Firewire Bus Possible Problem or Not

Now for the past couple of days my external firewire hard drives have been acting up....
1. Using SD to clone failed twice (different days) indicating cound not un-mount volume. After going into "Disk Utility" to attempt to repair the drive "failed to un-mount. I then tried to un-mount the FW hard drive but cound not. I had to restart the iMac, then everything worked fine.
2. I've noticed that in "disk utility" the external FW drives are not always in the same order...weird to me.
3. I ran TTP4 and the FW port reported NO problems.
I was told that sometimes the FW Bus can screw up, and to remove all the FW devices and restart (have not tried that yet).
Things I have connected to the iMac via Fire Wire are:
1 Lower Port Lacie d2 250GB Hard Drive
2 Upper Port Powered FW Hub
2A. 2 external FW Hard Drives
2B. iSight
I've had this configuration for several months now without problems.
Any thoughts or suggestions....is my FW bus failing on the iMac?

Odd problems with Firewire or USB sometimes happen after an incremental system update such as from 10.4.3 to 10.4.4. If that is what happened in your case the fix is to download and apply the latest combined system updater. You'll be applying the combined 10.4.4 update on top of the existing 10.4.4. Give it a try.

Similar Messages

Firewire device causing problems when connected to Mini via LaCie ExtHD/Bus

Hello there..
Just bought LaCie 300GB Ext.HD/Bus(Firewire &USB). It was recognized by my Mini no problem. I have used the firewire connection between The HD and the mini. The problems begin when I try to connect my M-Audio firewire audio interface (it's mains powered, by the way) to one of the firewire bus inputs of the LaCie - then every action gets the dreaded spinning beachball and I have to shut down etc. The connection of this device has even prevented the HD being recognized by my system, in the case where I have tried having it already connected and powered up before switching on and connecting the HD to the Mini.
I've tried other things such as PMU reset, to no lasting avail.
This is the same firewire audio interface that has worked fine for months when plugged directly into the Mini, so why should there be a problem when it's connected to the bus port of the HD?
Now, as a temporary solution, I have changed the connection between the Mini and the HD/Bus from Firewire to USB - this means I can now use the FW port on the Mini to connect my audio interface (as before). The problem with this is that I work alot with video as well as audio, and have learned that it's very advisable to use firewire drives when working on video...but there is only one FW input on my Mini, so if the La Cie HD is using that, there is no port for audio interface to go in...that's why I bought this particular HD - more storage on a FW HD which has extra FW bus ports for such things as audio interfaces!
I hope I've explained the problem OK, thank you in advance for any advice.
Jimmy

You don't mention which model you have, but this is from the M-Audio Firewire 410 Manual Troubleshooting section:
The FireWire 410 has been designed to give you high performance and professional quality audio. It has been tested under a wide range
of systems and operating conditions. In the real world, however, there is a nearly infinite number of possible operating scenarios, any of
which could affect your system’s performance. Much like owning an automobile, “your mileage may vary.” This section can not begin to
cover all possible issues you may encounter, however we want to give you some suggestions on common problems you may experience.
One thing to avoid is connecting too many devices. The FireWire bus is a dependable, high-speed, high-bandwidth protocol which is ideally
suited for digital audio. Nonetheless, it’s important to remember that audio and multimedia streaming places considerable demands on
your processor and the FireWire bus. Although it is theoretically possible to chain many multiple FireWire devices in series, doing so may
potentially degrade your audio performance.
I guess this degradation could also affect the Firewire HD. Maybe there is a simple fix, but it sounds like the M-Audio people have been down this road before.

Firewire bus and ethernet not working

The computer has stopped recognizing anything plugged into the Firewire ports and also does not recognize the ethernet cable. I've restarted, unplugged everything, reinstalled the system, reinstalled some specific software I need, reset the PRAM and done the <command>-<option>-<o>-<f> commands:
reset-nvram
set-defaults
reset-all
Nothing has worked and if I plug the same components into another machine, everything works fine, so it must be with this specific computer (not cables, other hardware, etc.).
At this point, I'm thinking it's a logic board issue, but this machine just had a new one put in in May. So before I take it in again, does anyone have any other ideas? This machine is used in a laboratory to take images from a microscope, so a quick fix to this problem would be preferable to a repair, if possible.
Thanks.
Message was edited by: JMug

