Should the fire wire ports always be active

I have a 17" MBP (core 2 duo late 2007) and a 15" MBP (also core 2 duo late 2007) and when I connect my recently purchased WD 500GB Passport, the drive's light indicates that it is still receiving power from the MBP's after I've shut-down the computers. Mind you, this is with both MBP"s connected to their power supplies. If I disconnect the power supplies the drive goes off, completely. The drive is FW powered and this happens when connected with either FW 400 or FW 800 cables. I'm just wondering if this is usual for this family of MBP's. Have searched the discussions and couldn't find a similar situation.
Gary
Message was edited by: Gruene Guy

Sig...
I did edit the question, but just as you replied. The drive is FW powered and does not have it's own power supply. You answered my question by confirming that the drive is being powered by the a/c power supply.
The first time I actually noticed this was in trouble shooting an EyeTV 250 vs and EyeTV 200. The EyeTV 200 has been connected to a Mac Pro for quite some time and when the Mac Pro is shut down, the EyeTV 200 (connected via FW400) goes off, too. But when I connected the EyeTV 200 to my 17" MBP I was concerned to see the indicator light on amber indicating it was still receiving power even though the MBP was shut down.
Nice to know that this is normal activity. And, since it only happens when connected to the Apple power supply, it won't be a concern for battery life.
Thanks for the reply.
Gary

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All the fire wire ports quit working.

Hello to all. As you see I am a newbie on here. Last night I was transferring files from my exteranl FW400 to my other FW800 which are daisy chained together. Ive done this hundreds of times. Last night as I made sure at least one of the files transferred over, I went to bed like I always do. I woke up this morning and had noticed it didnt finish several files because it was no longer seen on my mac.
This has happened before, so I shut down and restarted. Nothing, Then I noticed my other FW800 hard drives where not showing up. I shut down for 10mins, started up and nothing. Went over to check on my firewire bus and it said it can not locate the bus at this time. Nothing is smelling burnt, I looked inside and it looks normal. Please help. This is the first Major issue ive eeeeeeeever had with my macpro.

Here's more......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

Should the FW 400 port be sending power to the FW HUB When the Mac is off?

The title says it all. I am using a refurbished 2007 Aluminium 20 inch IMac and after I shut down the Fire Wire ports still power the FW 400 Hub, is this normal? I have just stopped cutting power supply with surge protector because I was having trouble getting the Imac to start and leaving its' power supply on made the start up faultless. Could the "shut down" instead of "log out" be the cause?

Hey JustSomeGuy, thanks for solving the problem. The "cause" you were curious about is the choice when stopping to choose "shut down" instead of"log out", I'm not sure what the second one[log out] would do when I wanted to start the iMac again.
PS: my USB peripherals don't get enough power when the iMac is off to have them show lights indicating power, but I believe you are right. When I had the iMac in a surge protecter, so it was cut off completely from power it had BIG problems with starting up, for some reason the iMac must have access to power to always start up as it should.

Video out fire wire port from iTunes?

Final cut and Pro Tools LE both have the ability to send video from a G5 to a TV out of the fire wire port via a Canopus ADVC-110. Why doesn't iTunes? I understand that the new Mac TV gizmo plus an airport card will do this, but I already have all the hardware I need for this to work. I just need iTunes to take advantage of the same external video option that Final Cut and Pro Tools LE have. Anyone know of a patch or something that would make this happen. Or at least a stand alone player that will play the m4v iTunes video files and play video out fire wire port to my canopus which will then send it to the TV?

In an attempt to get my iTunes downloaded TV episodes to play on my TV without having to buy the Apple TV hardware and an airport card I have been trying to find a way to convert the m4v video files into a format that can be read by a stand alone player that allows me to output video playback through my fire wire port so my canopus box can then send it to my tv and stereo. I tried iSquint and it does not work. I get an AppleScript error "Can't make "" into type real. (-1700)" If you hit OK the program then spins it's wheels with the progress report "Preparing Audio for File 1..." It is still my belief that Apple should enable iTunes to output video through the fire wire port. Since Final Cut Pro and Pro Tools LE have that ability and it works I assume that it should work wth iTunes. Please send iTunes feedback from within iTunes and ask apple to add this option to iTunes.

