ISight: External Firewire 400 (My problem solved)

Hi folks,
Like many others I have been unable to use my iSight and I discovered what my issue was. Maybe someone else is having this exact problem.
I have a 2009 Mac Pro with FW800. I don't have/didn't purchase a 800/400 adapter, but instead was using a Belkin PCI USB 2.0/Firewire 400 card I purchased YEARS ago. The several times I had tried to get this camera working I had nothing, but trouble. On a few occasions the computer would just boot to a black screen. I figured the card was damaged, but I installed it in my G4 DA running Tiger and it worked fine as well as the iSight.
Today I tried again. Same problem. The card was recognized in the profiler and USB worked in it, but still no iSight. I pulled my computer out and looked to see if one of the ports was damaged. What I did notice was the firewire ports are vertical and the top of the ports were slightly slid under the PCI slot cage dividers. I loosened the screw and gently moved the card downward and centered the ports in the PCI cage then re-tightened it. I plugged in the iSight and low and behold it worked!
The problem was when the plug was inserted into the firewire port the outside contact was touching the computer case and causing some kind short. If I hadn't gotten real close to the port to look for damage I would never had noticed it. So check the clearance of the firewire ports on your PCI card if you're using one and make sure the plug isn't touching.

Thanks for letting us know what worked for you.
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.7); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.7)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.3.1

Similar Messages

Isight External Firewire Drivers for Vista & Win7

I own an Isight EXTERNAL (firewire) and I need a driver that will work for it, Iv tried an XP driver i found online didnt work..
I need a driver for Win 7 or vista

Welcome to Disccussions, rasprenkle
If you get no better help here, click here to see ->this Google Search for your topic.
My quick look did not find any drivers, but as stated in the first link that the search returned,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISight#iSightonWindows
a working external (Firewire) iSight should be auto-detected, at least by Vista.
Although I no longer use Windoze, I have seen reports in Apple Discussions that Windows will recognize the Firewire iSight's camera. However, the microphone is different. I have never seen any verified report that Windows can connect to iSight's great microphone. While that may have changed in Vista or Win7, it seems to me that the only way to take full advantage of external iSight's full capability is to use it on a Firewire equipped Mac.
FWIW, while answering researching for this answer, I came across this blog that might be of interest:
http://retiredblog.gkaindl.com/2007/10/11/using-an-external-isight-on-a-windows- notebook/
If all else fails, the simpler approach may be to buy a Windows-compatible USB webcam. They come in great variety of prices (and features.)
EZ Jim
G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.7) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11) iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9) External iSight

Are (some) external firewire 400 hard drives just cased sata drives?

Are (some) external firewire 400 hard drives just cased sata drives? If so, I think I'd like to bust open my external 160GB Lacie and mount it internally...
I have no idea if they are or not, it just crossed my mind at one point.

Possible but unlikely. PATA drive remain less expensive in bulk and PATA ->FW enclosures are more mature and wide spread than SATA->FW. Larger drive cap. drives are more likely to be SATA.

DVD DL fail to burn AND Firewire 400/800 problems

I have had several months of intermittent DVD burn fails. Most recently today burning from the finder and it is now reporting "The disc can’t be burned because because communication between the computer and the disc drive failed (error code 0x80020022)."
That error is new, previously it was always
Sense Key - Hardware Error
Sense Code - 0x03
The first time this cropped up was on 10.5.x and when I reported it to apple they had me take it to get the drive replaced since it was still covered by applecare.
After the DVD replacement and while still in the shop it burned a few DVD DLs ok. A few weeks later the same 0x03 errors. (it always burns CDs just fine)
After another phone conversation with applecare, they now suggest that the logic board needs to be replaced. (This was after I mentioned I frequently have problems with Firewire 400 or 800 external drives showing up...sometimes they work sometimes they don't. The same drives always show up when connected via USB)
I was walked through resetting the PRAM, which cleared up the Firewire 400/800 temporarily, but it did not help the DVD burn problem.
So on the eve before the appointment, this crazy MBP (2,2, 2.33 ghz) burns a DVD DL after blowing compressed air thru the DVD slot. But the second DVD DL fails to burn with the ""The disc can’t be burned because because communication between the computer and the disc drive failed (error code 0x80020022)."
I was hoping that the upgrade to 10.6.x would solve both issues, but not so much.
Anyone else with the DVD DL problem experiencing FW problems?