Welcome to Discussions - it is probable the the replacement logic board has failed, the functions you mention are controlled by it, but try one of these solutions:
1. Downloading and installing the combo updater of the system software update they've just applied via "Software Update...".
2. Another trick is to restart each by zapping the parameter RAM:
Zapping the P-RAM:
After the startup tone, hold down <commandd><option><r> until 3 additional startup tones are heard, then release the 4 keys.
3. A 3rd tip would be to do Open Firmware resets on each:
After the startup tone, hold down <command><option><o><f> until the text screen is visible. When text can be entered, type the following commands, followed by the <return> key (there are no space characters in each command):
reset-nvram
set-defaults
reset-all (the Mac will boot up after this command is entered)
If none of them works, a trip to the repair shop would be indicated.
Please post back with results,

AWOL FireWire Bus can cause performance problems

This is a tip for anyone who may be having undiagnosed performance problems. Use System Profiler and look at the FireWire entry. If there is no information other than the title FireWire Bus that may be the cause of the problem.
See http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88338 for information. I was able to fix my performance problems by disconnecting my iMac from power and everything except mouse and keyboard.
I've written a small AppleScript which run System Profiler each day and will alert me to a missing FireWire Bus. I hope it never happens again.

Yup, resetting the NVRAM seems to fix a lot of
HD/firewire problems.
I am not even using firewire so I didn't have any firewire problems (as such). My problems seemed primarily to be performance related ... I assume the OS was spending a lot of cycles trying to check the status of the Firewire Bus.

My iSight is not working on my Macbook Pro. What are the possible problems and solutions?

My iSight is not working on my Macbook Pro. What are the possible problems and solutions?

Hello Douglas,
Thank you for the details of the issue you are experiencing with the built-in iSight camera on your MacBook Pro. I recommend the following steps for this issue:
Important: Follow these instructions in order. Test the camera between steps to see if the issue is resolved.
Built-in iSight cameras
These steps are for iSight cameras that are built into a computer, such as the iMac G5 (iSight) or later, the MacBook, or MacBook Pro.
See if the issue is application-specific.
Try another application (iSight works with applications like iChat, PhotoBooth, and iMovie HD 6) to see if the iSight camera exhibits the same behavior in all applications. If it only happens in one application, try reinstalling that application.
See if the issue is user-specific.
Test your iSight camera in another user account. If the issue only occurs in one user, the issue would be isolated to user settings.
Find out if the computer recognizes the iSight
Check System Profiler (in the Utilities folder, inside the Applications folder). Under the USB header, check to see if the iSight camera is detected.
Reset SMC or PMU
Reset your computer's SMC or PMU, and then check System Profiler again. (SMC reset instructions for iMac G5 (iSight), Intel-based iMacs; PMU reset instructions for MacBook and MacBook Pro.)
If your built-in iSight camera is still not behaving correctly after trying all these steps, you may need to contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider for service.
You can find the full article here:
How to Troubleshoot iSight
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2090
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Is it possible to install a firewire bus in a new (2010) unibody macbook?

Hi,
I have been offered a good deal on a firewire audio interface but unfortunately my macbook doesnt have any firewire ports. I have tried it out using a firewire/USB adapter with a powered USB hub but the macbook just disables the port saying it is drawing too much power. Is there any way i can install a firewire bus in my macbook? or is there some kind of adapter/cable that would solve the power problem?
Thanks

No.

Firewire Bus Power - Not Needed

I've been using an Echo AudioFire 12 firewire interface for years with my Mac Pro, but now I'm using it in the field with my MacBook.
The AF 12 is (AC) self powered yet the MacBook automatically sends it bus power, thusly running hotter and the fan never stops.
If I plug in a 6 pin FW cable to the MacBook and leave the other end un-attached the fan never turns on. When I plug in the AF 12, the fan starts up (within a few minutes).
Or is there a way to disable Firewire bus power on the Mac (10.6.5). Or can this be achieved using a cable that doesn't send power.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

