Technical Support FAQ

Mac OS X 10.5.2 and PM Enclosures
Mac OS X 10.5.2 alters the SATA startup code. This change can cause port multiplier enclosures connected to a FirmTek host adapter with firmware version 5.3.1 installed to display a blue screen for an extended period of time on startup. This issue does not impact direct connect enclosures like the SeriTek/2EN2 or the SeriTek/2eEN4 eSATA 4 bay enclosure. SOLUTION: The startup delay can be avoided by waiting to turn on the FirmTek SeriTek/5PM 5-bay enclosure after the Macintosh is already running. Another solution is to update to the latest driver posted at the FirmTek website.

Mac OS X 10.5 RAID
A few customers have reported an issue where a SATA RAID created with a previous version of Mac OS X would not mount with Leopard. This issue is rare and FirmTek has been unable to duplicate the problem. However, we have discovered a method to correct the issue should you experience it.
SOLUTION: Back up the RAID data while booted in Tiger and then break the RAID by creating two individually erased hard drives. This allows the hard drives to be used to create a new RAID set while booted in Leopard. In a few cases, a RAID 1 mirror could not be created while booted in Leopard until the RAID block size was set to 128 using the option button in Disk Utility.

Mac Pro EFI firmware update 1.3
Customers who have installed the Mac Pro EFI Firmware update 1.3 have reported that their SeriTek/2SE2-E controller installed in slot 2 is no longer recognized by the Mac Pro 2008 model.
SOLUTION: Move the SeriTek/2SE2-E card to slot 3 or 4. This allows the SeriTek/2SE2-E to be recognized by a Mac Pro with the EFI firmware update 1.3 installed. It is unclear why the Apple Firmware 1.3 update disables the SeriTek/2SE2-E in slot 2. However, it is a repeatable bug that is displayed when the 1.3 firmware is installed. You can tell if the firmware update has been applied by identifying the BootROM version in Apple System Profiler. A Mac Pro computer with the update will have a BootROM version of MP31.006C.B05. This firmware update appears to be targeted toward correcting a wake from sleep issue. If the computer already wakes from sleep properly you may not want to apply the firmware update. This is another case of "If the computer is not broken, don't fix it".

Contacting Support

Support Requests
If you require assistance with a FirmTek product please use the web form below. Include the following information with each support request.

Macintosh Users-- Please provide a copy of your System Profiler data file: a) Go to the Apple icon on the upper left side of the screen. b) Pull down to "About this Mac." c) Select "More Info." d) Next, go to "File:Save as." e) Finally, use the default System Profiler 4.0 (XML) format and attach the resulting output file to the request below.
Include the model name of the FirmTek product requiring support.
What computer brand and model is being used?
Provide the operating system version installed.
Include the model name of the hard drive enclosure used (if any).
What hard drive brand(s) and model(s) are connected to the host adapter?
Please provide details concerning the problem you are experiencing. Thank you!

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