk arrays to be used. Striping is the highest performance as it treats two or more drives as a single volume, but is the riskiest. Mirroring writes duplicate data to another disk automatically, called redundancy.) RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (original definition). For a complete description of all RAID configurations, see Adaptec's RAID page

Once you attach the wrist strap to yourself, attach the other end to the metal power supply housing (in the case of the typical disposable straps, there is a adhesive coated copper strip for this purpose) or in the case of the permanent wrist straps, to a metal portion of the Mac's case or power supply housing. This connection ensures that your Mac and you are at the same potential. I always leave the Mac power cord attached, but in reality it does not matter as long as you and the Mac are at the same potential. I also use a large anti-static plastic floor mat at the workstation. These mats are a good protective measure during daily use and cost as little as $15 at Sam's clubs and similar outlets.

Now you know all the steps involved and what's contained in the kit. Once you've ensured that you are properly grounded with a wrist strap, we can proceed to the next step.