Daisy Chain Question

I am considering buying two external hard drives from OWC, one (500GB) a quad interface for audio production, and a second a simple fw400/usb2 for backup (750GB). I was wondering if anyone knew if you could daisy chain the two together the following way: the quad interface connected to my MBP with FW800 and then run a FW400 cable from the quad drive to the larger backup drive.

So the answer is yes? If the first drive is fw800, I can link the second by the first drive's fw400 port? Or would I have to use the first drive's 2nd FW800 to daisy chain (the reason I ask is that I have no need for the fw800 on the 2nd drive).

Similar Messages

  • Urgent Daisy Chaining Question please :-)

    Er... I have a recording session tomorrow out of the studio and I've only just got round to checking the gear. I have a slight variation this time in that I have a new Lacie Rugged FW Hard Drive for my audio (instead of my studio backup drive... not wise!).
    Anyway, usually I run my Fireface 800 off the Macbook's FW400 port, then put the Hard Drive after that from the FF800's FW800 port (that does make sense). No problemo.
    BUT... with this new Lacie, the drive won't show up after the interface. But if I put it first in the chain and the FF800 after it then it seems to be fine and i can record.
    My question is... is this ok to do it that way round? I thought you chained drives after interfaces or does it not matter? I've tested it and it seems ok, but i don't want it bumming out on me halfway through a session.
    Prompt thoughts greatly appreciated
    Cheers

    Thanks for your reply immo... I'm still a little unclear though as your post is a bit confusing.
    The interface is powered from the mains so that doesn't matter. And I'm only attaching 1 hard drive.
    To clarify, I have:
    a Macbook (with 1 FW port and 2 USB)
    a Fireface 800 (with 1 FW400 and 2 FW800)
    a Lacie Rugged (with 1 FW400, 1 FW800 and 1 USB) - the USB needs to power the device and I don't have immediate access to a power supply for it.
    Why should I not power the HD from USB as it's on a separate bus to the FW. And what about the order of HD and interface - does it matter? I don't have many options...
    I'm confused! I thought I had this sussed... I can use something else for tomorrow if I have to, but I need to get this sorted because thats why I bought the drive.
    Any other thoughts? Thanks
    Message was edited by: siderealxxx
    Message was edited by: siderealxxx

  • Simple Hard Drive Daisy Chain Question

    I'm not sure where to pose this question but since I've posted some here recently, I'll ask away.
    I have a 1 TB external drive connected to my Mac via FW800. I'm using it to store media for my Apple TV. This drive also has an eSATA connection. Can I attach another drive with eSATA to this drive via that connection, even though that original drive is connected to the computer via FW800? I don't see why not, but wanted to ask before I make the purchase.
    Thanks, guys.

    Oh interesting. So I would have to link another HDD by using a firewire connection, not the eSATA connection. Hmmm, that stinks. Thank you.

  • Yet another question on daisy chaining...

