This article comprises the PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze keyboard) Read Me.

Important Information About Your Macintosh PowerBook

This document provides late-breaking news about your Macintosh PowerBook G3 Series computer. You may want to print this document to keep with the user's manual for your PowerBook.

Important Information About Your Hard Disk's Format

Using Hard Disk Utilities and Disk Locking Programs Some disk utility and disk locking programs are incompatible with Mac OS Extended format. Before you attempt to use a disk utility or disk locking program, make sure the version you have is compatible with Mac OS Extended format. Check the documentation that came with the program or contact the manufacturer or the vendor that supplied the program.

Important Information About Reinstalling System Software

Your computer came with all necessary system software already installed. However, if you use the Mac OS Install program to reinstall your system software you will need to install certain items from the CD separately. These items are located in a folder titled "Important Extra System Software"

To install the extra system software:

1. After reinstalling the Mac OS, drag and drop the items from the folder on top of a closed system folder on your hard disk.

2. Click OK when asked to put the items in their proper location.

3. Restart your computer.

Your battery has external indicator LEDs that let you monitor the charge level of your battery. Before the LEDs will report levels correctly, the battery must be fully discharged and recharged to calibrate the battery. After this calibration, the LEDs will report charge levels properly.

Important Information About Computer Sleep

When Using IrDA When the IrDA method of infrared (IR) communication is selected in the AppleTalk control panel and AppleTalk is on, the computer will not go to sleep automatically.

When Using a Communications Program

Many communications programs, such as PPP, Apple Remote Access, or other dial-up programs, monitor the computer's modem port to check for incoming transmissions. This may mean that the PowerBook will not sleep automatically (after the interval set in the Energy Saver control panel). Forcing sleep while connected may result in a lost connection or crash. When your computer is using the battery, you may want to quit a communications program whenever you are not using it to conserve the battery's charge. (See the manual that came with your communications program for more information.)

When Using Fax Software

Your computer will not completely sleep and the screen will only dim (instead of turn off) when fax software is set to auto answer. To avoid draining your computer battery, plug in the power adapter when waiting to receive a fax.

When FAXstf is set to answer a fax automatically, your computer will not sleep automatically. To enable the Auto sleep function in FAXstf, select Settings from the Edit menu, choose the "Fax Modem" icon, and select Never from the pop-up menu.

Waking From Sleep and the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive

There is a period of time when waking from sleep that the CR-ROM or DVD-ROM drive will allow you to manually eject a mounted disc using the button on the drive tray. This will cause unexpected behavior. Closing the tray will correct the situation.

Important Information About SCSI Disk Mode

SCSI Disk Mode

The software needed to SCSI Disk Mode, is now included in the Mac OS ROM file located in the System folder. Your PowerBook cannot operate in SCSI disk mode if the System Folder is damaged or missing. Repair your System Folder by starting up from the PowerBook CD that came with your computer and reinstalling system software.

PowerBook SCSI Setup control panel

The PowerBook SCSI Disk Mode control panel has been renamed PowerBook SCSI Setup because it includes a new feature that allows the ability to wake from sleep faster.

Setting the SCSI ID

When you use your PowerBook in SCSI Disk Mode, the SCSI ID of the PowerBook will be set to #2, regardless of the ID you set in the PowerBook SCSI Setup control panel. When setting up your PowerBook for SCSI Disk mode, make sure that no other devices use SCSI ID #2.

SCSI Disk Mode and Battery Power

Always connect the power adapter when operating in SCSI Disk mode. Low battery conditions are not reported and data loss could occur if the battery gets completely drained.

