SCSI2SD SCSI Hard Drive Emulator Product Review

The SCSI2SD is a solid state alternative to the mechanical SCSI hard drives. Focused mainly around the use in vintage Macintosh computers, this product review goes over the different SCSI2SD models currently available and discusses the various pros and cons of each one.
IMPORTANT ADDENDUM
While I state in this video that Macs can't take advantage of the SCSI2SD v6 faster synchronous speeds, strictly speaking this is not the case. Although it is true that the Macs can't utilise synchronous transfers, in my benchmark tests the v6 is significantly faster than the other SCSI2SD models.
Australians can now buy SCSI2SD from the local reseller here:
recapamac.com.au/shop/
Useful links
codesrc wiki: www.codesrc.com/mediawiki/inde...
Inertial computing: store.inertialcomputing.com/c...
Macintosh repository: macintoshrepository.org
BMOW Floppy Emu: www.bigmessowires.com/floppy-...
If you enjoy the content and would like to make a small donation, you can do so here:
www.paypal.me/branchus
Timecodes
00:22 Overview
03:35 Cat
06:08 SCSI2SD v6
09:26 SCSI2SD v5.1
10:11 SCSI2SD v5
11:28 SCSI2SD v5.5
13:31 SCS2SD Utility
16:35 Summary
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[@MacManPro36]

Can we just take a second to appreciate that you cared enough not to edit your cat out? Good mate.

[@wofwof007]

I'd heard about the device but didn't realize that were so many models. Thanks for the thorough analysis and the pros and cons of each.

[@1magazine]

Awesome and easy-to-understand video about the different SCSI2SD options! I have several old Macintosh computers, and I’ve been looking for some time to buy a scsi2sd, this really helped me choose! Many thanks!

[@BranchusCreations]

You're welcome!

[@FrederikHeringa]

Great video! Note also that the SCSI V5.5 has half the read/write speed of the V5.1 and V5 (and even less compared to the V6)

[@netwho07]

Thanks Bruce, I'm glad I stumbled over your channel! I was able get my hands on 2 identical Mac SE's lately and guess what? Both 20MB SCSI HD's are dead. Using a floppy emu proofed both working fine and I ordered a SCSI2SD v6 and can't wait until it's delivered..... Your Video addressed all questions I had when thinking about how to use that kit! Many thanks and keep up that good work

[@gijsraggers]

This guy is great! I actually have the SCSI2SD in a SE without being really aware of what I was doing but it worked quickly. Love the product. Also have the Floppy Emulator, a great combination for installing classic Macs from scratch.

[@MrKrimstah]

Great job covering this mate , really love your work

[@mikegreiling]

Thank you for this extremely clear and concise video explainer. This answered just about every question I had on the subject, and some that I wouldn’t have even thought to ask!

[@foxharken]

Not only Apple largely adopted SCSI standard: Amiga computers uses it as well. There was a SCSI controller built in on the Amiga 3000 and 3000T mainboards! And third party scsi controllers were available as autoconfig cards for amiga 2000 and 4000 as well.

[@kmonyt]

Thanks for the video. I've bought two scsi2sd's and used them in both test equipment and an old amiga. I think I may have a version 4 and a 5. Gonna order a 6 --- which should be a significant improvement. Generally speaking, nice device. I'm always impressed with the frequency and current software updates. He does a great job!

[@santospoland]

Finally, a good video on this!

[@perihelion7445]

Great video mate, thanks again for the Amiga recap too 😎😎

[@santospoland]

If it's not too much to ask, could you create a disk image of the contents of your external device, the SCSI2SD version 5.5 and place it on archive.org? From what you described that device would do wonders for a whole lot of vintage Mac owners and seeing that you've labored over creating a functioning software set it would be welcome for other users as well. Just a thought. After watching to the end, you mentioned that you have preconfigured devices. Nice but it would still be nice to see it on archive.org but that would be selfish of me as well. Thank you for a very good video!

[@TheFrostEngel]

+1 yes it would really help to preserve it

[@_____7704]

Excellent video, well done (fellow Aussie!)

[@little_fluffy_clouds]

Using a v6 card with my Quadra 700 and it’s been flawless. Set it up to provide 3 x 2 GB hard drives and a CD-ROM drive. Amazing little card

[@jason50146]

Great overview. Thank you!

[@skearon]

Many thanks for the very informative video

[@rager1969]

Very informative video. Thank you!