I had the same idea as you.
I didn't think of looking for a method of turning off the Mac's firewire power - this would be excellent.
The method I used was:
A firewire 6pin to 4pin cable like this (not this actual ebay item).
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2M-Firewire-IEEE1394-Cable-4-6-Pin-DV-out-PC-Lead-/2605482 48174?pt=UKComputing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item3ca9e2c26e#ht_2727wt1141
A firewire Adapter 6 Pin Male to *4 Pin Female* (not this actual ebay item).
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1394-Firewire-Adapter-6-Pin-Male-4-Pin-Female-/35040349329 7?pt=UKComputing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item5195acfdb1#ht_3761wt1141
My idea was that a firewire 4pin connection does not carry power, so the firewire signal would get through, but the power from the computer wouldn't.
The combined 6pin plug and adapter were heavy. They needed to be supported to keep them level when plugged in, if the socket was horizontally aligned, like on the MacBook Pro.
If you try this - be careful when ordering the adapter - some adapters are male to male - you need 6 Pin Male to *4 Pin Female*.
I also wrapped a piece of tape around the combined plug and adapter.
Hope this helps.
Richard

Hello I have a problem in calculating the apple id Can you help me please I forgot answer security questions for your account How can knowledge Please help Please reply as soon as possible I can not buy from camels Store And the rest of the account ba

Hello
I have a problem in calculating the apple id Can you help me please
I forgot answer security questions for your account How can knowledge
Please help
Please reply as soon as possible
I can not buy from camels Store
And the rest of the account balance $25
Message was edited by: lingo azam

I think you mean App Store.
Rescue email address and how to reset Apple ID security questions

FireWire bus not responding

Subject says it all. At boot-up this morning, none of the FireWire devices are found. System profiler sees nothing on the FireWire Bus. Shutting down, rebooting, unplugging, plugging, powering down, powering up, all have no effect.

Thought you could use this info about getting FireWire to work!
First, you should always Repair Permissions in Disk Utility before and after any update; I would do that now. If you installed your update with FireWire plugged in, your Mac may not recognize it anymore.
Try resetting your FireWire ports by disconnecting all FW devices, shut down your Mac and unplug it from AC power (wall socket) for 30 minutes. plug it back in and try FW.
If that didn't work, download the combo update from this site (yours may be corrupt), not Software Update, disconnect all firewire + USB devices except keyboard + mouse, Repair Permissions, re-install update, Repair Permissions again + try. Yours is the 10.4.10 Combo update ( PPC, not for Intel systems). Others reading, download the Combo that applies to your system.
If that still didn't get it Zap the PRAM. While restarting Mac hold down the following key combo Command-Option-P-R. Keep holding those keys down till you hear the second start-up chime, then release.
For those of you with Macs that are not PowerBooks or iBooks, a bad internal battery can cause FireWire to not be recognized, so make sure it's good! Also, here is Apple doc.#88338 on getting FireWire to work.
Here's another
Fw Faq.
 Cheers! DALE

Firewire Bus Problem

I'm not able to connect Firewire devices to any of the firewire ports on my G5.
In the "About this Mac" Hardware overview, when I click Firewire it reads, "Unable to list Firewire devices," in red.
Not a good sign.
I've tried all the usual troubleshooting procedures; cables, power on/off, different devices, and all the ports. USB work file
Any suggestions?
Thanks

Thought you could use this info about getting FireWire to work!
First, you should always Repair Permissions in Disk Utility before and after any update; I would do that now. If you installed your update with FireWire plugged in, your Mac may not recognize it anymore.
Try resetting your FireWire ports by disconnecting all FW devices, shut down your Mac and unplug it from AC power (wall socket) for 30 minutes. plug it back in and try FW.
If that didn't work, download the combo update from this site (yours may be corrupt), not Software Update, disconnect all firewire + USB devices except keyboard + mouse, Repair Permissions, re-install update, Repair Permissions again + try.
If that still didn't get it Zap the PRAM. While restarting Mac hold down the following key combo Command-Option-P-R. Keep holding those keys down till you hear the second start-up chime, then release.
A bad internal PRAM battery can also cause FireWire to not be recognized, so make sure it's good!
Also, here is Apple doc.#88338 on getting FireWire to work.
Here's another Fw Faq.
DALE

