firewire questions
M. John Matlaw
WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare
Drive from
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 . I
thought I'd shop around for an enclosure for it. I'm looking for a
firewire interface. I'm thinking firewire's bidirectional nature is
worth the extra money over USB only enclosures. I've got an older
macmini and other even older g3s and 4s so I'm looking for firewire 400.
And I'm getting very confused about 1394, 1394a, 1394b. Also I have a
chipset question.
A listing on e-bay (
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure-Case-USB-Firewire-1394-/200357960798?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item2ea643dc5e#ht_2783wt_1398
) says the enclosure the vendor's offering uses the JMicron JMB-353
chipset. An EZQuest Pro Monsoon Enclosure eSATA, 400, and High-Speed
USB 2.0 listed at Macsales (
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/EZ%20Quest/N27300/ ) says it uses the
Oxford 934 chipset. Is this something I need to consider?
The e-bay enclosure says 2x 6-pin Firewire 1394a ports. If I read the
wikipedia 1394 entry right ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394 )
1394a is able to use a standard which may not include power supply over
the interface. But it may include power supply over the interface. I'm
assuming in the case of the e-bay item I'll need to use the included,
separate power supply but I'm just wondering about 1394a. It may or may
not include power through the cable?
The EZQuest enclosure at Macsales is even more confusing. It says 2X
1394b / (6 Pin) FireWire 400 Ports. The wikipedia entry says 1394b is
FireWire 800. And I thought FireWire 800, while backwardly compatible
to FireWire 400, was a different, 9-circuit connector. What gives?
Thanks,
John
Andreas Rutishauser
In article <j5d6ac$fa7$1...@dont-email.me>,
"M. John Matlaw" <mj...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> First of all what I just ordered is a Western Digital Caviar Green
> WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare
> Drive from
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 . I
> thought I'd shop around for an enclosure for it. I'm looking for a
> firewire interface. I'm thinking firewire's bidirectional nature is
> worth the extra money over USB only enclosures. I've got an older
> macmini and other even older g3s and 4s so I'm looking for firewire 400.
> And I'm getting very confused about 1394, 1394a, 1394b. Also I have a
> chipset question.
>
> A listing on e-bay (
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure-Case-USB-Firewire-1394-/
> 200357960798?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item2ea643dc5e#ht_2783wt_1398
>
> ) says the enclosure the vendor's offering uses the JMicron JMB-353
> chipset. An EZQuest Pro Monsoon Enclosure eSATA, 400, and High-Speed
> USB 2.0 listed at Macsales (
> http://eshop.macsales.com/item/EZ%20Quest/N27300/ ) says it uses the
> Oxford 934 chipset. Is this something I need to consider?
Oxford FireWire chipsets are known as reliable
>
> The e-bay enclosure says 2x 6-pin Firewire 1394a ports. If I read the
> wikipedia 1394 entry right ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394 )
> 1394a is able to use a standard which may not include power supply over
> the interface. But it may include power supply over the interface. I'm
> assuming in the case of the e-bay item I'll need to use the included,
> separate power supply but I'm just wondering about 1394a. It may or may
> not include power through the cable?
You'll find out, that every enclosure that takes 3.5" disks has it's own
power supply.
>
> The EZQuest enclosure at Macsales is even more confusing. It says 2X
> 1394b / (6 Pin) FireWire 400 Ports. The wikipedia entry says 1394b is
> FireWire 800. And I thought FireWire 800, while backwardly compatible
> to FireWire 400, was a different, 9-circuit connector. What gives?
I'd say, the 1394b is a typo... the pictures show it's 1394a
Just to bring in another idea: you can also shop for 1394b enclosures.
Convertors from FW800 to 400 exist, cables with FW800 and FW400 exist...
Cheers
Andreas
--
MacAndreas Rutishauser, <http://www.MacAndreas.ch>
EDV-Dienstleistungen, Hard- und Software, Internet und Netzwerk
Beratung, Unterstuetzung und Schulung
<mailto:and...@MacAndreas.ch>, Fon: 044 / 721 36 47
M. John Matlaw
exist but it's probably cheaper to get the 800 and a converter. It'd
also be useful if and when I got a computer with fw800.
