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firewire 800 port not working

Hello All,


Out of nowhere the firewire 800 port on my iMac stopped working. Tried several different 800 firewire cables and no luck. Shut down iMac, disconnected all plugs for 13+ hours and still not working. I connected the external hard drives to a 800 FW port on my MacBook Pro and it works fine.


Can anybody offer suggestions on how to resolve this issue? Should I reboot the Firewire Bus? If so, how do you do that?


Look forward to any suggestions.


Best,

Stefanie


Message was edited by: sdworkin


Message was edited by: sdworkin

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Nov 19, 2011 3:19 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Nov 19, 2011 3:24 PM

Reset the SMC.

16 replies

Nov 27, 2011 4:07 PM in response to sdworkin

I have the same problem. OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) Firewire 800 interface is not working with either of my LaCie external drives (or with any number of cables), and I don't know when the problem started. I have tried resetting iMAC's SMC and PRAM and reinstalled OS X to no avail. I have a trouble ticket open with LaCie but think this is an Apple problem that they need to address.

Dec 28, 2011 11:13 AM in response to sdworkin

Wondering if you ever resolved the issue with the FW 800 port. I have the exact same symptoms as you. All of a sudden the FW800 port failed to mount an external drive. iMac OS 10.6.8. I have another iMac OS 10.7.2 that works with the same FW800 cable. Eliminates the cable and the external drive as the culprit. Does the 800 to 400 cable work well? Is the 400 cable a synonym for USB 2.0? Any help or hints appreciated.

May 16, 2012 6:19 AM in response to sdworkin

I see the last reply was December 2011. Has anything been addressed?


I have an iMac G5 running 10.5.8 and an external firewire drive mysteriously stopped working. It now only works via USB.


I've tried the power down/unplug/wait/power up thing and it did nothing. Tried switching cables...ditto. Judging by the above replies and others I've read, the issue is not faulty drives, enclosures, cables, or conflicts, but a system one.


Since this thread has already gone nearly 6 months with no help from Apple, it's time to start making some noise.


More to come.

May 16, 2012 6:24 AM in response to noisyblocks

noisyblocks wrote:


I see the last reply was December 2011. Has anything been addressed?


I have an iMac G5 running 10.5.8 and an external firewire drive mysteriously stopped working. It now only works via USB.


I've tried the power down/unplug/wait/power up thing and it did nothing. Tried switching cables...ditto. Judging by the above replies and others I've read, the issue is not faulty drives, enclosures, cables, or conflicts, but a system one.


Since this thread has already gone nearly 6 months with no help from Apple, it's time to start making some noise.


More to come.

Reset the SMC per iMac SMC and PRAM reset


Also this thread is 6 months old because everyone else hasn't revisted the thread, it doesn't mean there is an "issue".... there isn't!

May 16, 2012 7:13 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Because every one of us reads the TOU for every website we visit?


I'm not here to complain, I'm here to understand--from Apple users--whether there has been any "official" response from the company about this type of issue facing owners of older models.


You mention that "there isn't an issue"--then why am I and others having the issue?? Google it. Just because others haven't found this thread doesn't mean the issue no longer exists. (That works both ways, you see.)


What "solutions" have I not tried? As I wrote very clearly in my reply, I've tried everything that was recommended,...short of paying Apple more money to find some reason to tell me why both firewire ports would stop working, simultaneously and without warning, for users of (apparently only) Leopard.


I'm not here to get into it with anyone. For owners of (slightly) older models, I find this "closed support" system frustrating and bizarrely short-sighted. So we have to cart our old junk down to the glitzy Apple store for a "consultation"? Whatever happened to the efficiency of the Internet?


Just saying...

Oct 30, 2012 1:24 AM in response to sdworkin

I stumbled across this thread after searching for an answer for the same problem the OP had...my iMac's Firewire 800 port suddenly stopped working.


FIX: Resetting the SMC as joeuu and rkaufmann suggested took care of it!


Unplugged the power cord, waited 15 seconds (probably more like a minute), plugged it back in, waited another 10 seconds or so and pressed the power button. Unfortunately the first time it just stayed on the grey screen, no Apple logo, etc. I watied for a bit, hit the power button to shut it off, waited another 10 seconds and pressed the power button again and after a short bit it started up normally. FW800 port is working again. Phew!


I was preparing a new SSD to install in it. I had it running in a NewerTech FW800 hot swap dock. I took out the SSD to show the wife how small and light it was, put it back in and nothing. ??? I put it into another FW800 external drive case, still nothing. Swapped cables, etc. After resetting the SMC it was fine again. No idea if it had anything to do with the SSD, but just glad it's working again. Looking forward to installing the SSD now!


Thanks guys!

Dec 27, 2012 2:26 AM in response to rkaufmann87

As usual apple discussion groups to the rescue, after having the same issue, here I come as usual, followed the reset directions for smc and I am back in business. I even called the company for my external and had them send me a new 800 cable. But the answer was here all along. Only did the SMC and I am back in business. While I was rumaging around unplugging, I also noticed that my Mac was filthy, on the bottom where the vents and blowers are, so cleaned that out, gross..So thanks again for you years of helping me out of all things mac.🙂

Dec 27, 2012 3:19 AM in response to sdworkin

Resetting the SMC solved my non-operational Firewire 800 Port issue last time it happened.



Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove

Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own

Resetting the SMC for Mac Pro, Intel-based iMac, Intel-based Mac mini, or Intel-based Xserve

  1. Shut down the computer.
  2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
  3. Wait fifteen seconds.
  4. Attach the computer's power cord.
  5. Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.

firewire 800 port not working

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