Firewire 400 throughput

Hello folks !
My iTunes library (+/- 1,2 TB) lives on one of these http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11270 external drives. I have recently gotten another identical drive to act as the backup. I started copying the main disk to the backup disk using Superduper this morning. For some reason, I connected the drives with a FW 400 cable instead of FW 800
I am at 13 hrs 25 minutes for 863 GB right now. Is this normal ? Did I make a mistake by NOT connecting the drives with a FW 800 cable ?

Go into Activity Monitor, and click on the Disk Activity tab. Take a look at the Data Read number. What does that say?
BTW, what Mini do you have? The Mini has a slower hard drive...as Graham mentioned, it could be that your hard drive isn't delivering the data fast enough. Based on the 17.89 MB/s rate, that sounds like the internal drive could be an ATA drive instead of an SATA...I don't know if they ever made an ATA-based Mini...?

Similar Messages

  • Question on Firewire 400 Connection via iMac and throughput

    This may be a question for an Apple person, but does anyone know if the Firewire connection on the iMac is managed by an individual I/O card, versus the system bus as are the USB ports.
    The 'word out there' it is and thusly the Firewire performs better than the USB, depending on other 'stresses' on the CPU and OP SYS, etc.
    Can anyone confirm this technicality?
    It could be useful in selecting various peripherals.
    Thanks.

    Um... FireWire 400 does have more throughput than USB2, but that has nothing to do with there being a separate card or bus for it (nor is it Mac-specific). It's a difference between how the two technologies work. FW400 will alway provide more sustained bandwidth than USB2, by design. USB uses considerably more overhead in its data packets (and the 480Mbps max speed is inclusive of that overhead), CPU usage, and the delay between packets is much higher as well.
    In practice, a FW400 device can transfer pretty close to the 400Mbps limit, whereas USB2 typically tops out at 160-200Mbps sustained. This is true regardless of the hardware platform, and generally it's not relevent if there's a separate controller card or one built-in.
    This is also very much common knowledge and well-known and understood. It's not rumor.

  • Question pertaining to firewire 400 vs. 800

    I am currently in the process of learning the Mac world. I have been using my wife's iBook for sometime and am waiting for things to work out for a new MacBook. So as I embark on my switch over from the Dark-side to Mac I was wondering, if firewire 800 is the new big deal, why wouldn't Apple have used it instead of the 400 in its newest books?
    Is there something that I don't know about the actual use of 800 vs. 400, or does Apple possibly know of common problems with the 800 that we don't?
    -Al-

    I think Apple will remove itself from firewire over time. USB2 and intel is their direction. Firewire 800 is not all that its cracked up to be. Its cretainly not 2x as fast as FW 400. I have all three and mostly use FW 400 because it is the most convinient to use. USB2 on a Mac is significantly slower than on a windows machine although the intel Macs have better USB2 throughput. I'll still use my firewire 400 devices and some time in the future migrate to USB2.

  • Early 2009 Mac Pro:  Adding a Firewire 400 card

    I want to add a firewire 400 PCIe card to my Mac Pro as a last ditch effort to get my Presonus Firepods working properly. Presonus recommends the firewire card have a TI chipset. See my thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2770203&tstart=0
    Two questions:
    1. Any card recommendations known to work with large quantity audio throughput?
    2. Most every card I've reviewed has a card-mounted molex power connector; will I need to supply auxiliary power to this connector to provide enough power for the Firepods?
    2a. If I do need to provide auxiliary power to the card. Where do I pick it up from? Is there a connector/cable somewhere inside the Mac Pro?
    TIA

    I'd take a look at the Sonnet range of cards. I use them for video, which I guess has similar throughput and lack-of-latency requirements to multi-channel audio.
    http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegrofw400pcie.html
    I believe you only need the aux.power feed to such cards *if your FW devices take power down the FW cable*. If your FW devices are separately powered from the AC mains, I suspect you won't need the aux.power feed to the card.
    If you find you do need an aux.power feed, I guess you can find an adapter/extender from the unused second optical disk drive power connector?

  • Firewire 400 vs. USB2

    Is USB2 better than Firewire400?
    When I look at a harddrive from LaCie, the specs says this:
    FireWire 400: up to 400Mbits/s (50MB/s)
    Hi-Speed USB 2.0: up to 480Mbits/s (60MB/s)
    Dos that mean that USB2 always is better than Firewire400, or are there other aspects?