The problems with some external FW burners under SL are fairly common, Robert. With some earlier drives (like my Pioneer 109 in an external box) often one can't even "see" the drive at all (though the bridge in the external box will show up under System Profiler) through FW, though it works fine under USB. With some later ones things like PRAM resets, or simply disconnecting and reconnecting the drive, will get them working. See http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10070281 or some discussion of these issues and possible "workarounds".
As far as the general disc burning issue goes, other things that are worth considering include problems with a "fullish" hard drive with fragmented free space, and the actual media being used. What brands of DVD have you tried?
DL discs, generally seem much more finicky about dust and dirt than single layer when it comes to burning (and , of course, need much more free HD space) . Will it burn a single layer DVD or a CD without problems?
Cheers
Rod

External Firewire Hard Drive Problem

I have an external Maxtor FW 400 drive with two partitions that I've been using for backups. I've been using it with my iMac. Last night I kept having to force-quit different apps and finally decided to restart. My computer wouldn't shut down all the way and I had to finally use the power button. When I tried to start back up, I couldn't get past the grey screen. I kept having to use the power button to shut down. I disconnected everything but keyboard and mouse and did the reset SMC. I've zapped the PRAM. I couldn't get the disk to mount at all on my iMac. I used the disk utility on the iMac and 4-5 things came up when it did the verify/repair disk. I also did the hardware test and no problems were found.
I decided to try it with my MBP and finally one partition mounted, but the other didn't. I tried the disk utillity and get errors when I try to verify and repair. I was able to copy some of the files from the partition that mounted onto another drive, but some of the folders are giving me an error.
I've read some about DiskWarrior. Is that something that might help to repair the disk so I can at least get the files off? I have a copy of Tech Tool Deluxe that I got with AppleCare for an iMac G5, but don't know if that would help or not. Haven't been able to get it to work though. When I try to start up from the CD, I'm pressing C as I start up but it's not doing the CD. I know the version on the CD isn't for Leopard, so that might be why it's not starting up from CD? Does anyone have any suggestions about what might help?
Also, I guess I may have to purchase another external hard drive. This was a Maxtor about 5 years old. I've had a WD My Book USB also go bad on me, so I've stayed away from those. I have a SimpleTech USB that seems okay so far. I use a Time Capsule for my Time Machine backup. But, I'm creating a lot of video and photo projects so I have some really large projects and fill up a drive fast. They're too big to fit on a DVD. You need backups of your backups. How do y'all manage you big projects?
Lots of questions. Would love some answers. Thanks!

So is that iMac G5 working fine with off its internal drive? Only the external is causing this problem?
The copy Tech Tool Deluxe will boot your iMac G5, but it probably will not boot the MacBook Pro (because it is Intel and that old disc is probably for PowerPC). So if you want to use it, you will have to use the iMac G5 to boot it. It does have a volume repair function.
Disk Warrior, and the complete Tech Tool Pro, as well as Drive Genius (from Prosoft), are all utilities that can do repairs beyond the capabilities of Disk Utility.
For external drives, I tend to buy an external enclosure that I like and then look for a good deal on a hard drive to put inside it. I usually buy the enclosure from a company that is focused on Mac users, such as OWC (macsales.com) and Macally. They (and others) sell empty cases. At this point, I would buy a case that has both USB 2.0 and FireWire connections. As for the hard drive itself, I like using dealmac.com for links to great deals.
I recently had a need for a large amount of extra storage to use with Time Machine. The cheapest way I could find to add the space I needed was to get 750 GB Western Digital Green SATA drive ($70 deal found through DealMac) and connect it to USB 2.0 using one of these adapters.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV2SPATA/
I know I'm wasting the speed capability of a new SATA drive, but USB 2.0 is fast enough for using with Time Machine. It just sits as a bare drive next to my iMac and my FireWire external drive. Because the "green" drive is probably operating at a slower speed, it makes almost no sound and barely gets warm.
At MacWorld this year, OWC's booth was showing off this device called +Voyager Q+.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/FWU2ES2HDK/
With it, you plug in regular bare SATA hard drive mechanisms like those old Iomega cartridge drives. If you are regularly running short of storage space, you might consider this type of solution as a way to have essentially unlimited storage without the need to have a clutter of external drives, each with its own cable, power cord, and power supply. Just have a safe place to store your archive of SATA hard drives and plug them in as needed.