[@akbaribrahim5568]

Very interesting and knowledgeable

[@gklinger]

Cheers for the fantastic video! I've watched more than a dozen videos on the SCSI2SD and none even come close to yours. Two follow-up questions though. Could you elaborate on the issues using a SCSI2SD V5.5 with a Mac Plus? I have a Plus here and was just about to order a V5.5 for it and now I'm having second thoughts. As it happens, I do have a FloppyEmu so if the V5.5 just won't work, I'll follow your lead. I'm also wondering if you'd be willing to share the image you use on your V5.5. It sounds *really* useful and would save me the grief of trying to replicate it.

[@EvLoutonian]

excellent video! thank you

[@ARGON023]

Thank,THANK You for this video. VERY HELpful! Hopefully v.6 will work with my Roland XV-5080 as v5 works. Best regards.

[@alextirrellRI]

Great video, though I've not yet had good luck with one of those SD card extension cables. I was trying to use one with an IDE to SD device and it cut the performance significantly (which is already not great on those units).

[@BandanazX]

I hope they make one with a Ultra2 LVD Wide interface

[@ninline2000]

My Amiga 3000 needs this.

[@renster2364]

Nice just got v5.1 for my NeXT station color

[@KrishnaDraws]

Informative video, Bruce. Thank you! I recently purchased a Mac SE FDHD model for $30US and plan to bring it back from the dead. Which model of the SCSI2SD would you recommend for this particular Mac? I'm a bit confused with all the options. It seems like version 5 would be the best, as it makes use of the standard holes on the HD mounting bracket. Also, if I purchased a SCSI2SD, would I be able to connect it to the LED indicator light on the front of the Mac? As always, keep up the fantastic work. Thanks!

[@BranchusCreations]

I'd recommend the v5.0 for your Mac SE, and yes, you can connect the LED indicator light.

[@ktteol]

Hi Bruce, would you do a video tutorial on this topic showing how you create the disk images and how you copy data to and from the SD card?

[@BranchusCreations]

Yep, I have another SCSI2SD video coming soon.

[@_____7704]

Bruce - could you do a video on how to setup a SCSI2SD Version 5 sd card for use on an SE, SE/30 etc...

[@michelangeloneriorliani7988]

Great content. I kindly ask for advice. Recently an external Apple 80SC Drive died. Internally the 5.25 inch Disk finally failed. I successfully used the SCSI2SD in a Mac Colour Classic and here a couple of questions: - will the SCSI2SD work correctly as "external" SCSI hard drive? - I would like to repurpose the original Apple SC80 case, but the power supply output 5/12 volt (standard for HD) up to 40W. Will this burn the emulator?? Any tip regarding this? I really don't know where to find any information about this uncommon procedure.. hope you can help. And go on with the channel, the content is really helpful !

[@fordfalcon85]

Great video Bruce, I have subscribed to your channel. I have been thinking of buying a SCSI2SD device for my Mac SE FDHD after its hard drive died. I have heard that they haven't been tested on all Macs yet including the SE. Do you know if it will work with mine? As a side note, I have a Floppy Emu for my Mac Plus which works well. Thanks.

[@BranchusCreations]

Hi Chris, yes the SCSI2SD will work in your SE FDHD.

[@dez5]

AKIA MPC3000 Drum Machine and KURZWEIL K2000RS Sampler Needs a SCSI2SD. Thank you.

[@koukouvania]

@Branchus Creations How do you set it up power wise to use it externally? ok I think that was answered at 8:00 thanks!

[@nickdoneff]

Hi, Thanks for the great video! I have a question regarding SCSI chain and these devices that maybe you could answer? I have a Plus that I use with an Asante ES/NC ethernet adaptor for FTP file swapping and other online features as well as a SCSI Zip100 drive that I boot from. The ethernet adaptor does not have any passthrough for SCSI so it has to physically be hooked up last in the hardware chain. If I were to use a SCSI2SD unit, is there any version with possibility of passthrough so that it could work in my DB25 SCSI chain?

[@mindluge]

do you know what the easiest way to add files to the SCSI2SD card from Windows or Linux would be? even running a virtual OS X machine mounts it as a read only drive.

[@VitorMachadoProf]

Excellent presentation. I already liked and subscribed to your channel. I have a Roland VA 76 piano. It comes standard with a floppy drive and zip drive. I have already replaced the floppy drive with a USB emulator. I wanted to do the same with the zipdrive 100 IDE. I want to change the zip100 to something that does the same as the usb emulator. Do you have any advice that can help me? I am grateful for an answer. Cheers.

[@philexile2954]

Hello, thanks for the great videos! You mentioned that you had preconfigured cards available - is that still the case?

[@BranchusCreations]

I have one v5.1 left (I will be getting more though).