    Jakob Rink wrote:
    Is USB2 better than Firewire400?
    When I look at a harddrive from LaCie, the specs says this:
    FireWire 400: up to 400Mbits/s (50MB/s)
    Hi-Speed USB 2.0: up to 480Mbits/s (60MB/s)
    Dos that mean that USB2 always is better than Firewire400, or are there other aspects?
    Those are theoretical raw data transfer rates. Remember that you might have multiple devices on the same node, and many of those devices operate at a slower speed. Only one device communicates at any given instance. USB also has a lot of overhead and negotations to control a device on the bus are performed at a slower rate for compatibility with 12 Mbit/sec (and 1.5 Mbit/sec) devices.
    In reality, a single FireWire 400 device will have a higher throughput than a single USB Hi-Speed device (without other devices on the same node). If you read a LaCie spec for actual data transfer rate and not just raw bus speed, you'll see that FireWire 400 is faster. It's also less prone to other devices slowing it down. This was from the specifications for the LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ Triple:
    http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=10922
    Burst Transfer Rate1 (max. drive speed) :
    FireWire 800: up to 80-90MB/s
    FireWire 400: up to 35-40MB/s
    USB 2.0: up to 30-34MB/s
    So the translation into Mbit/sec is up to 320 Mbit/sec for FireWire 400, and up to 272 Mbit/sec for USB 2.0.

  • How will an external Hard drive designed for the macbook Pro work with my White Macbook?  My  white macbook has a Firewire 400 and the G-Tech HD has a 800 to 400 compatible cable for the firewire.

    I am asking this because I want the G-Tech Hard drive  says that it is designed for the macbook pro.  Yet, I want to back up faster with by using my firewire 400 which is not an option on the one designed for the white macbook that does not have a firewire (only a USB port.)  The G-Tech Hard drive comes with the 800 to 400 compatible cable and has 5400 RPM with 750 GB.  Also, I've heard that laptops with low battery (mine all the time)  won't have the power for a bus powered Hard drive (as in no ac plug in adaptor.)  Can I just plug in my laptop?  Any one know the answers from experience with this hard drive?

    As far as I know, if a harddrive works with a Macpro, it should work with the Macbook: if your Macbook is low on power, plug in the AC adapter
    If your Macbook has a firewire port, then it should be fine. BUt i would do somemore research first.

  • I have an iPod G2 with a firewire 400 lead. how can I attach it to my new 13 inch Mac book Pro, is there a 400 to 800 firewire converter. USB lead wont work with the Macbook Pro. iPod used as an external drive to archive memory cards on the go.

    My G2 iPod that I use as an external drive to archive memory cards on the go cannot link with my new 13" Macbook Pro cause it uses a firewire 400 lead. It will not work with a USB lead. Is there a firewire 800 ipod lead or converter available? Can any one shed some light on this please?

    As far as I know, if a harddrive works with a Macpro, it should work with the Macbook: if your Macbook is low on power, plug in the AC adapter
    If your Macbook has a firewire port, then it should be fine. BUt i would do somemore research first.

  • How to connect an external harddrive with firewire 800 to a macbook with firewire 400?

    Hello,
    I just got the external harddrive "Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0 1TB" with a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Upgrade Kabel FireWire 800. I have neither a USB 3.0, nor a Firewire 800 on my white macbook (2008). I already know, that it's possible to use USB 3.0 with an USB 2.0 port, but I would like to use it with the firewire to spare the USB port for other devices. My question: Is there an adapter or cable to use the Seagate Firewire 800 with my Firewire 400 port? I don't know, where and what to look for.
    I'm glad for any advice.

    There are many adaptors, try here

  • I am using IMovie 11 with a new iMac.  Unable to import video from a Panasonic PV-GS400 mini-DV camcorder using a Firewire IEEE 1394 400 cable connected to a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter which is then connected to a Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 adapter.

    How can I get iMovie to recognize my Panasonic PV-GS400 as a device so I can import video to my iMac?  I have a FireWire IEEE 1394 400 cable connected to the camcorder.  Since my new iMac has only Thunderbolt ports, I purchased a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter to connect to the cable.  I also purchased a FireWire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter to connect to the computer.  My camcarder is still not recognized.

    I would suggest that you try a 9 pin to 4 pin Firewire Cable along with the Firewire to Thunderbolt adapter.
    Those Firewire 400 to 800 adapters do not seem to work well with iMovie.
    The 9 pin to 4 pin cables are available at reasonable prices here, for example.
    http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10301&cs_id=1030104 &p_id=3541&seq=1&format=2

  • I currently have a MAC Mini, which has 1 Firewire 800 port.  I have a 1TB external hard disk that runs at Firewire 400.  Can I insert another external hard drive that runs at Firewire 800?

