Firewire Drive/Camcorder Problems with FCP

I seem to have a recurring problem connecting a DV camcorder and a firewire hard drive simultaneously. Most recently I was trying to set up FCP to output to a camcorder I had connected - and during the configuration, my hard drive (a western digital MyBook) un-mounted while FC was running. I couldn't get it back for awhile and thought I'd lost my client's project and all the rest I had on that drive. Luckily it returned. But I've had this problem in the past with Avid system on a PC, in that case a Seagate drive...it makes me think I'm doing something wrong here. I'm not the savviest when it comes to technical issues with hardware & such, I really just want to edit.
Also, twice within the year my logic board on my powerbook g4 has been replaced due to a bad firewire, another issue that happened in mid-project. I don't know if the camera did it, or the drive. The tech at Apple said I hadn't done anything to cause it...but it happened twice.
I guess what I'm asking is, is there a method or a sequence for connecting a deck or camera to my system when working with external firewire drives? Are these issues with the hard drive manufacturer, my system, or my own error? Are there any major DO's and DONT's in this area and what am I doing wrong?

So, from what I understand...supposing nothing external is connected to my machine...power down, plug in my firewire drive and the camera, then power up, then run FCP? At what point do I turn the camera on, while the computer is still off?
I'm sorry I'm not sure I understand the BUS concept? As of now I'm using the rear fw400 port for a hard drive and the front for the camera.
Why did the drive crash when I was in easy setup on FCP?

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    Message was edited by: mjaffe00
    Message was edited by: mjaffe00

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    Message was edited by: mjaffe00

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