Can iMac iSight (2 firewire 400 ports) use a Firewire 800 external drive?

If I don't get more than 400 data transfer speeds I don't mind- I may buy a new iMac next year anyway but will it work at all now?
I'm looking lustfully at a Western Digital My Passport Studio Firewire 800 320Gb poertable external HD.

Thanks guys, I've attributed points accordingly, bonus smugness goes to anyone who might point me in the direction of an "appropriate cable". Oh... and I'd like the moon on a stick please. Seriously though, thanks for the advice, I'm going to wait for the Western Digital Firewire 800 version of their My Passport Studio portable external hard drive to become available in the UK.

How to use built-in iSight & external Firewire iSight simultaneously?

The solutions I've found here and elsewhere, about launching iChat first so it "controls" the internal iSight and will force the firewire iSight to work, does not work. With Quicktime and Photo Booth, I stll get the feed from the internal camera.
iChat has a dropdown menu showing "Built-in iSight" and "iSight". But when "iSight" is selected, the message "Camera is off" appears.
What is the definitive method for using the built-in iSight and the firewire iSight simultaneously? Thank you.

Hi,
Several answer to the implied questions.
By Default iChat will choose the camera listed in the iChat menu > Preferences > Video section > camera drop down.
(If there is only one camera this drop down does not appear)
The External iSight may need it's iris opened if it is plugged in but you are being told it is Off.
However also you may benefit from ticking the check box about an External Camera at the bottom of the same pane.
As for "Simultaneously" http://b-l-a-c-k-o-p.com/CamCamX.html
Other VJ type apps or that will do VJ type stuff are listed here under Movie Capture.
10:18 PM Saturday; June 25, 2011
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.7)
 Mac OS X (10.6.7),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Firewire 400/800 problem

Hi all,
I just bought a new MacBook Pro 15" 2.2GHz. I have been happily using my Firewire 800 on a Mirrored Raid drive that is partitioned into two drives: one for backup, one for media. When I plug my DV video camera into my FW400 port, nothing happens -- it doesn't appear in my System Profiler, iMovie, Final Cut Express, etc. Tried restarting all devices and finally found a fix: disconnect my FW800 drive. When I do that and then try to remount my external drive on the 800 channel, it won't go until I disconnect my camera. I tried daisy chaining my camera off one of the FW400 ports on the back of the drive: this doesn't work either -- the camera never mounts but the drive continues to function.
What is going on? Any thoughts?
-- Kevin

Firewire cameras don't "mount". They need to be explicitly opened by an application, and even then they don't appear on the desktop.
To use a camera via iLink (FireWire for DV), a few things need to be done. First, make sure that the camera is a DV or DVCPRO camera. Neither FinalCut not iMovie will work with it otherwise (though the newer iMovie adds AVCHD support) . Second, the camera cannot be daisy-chained -- it must be a direct connection. The daisy-chain config it might work some but will be unreliable (it looses track of the timecode under Mac OS X; Linux on the same hardware doesn't seem to have the problem). Next, max sure that the camera is turned on and in its VTR mode. Depending on the model, this might involve changing a couple of settings on the camera and moving a switch or dial to "VCR" or "Playback".
After all of those conditions are met, start the editing application. With iMovie, you should be ready to go. If using FinalCut Express, make sure that you have it configured to use the correct FireWire profile for your camera.