    Here's the deal.  Currently running SL 10.6.8 on a MAC Mini.  Planning for eventual upgrade to ML.  Have a 1TB external hard drive partitioned into two volumes, one volume for Time Machine and one volume for SL which I periodically update using Superduper.  Thus I always have a point-in-time bootable backup on the external hard drive.
    The MAC Mini supports Firewire 800.  However, booting from my current external hard disk is pretty slow, since it only supports Firewire 400.  I am considering buying an Iomega MiniMax which supports Firewire 800.  Then, I would use the MiniMax as my bootable backup volume, and relegate the older hard drive to Time Machine. 
    So, question #1 is, can I daisychain the new MiniMax between the MAC Mini and my existing external hard drive?  My expectation is that the new Mini Max would run using Firewire 800 and that the existing hard drive would run at Firewire 400 speed as it does today.  If it doesn't (e.g., daisychaining in the Firewire 400 external disk with the MiniMax Firewire 800 external disk ends up running the whole leg at 400), my resolution will be to run the existing hard disk off an available USB port and have just the MiniMax running at Firewire 800.
    Why am I going to all this trouble?  That's question #2.  I don't trust upgrades; they always break something.  When I upgraded from 10.5.x to 10.6.x, the web directories got renamed, and all of my web apps 403'd until I figured out what happened.  Plus, I have accounts for other family members, and in order to ensure their ability to use the computer during my upgrade process, I need to have the ability to fall-back quickly to a known-stable version of OSX.  So what I'm trying to do is insulate myself from problems by partitioning the MiniMax into two volumes, taking a Superduper image of my current installation on the Mac Mini to MiniMax external drive volume 1, then upgrading to ML on the MAC Mini, and take a SuperDuper image of that to MiniMax external drive volume 2.  Then, if the upgrade results in problems I can't resolve immediately, I can simply reimage the MAC Mini from MiniMax volume 1.  BUT ...
    ... I've read that the ML installation creates a "service and support" partition that is different than the startup disk.  I'm concerned that I won't be able to reimage the hard disk in the MAC Mini once I upgrade it to ML because of the partitioning changes it introduces on the startup disk.  Theoretically, I +should+ be able to use the disk utility on my SL system to repartition the disk in the MAC Mini prior to reimaging it from my backup, but I'm considering the possibility that the new partition may be of a type that the SL disk utility cannot identify, and might therefore be unable to delete or even detect.  So I'm hoping someone else has been down this road and can advise me.  Even at Firewire 800 speeds, booting from an external disk is still going to be slow, so I want to be able to restore my SL image to the MAC Mini hard disk.
    A little background on me.  I work for a major disaster recovery provider.  I used to have a Mac PRO G5, which I got used, and the first thing I did with it was install a second hard disk, SuperDupe an image from the first disk to the second, and made sure I could boot from the second.  THEN I started using and customizing the MAC.  I really feel vulnerable with the MAC Mini, since it only has the single internal hard drive - sort of like going out in public dressed only in a long T-shirt.  So my whole thing is, I ABSOLUTELY MUST BE ABLE TO PUT THINGS BACK THE WAY THEY WERE before I do the migration to ML.
    Obsessive-cumpulsive?  Yep.  Anal?  You got it.  That's why I'm in the DR business.

    You may have overloaded the port, following the instructions below it should reset:
    +1. Shut down the computer.+
    +2. Disconnect all devices and all other cables, except the keyboard and mouse cable(s).+
    +3. Disconnect the computer from the power outlet and wait for 3 to 5 minutes.+
    +4. Plug the computer back in and turn it on.+
    +5. Reconnect the device(s) (one at a time if there is more than one) and test. Test with each port if you have more than one.+
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317?viewlocale=en_US

  • How to tell if Firewire 400 or 800? In any OS and this laptop: Toshiba Satellite A350D - BA3.

    Hello.
    I was wondering how someone can tell the difference between Firewire 400 and 800 in their computer and in this model of Toshiba laptop: Toshiba Satellite A350D - BA3?
    If a person looked in device manager or something would it say? With Usb it says Enhanced when it is usb2 compared to usb1. I don't know what usb3 says, I don't have it.
    With firewire there is large sizes and small. On my laptop it is a mini firewire and it looks like a 4-pin inside. On the toshiba.ca site, in the product specs, it only says firewire.
    I am planning on buying a cord that has a large connection on one end and a small connection size at the other end. Eg: Some cables for firewire are a 4-4pin, 6-4pin, 6-6pin, 9-4pin,9-6pin,9-9pin. There are also firewire 400 to 800 adapters. I'd like to buy the right cord for an external enclosure I bought to connect to the small laptop firewire port. The enclosure is a Vantec NexStar 3, 3.5" enclosure, usb2, eSATA, Firewire a/b. It has two firewire b ports in back, but an included cord converts b-a (the a is still to big for the laptop firewire).
    Does anyone know if any of the mini ports are as fast as the larger ports? Will a 9-pin firewire 800 cable converting to a mini connection go at the mini connections speed if it is only firewire 400, I don't think it can force full F800 speed?
    Thanks.

