Firewire 800 to Firewire 400

Please forgive the simplistic question, but there is some conflicting information around.
I have a Macbook with a firewire 400 port. I want to replace an external hard drive and I see that some have firewire 800 ports. I know I can buy an adapter that goes from FW800 to FW400 (a different number of pins) but can I go ahead and use the drive with the firewire 800 port on my Macbook with such an adapter?
I guess I'm asking can FW800 ported equipment work with FW400 Macbook?
Thanks again for the group's help.

Yes you can.
Personally I would get a FW400-to-FW800 cable of appropriate length since such simple adapters can add touble.
Stefan

Similar Messages

  • Is there a difference between firewire 800 and firewire 400 besides the connectors

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    Speed.   800 is up to twice the speed, and sometimes faster.    You can connect the two connectors with a cable that fits both ends, but you will be left with the slowest speed.

  • Firewire 800 to two 400's

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    Thanks
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  • Print to Video does not work with Firewire 800 to 400 cable

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  • 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?

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    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

  • Will a Firewire 800 hard drive work on my MacBook with Firewire 400?

    Hi, I have a MacBook I bought in 2008. The FireWire specs say " Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec"
    I am considering a new external hard drive (the Iomega MiniMax) and want to use Firewire for this one. The specs for the hard drive say: "The MiniMax includes 2 fast FireWire 800 interfaces, a USB 2.0 hub, plus a FireWire 400 to 800 cable."
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    Thanks.

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  • FireWire 400 to FireWire 800

    I have just purchased an iMac which has only one FireWire 800 outlet. I have three external HDs which are compatible w FireWire 400 outlets only. Is there a way for me to be able to use these HDs with this new machine? Is there a wire that would allow me to use HDs w FireWire 400 outlets on this iMac?
    Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

    Yes this is very common and there is a simple solution, you just need a Firewire 800 to 400 converter such as this:
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    or
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    From there you can daisy chain your Firewire devices together. Your external HD's will need 2 FW plugs on each drive (one in and one out) if they don't have this then you will need to purchase a Firewire Hub such as:
    http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-GUH420-Port-USB-Fire/dp/B0007RB28U/ref=sr16?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1253141533&sr=1-6
    Regards,
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  • Using the firewire 800 port for my firewire 400 devices

    I will be purchasing, at long last, a new mac mini to replace my faithful and well behaved G4 mac mini. I have a 20" cinema display and an external firewire 400 backup drive with the same form factor that sits below the mini. I would like to continue to use these peripherals as well as my video camera DV out. Ideally, it would be cool to have a FW800 hub that had both 800 and 400 places to plug my peripherals, but I don't see that available. Should I get a hub and adaptors for the fw400 components I want to add, or use the hard drive with an adaptor to the mini, then use the FWports on the drive for the monitor, and whatever else I want, thereby using the drive as a hub...
    Any advice to this ignorant question would be appreciated.
    Thanks,
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    Since Firewire 400 devices still operate at Firewire 400 speeds regardless of whether or not they are connected by adapter to Firewire 800 ports, the best thing to do is just get a Firewire 800 to 400 adapter, and attach it to a Firewire 400 hub known to be able to do all the functions you desire.
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  • HT201338 Can I connect a firewire 400 to firewire 800 adapter and then a firewire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter(standard Thunderbolt to firewire adapter) together to digitize video from a miniDV video camcorder?

    I have a 10 year Canon MiniDV camcorder that I used to connect via firewire to digitize the data.  Now my IMac only has a Thunderbolt connector and my camcorder uses the older firewire 400 standard.  I would like to digitize the video into my IMac.  How can I do this?

    I did a little looking around and found a Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 adapter, and then a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter, but no Thunderbolt to Firewire 400. Amazon and Apple stores had the Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 cable and Amazon had the Firewire 400 to 800 adapater.
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  • Thunderbolt and FireWire 800 / 400

    Hey gang!
    I have a 2011 MacMini and a theoretical question.  I have a FW800 external drive connected to it for my TimeMachine backup.  I also have a FW400 audio capture box I use from time to time.
    I used to chain the drive and audio device, but that slows the FW chain to 400 speeds instead of 800.  If I connect the FW800 drive directly to the Mac mini, and the FW400 audio capture box to the Mac min via the Thunderbolt-to-FW800 adaptor(via a small 800-to-400 converter plug), will that slow the whole bus down to 400, or will they work at independent speeds?
    I assume the Thunderbolt and FW chips are indepent and that the would NOT slow down speeds, but I would like to hear a more technical answer to my question.
    Thank you in advance.

    Apple sells a Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 cable here. Connect directly to your external drive with this cable, and the FW400 audio capture box (with adapter) to the Mini's FW800 port.

  • Daisy-chaining firewire 400 and firewire 800?

    I would like to daisy-chain two Western Digital MyBook Pros to a Macbook:
    - FW 400 from Macbook to first drive
    - FW 800 between the drives
    Would this work or not? I have one of those, they have 2 x FW 800, 1 x FW 400, 1 x USB at back.
    (If not, I'll buy a 'Premium' which has 2 x FW 400, and 1 x USB..)

    JoeyR wrote:
    I'm not sure if the hardware in the first drive, that's connected by firewire 400 is "smart" enough to jump the data over to the FW800 connectors for daisy chaining.
    Just pulled this from the WD site. I would say this indicates it would work. You won't get more speed but they should work daisy chained. This indicates the drive is smart enough to do this.
    +Question: Will Western Digital FireWire 400 (1394a) external hard drives work connected to a FireWire 800 (1394b) port?+
    +Answer: The FireWire 800 Specification (1394b) states that FireWire 400 devices will work while connected to a FireWire 800 (1394b) port. The FireWire 400 cable (4-6 pin or 6-6 pin) will not connect to a FireWire 800 port (9 pin) therefore you will need to connect the hard drive using a FireWire 400 to FireWire 800 cable (1394a to 1394b cable). These cables are available at most computer stores.+

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