    After having thoroughly sifted through prior discussion on the subject, as well as looked at the online tutorial (gooberguides) and other sources, I am compelled to come back and ask this question. This is Captivate 5.
    Here is my scenario, and it seems to be quite simple. I have a large project, which I want to break up into smaller ones. This is so that users don't have to sit and wait for it to load from the LMS before they can start. I need to have SCORM reporting, so that users can leave and come back to where they were. I don't think I can resolve this using Multi-SCO Packager, as the resulting package doesn't appear as a single module, but as several modules within a single package. Aggregator wouldn't quite work, since it forces that TOC, which I don't want to have.
    One more wrinkle in the whole thing is that I have my own TOC, which is on the first slide of Module no. 2, to which I have a link from most other (subsequent) modules.
    I have successfully daisy-chained all of this using the online guide mentioned above. I used 'Open URL or file'. At first, I tried pointing to the SWF file for the next module, but when I deployed the final package, my browser (Firefox) wanted to download the next module, instead of playing it back in the browser window. Pointing to HTML file resolved that. My links back to the Module 2 (TOC) work fine. It took me a while to figure out why none of the linking wouldn't work at first. It only started working when I removed spaces from file names (this I couldn't find anywhere in documentation, and stumbled upon by myself).
    My only problem (a deal breaker) is with SCORM tracking. When I publish with reporting turned on, the following happens: first module plays back throughout (all five slides). At the end, it loads the second module. However, when second module starts playing, it either freezes on load, or skips right past first 5 slides and starts playing from slide no. 6. This is telling me that the LMS is treating this as if the user has closed the session after reaching slide 5, then immediately re-opened it, so the LMS is sending him straight to slide 6, except this is now Module 2, and not Module 1. Meanwhile, user has never touched anything and has actually never left the session. Sure enough, if I leave the session at, for example, Module 2, slide 7, when I come back, LMS will be stuck trying to load Module 1, slide 7 (which doesn't exist; my Module 1 has only 5 slides).
    So, apparently, simple daisy-chaining doesn't work well with SCORM reporting. Meanwhile, Aggregator (and Multi-SCO Packager) aren't doing it for me, as they force TOC to show individual modules.
    Does anyone have any ideas how to work around these obstacles?

    Copy the ENTIRE iTunes folder from the old computer to the new computer.
    Open iTunes, everything in iTunes should be exactly as it was on the old computer.
    Connect the device and sync.

  • Daisy Chaining External HD's Question

    I'm wondering what the best way to setup a few external hard drives with the fireface 800, and the correct order.
    I have 3 External hard drives
    2 HD's (500GB and 1000GB) dedicated to Samples and loops
    1 HD (500GB) for recording logic pro projects directly
    And a Fireface 800 interface
    Each has 2 firewire 800 ports and 1 firewire 400 ports
    I then have a 20" Imac with 1 firewire 800, and 400 port
    1- Is it okay to daisy chain all these on the imacs 800 port?
    2- What is the best order to put these in? Interface first or last? Sample drives before the recording drives? Is there a preferred route?
    3- Would it be best to get a firewire hub?
    4- Or what does everybody else do? Any guides or help would be much appreciated
    Message was edited by: floatdownaliffy

    Recording to a external audio drive is fine. It is in fact RECOMMENDED unless you have a second internal drive to record to as the internal bus is faster but is better than recording to drive your system is booted from.
    If you can keep it all FW800 then that is better than using FW400 & FW800. There is only one FireWire bus on the system and it is only as fast as the slowest device. So a FW400 device will slow your FW800 devices down to half speed! Some interfaces work with hubs while others don't so check with RME about using the Fireface 800 with a hub before buying one.
    With that in mind the best way to know what will work is to test the different configurations and see what kind of results you get. Ideally direct is always better cannot always be done.

  • Daisy chain monitor from cinema display MacBook Air 5,2

    I know the Mid-2012 MacBook Air is capable of 2 external displays as described here.
    The monitor works when plugged directly into the MBA, but not when daisy chained from the back of the cinema display.
    It's a dell monitor, and I'm using an Apple Thunderbolt-VGA adaptor.
    Is there something I'm missing? Thanks!

    As far as my question itself -- why does this happen? Has anybody had this issue on Lion and had it resolved on Mountain Lion?

  • Has anyone been able to use an Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire to daisy chain a dozen or more FireWire drives?

    Ever since I realized that I was not able to connect my FireWire daisy chain to my brand new Retina MBP there has been problems. Four months down the road, I am still unable to use my FireWire drives and have experienced terrible problems whenever I connect my FireWire daisy chain to this new Mac.
    I have bought two of these adaptors from Apple now and both do the same thing. The daisy chain has been working perfectly for years with my older MBP and still does! There are no problems until I connect to the new Mac.
    I have 15 various hard drives in NewerTech and DatOptics enclosures for over 22 TB. When connected to the new Mac, I would have multiple apps just hang, sometimes just Apple apps, sometimes 3rd party. I will not be able to force quit them and they will keep relauching as you can watch them in the Force Quit window. The Finder will hang and there is no relaunching it. I am having to do a force shutdown twice an hour which leaves no time for work!
    After four months of this, now I am being told that Apple will buy back my Mac at full price. But I have basically lost the good part of four month’s worth of work because of constantly fighting the new Mac. This is cost me all my savings and I am about to lose a client. It certainly seems that releasing Thunderbolt1 was a huge, huge mistake.
    Does anyone know of any large Fire Wire daisy chain working with Thunderbolt?
    TIA,
    R