Important Information About Networking

Connecting to a 10/100Base-T network

When you connect your PowerBook to an Ethernet network, the computer automatically senses whether it is connected to a 10Base-T network or to a 100Base-T network. Some (possibly all) ports on some network hubs/switches support both speeds. If you're using this type of hub/switch, there may be a delay in establishing a network link. The delay may last for several seconds after you start or restart the PowerBook and a message may appear saying the network is not available or that the network has only just become available. If you don't want a delay, connect your computer to an Ethernet network port that is not auto-sensing (10 or 100 megabits per second (Mbps) only). For more information, contact the manufacturer of the Ethernet hub/switch or your network administrator.

Performance Problems Using Ethernet

If you experience performance problems on your Ethernet network, check with your network administrator. Your computer performs best when the Ethernet port that it is connected to is set to auto-negotiate.

Important : The duplex mode of an Ethernet link to a hub is not detected if the hub's port is not auto-negotiating. If the hub's port is not auto-negotiating, your computer will detect the appropriate speed but default to half-duplex. If the hub's port at the other end of the link is configured for full-duplex, a large number of late events can occur on the link. Set the hub's port to auto-negotiate where possible. If this isn't possible, then set the hub's port to half-duplex. For more information, see the documentation that came with the Ethernet hub.

Important Information About Displays

When connecting an Apple Studio Display monitor with a USB cable to your PowerBook, be sure to connect the monitor's USB cable to the USB port (on the back panel of the computer). The AppleVision software requires this connection.

If you have an older AppleVision or Apple Studio Display monitor that has an ADB type cable you will be unable to attach the ADB cable to your PowerBook. In order to adjust the screen image you will need to use the external controls on the monitor. For more information see the documentation that came with your monitor.

When using an Apple 15" MultiScan, Apple 1705 MultiScan or an AppleVision 1710AV monitor, the PowerBook display should be set to turn off rather than dim. If the computer is set to dim, the external display may behave erratically. To set the display:

1. Open the Energy Saver control panel

2. Click on "Advanced Settings"

3. Check "Turn off the PowerBook display instead of dimming it."

When operating with the display closed and an external monitor attached, you must have the PowerBook connected to the power adapter. Display closed operation while running on battery power is not supported.

Important Information About Your Expansion Bays

Booting from Expansion Bay devices If the system folder on your internal hard drive is invalid and you need to boot from an expansion bay module, be sure the module is inserted prior to booting or restarting your computer. If you insert the module after booting, you will see a blinking question mark or blinking folder icon. This is not recommended as unexpected results may occur.

Important Information About the Internal Modem

The modem used in the PowerBook G3 Series is a 56K modem based on the new V.90 specification. Any time a new modem standard is introduced there is a period of adjustment while various Internet service providers (ISPs) work to ensure that their POP (Point-of-Presence) servers are compatible with the new specification.

If you're having problems connecting in V.90 mode--if the modem won't connect at all, or the connection is dropped after a few minutes--it may be because the phone lines are too noisy or there's too much interference to sustain a connection of speeds above 33.6 kilobits/second (Kbps). Contact your ISP to ensure they are currently using V.90-compliant modems, or have plans to update to them in the near future. Use the PowerBook G3 Series Internal 56K (V.34 Only) modem script, which forces the modem to connect at 33.6 Kbps or lower speeds. This type of connection is more reliable in situations where the phone line quality is questionable.

To use the PowerBook G3 Series Internal 56K (V.34 Only) option, follow these steps:

1. Open the Modem control panel in the Apple menu.

2. Make sure the "Connect via" pop-up menu is set to Internal Modem.

3. Open the Modem pop-up menu and choose "PowerBook G3 Int56K (v.34 Only)".

4. If necessary, set the Sound and Dialing options.

5. Close the control panel. A message asks if you want to save the changes to the current configuration.

6. Click Save. Note : You do not have to restart your computer in order to use the new modem software.

Be sure a valid startup disk is selected in the Startup Disk control panel. If an invalid startup disk is selected, your computer could take as long as 2 minutes to locate a volume that it can startup from. PC Card devices and RAM disks are examples of devices that are not valid to start up from, even though the icon may be displayed in the Startup Disk control panel.