[@philexile2954]

Hey Bruce! I’m actually stateside, so I could order from the distributor in CA. I was planning to get both the 5.1 and the external version for restoring and working on older Macs. I picked up a few recently - one is a real odd duck xc that was overclocked or something according to the previous owner. Is there a way I can reach you via email?

[@enigma02g]

I love this tool, but having issues finding software to clone existing scsi to the flashcard. Load OS, external etc not a problem but an actual clone seems to be difficult. LCiii running 7.1

[@peterhoward4958]

Thank you for your KZbin video. I have a Apple MAC 180 color laptop in which I would like to fit a SCSI2SD. Do you have a model/version you would recommend? Also can you purchase the SCSI2SD with the micro SD card already preloaded with the appropriate Mac OS for this model. Thanks in advance, Peter - Melbourne AUS

[@lodos80]

Thanks for this very helpful video but i need step by step how to explanation to migrate from an external SCSI to SD. I have SCSI2SD V6 and an external SCSI drive which i want to take all of its data from and use them with an SD card with my old Mac IIVx. Can i use SCS2SD adapter to take the data from the Drive and put these in an SD card? Also I tried to connect the adapter to the old mac but did not see the sd card.

[@manuell3505]

1 Need one for my Mac SE but it's pretty expensive and almost doesn't get cheaper over years. Is it possible to work around this and use a ($10 Ali) floppy emulator with some kind of volume substitution to make it behave like a harddisk?

[@SussexHistory]

Interesting video. Please could you make a video showing how to install in a Mac LC or Mac Classic? Thanks

[@kriskb3]

Thanks for the video. I bought a SCSI2SD V5.0b some time ago and I'm using it in an ESI-4000 (E-MU) sampler as internal "HD". So far I have not yet much done with the device but presently I'm dealing with it a bit more. Presently I have a Micro SD of 8GB plugged into the board. Why is there a 2GB size limit for the device? The controller software of the ESI-4000 tells me when I display the status, that I have 99.9% free of 7.9 GB (or something close to 8GB). So where actually is the 2GB limit or where does it come from?

[@PATTHECATMCD]

It's a limit for Macintosh's using operating systems older than 7.5.3. Very common limit back then was the total address space for a 32bit number - 4 Gigabytes. Your sampler is probably newer than 1994, which is roughly when 4GB capacity SCSI devices first became available. :) Be warned, quite a few devices using SD card only happy with a 32GB card or smaller, for a similar reason (nobody had invented bigger SD cards when the device using SD cards were built).

[@ww21943]

Is there a video that shows how you set one up to replicate a CD-Rom drive?

[@Gamerbay2017]

The one dislike is from the person who doesn't own a Classic Mac

[@AmateurVintageElectronics]

Hi! I was wondering if you could do a short explanation about getting it to work on a Mac Plus? I've been trough everything on the internet on that issue but can't figure out how to make it work! Would be highly appreciated! Cheers from Austria (no Kangaroos! ;))! Michael

[@LVL58Designs]

I have a Macintosh 6500/250 running Mac OS 8, and the hard drive literally failed yesterday. I've been looking into this as a viable alternative as I have built an emulated hard drive image from scratch. Which version do you recommend?

[@andreweh4]

You mentioned in your video that you can provide pre-configured units. I have a colour clasic and an LC 475 and the HDDs are getting bad. They are very nice otherwise. I would be interested in V5 or 5.1 I think. Just one partition and one system. Thank you in advance.

[@BranchusCreations]

Please feel free to send me an email (use my KZbin contact info) and I can help you out. I have v5.0 SCSI2SDs in stock now.

[@jcaliva5066]

Hi! GREAT VIDEO, so many details! I was planning on buying a 5.5 for my MacPlus, and my SESuperDrive. Considering the issues with the Plus, could you please help me with a link, for the Floppy Emu, I'm not familiar with it. BTW

[@jcaliva5066]

Would that Floppy Emu work on the SESuperDrive as well? that way I can keep my original purpose of having one device to boot up both computers, in case the HDDs Fail, not sure if this could also be partioned to have for example system 6 and system 7 in the same "drive"/(microSD card). Thanks Again! Greetings from Costa Rica!

[@BranchusCreations]

Thanks for pointing out that I didn't have a link to the FloppyEmu in the description. That has now been remedied. When you click on the link, you should find all of the info about which computers are compatible, but yes, it is compatible with the SE FDHD.

[@jcaliva5066]

@@BranchusCreations Thanks a lot! if you have a chance later please let us know what are the issues with the Plus, not recognized at all? not booting? etc, thanks again!

