Will a USB 3.0 to FireWire adapter make my transfer rates faster?

I have a MBP 2010 15 inch that only has a measly UB 2.0 and a (less measly) FireWire port. I have an external sea gate 3tb backup plus desktop hard drive that had a USB 3.0 cable. However, as stated earlier, my MBP only has a USB 2.0 port. But it seems the FireWire port might have better transfer rates. If I used a USB 3.0 to FireWire would it have greater transfer speeds, and by how much? If there is an even better way to connect my hard drive to my aforementioned MBP, please tell me. And if anybody has a good adapter recommendation, please tell me.

There is no such thing as a USB-FireWire adapter/converter. USB and FireWire are electrically and protocol incompatible.
Seagate does make an accessory unit called the STAE 123 that works with the following drives to provide a FW800 interface:
Backup Plus Desktop Drive for Mac V1
Backup Plus Desktop Drive V1
GoFlex Desk for Mac drive with Thunderbolt
If your drive is one of those models, the STAE123 may be the answer to your needs.

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Is there any more word on when apple will be releasing the thunderbolt to FireWire adapter?

Is there any new word (newer than "in July") on when Apple will be releasing the Thunderbolt to FireWire Adaptor?

Not yet.
Best.

When will we see the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter?

The keynote mentions it but only the gigabit Ethernet adapter is available. It's mentioned on the ThunderBolt page
http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/

There is a firewire out in the new (999.00) Thunderbolt Display. A lot to pay for the right to use firewire. And evidently, the display has firmware issues. This doesn't bode well for those of us who are audio professionals and rely on firewire for nearly eventhing we do. Belkin has a (400.00) dock coming out supposedly in Sept. Still expensive just to get one silly little FW port.
I imagine that, if Apple actually does have a 29.00 cable adaptor, it'll wait till the last minute to release it - losing lots of friends, but making bucks off of those who, in desperation, cave in and buy the Display before Belkin's product hits the shelves.
The final question, of course, is whether a down-conversion from Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 actually works - and many of the more common digital to audio converters are in the F400 mode. I imagine that, if this down-conversion doesn't work, there'll be a significant migration of audio professionals away from Mac computers in the future, as FW ports go by the boards.

USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter with Audio

Hi
Can any one help, I would like to watch my security cameras on my G5 but I think I need a way of getting the pictures in, will a USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter with Audio - that states Capture and Edit High Quality Video and Audio without Sound Card. I also have two programs called securityspy and camspinner-101. that I am told will work on a Mac?
Thanks
George

George Hilton-
Just out of curiosity how did you solve your issue?
-DaddyPaycheck

USb 2.0 or Firewire 800 FASTER?

I have a Quad G5 with 8 gigs RAM. I want to buy an external drive (LaCie) and notice the USB 2.0 is 100 cheaper than the triple inetrface. Is USB 2.0 slower or the same as Firewire 800?
It was my understanding USB 1.0 and Firewire 400 were the same transfer rate and USB 2.0 and Firewire 800 are the same rate?
However, I see specs stating that firewire 800 is much much much faster?
Thnaks everyone.

USB 2.0 has a data transmission rate of 480Mbps, while USB 1.1 transfers data at 12Mbps; real-world transmission rates for USB 2.0 will be slower than FireWire 400. FireWire 400 and 800 have a transmission rate equal to the number in the term. Basically, FireWire 800 is much faster then USB 2.0. See this page for more information.
(11826)

Will the G-Drive Mini work with the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter?

I'm closing in on buying a new MacBook Pro, but the lack of FireWire on the new retina models is worrying me. I've seen a lot of negative responses in regard to the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter, specifically in regards to the G-Raid mini - most of them noting it's the dual drive that's the issue.
So would any of you happen to know - does a G-Drive mini work well with the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter? I will be doing a lot of heavy video editing if that makes any difference.

I found out after purchasing a Retina MacBook Pro that you can in fact use the G-RAID Mini, the way to do it is to have two Thunderbolt to FireWire adapters, plug in the first one to the drive and the computer, wait for the drive to start clicking, and then plug the other cable between the computer and the G-RAID on the second port.
This obviously only works if you have a rMBP as you need the two Thunderbolt ports.

HT3231 transfer files to my new iMac system 10.8.3, 9 pin firewire. Apple sold me FireWire 9-6 with a Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter. This will not work, do i need a different cable?

I have a G4 with system 10.4.11 and a 6 pin firewire trying to transfer files to my new iMac system 10.8.3, 9 pin firewire. Apple sold me FireWire 9-6 with a Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter. This will not work, do i need a different cable?

Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter
Then it sounds like the FW800 to 400 adapter just gets in the way. You don't have FW800 case? on my MDD G4 I added and used FW800 controller and cases from OWC and Sonnet.
http://www.macsales.com/firewire

USB to Firewire Adapter

I'm considering a MacBook Air. I have two Firewire backup hard drives and a original iPod that also uses Firewire. Is there a simple USB to Firewire adapter to enable use of these items from a MBA?

