LaCie FIREWIRE 800/400 user manual What Do I Do If My Computer Does Not Have a FireWire Port?

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LaCie Biggest Quadra

FireWire Questions & Answers

User Manual

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both the computer and consumer electronics industries. Whether connecting game consoles, personal video recorders, home stereo equipment, digital TVs, hard drives, CD/DVD-RW drives, printers, scanners, tape drives or other digital hardware equipment, FireWire is well-suited to handle all these various requirements.

With the advent of the new FireWire 800 standard, the revolution created by the original will only grow. For those working with digital video, the new standard will enable new bandwidth-intensive applications, such as multiple-stream, uncompressed, standard-definition video.

Will FireWire 400 Devices Run Faster When Connected To A FireWire 800 Port?

Unfortunately, this is not the case. In order to at- tain FireWire 800 speeds, both the device and port have to be FireWire 800 enabled. For instance, an external hard drive with a FireWire 800 9-pin connection will only reach FireWire 800 transfer rates when it is con- nected to a FireWire 800 9-pin host bus adapter card via a properly certified FireWire 800 9-pin to 9-pin beta cable.

When a FireWire 400 device is connected to a FireWire 800 port, the FireWire 400 device will only operate at the original FireWire 400 speeds.

Will FireWire 800 Devices Work On FireWire 400 Ports And Vice Versa?

The new standard was designed to be backwards compatible, meaning that FireWire 800 devices will still operate via the original FireWire 400 port. To connect a FireWire 800 device to a FireWire 400 port, a specific adapter cable must be used, though. There are two types of FireWire 400 ports: 6-pin and 4-pin. For FireWire 800 devices to work, they must be connected by placing the 9-pin end of the FireWire cable into the FireWire 800 port of the device, and the opposite 6-pin or 4-pin end into the FireWire 400 port.

The same holds true for FireWire 400 devices being connected to a FireWire 800 host port. The 4-pin or 6-

pin end of the FireWire cable must be connected to the FireWire 400 port of the device, and the 9-pin end must be connected to the FireWire 800 port.

When FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 devices are mixed, all transfer rates revert to the original FireWire 400 speed.

What Do I Do If My Computer Does Not Have A FireWire Port?

Most computers manufactured today incorporate at least one FireWire port. If your computer does not have a native port, you can install one by adding a PCI or PCMCIA host bus adapter card. Please contact your computer supply specialist for a specific card that will work with your system.

For more information about the FireWire interface, please visit: www.lacie.com/technologies

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Contents Biggest Quadra Table of Contents Maintaining Your LaCie Biggest Quadra Changes CopyrightsTrademarks FCC StatementHealth and Safety Precautions General Use PrecautionsLaCie Biggest Quadra Forward Biggest Quadra Features Introduction to the LaCie Biggest QuadraWindows Users About the LaCie Biggest QuadraMinimum System Requirements Mac UsersPackage Content Your LaCie hard drive package should contain the followingSpecifications Views of the Drive Front ViewRear View Cables and Connectors FireWire 400 and 800 Cables and ConnectorsHi-Speed USB 2.0 Benefits Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Cables and ConnectorsUSB Icons USB 2.0 CablesESATA Cables ESATA Cables and ConnectorsESATA Icons To unlock a drive tray Drive Tray LocksTo lock a drive tray RAID Characteristics and AdvantagesUnderstanding RAID Recommended UsesRAID 0 + High Data Transfer PerformanceController RAID 5 + Hot Spare Setting Up Your LaCie Biggest Quadra SettingSetting the RAID Level ExampleRAID RAID 5 + Hot SpareRAID 0 + On next Creating an ArrayInitializing the Disks To initialize the disks in your arrayLaCie Biggest Quadra Setting Up the Biggest Quadra Managing Volumes over 2TB in Windows 2.AConnecting to a Host Computer Connecting to the Host Computer via FireWire 1.AConnecting to the Host Computer via Hi-Speed USB Connecting to the Host Computer via eSATA Setting the LCD Display Time & Date YY/MM/DD HhmmFormatting and Partitioning Initialize1.C Mac Users Using the LaCie Biggest Quadra Disk Status and Activity IndicatorsLCD Display Message Message Cleared When LCD Display MessagesInitialization Messages Dx Rebuild Rebuild MessagesDisk Failure Message LCD Display Message Cleared When Failure and Error MessagesRAID Failure Messages LCD Display Message Cleared When Fan Failure Message LCD Display Message Cleared WhenRAID and Disk Status Messages Overheating Error Message LCD Display Message Cleared WhenPower On LCD Display Message Message Cleared When RAID Level LCD Display Message Message Cleared When RAID and Disk Information MessagesReady LCD Display Message Message Cleared When Disk Information LCD Display Message Message Cleared WhenFirmware Version LCD Display Message Message Cleared When Serial Number LCD Display Message Message Cleared WhenRemoving/Replacing a Drive Firmware UpdatesMaintaining Your LaCie Biggest Quadra Technical Information File System FormatsUse FAT 32 if FATUse Ntfs if Use HFS+ ifAvailable Storage Capacity Optimizing Data TransfersFireWire 800 Ports and Performance Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Ports and Performance What Are The Ideal Uses For FireWire? FireWire Questions & AnswersWhat Are The Benefits Of The FireWire Inter- faces? What Does Ieee 1394 Mean?What Do I Do If My Computer Does Not Have a FireWire Port? USB Questions & Answers LaCie Biggest Quadra USB Questions & Answers What is eSATA? ESATA Questions & AnswersWhat are the ideal uses of Serial ATA? Problem Possible Solutions TroubleshootingManual Updates Example Before You Contact Technical Support Information Where to Find InformationContacting Customer Support Information to Include in Email CorrespondenceLaCie Technical Support Contacts Warranty Information
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