Selecting the Network Disk icon in the Startup control panel without having a Netboot server properly setup will also significantly delay the time it takes you PowerBook to boot up.

Your computer cannot startup using an external USB device.

Important Information About Using A Television With Your PowerBook

The online Help incorrectly states that you can turn TV Mirroring on and off from the control strip. TV Mirroring should turn on automatically after you wake or start up the computer. To turn it off, sleep the PowerBook and then disconnect the video cable from the back panel of the computer.

Important Information About Viewing DVD Video

For best performance when viewing a DVD video:

• Turn off virtual memory in the Memory control panel.
• Turn off file sharing in the File Sharing control panel.
• Make sure that the disk cache is to the default setting in the Memory control panel.
• Quit all other applications.

About drivers for USB input devices To run a USB device on a Mac OS-based computer, the device needs a software program called a "driver," available from the manufacturer of the device. Drivers appear as extension files stored in the Extensions folder within the System Folder. Apple already includes drivers in the Mac OS for USB mice, keyboards, hubs, game devices, and Iomega's USB Zip drive. Drivers for other devices, such as Epson and Hewlett-Packard printers, are included on the software install CD that came with your computer. These drivers can be found in the CD Extras folder, within the USB Device Drivers folder. After you install the driver software, you should be able to use the device. If you have problems, please contact the manufacturer of the device. From time to time, new versions of USB drivers become available. For up-to-date information on driver software, contact the manufacturer of the device.

Check the documentation that came with the device for installation instructions or contact the manufacturer or the vendor that supplied the device.

Some USB devices may not work with Mac OS until Mac OS drivers are made available. For information about the compatibility of a USB device with Mac OS, contact the manufacturer of the device.

Some applications don't recognize USB devices if the devices are plugged in while the application is running. To use the USB device with that application, quit the application, make sure the device is properly plugged in, then start the application again.

Using ADB Dongles

Some applications require the use of an ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) dongle for security purposes to prevent software piracy. The PowerBook now uses Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology. You may be able to use a USB dongle with these applications. For more information, contact the software manufacturer.

Using USB-to-Serial Converters

Some serial devices such as modems, printers and digital cameras may be able to be used with your PowerBook using a third-party USB-to-Serial converter adapter. However, all serial devices will not necessarily be compatible with such an adapter. For more information, contact the adapter manufacturer.

Using files on USB Storage devices

When working with files on an external USB storage device, always quit any open applications that may be using a file on the device before you sleep your PowerBook or disconnect the device. Unexpected results may occur, including the possibility of corruption of the media within the USB device. Contact the vendor of the specific USB device for more information.

Important Information About Installing Help For Your Computer

Your computer came with additional Help files specific for your model of computer. These files are already installed on your hard disk and available in the Help Center. This installation program will reinstall the Help files specific for your model of computer.

Reinstallation of these Help files is only necessary if you performed a clean installation of this or future versions of the Mac OS system software and your computer specific Help files are missing from the Help Center. The installation program for these computer specific Help files is located in the CD Extras folder on your PowerBook G3 Series CD.

Important Information About PC Cards

Your computer has a manual PC Card eject mechanism. To eject a PC Card, drag the card's icon to the trash and then use the PC Card eject button to eject the card. This is different from previous PowerBooks where dragging the icon to the trash would cause the card to be ejected from the slot.

Important Information About a RAM disk

The RAM disk cannot be used as a startup disk. If you create a RAM disk, its icon will not be displayed in the Startup Disk control panel.

The contents of a RAM disk are saved to the startup drive when you restart your computer. The contents are restored, once the computer restarts. Large RAM disks may add additional time to shutting down and restarting the computer.

Warning : The contents of the RAM disk can be lost if:

• the startup drive is read-only, such as a CD-ROM disc
• the startup drive does not have sufficient space to store the contents of the RAM disk
• the startup drive does not have a valid System Folder
• the computer loses power