Firewire Cable vs USB Cable?

Can someone explain what's the difference between a Firewire cable and a USB cable? Is one better than the other? I have a Firewire port at the back of my Mac so I thought I could use it for the iPod Dock using a Firewire cable. Also are then different kinds of Firewire cables?
Thanks

For the differences in the specifications (yes, there are several types of FireWire connector), you may wish to do a quick search of your favorite search engine. You will find many articles at various levels of technical detail. One will, I am sure, be appropriate.
There was a time when all available iPods were FireWire based and could not even use USB. But as a relatively small percentage of PC users have one, keeping the iPod FW only would have hindered its availability to mac users and PC users savvy enough to install a card in their PC. Now, all current iPod models are USB only.

Similar Messages

  • Can you buy firewire cable for usb external?

    i recently bought an Iomega external HDD for time machine, it's a usb based drive, i really regret it because it's so slow. Could i just buy a firewire cable and use it on the drive so it can go faster?

    I've got four external FireWire 800 drives attached to my G5 tower. I installed a second FireWire PCI Express Card on the G5. They pretty much rip over the USB 2.0 I had before.
    Only comment I have is that if you use Time Machine and a FireWire 800 drive, make sure that it is connected directly to a Mac FireWire 800 port and not daisy chained to any other device. If it is daisy chained, you may get one of two issues - a very very very slow initial backup with a potential failure to backup. I learned the hard way and when I direct connected my backup drive to its own port, it cut the initial backup time by 75 percent and did not fail.
    I use my Mac for my work and have a lot of applications and data so it took about five hours to run the initial back up. Without the direct connect, it ran for about 26 hours and failed near the end of the attempt.
    Just one man's experience, hope this helps.

  • Can I connect firewire cable to a usb dvd drive

    Can I connect firewire adapter or cable to a usb dvd drive to install tiger cs when I tried installing with just the usb dvd drive didn't work so can I connect a firewire cable or adapter

    No.

  • 23" display looses power when either USB or firewire cables are connected

    I was actively using my computer when one of my 2 23" cinema displays lost power. I thought it died and was unplugging everything, when I discovered that it powered back on when both the connected USB and FIREWIRE cables were disconnected from my mac. If I connect either one, it immediately goes black (with no white LED). Any solutions outside of taking the thing in for repair?

    I'm leaning toward suspecting the 65w power brick of delivering insufficient power to the monitor to drive the USB/Firewire load.  Gonna try a different power brick and see if that makes any difference.

  • Firewire cable vs usb

    what is the difference with the look and function of the the firewire cable. I am assuming i have the usb. I cannot reformat or restore with my computer, however when i took it back to the shop they were able to do do it, but as soon as i plugged it into my computer again it showed the exclamation mark and folder. Its back in the shop now but im not sure if i will have to get a fire wire cable and completely not sure what it is. does it plug into to usb or somewhere else??

    Well, using Firewire sometimes really makes a difference. There are a number of people here who solved their iPod problems by switching to a Firewire connection. See these:
    Paul Hamilton, "Adaptec 4300 fireconnect!!! awesome...", 07:18pm Jun 13 2005 CDT
    Tue Fredholm, "Another vote for Adaptec 4300", 07:52am May 26, 2005 CDT
    Paul Boudreaux, "Adaptec 4300 Firewire...... A MUST HAVE", 04:20pm Mar 22, 2005 CDT
    urbanproject, "2 thumbs up for the Adaptec 1430", 07:43am Aug 8, 2005 CDT

  • Is it safe to plug and unplug USB and Firewire cables with the computer on?

    Is it safe to plug and unplug USB and Firewire cables with the computers on? I have a Mac G4 and a newly purchased IMac and I use one printer for both computers. Should I shut down the computers when I unplug the printer and connect to the other computer? How about when switching firewire drives.
    Is there an easy way to have both computers connected to the same printer? I have an Epson 1280 printer.

