Firewire Compatibility on G3?

I've got plenty of 400MB photo scans, and backups to DVD take lots of discs and even more time. I'd like to use a large external HDD. My USB v1 is too slow. Pulling down a file to work on it is painful. I've read here that the firewire system in the G3 is problematic and may not keep up if writing CDs/DVDs. I need to know:
1. If the G3's firewire is appropriate enough for a storage HDD. Speed isn't my main concern so much as reliability (as long as it's faster than USB1).
2. What form of firewire would be compatible, or at least what to avoid. 400? 800? I've seen "6-pin" and assume that's out.
What's the deal with firewire on the G3?
Thank you!

The personal opinions resp. experiences with the built-in FW ports seem to differ.
The FW ports of my G3 (rev 1) always have been rather slow, and finally (with Tiger) caused kernel panics, whenever I connected a special external HD. So my experiences are very bad, and I recommend buying a PCI FW card for little money. Or - alternatively - buy a USB High-Speed card with a NEC chip.

Similar Messages

FireWire Compatibility Issue

I have a '12 PowerBook G4 1.5 GHz with 1.25 GBs of RAM with Super Drive running 10.5.5 that I'm backing up to a OWC Neptune using Time Machine. It uses a Oxford 911+ chipset. My previous external hard drive used a Oxford 911 chipset.
Recently I've started getting Time Machine error messages related to some sort of chipset related FireWire compatibility issue. My OWC Neptune's firmware is up to date too. What could possibly be causing this to happen?

I already tried zapping the PRAM due to my ethernet not working on my '12 PowerBook G4 1.5 GHz & it didn't fix my FireWire issues either. I'm also still getting the "Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup directory." error.
Here's my Carbon Copy Cloner log from when I tried to clone my hard drive earlier:
12:47:46 Launched Carbon Copy Cloner [3.1.1]
13:00:14 Launched Carbon Copy Cloner [3.1.3]
==================== Carbon Copy Cloner (v. 3.1.3): 2008-12-26 13:00:26 -0500 ====================
Operating System: Version 10.5.6 (Build 9G55)
Hardware:
hw.machine: Power Macintosh
hw.model: PowerBook6,8
hw.logicalcpu: 1
hw.physmem: 1342177280
vm.loadavg: { 0.81 0.94 0.92 }
Task: Disk-to-disk clone
Source: Macintosh HD (/dev/disk0s3, A5A956D7-D32B-3999-A802-9E670BF97CE5)
Mount point: /
Filesystem: hfs
Capacity: 148.93 GB
Used: 83.64 GB
Available: 65.28 GB
Mac OS X version: 10.5.6
Target: '12 PowerBook G4 Backup (/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/ [/dev/disk1s3, D184AB93-AAD8-3AC4-8134-AF5C30EE735B])
Mount point: /Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup
Filesystem: hfs
Capacity: 297.97 GB
Used: 132.79 MB
Available: 297.84 GB
Mac OS X version: Mac OS not installed
Bootability: This volume will be bootable.
Cloning method: Backup everything
Delete items on target that aren't on the source: No
13:00:27 The target volume has ownership enabled.
13:00:27 The target volume has Access Control Lists enabled.
13:00:27 Authenticating...
13:00:46 Initiating synchronization engine...
13:00:48 Cloning...
15:58:06 rsync: mknod "/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201120/private/var/samba/winbinddprivileged/pipe" failed: No such file or directory (2) (51)
15:58:06 rsync: mknod "/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201120/private/var/samba/winbinddpublic/pipe" failed: Address already in use (48) (51)
16:48:55 rsync: mknod "/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201330/private/var/samba/winbinddprivileged/pipe" failed: No such file or directory (2) (51)
16:48:55 rsync: mknod "/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201330/private/var/samba/winbinddpublic/pipe" failed: Address already in use (48) (51)
19:08:46 rsync error: some files/attrs were not transferred (see previous errors) (code 23) at /Volumes/Home/Users/bombich/Development/Bombich_Software/rsync-3.0.5pre2/main.c (1047) [sender=3.0.5pre2] (51)
19:08:47 rsync: Some errors were encountered during the backup., Error code: 51
19:08:48 Sync Engine warnings: (
"rsync: mknod \"/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201120/private/var/samba/winbinddprivileged/pipe\" failed: No such file or directory (2)",
"rsync: mknod \"/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201120/private/var/samba/winbinddpublic/pipe\" failed: Address already in use (48)",
"rsync: mknod \"/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201330/private/var/samba/winbinddprivileged/pipe\" failed: No such file or directory (2)",
"rsync: mknod \"/Volumes/'12 PowerBook G4 Backup/Users/craigwd_2000/.Trash/Previous Systems.localized/2008-12-201330/private/var/samba/winbinddpublic/pipe\" failed: Address already in use (48)",
"rsync error: some files/attrs were not transferred (see previous errors) (code 23) at /Volumes/Home/Users/bombich/Development/Bombich_Software/rsync-3.0.5pre2/main.c (1047) [sender=3.0.5pre2]"
================================================================================

