USB to Firewire adapter

Question

USB to Firewire adapter

SO i have this universal USB adapter cable. It has all these connectors for one end(firewire 6-pin, firewire 4-pin, mini USB...etc.) the other end is a normal USB A. I'm wondering if i can use this cable to hook up an external USB hard drive to my firewire port? Is there any issues that i might encounter?

Just to make things a bit more clear, i would be connecting the USB HD to the USB A end of the cable with a female-to-female USB adapter, and the other end to a supplied firewire 6-pin adapter piece then to my computer's firewire port. Should that work or not so much? Thanks all!

AGP W/Dual 1.3 Ghz Powerlogix 7455 upgrade 768 ram 120 GB HD, Mac OS X (10.3.9), ATI Radeon 7000 dual, D-Link DBT-120 Bluetooth, USB 2.0 PCI card,slot fan

Posted on Feb 3, 2007 11:02 PM

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Answer 1

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Feb 3, 2007 11:50 PM in response to kevan Freeland

Hi-

So, what you are trying to do is hook a USB 1.1 interfaced hard drive to your Firewire 400 port via the adapter?

If so, what do you hope to accomplish that hooking directly to a USB port wouldn't?

Seems to me (off the top of my head) all you'll achieve is slowing the firewire down to 12 ms/s (USB 1.1) and possibly confuse or conflict your system into unneeded issues. Issues like sleep issues, kernel panic, system freeze, etc.

How about more info on the adapter....... Maker?

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Answer 2

Feb 4, 2007 10:47 AM in response to japamac

Ok, no. I have a USB 2 hard drive. i am trying to use it on a firewire port for the computer that i use at my post secondary school. We are supposed to use the firewire ports and not the USB ports on the G5's we have, im not sure why but i think it has something to do with Final Cut Pro.

AS for the adapter it is a generic piece. there are actually two parts to it. the first is a female-to-female USB connector, the second is a USB A to firewire adapter piece.

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Answer 3

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Feb 5, 2007 4:13 AM in response to kevan Freeland

While the data transfer speeds of USB 2.0 and Firewire are almost the same, the data transfer standard used is completely different.The difference remaining between FireWire and USB 2.0 is that USB 2.0 is still a host-based standard - the devices must be connected via a computer in order to communicate. FireWire is a peer-to-peer standard, which means that the devices can be connected without going through a computer.

You can't use a FireWire-to-USB cable/converter to link a device, via the converter to the computer. There is no such thing, because FireWire and USB are completely different standards. You can't convert the flow of data of one of them into a flow of data for the other. You're not the only one that wants to, but it can't be done. Please see this FAQ:

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=22

You'll have to buy a firewire interfaced drive- better yet, get a drive that has USB 2.0 AND Firewire 400/800 interface capability.

Are you sure that the adapter you have isn't a USB A to USB B converter, or some other gender changer? Please look at these:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionView.process?Section_Id=33

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/index.php?mainpage=index&cPath=2174

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/index.php?mainpage=index&cPath=2156

G4 AGP(450)Sawtooth Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2ghzPPC,1.62gbSDRAM, ATI9800, DVR-109,(IntHD)120&160,LaCie160,23"Cinema Display

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Answer 4

Feb 5, 2007 12:44 PM in response to japamac

Thanks thats what i wanted to know. Is there a bridge or something rather than an entire case? i would like to be able to switch back and forth between harddrives rather easily. I would prefer not to have to take apart the enclosure just to switch out the drive.

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Answer 5

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Feb 6, 2007 3:04 AM in response to kevan Freeland

Hi-

As far as a "bridge"goes, the computer is the bridge. It's the only way to interface a USB drive (direct to the USB on the computer).

Like I said, if you need firewire, you need to get a firewire interfaced external hard drive. You can either buy a ready made unit (like a LaCie),
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10511

or buy a housing and insert the drive of your choice.
Here is a link to some HD enclosures:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/External-Enclosures/

And here for the HD:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/3.5-IDE-ATA/

External drives that are made with 3 interfaces in one case- USB 2.0, Firewire 400, and Firewire 800 have the most versatility. An external drive, or drive enclosure, that has all 3 interfaces would be the wisest choice, with ease of switching between computers.

G4 AGP(450)Sawtooth Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2ghzPPC,1.62gbSDRAM, ATI9800, DVR-109,(IntHD)120&160,LaCie160,23"Cinema Display

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Answer 6

Feb 6, 2007 10:34 AM in response to japamac

Ok i understand that much, but is there something other than an enclosure that i can use for firewire instead? I know that they are out there for USB 2 but is there any for firewire?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NVSPATA/

im looking for something exactly like the link, but in a firewire format.

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Answer 7

Feb 6, 2007 10:55 AM in response to kevan Freeland

Ok i understand that much, but is there something
other than an enclosure that i can use for firewire
instead? I know that they are out there for USB 2 but
is there any for firewire?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV
SPATA/

im looking for something exactly like the link, but
in a firewire format.

Look at <http://www.wiebetech.com>

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