Limited Number of fire wire ports

I am editing with Final Cut Express using my laptop (MacBook). There is only one fire wire port. So in order for me to capture the video footage I have to capture from the camera to the computer's hard drive and then transfer to my external drive. It captures to the "Final Cut Express Document Folder" that seems to be a pre set default location.
How do I move the "Final Cut Express Document" folder that was the automatic default location when I connected the camera to the fire wire port, so that I can then use the clips for the edit? I want to use the external drive as the scratch disk/drive to do the editing, but still be able to capture the video to the computers hard drive, then move to external drive to work on the project.

The remaining folders will do their job as needed. You just "tell" to FCE where to find material that was previously used in a project.
Follow Tom's intructions:"+You drag it from one drive. If you hold the Command key while you drag it will move the material. When you launch the application it will ask you to reconnect the material because it doesn't know where it is as you've moved it. Point it to the file it's looking for. It should find the rest of them.+"
Michel

Fire wire ports stopped working

This is pretty weird, even for a Saturday.
The fire wire ports on one of my G5's quit working while attached to 2 Western Digital external hard drives. The FW 800 port attached to a 9800xl MicroTek scanner quit too. Proofed all the wires and equipment on another computer with no problems.
I reran the 10.4.8 updater, with no luck.
I've been trying to run two MicroTek scanners on the computer at the same time. One connected thru fire wire, the other thru USB2. Can't seem to get the drivers to recognize the scanners at the same time. I have to uninstall the driver for the i900, before I can use the driver for the 9800xl.
I'm wondering if all my monkeying around precipitated my FW port probs?
How does fire wire work? is it a direct hook up to the processor thru the mother board, or is it a modular connection. I'm thinking about installing a PCI slot set of ports, but before I do that I would like to determine whether I'm cooking up a conflict.
thanks,
andojct

Hi, likely you can bring them back, disconnect all peripherals & power, then...
How to reset the SMU on a Power Mac G5 (Late 2004) or Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1436
Earlier G3, G4, G5 models...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1939
Also see...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317?viewlocale=en_US

Testing fire wire port

I have tried several times to test my fire wire port on this mac mini. I tnever does anything differently than boot up.
I am hooking up an audio interface and cant seem to get it to recognize the unit. I have tried testing the port, different cables and even purchased a 2nd interface thinking my original was the problem
Help
Mac Mini
M box pro
pro tools 10
Chase

Just for the record, I have friends that have the exact same setup as I do. It works flawlessly. They are using the same OS in both pro tools and apple. This seems to be a hardware connection issue. My Mac Mini does not recognize the M Box Pro audio interface I am using.
I have 2 m box pros doing the same thing. I have used 3 fire wire cables.
I first want to test the fire wire port on the mac mini, I need to know if it works at all. I tested it once and have not been able to conduct the test again. I believe this is some sort of internal set up issue. All of the software and hardware is identical to what several friends have.

How do I connect Apple 20" Cinema Display to orignal MacBook Air which does not have a Fire-Wire port. Is this possible? Any advice would be appreciated. I have the Micro-DVI to DVI adapter. Norm

I Wish to connect my 6 year old Apple 20" Cinema Display to an orignal MacBook Air which does not have a Fire-Wire port. Is this possible? Any advice would be appreciated. I have the Micro-DVI to DVI adapter. Norm

The FireWire cable is just for the FireWire ports on the display. The display will run without it.

Fire wire ports driving me batty

I have a late 2007 Intel iMac with a total of 7 Lacie external hard drives daisy chained together via the 800 fire wire ports. The externals are stacked one on top of the other. I cannot hook up the 8th hard drive to the 7th one (the hard drive on the top is #1, the one on the bottom is #7) without losing the 7th hard drive (I get an error message saying that the #7 hard drive hasn't been disconnected properly) and it disappears from the desktop. However, if I attach the 8th hard drive via the 400 fire wire port, all is well. I've switched the order of the hard drives and used different cables, but it always seems that the 7th hard drive has an issue with both 800 ports being used. Anyone have a suggestion (other than hooking up the 8th to the 400 port) or an answer to why this is happening? I think maybe heat might be a factor.
Message was edited by: Sunny's mommy

I don't think the hard drives have internal fans. Anyway, I've tried switching the order, like hooking up #1 & #2, with #2 on the bottom, then hooking up #7 to #2. Changed around the order - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it's pretty consistent, that whenever one of the two 800 firewire ports on the bottom one is in use and I attach another hard drive to the free firewire port, it freaks out the bottom one. However, when I use the 400 firewire port, all is well. Anyway, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Was just wondering if it's the way I'm setting things up. By the way, what is a bridge board?
Message was edited by: Sunny's mommy