Logic 9.17, Mountain Lion, and Alesis MultiMix 16 Firewire compatibility?

Does anybody know if the Alesis MultiMix 16 fire wire audio interface/mixer works with Mountain Lion and Logic 9.17 ? Any info would be helpful.
Thank You

Andyh56,
I am trying to set up my multimix 8 firewire in logic express 8 right now.
Could you email me and help me out please!!
Thanks,
-Brock
[email protected]

Firewire compatibility issue? where do I start to get a fix?

I am problems with a Firewire device, and I just cant seem to find any help or solution to this
It is a Sony Receiver (STR-LSA1), which is a separates HIFi system with all interconnects being Firewire.
Under Windows, I plugged it in and it just worked with no no extra software. There was software available if you wanted more control of the AMP/Radio/CD/MD, but I never used this. I just used the basic Firewire input, that allowed me to play PC audio from the amp, and conversely record audio from the amp onto the PC.
Initially all went well when I plugged the amp into the Mac.
Mac came up on the amp as a new input channel, and the Sony and all components appeared on the system profiler, under Firewire.
But that is as far as it goes. It does not appear in the System Preferences, so cant select it as audio input/output device.
I have tried various AV forums with no luck, plus some other Mac forums. There is no software available from Sony. They only did Windows software, and discontinued that around Win 2k.
Any one got any ideas on how i can get the audio in/out to work with the Sony and the Mac via Firewire?
Thanks
Neil

Well If you check out the first three hits on that google link....check out the name of the original poster.....npaisnel....thats me
I have done countless searches, posts etc, in the hope that one day something may turn up
I eventually found Version 2 software for Windows, but never actually used it as it did not add any functionality to the basic 'as is ' support for it under Windows with no extra.
The only option the local Apple reseller could offer me was if I bring the amp in they would see if they could get it to work.

Firewire compatibility/Which cable to buy

I have a MBP with FW 400 and FW 800 ports and I currently have a firewire 4 pin to 4 pin cable from my previous computer. Wikipedia (maybe not the most reliable) says "A FireWire 800 socket is backward-compatible with 4-pin, but not 6-pin, FireWire 400 plug." I don't really know what this means because the 4 pin plug doesn't seem to actually fit in the FW800 port.
Should I just buy a 9 pin to 4 pin cable, or is there some sort of adapter that I can buy? Will hooking up my 3 year old Sony Handycam to the FW 800 port work faster than the 400 port, or does the hardware specifically need to support FW 800?
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

You can buy a Firewire cable with a FW800 connector on one end and a FW400 (6 pin) connector on the other. Macs use 6 pin Firewire ports. 4-pin FW400 connectors are not the same as FW800.
Although you can connect a FW400 drive to a FW800 port with the proper cable, but it won't run any faster than FW400.

Firewire compatibility

I have an HP Envy 8 1437c. Looking for a firewire card that is compatible with it and Windows 8.
Can anyone tell me if this one will work?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350729177083?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Hi,
I don't know that card but look at the picture, it physically won't fit. The following image is the motherboard of your machine (3 slots at the bottom left)
You need a card similar to the following one:
Regards.
BH
**Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

New ipod not firewire compatable?