    Yes, you can unplug a printer without shutting down the computer, but if you are switching the printer to another computer then you should first turn off the printer, unplug it, re-connect to the other computer, then turn on the printer. This will assure that the printer will be properly recognized.
    If you have your computers networked via Ethernet then you can leave the printer connected to one computer and share it with the other via the network connection. Printer sharing is turned on using the Sharing preference in System Preferences. You will need to Add the printer on both computers so you will need the appropriate printer driver installed on both computers.
    See the following articles for more:
    http://members.cox.net/18james/osxprintersharing.html
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58028
    http://www.apple.com/support/tiger/network/
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106658
    Also select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search on "printer sharing."
    Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
    The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
    Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

  • Is it safe to plug and unplug USB and Firewire cables with the computers on

    Is it safe to plug and unplug USB and Firewire cables with the computers on? I have a Mac G4 and a newly purchased IMac and I use one printer for both computers. Should I shut down the computers when I unplug the printer and connect to the other computer? How about when switching firewire drives.
    Is there an easy way to have both computers connected to the same printer? I have an Epson 1280 printer.

    USB/Firewire ports were designed to be "hot" plugged. You can safely plug and unplug devices without usually having to shut down the computer or the device. Some devices, such as external HDs, digital cameras and iPods need to be "ejected" first, so as not to damage their formatting or data.
    You can network your Macs wirelessly or with an ethernet cable and then set the printer connected to one computer to be shared with the other computer.
    Here are a couple of links;
    Connecting two computers using Ethernet
    Sharing your printers with other computers

  • Disconnecting all USB and firewire cables before upgrading OS X?

    Hello,
    I would like to confirm my understanding of some empirically effective advice provided in this previous Post about disconnecting USB and firewire cables before doing a Software Update and I presume also a Download update. What is gained by disconnecting the peripherals connected to the USB and firewire ports?
    I'm getting ready to update from OSX 10.2.8 to 10.3.9 (using full Retail CDs, of course).
    1. So it would NOT be a good idea to do the update in an external firewire drive? I had done this previously to leave my original OSX 10.1.5 in my internal drive alone while I tested the upgrade to 10.2.8 in a firewire drive. (I have since added a second internal drive.)
    2. That I should disconnect my two printers from their USB ports.
    3. If I'm doing a Download update vs. Software Update (from System Preferences), I guess I should also disconnect the cable to the modem?
    4. Run Repair Permissions before and after each software update step?
    Thanks in advance.
    Raymon

    Browsing through the Apple instructions on installing updates I do see in the section on Troubleshooting... to "Disconnect or remove anything that did not come with your computer" including removing any non-Apple RAM -- although this is recommended after an unsuccessful installation. Disconnecting the devices seems like an easy and prudent enough precaution.
    I do wonder now about again doing an update on a volume in an external firewire drive. This did work for me twice before in upgrading from OS X 10.1.5 to 10.2.8 (which is markedly better than the former). I suppose I could try it again although this time in a Panther upgrade; if it fails I could upgrade in an internal drive.
    Raymon

  • Usb vs firewire cable

    the 5th gen. ipod come with a usb cable can i use a firewire cable with it instead? the firewire cable is much faster with my old ipod.

    Hello krop and everyone,
    IMHO, Apple changed to USB to move product for the iPod line.
    While FW is an Apple innovation, corporate logic would not allow sales to be limited with an an estimated 94% market share on PC's w/out FW connections.
    That said, the debate here depends on which computer OS/hardware your have, and the Bottom Line is that real transfer depends on the chipset your hardware is using.
    Beware of and use of the word, "theoretical". It's far different from actual "transfer speed" or "throughput".
    Theoretical Throughput (Maximum)
    Megabits Megabytes
    USB (low xfer ) 1.5Mbps .19MBps
    USB (high xper) 12 Mbps 1.5 MBps
    FW-400 (1394a) 400 Mbps 50 MBps
    USB 2.0 480 Mbps 60 MBps
    If your interested, here's a link that may help or confuse the issue more.
    http://www.barefeats.com/usb2.html
    Respectfully,
    Bill Gallagher

  • Usb vs firewire cable trouble wont load ipod

    The cable I rec'd w/my 5g 30 ipod worked only if I jiggled it and occasionally updated it. I purchased a "replacement", which would only charge it. Finally, I contacted support and recently rec'd a replacemnt for the 30/6pin cable...it's a firewire usb and I'm not literate enough (!?) to install this w/o it saying its not supported. If I have the plugs, why cant this replace the other one? I need help, since I have to send the "bad" usb back to Apple asap, and possible the "new" one as well? Did I get the wrong part? I just want to update again!!! If Apple doesn't do firewire usb on the 5th gens, why did they send it to me to replace the broken cable? Soooo confused!