Click here and read the whole thread.
(43606)

PCMCIA USB and Firewire adapter

I have purchased a 250gb Iomega drive for all my music, but found USb 1.1 so slow (the Iomega is USB 2- and i should have got a firewire version). I bought a USB 2.0 and Firwire adapter. But like another post that I can transfer files at great speed and then it just freezes my Mac. Any ideas. I am a bit suspect about the adapter (off ebay) as the driver cd did not have MAc drivers!
Any help would be appreciated...

What would have been, and still would be, a better choice is a FireWire drive, which you'd be able to use with your built-in Firewire port and no adapter card. But since you're probably stuck with the Iomega drive now, at least you could make it useful to yourself by throwing away Iomega's USB 2 enclosure (housing, case, shell, box) and putting the hard drive mechanism that's inside it into a new FireWire-connected enclosure instead. Just Google "FireWire hard drive enclosure," and look only at models designed for 3.5" drives. You'll find dozens to choose from in the $30-50 range. Be sure to buy one that includes a FW cable.

USB to Firewire Adapter for camcorder?

Can I use a "USB to Firewire adapter" to import footage from a USB ported Mini DV camcorder?

You'll find one for shure<<</div>
Don't they make microphones and other audio products?
-DH
http://www.shure.com/index.htm

Apple no longer making thunderbolt to firewire adapter!

I just visited an apple store today to be told that Apple are no longer making the thunderbolt to firewire adapter which was meant to be released this month (July). Calling Apple customer support also confirmed this. It is also no longer mentioned as a option, when ordering a new MBP retina on the Apple online store.
As I've just purchased a new MBP retina for portable video editing, the prospect of not being able to plug in all my legacy firewire drives to the MBP is very frustrating, and I'm sure many people are in the same situation. Trying to daisy chain via a USB 3 LaCie drive to firewire did not work when tested and it's likely that any other solutions via hubs etc, will probably require mains power. For ediitng on the road via bus powered drives, firewire is suddenly not an option at present.
Many of us have gone through these transitions before as Apple pushes new and better technology forward at the expence of backwards compatibility. Thunderbolt will be great, but curently it is expensive and not widely adopted, where as firewire drives are considerbaly cheaper than thunderbolt drives and many of us have a large number of these drives being used on a daily basis.
I'm sure other manufactures will be scrabling to bring a thunderbolt to firewire adapter to the market, however the fact that Apple has stopped making it before it was even released is alarming.

Styphin wrote:
And yet, FireWire became an industry standard. Your argument is invalid.
Key word highlighted (in comparison to "has become"). As Shootist points out, it is harder and harder to find any kind of FW device out there. Hence my soon to be orphaned 11 external HDDs, 2 of which only have FW and probably be unusable when I have to replace my current Mac. The rest fortunately have USB2 too and will have to function in a slow speed crippled mode when the time comes.
Even Apple is hedging its bets, else why add two USB3 ports and the HDMI in addition to the purportedly wonderful TB?

No internet with Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter

I bought a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter, and i used it to connect a Iomega drive I previously used as USB.
When running OSX, no problem.
But when i boot the computer under Windows 7 (not SP1), if the adapter is connected, then the computer says that there aren't connections avalaible. If i boot without the adapter, everything worls fine and i can connect to my WiFi connection. (I don't have an Ethernet cable plugged, so i can't says if the Ethernet connection doesn't work too)
Any suggestion? Has someone experienced this?
Many thanks in advance!

Of course. You can connect both iMacs with a FireWire 800 cable and a Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter without any problem. The problem would come if the old iMac has not got FireWire 800 ports, but the Mid 2007 iMac comes with one.
In order to use Migration Assistant and transfer files from another iMac through FireWire, you need to put your old iMac in Target Disk mode as you said. To do this, simply hold the T key while your old iMac is starting up until you see the FireWire icon in the display. Then you can set up your new iMac, and you will be asked to transfer your data.
If you have already set up your new iMac, use Migration Assistant (in /Applications/Utilities) > http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrateLion.html

Does the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter work w/ W540?

I have an external storage drive that relies on Firewire 800, or USB 2.0 - I'd prefer to use the Firewire! I discovered the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter ( http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Thunderbolt-to-FireWire-Adapter/dp/B008RXYOKY ), but I haven't seen any clones for sale... Does anyone know if it will work with the W540 and Windows 7?

Hi DIgitalsmear
I bought one of this adapters to connect my firewire audio interface to my lenovo carbon X1 which has a thunderbolt out. And atm i have no proper connection going on, but i'm not yet sure whether it is because of the adapter or something else.
greetings
Milan

What is FireWire and what FireWire adapter do I need to use FireWire 800 for my portable external hard drive ?