My old ipod crapped out and I bought a 5.5Gen 30g video ipod. My old ipod was formatted on WindozXP as is the new one, & was capable of connecting to the Mac via Firewire, but now when I plug it into my Macbook it says I can't connect to it via Firewire. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7) Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2 GHz Intel Core Duo 1.25 GB DDR2 SDRAM

But you can still charge off Firewire if you wish.
Patrick

Firewire CD/DVD in OS 9.2

I have spent several hours researching this external firewire compatibility question and still haven't been able to find an answer. Here's the story. I have a B/W G3 400Mhz running Panther smoothly. I currently have a single external G-DRIVE firewire drive and have no problems with the firewire connection. I say this because it appears that firewire is working for me.
Now things get a little more convoluted. When I'm doing music recording and mixing I use Digital Performer 3 audio software in OS 9.2.2. I am on a remote monitor in a separate room so that the hard drive and fan noise is eliminated from the environment. But, the internal CD drive is not readily accessable with this setup. I would like to have a CDR/burner in the music room, and firewire seems like the best option. Has anyone had experience along these lines? Is there a problem recognizing a firewire CD or DVD drive on a G3, especially booted in 9.2?
Thanks for reading this. If more detail is needed, please ask.
B/W G3 Mac OS 9.2.x

Hi, Samhillrocks -
...what can I put into the firewire port on the G3 that will be bootable?
Unfortunately, nothing. A B&W G3 is not capable of booting to any firewire or USB device. The same applies to a G4 (PCI) model, which is near identical to a B&W G3 except for the processor. Firewire and USB booting did not become available until the G4 (AGP) models.
As ebuddy noted, you can use firewire and USB on a B&W G3 for CD/DVD drives (and other kinds of devices, including hard drives) - such can be used to mount and burn disks, but not to boot that model Mac.

80GB iPod + USB/FireWire Cable

I'm going to be buying a new iPod (80GB model). I currently use my iPod mini with my XBOX 360 but I've run into a problem; my XBOX 360 isn't always on so my iPod isn't always charging via USB.
I have to constantly switch between charging via the FireWire wall charger and using it on my XBOX 360. If I forget to switch it at night my iPod wont be charged for the trip to work the next day.
I'm fairly certain the USB 2.0/FireWire combo cable will allow me to have one dock connected to both my XBOX 360 and my FireWire wall charger, but I've heard a lot of stuff about current generation iPods dumping FireWire compatibility so I thought it would be best to check here before I buy anything.
Will this setup allow my new iPod to continuously charge even while connected via USB to my XBOX 360?
I plan on going overboard when I buy this new iPod so if this wont work I'm welcome to other ideas even if it means spending a heap more on extra cables and adaptors.
Thanks.

What doesn't have a dock connector? The Mini or the cable? I think they both have dock connectors.
That cable is the one that came with the third generation iPod which added USB syncing to the line up but didn't hook up the +5V and GND connections on the dock connector for the USB cable so you could sync with USB but not charge. That Y (or V) cable was meant for Windows users so that could plug in the iPod and then the USB side went to the computer to sync while the Firewire side went to the (included with the iPod back them) Firewire wall charger.
So I think that cable would work with the new 5th generation iPod but the problem may be is the USB power lines in the cable are connected or not (the missing power lines on the 3rd gen iPod was at the iPod's doc connector). If both the USB and Firewire sides of the cable are hooked to the power lines of each type of connection there MIGHT be a conflict if you plug them both in and you are getting both +5V USB power and +12V Firewire power to the iPod at the same time. Likely either one of the connections would work fine by itself though.
It would be nice if someone with that old cable and a new iPod used it to hook their iPod up via just the USB side of the cable and could report back if the iPod charges or not which would verify if the two power lines are present in the cable.
Patrick

Female to femal adapter for external iSight?

I have a 2011 mini and an external iSight connected by a 6pin - 9pin cable that I got with a hard drive. It works fine but I cannot use the apple mounts because they only work with the apple 6 pin cable. I know I can use a 6 pin to 9 pin adapter on the OEM cable but it won't work well where I have my mini situated because it will increase the back area needed by around 5 inches.
So my plan is to connect my OEM cable with the 6pin-9pin cable I already am using. Would this work with an adapter like this ?
http://www.computercablestore.com/FireWire_Adapter_6_pin_Fe_PID2345.aspx
This should effectively turn the apple cable into a 6pin to 9 pin. However I am worried that the 1.8m + 3feet would be too long and cause problems. Anyone try out this method?