    Yes, my first post is all about how darn iffy the adaptors are and I have two of them to return now.
    I question your answer because I am betting that four drives that are in one enclosure NOT all RAIDed together as one drive, but as four separate drives that those four drive will count as four devices. The daisy chain that I had going had eight drives in TWO quad boxes, four drives in TWO dual drives and another drive in a single enclosure. A total of five “devices” if you will, but also a total of 13 drives that were usually in this daisy chain.
    Both of the Apple branded Thunderbolt to FireWire adaptors chocked BIG TIME on this and it works no problem on my older MBP. You basically can not use a new Mac when you are connected to a daisy chain like this!
    Just checked the Apple website and indeed, I can get a new MBP with FireWire 800, just not with the Retina display! I wish that I would have known this five months ago before this all started!

  • Can I daisy chain a DisplayPort-only monitor through the 2nd TB connector on a WD 8TB My Book Thunderbolt Duo to a mid-2011 Mac Mini?

    I'm very tempted by a refurb HP Smartbuy ZR2740w 27" WQHD display, but it doesn't have a HDMI port. It does have DisplayPort.
    Since the mid-2011 Mac Mini I have has either HDMI or Thunderbolt to choose from, plus I've just bought an external TB storage system, I think I'd need to connect the monitor to the second TB port on the external TB storage and hope that the external storage would pass the DisplayPort signals along.
    I've read that DisplayPort connections are compatible with TB ports on Macs, and that you can daisy chain TB devices.
    I don't want to assume those statements hold when I'd need to connect the DisplayPort cable to the 2nd TB port on the external storage.
    Anyone know if this will work?
    Is it "supported"?
    Thanks!
    Andrew

    23. How do I connect my Mini DisplayPort monitor or monitor using a Mini DisplayPort adapter to my Thunderbolt-equipped Mac when I have other Thunderbolt devices connected?
    When connecting a Mini DisplayPort display or a display using a Mini DisplayPort adapter to a Thunderbolt peripheral (except as described in question 24), make sure the display is connected at the end of the Thunderbolt chain. You can use only one Mini DisplayPort device in the Thunderbolt chain.
    Note: Systems with more than one Thunderbolt port, like an iMac, can have more than one Mini DisplayPort monitor or monitor connected with a Mini DisplayPort adapter connected as each Thunderbolt port can support one Mini DisplayPort display.
    24. Can I connect my Mini DisplayPort monitor or monitor using a Mini DisplayPort adapter to my Apple Thunderbolt Display?
    Mini DisplayPort Monitors or Monitors connecting with Mini DisplayPort adapters will not function when connected through a Thunderbolt Display. They must be connected directly to the Thunderbolt port on the computer or to a non-display device as indicated above.
    from
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5219#23

  • MacBook Air Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter and daisy-chaining external FW drives

    Here is my problem—I have a MacBook Air 13" running Mavericks to which I want to attach external FW drive(s). This is easily achievable by using the Thunderbolt-to-FW 800 adapter. And the adapter works great until I try to daisy-chain two external drives. If I attach a second drive to the first one, it immediately unmounts the first drive and I get the 'improperly disconnected drive' warning.
    I seem to recall that this was doable in Mountain Lion (about 85% sure). So is this a software or hardware problem? And, to go even deeper into the weeds, my two external FW drives are self-powered (no external power supply). So if I got wall warts for these drives, would it work? Or am I remembering this incorrectly and the adapter never supported daisy-chaining?
    The external drives are a pair of G-Tech G-Drive minis, but one is a year to 18-months older than the other one, which means it probably has an older FireWire chipset, but on the other hand, they do mount successfully as self-powered FW 800 drives from a native FW 800 port, or even from a daisy-chain originating from a FW 800 port. Anyone have any suggestions?

