Should I have multiple firewire cards?

[JNLSeb]

My computer has been working fine for the longest time and uploading videos
from the camera was never a problem.

Then an External HD was purchased and connected via firewire port.

The card has 3 jacks so I assume just use one for the camera and one for the
External HD.
The HD works fine until I attempt to upload video from the camera to the
External HD.
As a result, I started uploading from the camera to an internal HD which
worked fine, but afterwards, the external HD wouldn't be recognized unless I
rebooted.

My assumption is that either the drivers are not up to date or the card only
supports one device at a time even though there are multiple ports.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

My computer has been working fine for the longest time and uploading
videos from the camera was never a problem.

Then an External HD was purchased and connected via firewire port.

The card has 3 jacks so I assume just use one for the camera and one for
the External HD.
The HD works fine until I attempt to upload video from the camera to the
External HD.
As a result, I started uploading from the camera to an internal HD which
worked fine, but afterwards, the external HD wouldn't be recognized unless
I rebooted.

This isn't likely to be an OS issue.

Did you connect and disconnect the camera with the system running?

My assumption is that either the drivers are not up to date

This is not particularly likely.

or the card only supports one device at a time even though there are
multiple ports.

Firewire cards should not have a problem with more than one device, provided
there's enough power. However, there are *other* problems that can arise
from hot-plugging - attaching or removing devices while power is applied.

Hot-plugging is supposed to be supported by the FireWire spec, but in
reality it can cause a number of problems, including electrical damage
requiring service or outright replacement.

Permanent electrical damage can occur to both the port and the connected
device, and so a number of manufacturers of FireWire devices warn against
hot-plugging. Technical details of the problem are available on the web.

The only safe approach is to power down the system and devices and attach or
detatch them with power off. Turn power on for peripherals first, then
turn the PC on. If the peripherals are bus-powered, they'll come on with
the port.

This kind of damage can happen to USB devices as well, but it's much less
common. I've personally had all but one of the FireWire devices I've
purchased fail for this reason. Consequently, I no longer buy them unless
the application requires the bandwidth and the units aren't likely to be
moved with any frequency.

Finally, not all FireWire chipsets are of equal quality. It may be that
connecting and disconnecting the camera is disrupting the card in a way you
just didn't notice before you got the external drive.

HTH
-pk

 

[Lil' Dave]

This isn't likely to be an OS issue.

Did you connect and disconnect the camera with the system running?


This is not particularly likely.


Firewire cards should not have a problem with more than one device,
provided there's enough power. However, there are *other* problems that
can arise from hot-plugging - attaching or removing devices while power is
applied.

Hot-plugging is supposed to be supported by the FireWire spec, but in
reality it can cause a number of problems, including electrical damage
requiring service or outright replacement.

Permanent electrical damage can occur to both the port and the connected
device, and so a number of manufacturers of FireWire devices warn against
hot-plugging. Technical details of the problem are available on the
web.

The only safe approach is to power down the system and devices and attach
or detatch them with power off. Turn power on for peripherals first,
then turn the PC on. If the peripherals are bus-powered, they'll come on
with the port.

This kind of damage can happen to USB devices as well, but it's much less
common. I've personally had all but one of the FireWire devices I've
purchased fail for this reason. Consequently, I no longer buy them
unless the application requires the bandwidth and the units aren't likely
to be moved with any frequency.

Finally, not all FireWire chipsets are of equal quality. It may be that
connecting and disconnecting the camera is disrupting the card in a way
you just didn't notice before you got the external drive.

HTH
-pk

Most likely, the firewire devices are powered on via their own power supply
on/off switch. They have their own source of power. Most likely, they are
physically connected via firewire cable to the PC prior to turn on. Most
likely, the firewire cable(s) is/are not plugged or unplugged on a regular
basis like some USB stuff, again, because they have their own source of
power. Hot plugging in this case would be having the device on before the
OS starts/boots. The firewire device should be turned on only after XP
finishes booting. And turned off only in the XP environment, after removing
via safely remove hardware icon.

Most likely, as you hinted, its probably the mfr firewire chipset logic
can't handle the data from the camera to the firewire hard drive in scsi
fashion per firewire specifications. This is core firewire logic present
before the OS boots. Can be an improperly written driver, or, the firewire
chipset itself causing the problem.
Dave

 

[smlunatick]

My computer has been working fine for the longest time and uploading videos
from the camera was never a problem.

Then an External HD was purchased and connected via firewire port.

The card has 3 jacks so I assume just use one for the camera and one for the
External HD.
The HD works fine until I attempt to upload video from the camera to the
External HD.
As a result, I started uploading from the camera to an internal HD which
worked fine, but afterwards, the external HD wouldn't be recognized unlessI
rebooted.

My assumption is that either the drivers are not up to date or the card only
supports one device at a time even though there are multiple ports.

Firewire "behaves" just like USB. You are supposed to be able to
connect/disconnect device while the power is still on (aka
"hotswap.") Howver, in your case, your system might not be able to
support enough power over the firewire "channels." Since Firewire is
just like USB, you can buy a self-powered Firewire "hub" and connect
this in between the PC and Firewire "devices." This should give more
power to the Firewire channels.

NOTE: Look for Firewire "hub" and not USB "hub" since Firewire / USB
are not the same "hardware."