EZ Quest Firewire 400 ext drive works in 10.4 (PPC) but won't mount in 10.6 (Intel)

I have an EZ Quest external FireWire 400 drive. Was working fine on my MDD Mac running OS X 10.4.11. NOW, when I hook it up to my iMac running OS X 10.6.8, it will not mount. Tried different ports. Tried device on and off at boot. Doesn't show up on desktop or in sidebar of finder window or in System Profiler. Drive powers up, but won't mount. Please help. Thanks. Dennis

I have the same problem. Two different EZQuest Quad interface drives suddenly won't mount on my 2010 iMac (Core Duo) via the firewire 800 or 400 ports. If I use a USB cable, both drives mount as normal, but I need the Firewire 800 ports to stream audio samples for Logic.
Both of these drives were working fine for over a year until I upgraded recently to 10.6.8 on the iMac and then tried to use one of the drives yesterday with a new 2012 MacBook Pro (10.7.4). The drive mounted once on the MacBook Pro, then disappeared and now will not mount on either the MacBook Pro or my iMac.
I tried resetting the PRAM and SMC on the iMac, but the drives still won't mount via firewire. The fact that both EZQuest drives still mount via USB indicates this is a firewire problem particular to Mac OS 10.6.8 and 10.7 rather than an external drive problem. It also seems that many people are experiencing this regardless of the external drive brand. Does anybody know how to fix this?

Playing Russian Roulette with Firewire 400 drives and Final Cut Pro

oh boy! this has been a fun week!
I would love to ask the advice of the group about checking the firwire
ports on my computer, and also on the separate external drives.
Here is what has been going on.
Final Cut Pro 5 starts up and then starts to pinwheel.
but in short here is the result, I have recently lost 2 external
FIREWIRE 400 drives, one by LaCie that is my newest drive of the
group, it is 160gb 2 port FW400, and another by ProMax which also has
2 FW400 ports. the lacie was the first to go and is just not mounting
and does not show up using any of my Disk Utility software (even the
heavy duty stuff like DATA RESCUE II or Disk Warrior), I am thinking
that both ports are bad(maybe fried by another bad port on my tower?)I
can hear it when i boot it up and it sounds normal with the same
routine sounds, but it just doesn't mount, nor show up, so is this the
ports?fried?
Now, on my tower I have the following setup - 2 FW400 ports that are
STOCK that came with the TOWER G4 when I bought it. There is also a
FIREWIRE 400 card which has 3 ports. In the past I have used all the
ports for drives, and for a printer and a scanner in my studio.
Everything mounted and worked properly. Then,recently I moved the
drives and the tower to another location(in the room and no I didn't
drop or shake anything) and replugged everything in again, probably in
different slots but upon boot the external firewire drives didn't mount.
I had to UN PLUG them and then RE INSERT them by trial and error(which
I thought normal as I have done this when using these drives with my
laptop, until I got them to mount. they all did mount. However, once
up an running I started Final Cut Pro 5, and it started to get a
PINWHEEL for more than reasonable and if forced me to RESTART the
computer.
The next time, one of the HARDDRIVES (the LaCie 160gb) was no longer
mounting, and I tried to change firewire ports and on the stock and
also on the card for fear that the 3rd party card might be faulty.
I even ran APPLEs HARDWARE Utility and it gave no results as to
anything faulty on the firewire ports. It just said they were there.
Both stock and the PCI firewire card.
Next, I tried to mount this LaCie 160gb onto another computer, with no
results.....it now acts as if both ports are faulty, again, I hear the
drive spinning and going through its initial startup, which sounds
exactly like the other drive, but it never mounts. which is odd...what
is your idea about this drive? and how to save it?
is there a way to take the drive out of the casing and test it in my
other LaCie160gb that is currently working?
2nd, this is where it gets funky, then upon starting Final Cut Pro,
the pinwheel reappeared now with another firewire drive a PROMAX 160gb
that was plugged into the STOCK FW 400 port (on the tower) starting to
show a RED light(not good), however, after restart, I didn't see the
PROMAX drive mount, but I was able to load it up with DATA RESCUE II,
and it is doing a QUICK SCAN to save the DATA on that disk......
now I have backed up most of this data, but the problem now is not the
data, it is whether or not to even plug any of my other drives into
any of these FW ports until I can test them for faultiness.
A friend told me of another friend having a problem where a firewire
port was frying drives as soon as they plugged them into the certain
port. How can you figure this out without re-acting like 'Deerhunter?'
This feels like playing Russian Roulette......if you get my drift?
How do you check any ports for such foul play?
Thanks in advance for your support....
makin