I have not tested what you describe.
However, adding three feet to a 1.8 m cable will not cause a Firewire cable-length problem. Maximum (total) supported Firewire cable length for Mac is 4.5 meters: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2952
One more thing for your consideration, though: External (Firewire) iSight may not play well with multiple connected Firewire devices.
(More info: http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/EZJim/EZJimpage6.html )
In my experience, Firewire compatibility problems are also possible with certain cables or adapters. Therefore, if you experience a problem in your first test, I suggest you disconnect all other Firewire devices during testing. You can then try at least one additional different connection alternative to determine whether your problem might be related to a bad or incompatible connector.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early09) 2.93Ghz OSX 10.7.4 24" LED Cinema Display
iPad2 iOS 5.1 5th Gen AEBS
MBP 15" i7 (Early'11) OSX 10.7.4 External iSights
13" MBP (Mid'09) 2.26GHz OSX 10.7.4 iBook SE 366MHz OSX 10.3.9

New external hard drive

Hi.
I'm looking to get my first external hard drive, and I'm considering this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822186032 .
Does this look o.k. for use with my iBook? Is Iomega a reliable brand? If not to either, could somebody please point me in the right direction. I don't know much about external hds, but I'm considering this drive because of its price, firewire compatibility, storage availability, and its fan-operated cooling system.
Thank you for any help in advance,
Daniel

Daniel:
There are a lot of attractive firewire external HDDs out there, and this one looks good. I like three each of USB and firewire ports. However, I could not find in the specs, or overlooked in my quick glance, what I consider one of the key features of a good external HDD, the firewire chipset. I have seen a number of external HDDs with failed firewire bridges. Even though the drive mechanism is still good, the computer cannot see it or boot from it. The firewire chipset is a key component. I look for the Oxford 911+ firewire chipset. If you find it in this drive, buy it. If you don't, look for a drive that has it.
Here is a list of available firewire drives from OWC. Look them over. OWC offers other drives as well, and you can check them out by clicking Firewire tab on the second tier on their menubar. Wherever you buy, and whatever brand you get, look for the Oxford 911+ chipset. It is the gold standard.
Good luck.
cornelius

Expanding Your Power Mac G4?

Hi,
I have a Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics)with 385 mgs of RAM. I am currently using the operating system that came with it 9.04, I believe, and am about to purchase Tiger.
My question is....what kind of upgrades can be made to this G4 model, and what is worth doing to it in the future. (I cannot really afford anything at the moment as I will be purchasing the OS X plus a second internal HD) For future reference......would my money be best saved toward ultimately purchasing a newer model computer, rather than spending money to upgrade this one?
I use it for personal and graphic design work, (although not really involved things like video or fancy web stuff.)
Also....any ideas what I should purchase for a second (internal HD?)
Thanks!
G4 400MHz Mac OS 9.0.x AGP Graphics
G4 400MHz Mac OS 9.0.x

Hey there!
Well first thing first;
1.Ensure you have updated your G4's firmware,this can be done by clicking on software update in the control panel. if a firmware update pops up,select it and follow the instructions exactly as is said. This will will improve the systems Firewire compatability and a few minor things. Its also needed if you intend to replace the old CPU with an upgrade card.
2.Upgrade your ram,you should have at least 512MB of ram installed,anything below this will just make your mac run slowly. I would recommend buying a Crucial Mac 512MB stick at £66 (not sure what it is in $), you could use your exsisting ram chips,as long as they match the CL (2/3). if they don't match,system stability and performance may be hinderd.If you bought 512MB of ram, you would end up with a total of 897MB of ram,which should be ok for now,
3.my personal choice for a HD is SeaGate always,great performance and reliability. Quiet and solid performers,better than any other brand i've used yet. A 120GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 8MB Buffer ATA100 will set you back £60. The G4 AGP can only cope with hard drives up to 128GBs,the only relaible way to overide this would be to buy a PCI ATA card like sonnets ATA133 card,which will allow you to install larger size hard drives and benefit from the full ATA133 interface as to the standard ATA66.
By this point your ready to go,and install tiger.
4.Id reccommend a better graphics card as well,as that old Rage 128 Pro is showing it's age badly. The best graphics card for the AGP model is the Radeon 8500 Mac Edition. its fast and has a decent amount of onboard ram. And its Quark Extreme compatible,whcih is part of the OS X interface and software exstensions. They are very rare to get hold of now but if you can get one off ebay,nab it before it goes. They tend to go for £60/£80.OS X tiger will work happy with the old rage card in,but it would benefit greatly to have a better GC.
5.At a latter date,id reccomend a Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1.4Ghz CPU upgrade,they cost about £260. There the fastest performing CPU'S for the agp,as the 2MB L3 Cahce makes up for the 100Mhz FSB. Faster than 1.8Ghz upgrade,as they lack the L3 cache which makes a great deal of difference
Hope that wasn't too confusing for you,Autism doesn't make it easy for me to explain things in great detail. Anything your unsure off,leave us a message and i'll reply ASAP
Delor