    I have 4 FW devices chained together and use the TB->FW dongle. They all have power bricks. I have several bus powered devices. Some are quirky, some just don't function, two work reliably. There's no question it is all about how much power they need and TB doesn’t supply enough. Bottom line for me: my bus powered FW drives are soley relegated to use with my last FW equipped computer and when it does they will too.

  • Second iMac;what happens if you daisy-chain, how to do it?

    I recently bought a new iMac quad-core i7, 27".
    I am interested in the possibility of using the earlier iMac,which is a 2.4 dual core 24" running Snowy as a second HD and as my dual monitor- would like to try to get it to act as extended desktop monitor.
    I do photography and currently use a 24" Cinema HD for my second monitor.
    My question is about the possibility of using the older iMac as a slave additional HD and extended desktop,(why waste the 300G it's got perking inside?),wondering if they'll daisy chain or recognize each other properly, and doing the extended desktop across 2 iMacs is possible? Can you do a 3 monitor display in this config? That would be pretty sweet....the more landscape the better!
    I've read about multi-laptops config'ed as "super computer",(I remember Apple had an article about multiple MBP's doing this some time ago), but I'm more of a photog-dog than a gear geek. LOL!
    Any input would be welcome!!! THANKS!
    CHEERS!
    Message was edited by: hosshead

    My recommendation would be to connect the old machine via Target mode to the new machine. You can then use the old machine's storage however you cannot use it's monitor. If you want a 3rd monitor then you will need to get a 3rd external monitor, the old machine cannot be utilized as one. You would need something like this to make it work. However this being said this would only make the old computer a storage device, IMHO a total waste or resources. I'd recommend using it for other things, use it for other things like a media server or something. For the additional storage get yourself a good FW800 external HD to use for that.
    Roger

  • Firewire daisy-chain trouble with Leopard. Will a hub help?

    I cannot get reliable daisy-chaining of my external Firewire drives under Leopard. A Firewire drive directly attached to computer will work, but subsequent daisy-chains to this drive will not mount more than half the time. I ended up getting corruption of 2 drives: there appears to sometimes be Spotlight crashes/Finder crashes, and Disk Utility repair failure after a mount fails.
    I have nine FW drives, and I like to keep bootable clones of all 3 of my Macs with the current system and a couple of generations back. Being able to attach only one drive to my 12" G4 Powerbook 1.5GHz makes cloning difficult (I can only clone the internal drive using my Powerbook). If I get a Firewire hub, will my FW connection then be reliable? There seems to be a problem in Leopard as I don't get daisy-chain problems using the same drives under Tiger. The drive activity lights don't even flash when the daisy-chained drive mounts fail under Leopard, so it appears that Leopard is making no attempt to mount the drives. Why would this be? Yet sometimes daisy-chain drives have mounted just fine.
    Makes/models I have tried: Smartdisk Firelite (were sold by Apple), Maxtor OneTouch III, Seagate FreeAgent Pro, and Iomega Black series. I tried various cables.
    Does anyone know what the difference is, from a hardware standpoint, between daisy-chain vs. using a Firewire hub. Would there be an inherent difference using a hub?
    Are the "hubs" with Mac Mini footprints actually true hubs or are they daisy-chains? How about FW drives with built-in FW "hubs": are THEY actually a true hub or a daisy-chain in disguise? (Sorry if these questions seem stupid.) Recommendations for a hub?