    Hello.
    I was wondering how someone can tell the difference between Firewire 400 and 800 in their computer and in this model of Toshiba laptop: Toshiba Satellite A350D - BA3?
    If a person looked in device manager or something would it say? With Usb it says Enhanced when it is usb2 compared to usb1. I don't know what usb3 says, I don't have it.
    With firewire there is large sizes and small. On my laptop it is a mini firewire and it looks like a 4-pin inside. On the toshiba.ca site, in the product specs, it only says firewire.
    I am planning on buying a cord that has a large connection on one end and a small connection size at the other end. Eg: Some cables for firewire are a 4-4pin, 6-4pin, 6-6pin, 9-4pin,9-6pin,9-9pin. There are also firewire 400 to 800 adapters. I'd like to buy the right cord for an external enclosure I bought to connect to the small laptop firewire port. The enclosure is a Vantec NexStar 3, 3.5" enclosure, usb2, eSATA, Firewire a/b. It has two firewire b ports in back, but an included cord converts b-a (the a is still to big for the laptop firewire).
    Does anyone know if any of the mini ports are as fast as the larger ports? Will a 9-pin firewire 800 cable converting to a mini connection go at the mini connections speed if it is only firewire 400, I don't think it can force full F800 speed?
    Thanks.

  • Firewire 400 External Drive Not Recognized in Yosemite

    I have a Fantom external hard drive that is plugged into my Mac mini. The external hard drive uses the old firewire 400 standard. The mac mini only has a firewire 800 standard port. I have an adaptor to bridge the two, and this worked fine until I updated to Yosemite. Now the drive isn't recognized. Can anyone offer suggestions on what to do to get this drive to work on this computer?? None of the other macs in my house even have a firewire 800 port anymore.

    Disk Utility – Force Mount Disk
    See the mount section.
    Disk Unmount Using Terminal

  • External Hard Drive is not being recognized by Firewire 400

    Hi everyone,
    I update my Mac OS X (Leopard) last night, so this morning when I was going to connect my External Hard Drive (EDD) to my MacBook; the Firewire, which I normally used through Firewire 400, did not recognized my EDD. However, I tried by connecting using the USB option and it recognized the EDD working perfect. Thus, I would like to know how do I turn the Firewire 400 on/available, since it seems not being working properly.
    Thanks a lot,
    M
    Macbook (Intel) early 2007.

    if you have the power supply that comes with the external, use that if you haven't use it instead of rely on bus powered port.
    connect your external, click blue apple on top left corner > about this mac > click more and on system profiler click firewire, and see if your external detected there.
    You can try to reset PRAM to refresh your hardware behavior too:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
    Good Luck.

  • Is there any kind of adapter/converter that converts an older Firewire 400 to Thunderbolt?

    Is there any kind of adapter/converter that converts an older Firewire 400 to Thunderbolt?

    Is this to plug in an older FW 400 device into a Thunderbolt port on a Mac?
    Or to plug in a Thunderbolt device into a FW 400 port on a Mac? 
    The first can be done but not the second.

  • My iMac won't recognize my external hard drive connected by FireWire 400

    I have an external hard drive connected to my Intel-based iMac through a FireWire 400 cable. The drive doesn't come up on the desktop after turning on the hard drive power.
    If I connect through the USB cable, it appears quickly on the desktop. Why isn't this working through FireWire? I had some trouble with this in Tiger as well, but was somehow able to get it to work.

    The drive does not appear in Disk Utility.
    And I don't think I'll be installing DiskWarrior until Leopards countless bugs are fixed, especially after reading THIS:
    Alsoft: There are some DiskWarrior "compatibility issues" with Leopard
    After previously stating "you can run the (current version of DiskWarrior under Leopard) knowing no harm will come to the hard drive or to your data," Alsoft has now posted a message to its Web site stating "there are some compatibility issues when running an installed copy of DiskWarrior 4.0 while started up from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Alsoft currently recommends that you do not run DiskWarrior 4.0 while the computer is started from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard."
    http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20071026153956503

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