Question about Firewire

[Wallydraigle]

I have a crappy one port Firewire thing onboard on my motherboard. If I install a Firewire card do I have to disable the onboard one, or can I leave them both active? Thanks.

 

[vetteguy]

Why is your onboard FireWire crappy? It should work the same as an add-in card. But no, you don't have to disable it if you install another one, Windows will simply see both.

 

[Macaw]

I'd agree with the previous poster. What makes your onboard firewire crappy? Is it not OHCI 1.0 compliant?

Dirty little secret about firewire is they all work the same. When you buy an aftermarket firewire card you are really choosing between what bundled software you like best.

 

[RDMustang1]

Originally posted by: Macaw
I'd agree with the previous poster. What makes your onboard firewire crappy? Is it not OHCI 1.0 compliant?

Dirty little secret about firewire is they all work the same. When you buy an aftermarket firewire card you are really choosing between what bundled software you like best.

So the chipset on the firewire card doesn't make any difference? That's like saying the chipset on your motherboard doesn't make any difference, or your cpu doesn't make any difference... Not to the same extent, but I don't buy that all firewire cards are created equal...

 

[bigben]

speaking of firewire..someone help me

I have an iPod that i would like to hook up to my computer at work. I ahve the software, etc. but the computer has no firwire port, and I can't insall my own firewire port (against comp. policy)

also, there are no firewire ports anywhere on the company lan

thanks

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: bigben
speaking of firewire..someone help me

I have an iPod that i would like to hook up to my computer at work. I ahve the software, etc. but the computer has no firwire port, and I can't insall my own firewire port (against comp. policy)

also, there are no firewire ports anywhere on the company lan

thanks

Uh, is this supposed to be a trick question?

1. You have a firewire device.
2. You have no firewire ports anywhere.
3. You can't have firewire ports.
4. You want to know how to plug in your firewire device.

Sounds like you know the answer already.

 

[zzzz]

Bigben,
you can always get a laptop with a firwire port and use it at work place. Kinda expensive solution though.

 

[bigben]

no homemade firewire connections to usb?

i am dissapointed...i thought we had some REAL geeks here

 

[Wallydraigle]

Why is it crappy? Well, it's just got one port, not that that really matters, but more is better I guess. Also I have a feeling that it's causing a problem with my Firewire CF card reader. Someone I know had the same problem, and getting a new Firewire card fixed it. Thanks all!

 

[Citadel535]

lirion, first Firewire on board can't be any different because it is a standardized interface. You can't go around saying my P/S 2 port is faster than your P/S 2 port. As long as it is OHCI compliant, more than likely Texas Instruments makes it, you will get Firewire standardized throughput.

bigben, I don't think there is a way to make a Firewire to USB adapter. And if I knew enough to do it, I would be working for Intel as Computer Engineer right about now.

 

[corkyg]

Firewire does not convert to USB or vice versa. Firewire is not a new standard- IEEE 1394 is several years old, and is derived from SCSI! Simply speaking, it is an isolation of the delta between SCSI II and SCSI III separated out and used by itself.

In that vein, if you have SCSI I in your office system, there is a SCSI-Firewire converter module - I have one - by OrangeMicro - but it has been discontinued (no demand). But with it I can use SCSI I devices on my Firewire port and if I had SCSI installed, the reverse.

Firewire II or "B" is not far off. It will be out by year's end, I believe - and that will up the ante to 800 mbps. There are currently no plans for a USB "3."

 

[LethalWolfe]

Firewire cards really don't make that big of a difference. But chipsets/bridges come into play when you are considering an external FW HDD.


Lethal

 

[UlricT]

ok... i got a small question to add to this... some laptops seems to have this "unpowered" firewire port... what is that supposed to mean?

I thought the firewire standard specified power supply to the device from the port itself....

 

[corkyg]

Laptop 1394 ports are 4-wire ports - and carry no power. They are intended for use with digital camera connections, which do not require power - they have their own. When using a 4-wire 1394 port to a 6-wire device, such as a CD/RW, you need a 4 to 6 cable and an external power supply for the device. I have that exact setup with my laptop (QueFire! by QPS) and it works perfectly.

 

[UlricT]

thanks corky...
that was the same kinda setup i was looking into by the way.. how much does this adapter set you back by?

 

[Gepost]

Let me tell you, I have a Sony external firewire CDRW drive hooked to my Dell laptop at work and it is FAST.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: UlricT
thanks corky... that was the same kinda setup i was looking into by the way.. how much does this adapter set you back by?

Nothing - it came with the external CD/RW drive. Part of the set.

 

[Eug]

Laptop 1394 ports are 4-wire ports - and carry no power. They are intended for use with digital camera connections, which do not require power - they have their own. When using a 4-wire 1394 port to a 6-wire device, such as a CD/RW, you need a 4 to 6 cable and an external power supply for the device. I have that exact setup with my laptop (QueFire! by QPS) and it works perfectly.

My laptop has a 6-wire port - but it's a Mac. I don't know why PC laptop designers refuse to design PC laptops with powered Firewire. Sure, power utilization is an issue, but if Mac designers can do it, surely PC designers can at least attempt it.

lirion, first Firewire on board can't be any different because it is a standardized interface. You can't go around saying my P/S 2 port is faster than your P/S 2 port. As long as it is OHCI compliant, more than likely Texas Instruments makes it, you will get Firewire standardized throughput.

Firewire cards can make a big difference. For instance, on my Windows desktop at home, one card (Lucent chipset) I bought won't even get recognized in Windows, while another card (with a VIA chipset) works great. Both are supposedly OHCI compliant.

Why is it crappy? Well, it's just got one port, not that that really matters, but more is better I guess. Also I have a feeling that it's causing a problem with my Firewire CF card reader. Someone I know had the same problem, and getting a new Firewire card fixed it. Thanks all!

Note that the Firewire CF card readers I know of (including the one I own), require power. Is your port powered?

This brings me back to my first point. IMO, it's a design flaw for any computer to have non-powered Firewire ports. Indeed, ironically this is especially true on laptops where non-powered devices like media readers and external non-powered hard drives are most likely to be used. It would defeat the point of having a small portable external drive if you had to carry around a power brick too.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Well I installed the card and it seems to be working correctly now. The reader is on probation since it already ate two batches of photos, but it hasn't acted up since the upgrade. I'm sure it's not an issue of this firewire is better than that firewire, it just seemed like the onboard firewire was having some sort of funky conflict with something else. Thanks all!

 

[jankm]

Where is a good place to buy a firewire card?

newegg.com has two cheap ones, one for $21 shipped and the other for $24 shipped. Is there any difference between these two? Is there a better place to buy?

 

[Wallydraigle]

I picked up a Dlink one for $30 out the door at Best Buy.

 

[owensdj]

corky-g, what you said about the relationship between FireWire(IEEE 1394) and SCSI is complete and total BS. SCSI is parallel technology and FireWire is serial technology, so how could FireWire possibly have any SCSI origins?