Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

Hi, I just got a Macbook Pro and it shuts down every time I plug in the firewire for my Mbox Pro. I'm not sure what generation Mbox I have--purchased new in 2016--High Resolution 8x8. It has firewire 400 and my Macbook has firewire 800. I bought an adaptor cable with 400 on one end and 800 on the other. Every time I plug it in, my Macbook shuts down.

My Macbook is a mid 2012 Mojave with 2.3 Ghz i7 and 16 GB of memory and 2TB SSD.
I am running Protools 12.3

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks!
Lily

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

Try a different cable.
Also, is your power plugged in and working on the Mbox Pro (it must use the power supply)?

(usually if a Mac laptop shuts down when using firewire it is because it is a fail-safe to keep the laptop motherboard from frying from the attached equipment trying to draw too much power)

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

Likely a 3rd gen Mbox Pro, but check http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/F...identification

If purchased new it would have included a power supply. The Mbox Pro Ref Guide states "The Mbox Pro cannot be powered solely through its 1394 connection to your computer. The Mbox Pro requires the power supply to function."

Do you have the power supply connected?

If you connect Firewire and power with everything off, does your MacBook boot?

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

And...

Firewire adapters can vary greatly in quality, I've sure had issues with some, so would be dubious of any no-brand adapter. The one that always worked for me was the Sonnet adapter http://www.sonnettech.com/product/le...w_adapter.html. Unfortunately no longer available, it might be good for other folks to recommend an adapter that is available now.

Even if you have a power adapter, check it is the one that came with the Mbox, and is not the wrong one. You may want to measure the voltage it is putting out, ideally while under load if you can manage that, may require making up an adapter.... only if all else fails.

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

Along with this even though one can supposedly hot-plug peripherals it's not a good idea no matter the connection protocol.

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

I started noticing some time ago that I could no longer plugin FW paripherals to my Mid 2012 15" MBP. I even tried a Thunderbolt to FW adaptor and get the same results. Kernel panic as soon as the device is plugged in. All FW devices work fine on my cheese grader MacPro's running the same OS. As far as I can tell this happened somewhere around the time I installed OS X Sierra !? Like I said it works fine on my MacPro's.

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

Thanks to everyone for posting replies. It is a 3rd generation MBox. I do have the original AC power supply plugged into the wall (though it's always a fair question). This is my 3rd firewire adaptor that I have tried. I even tried a firewire to thunderbolt adaptor. I did not hotplug it--it just shuts down as soon as I turn on the Mbox.

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

Be good to step back a little and make sure we are clear what is going on, what does "shutting down" exactly mean? What exactly happens on the screen? Is it panicing? Shutting down normally? The screen just goes totally black?

If it's panicing you'll see a screen like https://www.lifewire.com/troubleshoo...anics-2260849?

Is the Mac plugged in to it's AC adapter? and Mac battery meter showing it is connected to the AC adapter and and showing a good charge on the battery

I would be testing using the Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter (better to fry that than the port in your MacBook) and as BsScout says try a different cable and several of your adapters.

Where did this MacBook Pro come from? If its faulty do you have an option to return it?

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

While an AC adapter itself doesn't usually go bad the connectors on them can fail. Actually the connection of the wires in the cable start to fracture even with the strain relief provided. Molded connectors tend to be amongst the worst. I've lost count on how many cables with molded connectors I've had to replace.

The reasoning I'm looking at the power supply is that depending on the chip(s) used that connect to the FW connector with no power to the audio interface the computer could be seeing a dead short or very low resistance that the computer's power supply can't handle.

BTW I noticed something in the original post and while it shouldn't have any bearing on the shut down issue I have to mention it. The op is running (or trying to) run PT 12.3 on Mojave. PT12.3 was only considered compatible by Avid for a max of early El Crapitan (OSX 10.11.3).

Re: Macbook Pro shuts down when I plug in Mbox Pro
 

I didn’t catch a response to the kernel panic question.
My Mbox2 Pro / FireWire drivers were giving me all sorts of grief until I splurged on an Apollo 8duo. I achieved a “somewhat” stable system for a while once I determined that ANY change on the FireWire bus that the Mbox 2 Pro was running on would cause a kernel panic. I used the Mbox with the power supply and a TB to FireWire adapter as the only device on that chain, while ensuring that any other drives were accessed via a different TB port using a different controller. I also set my drives to NOT spin down/dismount and that was workable for a time. After realizing that Avid would never update the FW driver moving forward, I decided to ditch their interface hardware for a 3rd party and have never looked back. I guess I should dig up the old Mbox 2Pro and see if I can still get few bucks for it.

Hope this is relevant to you in any way.

Cheers!