Can time machine backups be migrated to another drive?

I'm intersted in moving my time machine backups from one external hard drive to another with larger capacity. How can I do this and still have access to the older backups? Neither of the drives are Time Capsule and they both have USB and FireWire compatibility.

What I've done - on numerous occassion when moving my TM backups from a drive of a lower capacity to ones with a higher capacity - is use Carbon Copy Cloner to make block copies of the data from one drive to another. I've moved from a 1TB drive to a 2TB drive to a 4TB drive and never had any problems. Just select the 'new' TM drive in System Preferences and the backups just take up where they left off.
ALWAYS turn Time Machine OFF when making the copy - just so it doesn't get 'confused'.
Then turn Time Machine back on and point it to the 'new' drive or drives.
There are likely other methods, but this one has worked for me.
See http://pondini.org/TM/27.html.
Good luck,
Clinton

Synching via USB1 to older macs

Hi, I have bought my wife a Nano, and plan for it to sync to an old iMac slot loader (1999 ish). The spec says this is USB (but does not specify USB1.1). The iPod appears on the desktop when connected, but not in iTunes4 - bummer! Mac OS 10.3
Does anyone know if iMac Slot loader is USB1.1, and so in theory will be syncable?
Secondly I presume firewire is not an option for syncing for nano, right?
Currently I am synching via my powerbook USB2 but would like to enable wife to run her own iTunes etc, and not rely on my powerbook, nor fill it with her music!
(I already have a iPod3G and firewire dock etc.)
TIA

i have to comments to add for spinalman:
-i believe you must download at least itunes 6.0 or higher in order to use the nano.
-to get the music from your old ipod to the imac: i guess you also have the music on your powerbook, so you can use it to transfer the music, instead of your old ipod. you can connect you imac to the powerbook by many ways. 1. with a network cable (RJ-45) 2. with a firewire cable 3. by airport if both are supplied with airport (wireless connection is quite slow for large data transfers).
question to dwb: i believe to transfer 4GB to the nano with USB 1 would take mor than one hour. since USB 1 is 11 'whatever unit' per second and USB 2 is 480 'whatever the same unit' per sec. so it may take roughly 44 times as long. so when you say you need about 15 minutes with USB 2 it could take 11 hours which is unbearibly long. is this possible?
PS i still dont understand why apple quit firewire compatibility for ipods. it makes you replace old macs with new ones or not use a new ipod.

Invisible Thread

I have noticed just recently that one of the threads I created has become invisible. In the Time Machine Forum I created a thread named FireWire Compatibility Issues which used to be visible but is now invisible. The only way I can see it or go back to it is by using the My Questions link in the right Pane underneath where it says Welcome, Craigwd_2000.
From there if I click the link labeled FireWire Compatibility Issues it takes me to the invisible thread just fine. Why is this happening & could my thread please be made visible again so other Discussions users can respond to it once again?

The thread is the first thread that appears in I.E. 6.0 for Windows too on:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1227&start=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8621759&#8621759
Another thing you might be seeing is the fact that there are multiple Discussions servers. It may be the one you are connecting to is not in sync with the others. Sometimes clearing the web browser cache file let's you reload the most current server. If you are using an internet provider or router with proxy servers, you might be seeing a cached version of the page, and not the most current. Sometimes hitting reload on the web browser will fix that.

Firewire Compatibility on G3?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for