FireWire Audio Heat Problem (Macbook Pro, Late 2008) VIDEO proof

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYHnX3CGUoo
After a lot of hours of trying to figure out WHY my macbook pro heats up (a lot) when i connect my newly bought Apogee Duet firewire audio interface, i found out that actually what was happening is that there are CPU spikes of extremely short period (so short that Activity Monitor and iStat could not catch) constantly spiking the CPU frequency from 1596Mhz (Idle) to 2572Mhz (Maximum). Apart from the frequency spike there is also a VOLTAGE spike from 1.0v to 1.15.
I know that this is normal due to speedstep technologies and such BUT the rapid spiking and alterations of frequency and voltage ALWAYS happening when i have my Firewire audio plugged is not normal to me. There is nothing else running, everything's idle and i only plug the firewire interface.
Also this is not happening when i restrict OSX from loading AppleFWAudio.kext (either by deleting, moving, renaming it). I connect the firewire audio interface, the leds are illuminating but no heat problem (thats to show you that is not because the interface is self-powered)
Whats going on seems to be similar with the problems occurred after Mac Pro Audio Update to users that was using FW audio devices. They were hearing a sine noise coming from their macpro and propably that was because the same thing was happening. Constant spikes of voltage to the CPU. I dont have a macpro thought so i cant apply the update Apple released for that issue.
Also, my macbook is using Lucent / Agere (LSI) firewire chipset (the particular and known revision 6) but i dont think that this is the cause since Apogee didnt have any problems with the chipset
Info: The app im using to monitor the Frequency and Voltage is CoolBook, can be found here: http://www.coolbook.se/CoolBook.html

Firewire Audio disconnected / or AppleFWAudio.kext unloaded = Idle temp arround 50 celcius (iStat)
Firewire Audio Connected with AppleFWAudio.kext loaded = Idle temp arround 60 celcius (iStat)
If theres a possibility that this is due to bus powered firewire device (cause i have an external FW hard drive that is self-powered and temps are not rising when i connect it) then AppleFWAudio.kext maybe manages something with bus powered firewire.
Maybe when i have the interface connected but the kext not loaded the mA sucked by the interface are too little for causing a temp rise but by the time the kext is loaded and the interface is converting audio the mA required tops up so the temp rise comes from the mA load on the firewire bus and not the cpu itself.
*Even if that's the case, the rapid spikes of throttling on the cpu by the time the Firewire Audio interface is connected bothers me. This isn't something that should normaly happen on an idling machine.*

Broken firewire ports - boot problems - target mode help needed

HI there,
I have a 15" macbook pro from 2008 with core 2 duo cpu etc.
It has recently developed the problem of hanging during the boot process with a blue screen, taking around 5 minutes to get to the login screen.
Much research has led me to the solution of removing two files from the SYSTEM > LIBRARY > EXTENSIONS folder relating to the firewire bus (?) and this has solved the issues about booting. (IOFirewireIP.kext and IOFirewireFamily.kext)
(I put on a clean install of 10.6.3 and the screen stayed blue. Removing these two files in target mode fixed this problem.)
There is still a sleep problem though - i.e. the machine does not wake from manual sleep (Apple menu) or if the system sleeps after the time allocated in the energy saving preferences.
There are so many suggestions on the web, it's almost impossible to know what the correct course of action is.
Another strange thing is, is that I can boot into target mode and access the drive via the firewire (400) port from another mac.
If the port were truly broken, how come it still works in target mode?
Is it possible that the firewire interface is not broken, but disabling these two files above could eliminate another associated problem?
Also, is there an online resource, or walkthrough, to eliminate what could be causing the sleep problems?
I would appreciate someone's suggestions on this and thank you for your help in advance!
Best wishes,
Torbz

Strangely, after installing a clean 10.6.3 - I've updated to 10.6.8 and the firewire ports are suddenly back and being reported in system profiler (whereby they were not before).
The two files I deleted above have been re-instated through the updates - and all seems well.
I've yet to check the sleep mode problem - but the firewire has at least sorted itself out...
That's a bonus!
Torbz

High pitch whine and FireWire bus power

Delighted with my MBP!
Just noticed the high pitch whine today when I set it up in a quieter room and plugged it into an IOGear bus-powered FireWire hub shared with my other Mac.
It was around 8000 hz and loud enough that I could not stand to stay in the room with it.
When I unplugged it from the hub and connected the cable directly to the FW port, the whine was greatly attenuated (I could hear it only by putting my ear next to the vents at the top of the keyboard).
Could the problem be related to powering the FireWire bus? (It reminds me of the sound of a switching power supply or DC-DC converter) Has anyone else had any success in finding ways to attenuate this high pitch tone?
MacBookPro Mac OS X (10.4.5) 7200 rpm

Hi, Thanks for the suggestion. I'm really trying to cut down on the number of devices that I leave plugged into the mains, so would ideally like a solution that relies purely on power supplied by the internal bus.
I've had a bit of progress with my current set-up. I've switched to using a 2 headed USB lead that came with my Hard Drive. This does mean I effectively lose a USB socket, but it appears that the Hard Drive + the Webcam can now live happily together.
It just means that I have to swap the 4th USB port for whatever ad-hoc device I need to use at the time rather than leaving things connected to it.
Out of geeky curiosity, I'd still be interested to know whether the USB and Firewire buses share their power or each have a dedicated amount.
Cheers,
Ian

A possible problem with parallel operation?