    I purchased a "replacement", which would only charge it. Finally, I contacted support and recently rec'd a replacemnt for the 30/6pin cable...it's a firewire usb and I'm not literate enough (!?) to install this w/o it saying its not supported.
    You purchased the wrong cable.
    The 5th Gen iPods do not support syncing via Firewire. You can only charge the iPod via a Firewire cable.
    There is no such thing as a 'firewire usb cable', as you specify. Firewire and USB are two different things.
    You need a USB-to-Dock Connector Cable. You don't want anything to do with Firewire at all.
    If Apple doesn't do firewire usb on the 5th gens, why did they send it to me to replace the broken cable? Soooo confused!
    Apple probably sent what you asked for. Since you mentioned Firewire... they sent you a Firewire cable. You shouldn't have said anything about Firewire.
    This is the cable you need:
    Apple iPod Dock Connector to USB 2.0

  • Possible to charge pb with usb or firewire cable through ipod charger?

    hello,
    i forgot to pack my pb charger for my trip. i do have my ipod charger. would it be possible to charge with that by using the firewire to firewire cable or firewire to usb cable? i haven't tried yet for fear of ruining something.
    cheers.
    powerbook g4   Mac OS X (10.4.1)  

    USB and Firewire - from the Powerbook is one way traffic - ie the PowerBook pumps power out. It doesn't need to take power from a peripheral such as an ipod so it's not set up to do so.
    As for "borrrowing" a supply from Apple, you don't know unless you ask. If you're away from home for a month might it be worth getting someone from home to send it to you?
    There are local Apple user groups in major cities, so you could page apple users in those cities to see if you can borrrow a power supply.
    Or you might have to bite the bulllet and just buy another - either from Apple, ebay or even Criagslist. You might find a slightly cheaper 3rd part adapter somewhere.
    Sorry can't help any more. Good luck.

  • Testing speed of usb and firewire cables?

    I have a bunch of usb and firewire cables that I would like to test somehow to determine if they are usb 1 or 2 and firewire 1 or 2. Some cables are labeled as high speed usb, some are not and some have no labels at all.
    1. Is there a way to do this in Tiger?
    2. For transfering data to an external drive, is Firewire 400 or usb 2 faster?
    Thanks!

    Hello kat.hayes,
    Let's take your three questions in the same order:
    Question #1: Technically, No, USB cables have the same termination ends. However, not all cables are made to the same standards and quality (shielding has a lot to do with how well they work/last). Quality cables are at a minimum double shielded but that does not stop mfg's from making claims about "high-speed". If there is a problem with the cable, you will know it in that the device connected will not work. Period.
    The 2nd part of your question #1 regarding "bottleneck" is that if the USB2 port receives the slower USB protocol from a connected device, it will negotiate to the lower speed. Not a "bottleneck" exactly, as the external device you have connected will determine the speed. Not the USB cable.
    I don't know why you are trying to figure out the speed of the USB cables.
    It really comes down to what you want to do with your computer and what type of external device you need to connect. If you have a choice of which type of device to use, choose FW(See below #2 for a brief explaination).
    Question #2: The issues and technical debate about which protocol is better(faster) really are meaningless as the final speed determinate is controlled by the chip/interperter that the manufacturer of your external device choose to use. If the device uses inferior chipset design, then no amount of "maximum rated transfer speed" for either FW or the USB-2 is going to make a bit of difference.
    FW is usually faster. It comes down to the protocol used by the two designs. The one major diffence that benefits Firewire users is that it is isosynchronus. That means that if you have for example 3 devices, that all 3 would get 400mbps bandwidth to use, while USB2 is shared between devices. This is the ugly side of using USB2. If you a want an in depth technical explaination let me know.
    Regarding your question #3:
    Your Power Mac G5 has one FireWire 400 port on the front (rectangular shape with one pointed end), one FireWire 400 port on the back, a FireWire 800 port on the back(square,blocky shape), and four USB 2.0 ports—one on the front and three on the back. There are also two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard. See this link:
    http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/PowerMacG5Late2005_TechBrief.pdf
    If thats not clear, here is a card showing two FW800 ports (square) and one FW 400 port (rectangular w/pointed one end).
    http://www.1394store.com/eshop/product.asp?dept%5Fid=42&pf%5Fid=1225
    Technically, FW400 is refered to as 1394a and FW800 as 1394b.
    So, plug any USB2 into the computer only. USB1 devices can be plugged into either the computer or the keyboard.
    And FW400 & FW 800 into the correct, differently shaped recepticals.
    If you let us know what you intend to do with your external devices and I'm sure there will be a number of excellent suggestions, hopefully based on personal experience, on which protocol would best fit your situation.
    Hope this helps.
    Respectfully,
    Bill Gallagher

