Zonet USB/FW cardbus connect probs, 10.4.7

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Level 1

25 points

Zonet USB/FW cardbus connect probs, 10.4.7

Having trouble getting my new ZUC2700 card to work in my PB G4 Titanium running 10.4.7...

I tried:

1 - installing the viauhci.pkg that came with the install disc...

2 - the ZUC2700_driver.zip on your site (seems to be Windows only)

3 - the IOUSBfamily265.4.2.dmg from this page:

http://developer.apple.com/hardwaredrivers/download/usbdebug.html

as suggested on xlr8yourmac.com...

please help!

When I put the card in, I get an error which reads:

USB OVER CURRENT NOTICE
A USB device is currently drawing too much power.

The hub it is attached to will be deactivated.

OK button

I click OK and it recedes back up into my toolbar with three drop-down options:
Unknown Vendor/USB Controller/Power Off Card, only the last of which is operable. Sometimes clicking on "Power off Card" sets the wheel spinning into complete freeze, restart required.

The card never seems to recognize the kingston flash card (1GB) I have attached to one of its USB ports...

Does this unit need external AC power...?
Tim

PB G4, Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Posted on Aug 3, 2006 8:15 AM

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Answer 1

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Aug 6, 2006 7:12 AM in response to Tim Riley

Does this unit need external AC power...?

The card itself doesn't, but whatever you plug into it does. A PC Card USB and/or FireWire adapter can't supply power to connected devices — the slot doesn't have that capability. Anything plugged into the slot needs a power supply of its own.

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Answer 2

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Aug 7, 2006 7:58 AM in response to eww

Correction: I should have written "Anything plugged into the card needs a power supply of its own."

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Answer 3

Tim Riley Author

Level 1

25 points

Aug 7, 2006 8:05 AM in response to eww

Aha, Zonet has since informed me they don't go compatible with Macs, so I've simply swapped out my USB 2 hard drive order for a FW hookup... any tips on a good cardbus for this laptop much appreciated... down the road... Tim

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Answer 4

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Aug 7, 2006 10:33 AM in response to Tim Riley

Hi, Tim. Your Tibook has a FireWire 400 port, so the only reason you'd need a FireWire CardBus adapter is if the drive you've ordered connects only via FireWire 800. I have no experience with FW 800 cards and can't recommend one to you. Because FW 800 ports aren't provided in the new MacBook and McBook Pro lines (a step backward by Apple), I wouldn't buy any drive today that could only connect to such a port.

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Answer 5

Tim Riley Author

Level 1

25 points

Aug 8, 2006 4:50 PM in response to eww

I was more interested in USB 2 capabilities, opens up my peripherals a bit more, plus I read somewhere that the TiBook's FW port tends to fail, so a card with BOTH would be a good backup to have... TR

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Answer 6

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Aug 8, 2006 5:31 PM in response to Tim Riley

...so a card with BOTH would be a good backup to have...

Agreed, as long as you only plan to connect self-powered devices to the card.

As far as the Tibooks' built-in FW port failing: yes, that's been reported from time to time. I wouldn't call it a widespread problem, though, and I don't worry at all about it happening to my own Tibook. If it does, I'll buy a FW card and go on. USB 2 is of limited interest to me, except perhaps for the sake of being able to use a faster flash drive.

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