John
Neill Massello
> WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare
> Drive from
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 . I
> thought I'd shop around for an enclosure for it. I'm looking for a
> firewire interface. I'm thinking firewire's bidirectional nature is
> worth the extra money over USB only enclosures. I've got an older
> macmini and other even older g3s and 4s so I'm looking for firewire 400.
>
Look at the Macally products, in particular the G-S350SUA.
<http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ipod4show.asp?ArticleID=215>
(Available from Amazon for much less than MSRP:
<http://www.amazon.com/Macally-G-S350SUA-Hi-Speed-FireWire-Enclosure/dp/
B000P1NAMO/>.)
Don't pay for FireWire 800 unless you have a Mac that can use it now.
Bus power is irrelevant for nearly all 3.5 inch enclosures, which must
be powered by an AC adapter.
These days, the chipset is usually only relevant to whether you can
start up from the external enclosure; and this may vary depending on the
particular Mac model it's used with. (IIRC, the Macally is bootable.)
Erik Richard Sørensen
M. John Matlaw wrote:
> First of all what I just ordered is a Western Digital Caviar Green
> WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare
> Drive from
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 . I
> thought I'd shop around for an enclosure for it. I'm looking for a
> firewire interface. I'm thinking firewire's bidirectional nature is
> worth the extra money over USB only enclosures. I've got an older
> macmini and other even older g3s and 4s so I'm looking for firewire 400.
> And I'm getting very confused about 1394, 1394a, 1394b. Also I have a
> chipset question.
> A listing on e-bay (
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure-Case-USB-Firewire-1394-/200357960798?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item2ea643dc5e#ht_2783wt_1398
> ) says the enclosure the vendor's offering uses the JMicron JMB-353
> chipset. An EZQuest Pro Monsoon Enclosure eSATA, 400, and High-Speed
> USB 2.0 listed at Macsales (
> http://eshop.macsales.com/item/EZ%20Quest/N27300/ ) says it uses the
> Oxford 934 chipset. Is this something I need to consider?
>
> The e-bay enclosure says 2x 6-pin Firewire 1394a ports. If I read the
> wikipedia 1394 entry right ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394 )
> 1394a is able to use a standard which may not include power supply over
> the interface. But it may include power supply over the interface. I'm
> assuming in the case of the e-bay item I'll need to use the included,
> separate power supply but I'm just wondering about 1394a. It may or may
> not include power through the cable?
disks since 3,5" disks require more power than the 2,5".
> The EZQuest enclosure at Macsales is even more confusing. It says 2X
> 1394b / (6 Pin) FireWire 400 Ports. The wikipedia entry says 1394b is
> FireWire 800. And I thought FireWire 800, while backwardly compatible
> to FireWire 400, was a different, 9-circuit connector. What gives?
1394B only for Firewire 400 connectors and it is backward compatible to
FW400 using the appropriate cable delievered along with the enclosure.
Instead of the EZQuest kit I'd instead go for a Mercury Elite-AL Pro and
Elite Pro Quad from OWC with FW400, FW800, USB 2.0HS (also compatible
with USB 1.1) and eSATA. The peerformance and stability of the Mercury
enclosures are very, very high. I bought my first Mercury enclosure back
in 1998 and it's still running 24/7 as my backup disk.
You can see all the Meercury enclosures and others here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/search/firewire+enclosure
Fx. this one in the MacPro design...
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEP944FW8EU2/
Or this one with the Oxford934 chipset, supports up to 2tb
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEFW934FWU2K/
Cheers, Erik Richard
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erik Richard Sørensen, Member of ADC, <mac-m...@Mstofanet.dk>
NisusWriter - The Future In Multilingual Text Processing - www.nisus.com
OpenOffice.org - The Modern Productivity Solution - www.openoffice.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Fenwick
Erik Richard S�rensen <tu...@tulle.dk> wrote:
> M. John Matlaw wrote:
> > A listing on e-bay (
> > http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure-Case-USB-Firewire-1394
> > -/200357960798?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item2ea643dc5e#ht_2783wt_
> > 1398
> > ) says the enclosure the vendor's offering uses the JMicron JMB-353
> > chipset. An EZQuest Pro Monsoon Enclosure eSATA, 400, and High-Speed
> > USB 2.0 listed at Macsales (
> > http://eshop.macsales.com/item/EZ%20Quest/N27300/ ) says it uses the
> > Oxford 934 chipset. Is this something I need to consider?