well, now I am finding out that the culprit is I think the POWER MAC g4 itself.
For it has been blowing the firewire ports over time by frying them with power.
Has anyone had this happen?
My Power Mac g4 will not shut down.
It powers itself back up.
I end up having to press the POWER button and holding it, but this sends power to the firewire ports and I can hear them turning on.
so all this time I had just dealt with the issue
Apple had seemed to blame it on a 3rd party MATROX card in the PCI slot.
But, now that has long been taken out of the equation.
The only thing left is that the 17inch MONITOR is plugged into the POWER MAC and for some reason it is keeping a charge?
Can anyone help me in this matter?
As this has haunted me for 5 years with this machine, and I have probably fried more drives than I care to mention.
I just want my computer to SHUT DOWN when I tell it to.
is that too much to ask?
Might the POWER SUPPLY be at fault?
What in God's name could keep this ******* of a computer from shutting down?
I have no USB hubs or keyboards hookedup
the only thing is the MONITOR itself....that you can press its button to shut down etc.
I would be honored to know what this is as APPLE CARE never could figure it out
I didn't want to go through the hassle of taking out the RT MAC card, and just either left the machine on, or Unplugged the thing....
that is a nasty way to shut down a computer is it not?
much thanks to any one who can help me to figure this out?
thanks
singleton

WARNING! Firewire 400/800 usage precaution of all Mac mini

I just found one vital notice about using FireWire 400/800 (IEEE 1394a/b) in any Mac mini. Please be careful and read this notice before you buy any External FireWire 400/800 Hard drive enclosure/paddock.
I believe in FireWire. FireWire is faster and more stable than USB 2.0/3.0. I love FireWire, but industry these days are terrible poor making its peripheral devices, related chips, etc.
Beware there are many FireWire devices such as 3.5 inches Hard drive Dock and enclosure they claimed to be used with FireWire 400 or even FireWire 800 with options like USB, eSATA. THESE ARE POOR PCB design and POOR chips inside and even POOR Power Supply, DO NOT BUY or USE THESE so-called FireWire HDD Dock or enclosure, it will hurt your Hard-drive definitely, it will make a lot of BAD-Axle (or bad sector) on your HDD. It's nothing wrong with Mac Mini FireWire Chips, it caused by Third-Parties' poor design and tactless attitude, there are lots of brands out there with the same POOR design and inconsiderate issues there.
The best way to protect your HDD is put them in a dock-able slot with Active 500W above Powered PC, link with FireWire, no Bad-Sector will occur.
These are real test and real experience from I myself.
I have tested lots of brands of 3.5 inches HDDs and docks and enclosures, I just save lots of time for you, if you love your data and your HDD, DO NOT USE THESE DOCK or Enclosure.

The big problem with those Docks or enclosures has a common poor cause, it's the Power Supply, if your 3.5 inches HDD is plugged in a Good 500W powered PC (Such as the brand Enermax Power Supply), the bad-sector will never happen. But it will happen when you use those Docks or Enclosures even with External Power supply. Because those external power current and voltage are not power enough, they didn't test it fully before putting them in market. They thought it was OK if they can boot up the disk, but they are dead wrong. You can boot a HDD doesn't mean the current and the voltage is power enough, it should have supplied with full power to those Standard 3.5 inches HDD, Seagate, Hitachi, Toshiba, they have rules about how many voltage and current a HDD should be supplied in operating, but those lousy industries didn't consider these rules, they thought just making their products as long as they can boot it up(power up), but the current and voltage is near the minimum level, a normal current and voltage is needed without margin, it should be at least full 5V or 12V, actually, 5V with 0.5A~1A current and 12V with fully 2A current to safely using a single HDD. But they didn't apply those rules.
You get the picture. When the current and voltage is not power enough, the HDD will sound alarm and make a big noise, then the surface gets hurt badly and it WILL NEVER be RECOVERED by any means of software or hardware.
When a HDD has a bad sector, it is a very bad for the future usage, because one bad sector could possibly cause another new bad sector and there is NO WAY to prevent this fate and its course, it is the way HDD works, a bad sector is a sign of short-life warning.
A fully 5.5V with 1A and 12V with 2A current is the most important thing when you decide to use your HDD in an external way by plug the lousy external power supply. NOT to mention those without external power supply, most of them are 2.5 inches USB-powered external HDD.
Who's to blame? blame to those lousy third-party industries who care nothing but their short term profit strategy. They just don't care about you. As long as a HDD could boot in the first place, they though it will work well. Lame and irresponsible.
DO NOT take chances to use a lousy External Dock or enclosure. You will regret anyway.
Put your 3.5 inches HDD into standard PC slot and cable with GOOD powered supply, at least 500 Watt above and the Power Supply must be Active model (expensive but worth).

