Apple 17-INCH manual FireWire Ports, USB Storage Devices, FireWire 400 Connector

CHAPTER 3

Devices and Ports

The PowerBook G4 17-inch computer supports all four data transfer types defined in the USB specification.

USB devices can provide a remote wakeup function for the computer. The USB root hub in the computer is set to support remote wakeup whenever a device is attached to the bus.

USB Storage Devices

Class drivers are software components that are able to communicate with many USB devices of a particular kind. If the appropriate class driver is present, any number of compliant devices can be plugged in and start working immediately without the need to install additional software.

FireWire Ports

The PowerBook G4 17-inch computer has one FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a) port and one FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b) port. Both FireWire ports

●support booting the system from a mass storage device

●support target disk mode

The two FireWire ports share a single power supply that can provide up to 14 watts total. Both ports are on the same FireWire bus and can connect to up 62 other FireWire devices.

The FireWire hardware and software provided with the PowerBook G4 17-inch computer are capable of all asynchronous and isochronous transfers defined by IEEE standard 1394a and 1394b.

For additional information about the FireWire interface and the Apple API for FireWire device control, refer to the resources listed at “FireWire Interface” (page 62).

FireWire 400 Connector

The 6-pin FireWire 400 technology

●supports serial I/O at 100, 200, and 400 Mbps

●provides up to 7 watts of power when the computer system is on or when the power adapter is connected and in sleep mode

The FireWire 400 connector has six contacts, as shown in Figure 3-2(page 27). The connector pin assignments are shown in Table 3-2(page 27).

26FireWire Ports

Legacy Document 2003-03-01 © 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.