Hi guys, I'm new to Mac. I have a MacBook Pro 13" (late 2011) with Lion OS and Parallels 7 (Windows 7). My understanding is that there is FireWire connection / extension built in to the MacBook Pro already. I also have a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex portable external hard drive 750GB USB2.0 and 3.0 (that can be used for PC and Mac). It states that the portable external harddrive is FireWire 800 compatible. The questions are (1) how does FireWire works ? (2) how do I use or activate FireWire 800 ? (3) is there any setup / setting changes I need to on my MacBook Pro ? (4) what FireWire adapter do I need to purchase to connect my portable external harddrive to my MacBook Pro ? Is it expensive ?
I read a few articles online but they are too technical for me. They mentioned something about FireWire adapter with 6 pins or 9 pins. Not sure what that means. I'm totally confused. So any help, advise or guidance will be much appreciated. In Layman's term would be better. Thanks.
How about Thunderbolt ? Is it compatible with the above external portable hard drive mentioned ? Do I need a Thunderbolt adapter for it ? How do I activate or use Thunderbolt ?

Thanks, Clinton and Alberto.
The below link is the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex portable external hard drive (product code STAA750302) that I have. It states that it features USB 2.0 or 3.0 plug–and–play connectivity and easily upgradeable to USB 3.0, FireWire 800 or eSATA. It only comes with a 18-inch USB 3.0 / 2.0 backward compatible cable.
http://www.seagate.com/au/en/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/ goflex/
Based on the above, my understanding is that I need to buy a FireWire 800 adapter to connect to the portable external hard drive so that I can use FireWire 800 with my MacBook Pro. Is this correct ? Do I need to get a separate cable as well or can I just use the 18-inch USB 3.0 / 2.0 backward compatible cable that was provided in the box ? If so, what sort of FireWire 800 cable do I need to get ? 9 pin to 9 pin ? 6 pin to 9 pin ? Or 4 pin to 9 pin ?
https://www.lindy.com.au/online/arrshop.exe?anonymous=true&cat=b1

PCMCIA firewire adapter not working ....

with my LACie 40GB USB/Firewire mobile hard drive..
I previously posted that my TiBook 550 firewire port & the Lacie firewire
port are fried. I was hinted that the Tibook firewire port may have been
the culprit but not certain.
I bought a 3rd party PCMCIA firewire adapter IEEE 1394A
Here's the issue it works with a new firewire 3.5"drive enclosure which has
it's own power supply.
With the LAcie it runs off the power from the TiBook when I use the USB
port.
Is there a specific PCMCIA fire wire adapter I need to run the firewire bus
power of the LAcie drive?
I'm at a lost and REALLY behind in backing up data because of this.
Need help thanks ~A~

Thank you for clarifying this to me.
I went to the Apple store today, and not much was told except to buy
a new logic board!
My new 2.5" firewire enclosure does have a power supply port.
So looks like that seems to be my answer for now.
It does seem odd to have a power suppy for something portable, but
I guess when you blow firewire ports and need to go through a PCMCIA
adapter that's my best option.
The one thing I am curious about is that the LAcie firewire port & Tibook firewire port though the harddrive isn't mounting on my desktop still brings power to the drive.
Do you think on the "off the wall" chance that by adding a external power supply to the "injured" LAcie drive that it may allow my Tibook to mount
on the desktop?
A strange inquiry but worth a shot!
What do you think? ~A~
To add to Hardy's advice: Some pocket-sized FW drives
come with their own AC adapters. Others can use such
an adapter, but it's an optional accessory. Others
have no provision for connecting an external power
adapter to them, and must draw their power from the
FireWire bus. They can't do that when the FireWire
bus is on a PC card, unless the PC card adapter
itself came with a short auxiliary cord to connect it
to one of the host computer's USB or FireWire ports.
That cord is provided to draw power from one of those
ports for any bus-powered devices that are connected
through the PC Card adapter.
Therefore, you will need to do one of several things,
listed roughly in order of preference:
1. Use the AC adapter that came with your pocket
FireWire drive, if one did;
2. Buy such an adapter, if you didn't get one with it
but it can use one;
3. Use the auxiliary power cord that came with your
PC Card FireWire adapter, if one did;
4. Buy a different FireWire enclosure for your pocket
hard drive that allows the use of external power, and
comes with its own AC adapter.
5. Buy another PC card adapter that comes with an
auxiliary power cord.
#4 is preferable to #5 because it's certain to work,
not because it's necessarily less expensive.
Note that some portable hard drives need more power
than the USB or FireWire bus in a Powerbook can
supply. It sounds ridiculous — why make a portable
drive that requires you to carry an AC adapter with
it? — but it's true. This is why #5 above may not
work: even with an auxiliary power cord in use, your
drive may overdraw the power budget of the port to
which the cord is connected, and you'll be right back
where you are now.
PowerBook G4 Titanium 550Mhz Mac OS X (10.3.9) airport express, Safari, 512 MB
PowerBook G4 Titanium 550Mhz Mac OS X (10.3.9) airport express, Safari, 512 MB

Will a USB 3.0 to FireWire adapter make my transfer rates faster?

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