Hello everyone,
         I am working on a labview program that uses parallel execution, and I am running into a possible problem. Please bear with me, as sometimes it is difficult to explain things happening in Labview in text alone. This application reads data from a server that we have in one of our labs via an ActiveX component. This server is known as a TIU server. The server contains various data including part numbers, serial numbers etc. It sends this data out in three different signals. A sequence count, an ASCII high, and an ASCII low. The sequence counter sends data in the following manner. When the sequence count is 0 and both ASCII high and low are NULL, then a new part number sequence is about to begin. When the count sequence changes to "1", then the next two string charaters listed under ASCII high and ASCII low represent a number that is a "Function ID". There are several of these, and each function ID contains different information either a part number, a serial number, etc. Once this is read, and it is determined that you are looking at the correct Function ID, the next Count shows how many charaters are to follow, and then you read each set of two ASCII characters and concatenate them together until you build the entire ASCII sequence as one variable and the sequence is complete.
       There are several equipment cards attached to this TIU server, and each card is free wheeling it's data out. As soon as power is applied, it will continue to send out all of its function ID's sequentially (Function ID 0-9) in order, in a circular fashion at a 1 Hz. rate. A really strange system to be sure, but it is a limitation that I have to deal with. So now that I have laid a bit of the background on this, here is the problem. Occasionally, (maybe one out of 20 trys), the data seems to get slightly corrupted. For example, in the enclosed code, I ran it 40 times, reading the same part number each time. In theory, it should always be the same result. But it is not. I am wondering if there is an issue with running the "READ TIU SERVER.vi" in PreAllocated clone reentrant execution mode? Perhaps on occasion, one of the instances does not fully close, before another instance begins, and a few bits get flipped around? I suppose it is possible that occasionally the TIU server is actually putting out erroneous data (and I am actually reading everything perfectly), but it is a fairly mature system, and I have not gone down that path yet. I have included the .vi that I am using to read the server data "test.vi", and the "Read TIU Server.vi" that is set to Preallocated clone reentrant execution. In this example, the "test.vi" is only a single instance, but in the actual program, I am running 20-30 of these, as Preallocated clone reentrant execution as well. As there are 20-30 cards on each TIU server to get information from. I am hoping that this makes sense, and that I have laid it out in a logical fashion. Sort of hard to explain in text sometimes. Thanks for the help....
Attachments:
test.vi ‏123 KB
Read Tiu Server.vi ‏15 KB

Hi ,
      Thanks for taking a look. You caught me on the shift register, I had not gotten around to cleaning up a few things. However the "elapsed time" functions acutally are there on purpose. Unfortunately, it takes a VERY long time to get one of those part numbers, as only two ASCII characters are moved accross the bus at a 1 Hz. rate. I orginally had all wait statements, but I discovered that when you stop a while loop, it will continue until the wait timer has expired. With 20+ of these functions in parallel, it was taking upwards of 30 seconds for the program to finally end. From what I was reading on the forums of others that had that problem, a "elapsed time" function can be broken through, while a standard "wait" statement cannot. Now when I press the "STOP" button, the program ends almost immediately.
     This is not a standard piece of equipment that I am using, but I think the explanation is of how it works is fairly accurate. Would you have a guess as to why every so often the data gets corrupted? Other than the bus itself is actually putting wrong data out there? I suppose I should check that as well, but due to the slow rate of the bus, and the tools that we have, I will have to sit and watch it for a long time... Thanks...
Dan

Unkown Device Showing up on Firewire Bus when nothing is connected

I have a brand new G5 dual 2.3 Ghz PowerPC not INTEL pci-e and when I go to the System Profiler and look under the Firewire Bus page it's indicating that I have an Unknown Device connected when in fact I don't have anyting externally connected. I do have two Digidesign PCI-E Audio cards installed but I can't see how this would be considered a firewire device. Anyone else have this problem or ideas on this? Thanks!

Glad to be of service.
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Firewire Bus Possible Problem or Not

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