[@boblowes]

I've got a SCSI2SD version 5.0b, which I want to use on an old LC 475, but I find the instructions for setting it all up very unintuitive - I've read great things about it, but the instructions seem very poorly written if you're a novice with this sort of device. Mine doesn't seem to show up when I connect it to the USB cable to either load or save settings, or to try and update the firmware. Any instructions on how to set it up from beginning to end would be welcome, if anyone could help.

[@alexodis]

Hi again! Do you know if it's possible to use win32imager to create a working SD card from a Basilisk disk image file? I very much want to buy one of these, but I worry that I don't have a working floppy drive to boot my LC475 from, in order to format the SD card from the mac. Also, will v5.1 or v6 have the right scsi connector to use internally in my machine? They mention a scsi2 50pin narrow, dont know if that's good for me. Thank you for your videos. BR. Alex Edit to answer my own questions: yes to win32diskimager plus basilisk ii, but only one 2gb partition max. Yes the connector.

[@BranchusCreations]

My apologies, for not answering this sooner. I'm not sure why, but I missed a lot of comments. Glad you figured it out.

[@zarmindrow5831]

Is there an emulator for the Macintosh Portable? The hard drive uses a proprietary cable with the power incorporated into the data cable. Thanks.

[@BranchusCreations]

There is an adapter available, it's not very cheap though. www.ebay.com.au/itm/312973273392

[@mahatmapech6288]

by Talking About the power connector sizes there are MOLEX and "BIRD"? Molex is familiar but where does "bird" come from?

[@BranchusCreations]

My apologies, I should have put a caption up on the screen for that one. It's actually a "Berg" connector. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berg_connector

[@GarthBeagle]

Haha 03:35 Cat noted in timecode

[@shuwenchiang9544]

My APPLE PowerPC 9500/200 SCSI 50pin SCSI2SD?

[@tub8r]

I am having a problem with SCSI2SD v5.5 and Performa 6360/160 (Power Mac with IDE HDD, SCSI CD-ROM) running Mac OS 8.1 from the main HDD. None of the configurations in scsi2sd-util (with/without Termination etc.), different SD cards worked in any of the Mac formatting tools: Patched Apple SC HD, Lido, even FWB Hard Disk ToolKit 4.5.2. The board is recognized as a SCSI device reporting mostly correct size, but fails when Initializing -- cannot find partition map etc. Hopefully some viewers or the host have any experience or think it's a defective board?

[@BranchusCreations]

Possibly a defective board. I know I had one with a defective SD card reader once. Tell me more about the configuration you are using within SCSI2SD Util, such as partition size etc. And what firmware version are you using?

[@tub8r]

@@BranchusCreations -- thank you for looking into this issue. Here is a session screenshots from scsi-util to various tools on the mac. The comments give the details about configured and observed sizes etc. drive.google.com/file/d/1ugH_ZjfeuaD7dV9y8mwViqLo04IJ9RSu/view?usp=sharing

[@tub8r]

Turned out to be a defective board or bootloader/firmware. The US vendor Inertial Computing exchanged the board, which has worked out-of-the box with default parameters. It’s a very nice and convenient product for reasonable money.

[@koukouvania]

why does the addition of a case increase the power requirement?

[@BranchusCreations]

Longer cable, greater resistance.

[@pushpull76]

It's a bright idea, what I don't understand is why they used SD cards instead of SSD memories. SD cards are not really good to act as hard disks, they are prone to fail in short times.

[@natedawww]

Is there a difference between the red and green 5.0 SCSI2SDs? Or is it just cosmetic?

[@BranchusCreations]

It's only cosmetic. I've checked and all the components and placement are identical.

[@undergroundstudio9810]

So, I have the 5.1 device.. Connected via USB to my mac, Loaded the util.. The option to "Save to Device" or Load from Device is grayed out....

[@BranchusCreations]

If the device is brand new, you may need to install firmware first. Download the latest firmware from the codesrc website.

[@undergroundstudio9810]

@@BranchusCreations Found the firmware, hooked the scsi2sd via usb to the mac, loaded up utility, update firmware, chose file and it just stays at "searching for bootloader". ugh....

[@BranchusCreations]

@@undergroundstudio9810 While it says "searching for bootloader", just leave the software as is, then unplug and re-plug the SCSI2SD via USB. Sometimes this wakes it up.

[@undergroundstudio9810]

@@BranchusCreations Nothing.. I unplug and replug the usb, and the light flashes on the scsi2sd, but no movement. Still "searching for bootloader"

[@undergroundstudio9810]

@@BranchusCreations Update... Turns out it was a cheap cable... Thank you! for your help...

[@amonster8mymother]

I think my HD has bit the dust.