Will my 4-pin Firewire cable work?

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Level 1

14 points

Will my 4-pin Firewire cable work?

I've jsut bought a new iMac and want to transfer data from my old one.

The old Mac is 24" Late 2006 model and has two different Firewire ports - I think one is 9 pin and the other 6 pin.

The new iMac has the the smaller 6 pin port.

I've just been to buy a suitable FW cable and have got a 4-pin one. (I'm at work and was unable to double-check the ports on the machine.

I understand that on a 6-pin cable, 2 of the pins are for power, not data, which suggests I don't need them for this data transfer.

Will this cable work? Will it even physically fit?

Thanks

Posted on Aug 1, 2012 5:41 AM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,264 points

Aug 1, 2012 5:45 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

You need a cable like:

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-F017-006-Firewire-Hi-speed/dp/B000AAZQLI/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343825119&sr=8-1&keywords=firewire+400+to+800+cable

You can find these at your local computer store, Radio Shack, Best Buy, or of course Amazon.

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Answer 2

Gfoxcroft Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 1, 2012 5:50 AM in response to rkaufmann87

As I understand it, it is preferable to use the 6-pin port as it's faster, so not sure why you've recommend a 9/6 one?

Also, could someone answer my specific question about whether the 4-pin will work, becuase the pins that provide power aren't needed?

(I'm in the UK - no Radio Shack here! I'd like the cable today so ideally would get one from the limited shops in my town centre)

Thanks

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Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,264 points

Aug 1, 2012 5:57 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

The cable I recommended will work. If you want to find one today then start calling computer stores or even better drive down to them and pick one up. Worst case, order one from Amazon UK.

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Answer 4

Gfoxcroft Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 1, 2012 6:07 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks for this. I'm sure your cable will work, but I'm keen to know if the cable I already have will also work.

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,264 points

Aug 1, 2012 6:15 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

No because it's a FW 400 cable and new Macs only have FW800 that is why you need a FW 400 to FW 800 cable.

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Answer 6

Aug 1, 2012 6:16 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

Is it one of the tiny 4-pin ones (used to be called iLink or something like that)? On your Mac, the 4-pin has to plug into a 6-pin port, and most 4-pin cables I recall have a smaller connector.

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Answer 7

Gfoxcroft Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 1, 2012 6:26 AM in response to Michael Black

Depends what you mean by tiny! It's smaller than the FW400 port, but larger than say a mini USB port!

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Answer 8

Aug 1, 2012 6:23 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

If it is not the exact same size and shape as the female connector on the machine, it is not going to work. Those little 4-pin connectors only mate with a 4-pin port.

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Answer 9

Gfoxcroft Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 1, 2012 6:28 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

Looks like I'm going to have to start again with this!

Thanks everyone!

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Answer 10

Aug 1, 2012 6:32 AM in response to Gfoxcroft

Sort of as an aside, but perhaps the optimal thing to do is to buy a firewire 800 cable, and then buy one of the little firewire 800-400 adapters for one end. That way you would have a cable for the currently used Firewire 800 standard, and just use the adapter for connecting to FireWire 400 ports as needed (the little cable-end adapters from Sonnet, Moshi or others are in the $15-$20 range).

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