Help G5 2.5 Firewire not working - Would PCI Card Work?

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Level 1

4 points

Help G5 2.5 Firewire not working - Would PCI Card Work?

Hello,

I have a G5 2.5 Osx 10.4.9 that I use strictly for audio recording Only. All the firewire ports on the tower are not working. I've tried everything I found online regarding the problem but still nothing. I had this problem when the unit was still under warranty and Apple had to replace the motherboard. I'd like to try and avoid having to do that. If I get a PCI firewire card would this solve my problem? Would the firewire run off this card basically eliminating the internal firewire?

Any help or info would be greatly appreciate! Thank you!

Posted on Aug 7, 2015 11:04 AM

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Answer 1

Jeff

Level 6

12,328 points

Aug 7, 2015 6:53 PM in response to TF290

Adding an expansion card is a easy way to sidestep a malfunctioning controller chip on the motherboard or to add additional ports of a specific type, to meet your specific needs. Your G5 2.5 has (3) PCI-X (not PCI) expansion slots, so that would be the type of FireWire card that you'll need to buy.

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Answer 2

TF290 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 7, 2015 8:27 PM in response to Jeff

Jeff thanks for the reply! I contacted MacSales.com and they suggested this card http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Adaptec/2091300R/

but It doesn't state that its a PCIx card . Can you tell me if this is the right card? Thanks again!

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Answer 3

rccharles

Level 6

13,037 points

Aug 7, 2015 9:17 PM in response to TF290

I would have to assume that Mac Sales assumes it works in compatibility mode. Never tried it. Don't know.

See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-X

Mixing of 32-bit and 64-bit PCI cards in different width slots

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Answer 4

kaz-k

Level 9

51,108 points

Aug 7, 2015 10:42 PM in response to TF290

The following card is compatible PCI-X interface.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet%20Technologies/FW800A/

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Answer 5

Aug 7, 2015 11:57 PM in response to TF290

Did you try resetting the PMU?

Resetting PMU on Power Mac G5, Power Mac G4, Power Macintosh G3 - Apple Support

on my G4, when my FW drives would not mount, I could shut down and unplug the computer for a minute, then plug back in and start up, then the FW ports would work again, but this may have been back when my PSU was near failure, before I replaced it.

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Answer 6

rccharles

Level 6

13,037 points

Aug 8, 2015 9:58 AM in response to kaz-k

And there are firewire 800 to firewire 400 adapters if you need more than on firewire 400 port. Used such an adapter yesterday & worked great.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer+Technology/FIR1369AD/

R

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Aug 8, 2015 11:24 AM in response to TF290

Might try this...

reset FW bus, same goes for USB reset...

Reset the Firewire bus

If your Firewire or USB isn't recognizing any device. A solution which has worked for some whose hard drive became invisible in 10.4 was simply to follow these four steps to reset the Firewire/USB bus:

1. Shut the machine down.

2. UNPLUG the power lead to the computer and any firewire/USB drive or devices.

3. leave it for 10 minutes.

4. Connect back up and reboot.

http://www.macmaps.com/firewirebug2.html

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Answer 8

TF290 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 8, 2015 12:13 PM in response to TF290

Thank you everyone for the information! I GREATLY appreciate the HELP!!!

I'm going to try what "BDAqua" and "Glen" suggested. I did try that early on but I'm going to give it another shot. I'll also Reset the PMU and NVRAM.

In the mean time I'm still not sure about which card to purchase.

"Kaz-k "suggested this card http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet%20Technologies/FW800A/ but I didn't see anything saying that it was PCI-X card it only states that it would work in a pci-x slot . It also states this on there webpage for the card ,"Deep Sleep not supported under Mac OS X Versions 10.4 or 10.3." not sure if that's a concern or not. Mac sales support suggested this card http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Adaptec/2091300R/ which is $7.99 then I asked them about difference in price $62.99 for the Sonnet card and they said it wasn't compatible. It looks like it is to me, I don't know.

.

Can anyone help me with a Part # for a firewire card that would work to bypass the internal firewire or let me know if the one about that "Kaz-k" suggested would work? Thanks again!

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Answer 9

rccharles

Level 6

13,037 points

Aug 8, 2015 12:48 PM in response to TF290

Well, for 7.99 it's worth an experiment. Any card you buy will be an experiment. I'd lean towards the card working, but you never know.

I'm not sure which machine you have, but assuming 2.5 is the speed. Looks like G5, I think you have, will support 4 different card types! You should look at the slots for the cards. Different cards have different slots numbers and positions. My experience is that a "wrong" card will not fit in the "wrong" slot. I think you have:

That means the specs for card inserts are:

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Answer 10

kaz-k

Level 9

51,108 points

Aug 8, 2015 11:32 PM in response to TF290

As you know, they say

"Offering plug and play simplicity, this card installs easily in any PCI or PCI-X slot, features hot-pluggable and hot-swappable device connection support with automatic device configuration, and works with all industry standard FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 peripherals.

Allegro FW800 easily adds 3 FireWire ports-two FireWire 800 and one FireWire 400-- to your Mac or PC. Simply plug the card into an available PCI or PCI-X slot and instantly get access to FireWire speeds!"

I think it's compatible with PCI and PCI-X interfaces.

By the way, which PowerMac G5 you have?

Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info tells you which one you are using.

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Answer 11

TF290 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2015 6:40 AM in response to kaz-k

Thanks for the reply! Kaz-k ..I have a G5 2.5 PowerMac 7,3.

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Answer 12

TF290 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 14, 2015 7:33 AM in response to TF290

Okay, so I received both cards the Allegro FW800 and the Adaptec 4300 and neither card works independently by bypassing the units internal firewire. I called a couple of Apple authorized service centers here and both said the motherboard needs to be replace. The cost of the board is $800.00 plus $ 400.00 labor. WOW.

I located this machine on EBay that someone has in my local area for $150.00. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-PowerMac-7-3-G5-Dual-2-7-GHz-8GB-148GB-10000RPM-OS X-10-5-8-M9749LL-A-/181828508917?hash=it…

Now my machine is a G5 Dual 2.5 PowerMac 7,3 and this machine is a 2.7. Can I take my Hard drive (with all my info on it) out of my machine and put it in this unit? Is this possible? I use this machine for Audio recording and can lose the software and or the OS on my drive. Would it be as simple as swapping them out to be up and running?

Any info would be Greatly appreciated! thank you all again

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Answer 13

Jeff

Level 6

12,328 points

Aug 14, 2015 9:47 AM in response to TF290

A bad motherboard seems like a shoot-from-the-hip diagnosis. By coincidence, the onboard FireWire controller chip and the PCI slots have become defective? I'd find that difficult to believe. Perhaps a driver is corrupted? Before I'd buy another computer, I'd install another hard drive in the one I had, and install Tiger on that. Once booted from that drive, if the FireWire ports are recognized, then you will have determined that the problem is driver-based and not the result of a bad motherboard. The price given for replacement of the motherboard is what's known as a "do not call" estimate. A figure like $1,200 is thrown out, in an effort to discourage any thought of repair and (possibly) to encourage the purchase of a new computer. A Power Mac G5 from 2004/2005 is undoubtedly considered "vintage" by now and new parts for it (unless new, old-stock can be found) aren't available.

Incidentally, the G5 with Dual 2.7 GHz processors has the Liquid Cooling Heatsink, which can start to leak after many years. I'd want to inspect the interior of that G5 to determine whether this has started yet, before I'd ever buy it based on those (3) photos.

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