Get the Oxford, it's a well-regarded chip set.
> > The e-bay enclosure says 2x 6-pin Firewire 1394a ports. If I read the
> > wikipedia 1394 entry right ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394 )
> > 1394a is able to use a standard which may not include power supply over
> > the interface. But it may include power supply over the interface. I'm
> > assuming in the case of the e-bay item I'll need to use the included,
> > separate power supply but I'm just wondering about 1394a. It may or may
> > not include power through the cable?
>
> Yes, it might contain power supply, but only with 2,5" and not with 3,5"
> disks since 3,5" disks require more power than the 2,5".
You may or may not be able to power a 3.5" drive over the Firewire
cable--depends on your system and the drive.
> > The EZQuest enclosure at Macsales is even more confusing. It says 2X
> > 1394b / (6 Pin) FireWire 400 Ports. The wikipedia entry says 1394b is
> > FireWire 800. And I thought FireWire 800, while backwardly compatible
> > to FireWire 400, was a different, 9-circuit connector. What gives?
>
> correct, the 1394B is Firewire 800, but some enclosures are using the
> 1394B only for Firewire 400 connectors and it is backward compatible to
> FW400 using the appropriate cable delievered along with the enclosure.
>
> Instead of the EZQuest kit I'd instead go for a Mercury Elite-AL Pro and
> Elite Pro Quad from OWC with FW400, FW800, USB 2.0HS (also compatible
> with USB 1.1) and eSATA. The peerformance and stability of the Mercury
> enclosures are very, very high. I bought my first Mercury enclosure back
> in 1998 and it's still running 24/7 as my backup disk.
>
> You can see all the Meercury enclosures and others here:
> http://eshop.macsales.com/search/firewire+enclosure
>
> Fx. this one in the MacPro design...
> http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEP944FW8EU2/
> Or this one with the Oxford934 chipset, supports up to 2tb
> http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEFW934FWU2K/
>
> Cheers, Erik Richard
I also have that second one, and I'm happy with it.
Steve
--
steve <at> w0x0f <dot> com
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, sidecar in the other, body thoroughly
used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
M. John Matlaw
hooked it up to the firewire port. Seems to be working fine. Only
thing I haven't quite figured out is what the little white gluey things
that came in a separate little bag are for. Otherwise, as soon as I
figure out what size to make the various partitions, it looks like I'll
finally have room for backups - maybe even multiple backups. Thanks
Erik Richard Sørensen and Steve Fenwick and Andreas Rutishauser for your
advice and the info.
John
Tom Stiller
> hooked it up to the firewire port. Seems to be working fine. Only
> thing I haven't quite figured out is what the little white gluey things
> that came in a separate little bag are for. Otherwise, as soon as I
> figure out what size to make the various partitions, it looks like I'll
> finally have room for backups - maybe even multiple backups. Thanks
> Erik Richard Sørensen and Steve Fenwick and Andreas Rutishauser for your
> advice and the info.
--
PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf
of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. -- Ambrose Bierce
M. John Matlaw
Tom Stiller wrote:
> In article <j6f2e4$9ia$1...@dont-email.me>,
> "M. John Matlaw" <mj...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>>Got my Mercury Elite-AL Pro yesterday, put in the new wd green drive and
>>hooked it up to the firewire port. Seems to be working fine. Only
>>thing I haven't quite figured out is what the little white gluey things
>>that came in a separate little bag are for. Otherwise, as soon as I
>>figure out what size to make the various partitions, it looks like I'll
>>finally have room for backups - maybe even multiple backups. Thanks
>>Erik Richard Sørensen and Steve Fenwick and Andreas Rutishauser for your
>>advice and the info.
>
>
> They're non-skid feet for the stand or drive, however you use it.
>
guess one might want to be extra cautious.