    Sorry just noticed I've probably posted this under the wrong forum header

  • Daisy-chain Firewire 800 versus USB

    Hi.  I have an external drive (drive A) connected to my MPB via Firewire 800.  I have my iTunes media library on this drive (movies, TV shows, music etc).  When I watch a movie on my Apple TV, the content is being streamed from this drive via my MBP to the Apple TV.  This works fine.
    I also have a second external drive (drive B) that I use only as a back-up for drive A.  I use Carbon Copy Cloner to back up drive A onto drive B.  I can connect drive B in one of two ways: Option #1 is to connect drive B directly to my MBP via USB (USD 2.0). This is how I currently have it connected.  Option #2 is to connect drive B to drive A via a Firewire 800 cable, daisy-chaining the two drives.
    Two questions:
    1. Which option will give me better performance when backing up drive A to drive B?
    2. If I am watching a movie on Apple TV (streaming from drive A) at the same time that I am backing up drive A to drive B, will option #2 affect streaming of the movie?
    Thank you

    Have you Shut down your Mac and disconnected your firewire cable from both ends and let it sit about ten minutes then reconnect and try. Also, it is important to disconnect the AC power to your Mac, this helps to reset the FireWire port(s).
    Have you checked to see if Disk Utility sees it/ can mount it?
    Do you have TechTool Pro or DiskWarrior, both of which you could use to try to mount it.
    It is also possible that you have a bad cable or a bad port, do other FW devices work?
    -mj

  • Daisy chain an external drive

    Just set up new iMac with a 2TB external Lacie drive, partitioned for Time Machine and SuperDuper, and connected with Firewire 800.
    I want to also use my old 500GB Lacie external drive for temporarily holding unedited movies, whilst I work on them in Final Cut or iMovie.
    Can I connect the old external drive to the new external drive using a Firewire 400 cable and without adversely effecting my set-up?
    Looking ahead, is it true that there will be Thunderbolt adaptors to enable a second or third Firewire 800 connection(s)?
    Would the above options be preferable to a Firewire Hub?
    All views appreciated.

    tom lawrence wrote:
    I want to also use my old 500GB Lacie external drive for temporarily holding unedited movies, whilst I work on them in Final Cut or iMovie.
    Yes as long as both are self powered, then daisy chaining them should not be a problem. If one drive is bus powered (not self powered) then it should be connect to a powered drive at the end of the chain, instead of into the iMac or mid chain where 3 or more drives are chained together.
    FireWire: Frequently Asked Questions
    tom lawrence wrote:
    Can I connect the old external drive to the new external drive using a Firewire 400 cable and without adversely effecting my set-up?
    Yes a FireWire 400 drive can be plugged into the 400 port of a 800 External Hard Drive (if so equipped) or into the spare FireWire 800 port by using either a 6 to 9 adapter or 6 to 9 FireWire cable.
    Amazon.com: elago FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter for Mac: Electronics
    Amazon.com: Tripp Lite F017-006 IEEE 1394b Firewire 800 Gold Hi-speed Cable, 9pin/6pin - 6ft: Electronics
    NewerTech FIR1369AD 9-pin (FW800) to 6-pin (FW400)... in stock at OWC
    NewerTech 1394B96036 FireWire 800/400 1394B/A 9 Pin... in stock at OWC
    Dennis

  • Daisy Chain USB To FireWire?