No power from Fire Wire port to my audio interface

I face this problem after my set-up always has worked: I have a Quata Fire 610 Audio interface, powered thru my Fire wire 400. For some reason there is no power, and my Mac does not recognize the unit. I have tried both Fire Wire ports, and none of them works. The unit works fine on my other Mac (iMac G4) Is there any way I solve this problem. I have done the the disc utilities.
Peter

FireWire ports have been known to fail.
Did you shut down (power OFF) the Power Mac G5, and restart? Did you also try the port on the front panel? Did you try a different FireWire cable? Is it possible to try another FireWire device on the ports, as a test?
You can also try a reset of the PMU or SMU (power management). Depending on your model
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1436 <- newer models
<a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://">http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1939 <- older models

Do all maxtror drives have 2 fire wire ports

Hi all,
Im trying to buy a hard drive (maxtor seem to have been good to me so far) they have a new one called ONE TOUCH 3 but I cant seem to find out if they have 2 fire wire ports.
All the spoecs say this
"We stock 300GB and 500GB version with both USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 interface, please select storage capacity at the bottom."
Any tips ?
T
Thanks in advance
justin

If you are planning on using this for video work you should look elsewhere. It is not designed for that application.
If you are looking for a drive to simply back up data, it should work.
Generally recommended drives for DV and HDV include: G-tech & Granite Digital. Both of them make highly engineered drive solutions and include Hitachi mechanisms.
If you are thinking of working with uncompressed footage, then much more specialized drives/enclosures/connections are required.
good luck.
x

HT2498 how do I find out what kind of fire wire port I have on my desktop? I want to transfer video from my camcorder.

how do I find out what kind of fire wire port I have on my desktop? I want to transfer video from my camcorder.

If you have Firewire 800 it's a boxy looking port, the Firewire 400 is thinner and has a arrow looking shape, you can get a adpater.
FW800 is simply FW 400 x 2, so the adapter gives you FW 400.

Fire wire ports do not work

Here's a little history with the problem I'm having. At first (about 1 year ago) my fire wire ports became intermittent. They would work one second, then they wouldn't. I took my Mac in to be serviced, at the time it was still under warranty, but the techs couldn't find anything wrong. I brought it home but still had the problem. I figured maybe my components were bad. 1 year later I'm still having the problem. So I took it back, to the same people, this time they dug a little deeper with their tests and found that my logic board was bad. Everything else on the computer seems to work great, just not either fire wire port.
The questions I have are:
1) has anyone encountered this problem?
2) when looking at the logic board which number is used for the part
number? Mine says 820-1592-A, also 630-6483 is listed just under the
bar code. I'm trying to locate another, so far unsuccessfully.
3) do you think Apple would honor the warranty since Authorized techs
didn't find the problem the first time when my MAC was under warranty?
Any info will be helpful. Thanks

I had an issue with my FireWire ports not working right before my logic board died. I was able to resurrect the FW situation by unplugging everything from the back of the G5 (including the power cord) and letting it sit for 15 minutes. This caused a reset and then FW started working again -- alas for nothing when the logic board croaked a few weeks later.
By all means contact Apple -- since you did have it checked under warranty they might be able to work with you. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. My repair put me back $900 + (I did not have an AppleCare extended warranty, since I have never had any of my previous Macs fail before).

How can i download video hdv minicassette footage from my sony video camera with no fire wire port?

How can I download video HDV minicassette footage from my sony video camera with no fire wire port?

Hi,
Are you talking about your computer which has no firewire port ? If YES you can have one of two options:
(a) Use FCI - Firewire card like this (preferred)
You can buy from this:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-Ports-PCI-Express-PCI-E-IEEE-1394A-Firewire-Adapter-Cable-Card-/1507023...
(b) You can also use USB-Firewaire adapter like this:
http://compare.ebay.com.au/like/120580625092?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes
Regards.
BH
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Display's fire wire port

Just bought a new mini with a 20 in Mac display. Since the only fire wire port is taken on the mini with the display wire, can you use the displays fire wire port for the external hard drive? Thanks

If you have only one FireWire device, you can plug it into the Mini, and leave the display's FireWire cable disconnected. If you have two devices, or the display's FireWire ports are in a more convenient location, plug the display's FireWire cable into the Mini and use the FireWire ports on the display.

Should the fire wire ports always be active

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