Firewire 800 trouble/problem

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Level 1

9 points

Firewire 800 trouble/problem

Yesterday I was noticing that my Drobo, connected via FW 800 to my iMac, was turning itself, or resetting itself on and off again. I wasn't sure what to make of it. By the end of the day, it finally had shut down and would not mount on the desktop. I called Data Robotics tech support to try to trouble shoot the problem. We wen't through all tests consisting of trying both FW 800 ports on the Drobo, trying 2 different FW 800 cables, trying a USB cable in the USB port of the Drobo, and finally tried connecting it to my MBP. The Drobo would connect via the USB cable and also when I connected it to my MBP via FW 800. It would not connect to my iMac anymore via the 2 cables, the 2 ports on Drobo, or the single port on the iMac.
Would it be safe to say that the FW 800 port on the iMac is shot? Unfortunately I don't have any other devices to try in the port. But if it would connect to the MBP via FW 800, I'm suspecting it's the iMac port. I have also tried to reset the PRAM and the SMC many times with no progress.

And of course this has happened past the warranty date. Any idea what I should do? I have made an appointment with the genius bar at the local Apple Store. I'm sure they will tell me that it needs to be replaced or repaired. Any idea what it will cost? Or how many days it will need to be "in the shop".

Thanks for all the suggestions in advance.

20" Intel iMac - 15" MBP - Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.6.1), 80 GB iPod - 16 GB iPhone 3G - Drobo - Canon 1DSMKII - Canon 5DMKII

Posted on Sep 24, 2009 7:32 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 24, 2009 2:16 PM in response to gr8fl4295

If the Drobo works on the MacBook Pro with the same cable, then it is probably the port on the iMac.

One more test you could try is to startup the iMac in FireWire Target Disk Mode.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

Connect it to the MacBook. If the port is working, your iMac's hard drive volume should appear as an external FireWire drive on the MacBook's desktop.

Another test you can try is to restart from your Mac OS X installation disc. At the first Installer screen, go up to the menu bar, and select to run Disk Utility under the Utilities menu. Connect the Drobo and note if it appears in the sidebar of the Disk Utility window.

This is testing if the cause might be related to your current system installation. If the Drobo appears in the sidebar, then booting from a different system makes the port work properly. If the Drobo still does not appear, it is probably a hardware problem.

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Answer 2

gr8fl4295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 24, 2009 4:13 PM in response to gr8fl4295

Tried both suggestions here.
First the "Target Disk", I started up the iMac while connect to the MBP, the "firewire" symbol came on the screen, but instead of the blue screen with yellow symbol I've seen in the past, a white symbol and gray screen appeared. The HD did not appear on the MBP's desktop.
So I tried the 2nd suggestion, popped in the OS install disc, clicked on Disk Utilities and plugged in the Drobo via FW 800 cable. It did not show up in the devices panel. I switched to the USB cable, and popped right up.
Here's what it says in system profiler:

FireWire Bus:

Warning: Unable to list FireWire devices. (in red)

I suppose the FW 800 port is fried.

Thanks.

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

92,266 points

Sep 24, 2009 4:44 PM in response to gr8fl4295

Even though you have reset the SMC it may not have reset the overloads for the FireWire port(s), try resetting the FireWire ports again using the following method:

+1. Shut down the computer.+
+2. Disconnect all devices and all other cables, except the keyboard and mouse cable(s).+
+3. Disconnect the computer from the power outlet and wait for 5 to 10 minutes.+
+4. Plug the computer back in and turn it on.+
+5. Reconnect the device(s) (one at a time if there is more than one) and test. Test with each port if you have more than one.+

Support article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317

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Answer 4

gr8fl4295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 25, 2009 7:37 AM in response to den.thed

Thanks for the suggestion.
Tried that a few times.
No dice.

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Answer 5

Sep 25, 2009 9:17 AM in response to gr8fl4295

I had the exact same problem this summer (with the same Imac model - even bought in chicago!) and have had no luck either. I think I am going to send it in to apple for a repair, does anyone have any idea what that cost would be to fix?

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Answer 6

gr8fl4295 Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 25, 2009 9:27 AM in response to 27993buck

If you don't have Apple Care, it's going to cost anywhere from $500-$900 for a new logic board plus labor. I'm not in dire need of this port because the Drobo was the only FW 800 device I have, and it has a USB port as well.
I will probably wait for the rumored new line-up of iMacs.

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Answer 7

kimac

Level 1

25 points

Oct 15, 2009 9:02 AM in response to gr8fl4295

I too have been having this issue for some time now, off and on. I took my imac to the genius bar and they could not repeat the problem, I was pretty sure that my logic board was fried, but they reinstalled the OS and it worked fine for me, then a month later it started up again.
I connected Drobo via USB and no problems, I don't know what the deal is with that FW800 port on the imac. The FW400 works great, it is just the FW800 port that is very picky. I have reset PRAM and still no Drobo.
The drobo will come up and light up then when the computer does not connect, the Drobo shuts down b/c it gets bored.

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