Firewire help - Extreme IV Reader can't connect to laptop

BBones · March 15, 2007

Ok, I got my new 4GB Extreme IV w/reader bundle and it comes with 2 sets of firewire cables. Problem is, I guess my laptop's firewire connector is the 4pin style of connector and that cable does not ship with the unit. Anyone know how to remedy this or where to get a proper cable?

wxwax · March 15, 2007

You have a Mac?

BBones · March 15, 2007

No HP

wxwax · March 15, 2007

Ah, OK. I would have changed your thread title to attract the Mac fans.

I added Firewire to the title, might help draw the right folks.

TylerW · March 15, 2007

You can purchase firewire cables with either types of ends, and they can be mixed and matched. So you can get a 6-to-6 pin, a 4-to-6 pin or a 4-to-4 pin cable. Most computers use the 6 pin as an input, but some laptops use a 4 pin to save space and give their users headaches when they need to buy another (expensive) cable.

ire-david · March 16, 2007

this might be of help.

its an english store but i'm sure if they wn't post it ut you'll findit on the net somewhere else

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=97286&&source=14&doy=search

they also have it on ebay( english store again)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IEEE1394-Firewire-Adaptor-6p-Female-4p-Male_W0QQitemZ110057625199QQcategoryZ31493QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Phyxius · March 16, 2007

Yup, you can get the cables from most electronics stores, like radio shack and circuit city. As Tyler said there are 6 to 6, 4 to 6, and 4 to 4. My desktop is a 6 pin and my laptop is a 4...Yay.

colourbox · March 17, 2007

Yes, those 4-to-6-pin cables are relatively easy to find in electronics stores because just about every miniDV camcorder out there has that same 4-pin FireWire port. Sometimes you get one of those cables included when you buy a video camera or a FireWire card.

Edit: Oops, I didn't realize it was FireWire 800. Bad advice from me! Sorry.

ivar · March 18, 2007

TylerW wrote:

You can purchase firewire cables with either types of ends, and they can be mixed and matched. So you can get a 6-to-6 pin, a 4-to-6 pin or a 4-to-4 pin cable. Most computers use the 6 pin as an input, but some laptops use a 4 pin to save space and give their users headaches when they need to buy another (expensive) cable.

The Sandisk Extreme reader is a Firewire 800 device, not a 400.
The 800 has a different, 9 pin, connector as opposed to the 6 pin firewire 400 connector.

In this case, you would need a 9 to 4 cable. Adorama has them, but i'm sure you can get them elsewhere as well.

.

TylerW · March 19, 2007

ivar wrote:

The Sandisk Extreme reader is a Firewire 800 device, not a 400.
The 800 has a different, 9 pin, connector as opposed to the 6 pin firewire 400 connector.

In this case, you would need a 9 to 4 cable. Adorama has them, but i'm sure you can get them elsewhere as well.

.

I was looking for any image of the backside of the unit, but I couldn't, so I had to go on assumption. Good call.

UrbanMedium · March 28, 2007

BBones wrote:

Ok, I got my new 4GB Extreme IV w/reader bundle and it comes with 2 sets of firewire cables. Problem is, I guess my laptop's firewire connector is the 4pin style of connector and that cable does not ship with the unit. Anyone know how to remedy this or where to get a proper cable?

Hi,

I registered on this site after I found your post because I had the same problem and I thought I could same you some time and money.

I purchased an Extreme IV reader and found that the bundled (9-to-6 & 9-to-9) cords weren't compatible with my laptop. My laptop has a 4-pin firewire port. No problem, I purchased a 9-pin to 4-pin firewire cable on Ebay and I thought I was good to go. Unfortunately, I found out that a 4-pin firewire port doesn't provide any (bus) power so it can't power my reader. Even if it did, a 4-pin port only supports 400mbps transfers so I wouldn't be getting the full (800mbps) transfer speeds that the reader supports.

I was almost ready to go back to a USB 2.0 reader when I found this:
http://www.siig.com/product.asp?pid=1040&catid=1
Luckily, my laptop has an ExpressCard port and I can now get the full 800Mbps transfer speed from my Extreme reader. Yeah, it adds another $80 - $100 to my costs but to me it's worth it.

I don't know what your laptop supports but you won't be able to use your Extreme reader with a 9-to-4 cable. You won't get any power to your reader and your laptop won't recognize it. The 4-pin port is only good for devices that have power sources independent of the computer it's connected to.

In order to use your reader to it's fullest, you need to figure out a way to use the 9-to-9 cable. It will give you the full transfer speed along with the power to run your reader.

Hope this helps.

GT

UPDATE: You also need to buy an extra power supply cord in order to use non-powered firewire devices with this adapter. I can't believe that I have a "top-of-the-line" (HP DV9000) laptop and I can't use my Extreme reader without buying $100 worth of extra hardware. Very disappointing.

Van Isle · March 30, 2007

Wow. Wish I had known that before I bought the unit today. So is there a way I can get full firewire 800 on my C2D blacbook? It takes the 9 pin to 6 pin cord. it's more than 4x faster than camera to USB, although that's not really comparing apples to apples. For reference I uploaded 69 RAW files, 470MB, in 1 min 41 sec vs 7 min 37 secs. Is there a 9 pin to 9 pin to ethernet adapter or something?

Thanks.

VI

PS still really happy with the purchase because I got a tough card reader (fast as I can with this laptop, I guess) and a 2GB extreme IV CF for just over $200 CDN. Sweet.

UrbanMedium · March 31, 2007

Van Isle wrote:

Wow. Wish I had known that before I bought the unit today. So is there a way I can get full firewire 800 on my C2D blacbook? It takes the 9 pin to 6 pin cord. i...

I believe you are getting the full 800mbps with the 9-6 cord provided with the reader.

ivar · March 31, 2007

UrbanMedium wrote:

I believe you are getting the full 800mbps with the 9-6 cord provided with the reader.

:nah it's 400 with the 9-6 cord. You need an FW800 port and the 9-9 cable to get 800, sorry.

ivar · March 31, 2007

Van Isle wrote:

Is there a 9 pin to 9 pin to ethernet adapter or something?

A FW-Ethernet plug? Not that I know of. It would require some extra bit of hardware I imagine.

Van Isle · April 3, 2007

I'm still so psyched about using it! In the last month I've gone from camera to USB 1.0 transfers, to firewire card reader transfer. Speed dif. is like 10. Awesome!

VI

BBones · April 3, 2007

Supposedly Lacie makes a Firewire 800 PC Card, though I cannot seem to find anyone with it in stock.

Firewire help - Extreme IV Reader can't connect to laptop

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