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,
Paul

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.
Note, migrating to Intel Macs from PowerPC Macs is not as easy as the Migration Assistant, as this user tip explains:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435350&tstart=0

Connecting DV camera via firewire disconnects external firewire drive

All of a sudden this has started happening.
When i connect my video camera via firewire to my external Lacie harddrive, and turn the camera on, the drive I have it connected to goes off line. A window come up saying 'Device Removal'. When I disconnect the camera, the drive comes back online.
I have 4 drives connected inline and it happens to any one of them, whichever I attach the firewire to.
I trashed FCP permissions, but that didn't help. I'm running FCPHD 4.5.
Any ideas?
PowerBook G4 15 Titanium Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Its the canon camera. Firewire and canon cameras apparently don't play in the same sandbox very well. All macs have only one firewire bus. For a macbook pro you can use an express card slot, but the imac's you are kinda stuck. The best course of action is to copy to hard drive and then move it within imovie. I read this in Tom Wolksy's book on FCE. It is weird. I have a Sony HDV and an older imac and i can use one firewire port for importing and go straight to an external firewire drive--no problem. However, in his book on page 56. It states the firewire issue. I know this is an imovie forum, but i can assume its also the same for imovie.

OS on external firewire doesn't shut down

Hi. I have an OS for emergencies on an external firewire drive. So after updating to OSX 10.5.8 my external firewire sometimes doesn't shut down when I used it as the bootdrive, and want to switch to my internal harddrive for booting (I of course select the start up disk in system preferences before shut down or restart). On both harddrives are 10.5.8 installed. So I don't know. I have done disk verify (and repair once on the external as needed) and I have done permission repair on both pretty often. Switching from the internal to the external firewire is no problem, but switching back sometimes is. What happens is when the external shuts down, after all apps are quit (by me of course), finder, dock and all desktop icons disappear, only the mouse pointer and desktop background pic stays, and nothing else happens. I never had this problem on Tiger. I suspect a conflict between the same OSs on both drives. If I can get the firewire to shut down correctly, I am considering to always hold down the option key at start up and there select which drive to boot from, instead of doing it before in system preferences of either running OS. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

Yeah. Thanks. But I also have the same problem with my internal HD. Freezes before log out sometimes. If I reach log out, then no problem to shut down or restart. Very strange....and in fact painful turning the computer off sometimes having to press the power button 10 secs.

SATA or Firewire 400 striped?

Hello knowledgeable ones, could some one offer me an opinion on:
I have a dual core 2 GHz G5.
a. 160 Gb main drive
b. 250 Gb internal SATA drive
c. 240 Gb (2 x 120 Gb striped) external Firewire 400 volume
Working with FCP et al, which would be the the faster volume b? or c?
As I am planning on using one and backing up to the other.
Cheers
PB 12" 1.5GHz and others Mac OS X (10.4.5) ManyMacs

I disagree. I think C would be faster. I'm guessing
C would offer about 80 megs/secong, and B would give
about 60. for even more performance, do 2 external
striped SATAs. Any of the above should work fine
though
C wouldn't be able to achieve much more than 45, since FW400's maximum speed is 50MB/sec, and that includes overhead and whatnot.
I also have a hard time believing that a single SATA drive could achieve 60MB/sec (unless it's spinning at 10-15k rpm). I have a FW800 RAID-0 setup that achieves ~72MB/sec with two drives.

ISight: External Firewire 400 (My problem solved)

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