Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Firewire issues after Snow Leopard...

Greetings.. I have a first-gen Dual Dual Mac Pro, that is experiencing firewire issues after the 10.6 upgrade.

I first noticed the issue when trying to copy files to a Western Digital Passport 500GB 2.5" external HD. After the Snow Leopard upgrade, the drive is virtually un-usable with frequent hangs when attempting to copy even small files. In addition, I am having an issue where my Sony Firewire external DVD-burner is not recognized after the patch. Hmmm... All is well under USB ironically (Since the Passport has both FW 800 and USB 2 connections)

Overall. I am having real firewire issues after the patch, and it was running flawlessly before the patch.

Anyone else having similar issues? The only thing I changed was my software.

Thanks in advance...

MacPro, MacBook Pro unibody, and many iPods..., Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Aug 31, 2009 9:14 AM

Reply
244 replies

Oct 2, 2017 7:20 PM in response to The hatter

I found the seed notes for 10.6.2 that were posted on a blog. Considering that this issue could be connected to any number of things, would you say that anything on this list may be the solution to the problem? I don't seen anything in IO section that resembles what some of you have been replacing from 10.5, so that leads me to believe that they haven't gotten to this issue. Any other opinions and/or facts on this?

http://www.osxbrazil.com/blog/2009/10/09/apple-adc-mac-os-x-10-6-2-build-10c519f -seed-note/

Sep 3, 2009 7:37 AM in response to Chris Heric

I have a FireWire 400 HD, it has a JMicron chipset (pretty generic but works great). I worked wonderfully on Leopard without a single glitch ever.

Now, after upgrading to SL, I experience the same as you and the drive is not responding well, hanging constantly and experiencing really slow transfer rates, that make it unusable (all applications that try to open something from it eventually hang). It's not a temporary glitch, even after several reboots and connecting/disconnecting the drive. The same drive under USB2 (it also has USB2 interface) works perfect (but I really want my firewire back).

I hope Apple fixes it! Definitely a bug.

Sep 8, 2009 9:10 AM in response to BernardoPadua

It is more than a Bug.. it is a serious problem. My tape backup also does not work, and apparently, I am not alone here.

I want this fixed. I also want confirmation that there is an issue. I have spent too much time trying to fix something that is beyond end-user capable, and repeatable by other users.

The same drives work just fine on my MacBook Pro.

Sep 8, 2009 10:06 AM in response to The hatter

My frustration here is that I posted this original post more than a week ago. While the initial suggestion was that WD controllers are crap so "I am not surprised" is not a solution for me. (Particularly after I have gone through extensive measures to diagnose and eliminate extraneous variables.)

If it were just me I would pass it off as something wrong with my CPU, but this happens with ALL firewire bridges and interfaces I have tried, and I just tried it on an old-school 40G firewire-based iPod.. same problem. (So... it is not just a crappy bridge from a third-party vendor that needs to be updated... it happens at the host-controller level)

In addition, numerous other users here are reporting the same issue with a multitude of drives and controllers. It is not our imagination, and it is not soluble by an end-user.

This is a real problem. It is a repeatable problem. Numerous people are having the same problem. Even Apple devices have issues with it.

Perhaps it is just 1,1 MacPros? (As I mentioned... the same devices work flawlessly on my 1st. gen MacBook Pro after 10.6 update.)

Just getting to be more than just an annoyance.

Sep 8, 2009 10:19 AM in response to Chris Heric

I don't think I've seen any reports of problems with Oxford based or OWC FW Mercury cases. None.

I have always found LaCie to be the most trouble and often sited, and MyBook, with OS updates, and without, they are trouble (and the whole "reset FW bus" thing with Lacie is sad)

I'd use my Mac Pro 1,1 for Windows 7 only, except there is no fan / sensor control to keep it running as cool as it should.

Firewire issues after Snow Leopard...

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.