    Hi all.
    I'm not really sure where to post this, so any suggestions about a better place would be great. Anyway, here's my question.
    I do a lot of work with photos, and they take up a lot of hard drive space, so what I'm planning to do is this: I'll buy a big external hard drive with lots of connections (1 USB, 2 FireWire 800, 1 FireWire 400). I'll also buy a smaller external hard drive with much less in the way of connections (1 USB only). The big drive will act as my main storage drive, with all the files for each image included on it. The smaller drive will act as the bakcup drive, with the top 20% or so of my best photos in only a compressed format on it. I want the smaller (backup) drive to be as cheap as possible, as I don't have much of a budget at all. Here are the two drive selections I've made: big drive:
    LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ Triple
    Small drive:
    WD Elements
    Desktop
    So, here's the question: I know that you can daisy chain FireWire drives that have more than one port together, like this:
    A cable from FireWire port on Drive A to FireWire port on Drive B, then a cable from another FireWire port on Drive B to the FireWire port on computer. I know this works (right?).
    But I don't want to have to spend more money on Drive A (the backup drive) so that it has a FireWire port. Since Drive B (the main drive) has a USB port, I thought I would run a USB cable from Drive A to Drive B like this:
    *Setup 1*:A cable from the USB port on Drive A to the USB port on Drive B, then a cable from the FireWire 400 port on Drive B to the FireWire 400 port on the computer.
    Will setup 2 work? Will the data from Drive A make the crossover from USB to FireWire? If not, I suppose I could also use this setup:
    *Setup 2:* A cable from the USB port on Drive A to one of the FireWire 800 ports on Drive B, then a cable from the FireWire 400 port on Drive B to the FireWire 400 port on my computer. Will this work better? Do USB to FireWire 800 adapters really work?
    So, basically, all I really need to know is whether or not Setup 1 will work, and if it doesn't, whether or not Setup 2 will. Also, if anyone has any info/reviews/stories about the two drives I've selected, I'd love to hear that as well.
    Thanks so much in advance for any help I get. Sorry about the long post; I hope it made sense.
    Thanks again.
    Nate

    nate12345 wrote:
    Thanks for the response!
    What about Setup 2, though? Does someone sell a USB to FireWire Converter?
    Nobody has heard of a USB to FireWire converter that works.
    The first example you gave would require a USB B to USB B cable or perhaps a "gender bender". Both of the drives you're looking at seem to still use the original full-sized USB B port, while many have gone to the mini-B. It wouldn't work anyways since both are USB slave devices. USB was never designed to daisy-chain.
    Why can't you just connect the USB-only device to the USB port. If you're strapped for ports, then maybe a USB hub. You wouldn't even need a powered hub if you have a few low-powered devices and this external drive which doesn't use bus power.

  • Daisy chain two external drives via Firewire, then connect one via USB to the TC?

    Hi,
    I have two external drives that have both Firewire and USB ports. My 1st generation 500 gb Time Capsule (maybe all of them?) only has USB ports so up til now, I have connected one or the other drive via USB. (I've tried to connect both to a powered USB hub but one drive has problems showing up. At this point I only use the one drive that shows up and connect it directly with no hub to the Time Capsue.)
    My question is: Can I daisy chain the two drives via Firewire and then connect one of them (probably the one that has no problems connecting with USB) to the Time Capsule via USB?
    Second, somewhat-related problem...
    I don't know why one drive isn't connecting very well when directly connected to the Time Capsule. Both are Fantom drives. One is a 1TB, the one that has prblems connecting is a 250GB. I've tried connecting directly or through a powered hub. The 1B has no problems, the 250 gb won't show up most of the time and disconnects itself fairly quickly if it does connect. I've switched cables; that hasn't helped. The 1TB stays connected most of the time but sometimes it disconnects too. I suspect the Time Capsule just isn't able to deal with external drives so I don't puch it. It would be nice to be able to have both drives accessable through the TC though.
    Thanks for any help.
    Cheers,
    John

    Doing some experimentation, connecting the drives directly to the MBP:
    - Neither of the two drives Firewire daisy-chained and going through the powered USB hub connected to the MBP mount. I was using old aliases on desktop.*They don't show up on network otherwise. (Each drive self-mounts with both Firewire and USB direct connections.)
    *Even after making new aliases, neither drive will mount using their new aliases when directly connected (not through hub) with USB or Firewire (and Thunderbolt adapter.) That's weird.
    - Both the 240 gb and the 1TB drives going through powered hub connected to MBP mount by themselves.
    - Two drives daisy-chained via Firewire and one drive connected to the MBP via Firewire (and Thunderbolt adapter) self-mount. No surprise there but that doesn't help me as I want to have the drives further away from the MBP and connected to the Time Capsule, which doesn't have a Firewire port anyway...
    - All of the USB and the Firewire cables work as does the Thunderbolt adapter. I tested them.
    I wonder.... I have a Firewire to what appears to be an Ethernet connector. I wonder if that would be any good. I'm afraid to try it though...

Maybe you are looking for