  • Ipod with firewire cable

    My son was given an older, 1st gen, I think, Ipod that seems to only work with firewire cable. Is there a way to charge this directly on a laptop with USB portsw only? Will a newer cable with USB work on the Ipod (so far using my cabling it doesn't seem to).
    I wanted to try to buy a Firewire wall charger (the one he got seems not to be working very well), but I couldn't find any on the Apple website.

    If it's a 1st or 2nd gen iPod, it does not have a dock connector; it has a FireWire port (like an external hard drive). So the FireWire cable used with it would have a FireWire connector at both ends.
    Will a newer cable with USB work on the Ipod (so far using my cabling it doesn't seem to).
    If you are able to try using your USB docking cable, the iPod is probably a 3rd gen. Does it have a touch wheel and four round touch button in a line between the wheel and display? It was the first iPod with the standard dock connector, but unfortunately, the 3rd gen iPod was designed to work with FireWire, so it will not charge over USB.
    Apple does not sell the FireWire power adapter these days, but you can find them on eBay. Make sure it is the FireWire type.
    If you want to use USB 2.0 to connect and sync the 3rd gen iPod, and you are able to get a FireWire power adapter, you can get this special cable that Apple still sells.
    http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9688G/A
    It has both a FireWire connector and a USB connector. You connect the USB connector to your laptop USB port. At the same time, you connect the FireWire connector to the FireWire power adapter to supply power for charging.

  • I have a Power Mac G4 (2004) and want to transfer all my files to a new MacBook Pro 15.4". Can this be done thru firewire cable or do I have to transfer to an external Firewire 800 hard drive first?

    I have a Power Mac G4 (2004) and want to transfer all my files to a new MacBook Pro 15.4". Can this be done thru firewire cable or do I have to transfer to an external Firewire 800 hard drive first?

    Do it with a Firewire cable (buy a 800/400 adapter if you need it) - the USB transfer takes a much longer time.
    Start up your old PowerMac G4 holding down the "T" key, for target disk mode.
    On your new MacBook Pro open "Migration Assistant" in your utilities folder.
    Connect the 2 computers by firewire cable and follow the prompts in Migration Assistant.

  • No FireWire cable for Target Disk Mode

    I have an original MacBook1,1 running Snow Leopard 10.6.8. It will not start up, I have tried everything on this Apple web page , Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup, besides an erase and reinstall and I don't know what to do. It won't read the Snow Leopard update disk (My other two Macs do). When I restart In Verbose Mode, it always stops right after 'Airport: RSN handshake complete on en1'. When i started my other Mac in Verbose Mode, after 'Airport: RSN handshake complete on en1', it went straight to the login window. I called Apple support and they said that I need to perform an erase and reinstall but first I need to get an install disk for Mac OS X Tiger 10.4. and get some things off using Target Disk Mode. I do not have a FireWire cable and do not want to have to go and buy one. I have an Ethernet cable and a male - male USB cord. The two other Macs that I have are an iMac7,1 running Snow Leopard 10.6.8, and a MacBook6,1 running Mavericks 10.9.4. If you have any solutions for fixing it without the erase, or just a way to get my info off of it, please help.
    Thank you in advance!

    The USB cable won't be useful in that situation, and the Ethernet one will only help if you have access to a computer running Mac OS X Server. Get a FireWire cable.
    (111882)

Maybe you are looking for