FW or USB HDD ?

[kynk]

Hi everyone!

I have a dilemma. Since my 13" MPB has only one FW and 2 USB ports, i don't know what'll be better: to buy a FW hdd and daisychain it with ProjectMix, or buy a USB hdd (with external power supply, ofcourse) ?

thanks in advance.

[systemexclusive]

Originally Posted by kynk

Hi everyone!

I have a dilemma. Since my 13" MPB has only one FW and 2 USB ports, i don't know what'll be better: to buy a FW hdd and daisychain it with ProjectMix, or buy a USB hdd (with external power supply, ofcourse) ?

thanks in advance.

On MBox 2 Pro there is 2FW ports. I guess one can be used to plug in FW HDD for audio files.

[kynk]

I forgot to mention, that i have PT 7.4.2 MP and ProjectMix. And have no intention to buy new interface.

[Eric Seaberg]

USB drives are NOT supported by Digi. Re-read their recommended specs before you make any changes.

There are also specific ways to loop-through the single FW conection using the I/O port of an external drive.

[kynk]

Originally Posted by Eric Seaberg

USB drives are NOT supported by Digi. Re-read their recommended specs before you make any changes.

There are also specific ways to loop-through the single FW conection using the I/O port of an external drive.

I know that USB drives are officially not supported, but i hear people are still using them.
I also hear, that problems will occur if i daisychain FW hdd and interface. (MAC->WD MyBookStudio->ProjectMix I/O).
Last option is to record onto MBP internal hdd ?

What do you professionals reccomend in this situation ?
My goal is to be able to record 16 track simultaniously.

[mindnoise]

Some HD-cases with the Oxford 924 chipset have all the FW and USB 2 connection.
get one of those casing and see what works best.

The thing is: Digi cannot not guarantee any stable performance with USB drives.
therefore they recommend FW drive, which have a more stable performance.
So with a USB drive 'you get what you get'.

Anyway, whatever Protocol you choose make sure it has a Oxford bridgechip.


best :)

[pezking]

I've had pro tools fail to launch because a usb drive was connected. Once.

I've had all sorts of errors trying to record to a usb drive, and have seen others experience a multitude of problems.

I have seen and heard of people running usb drives absolutely fine.

I have never had a problem using a firewire drive on the same bus an an interface (Mbox 2 Pro, 003 or Profire 2626). This is what I would do.

However the above recommendation of using a 924 chipset with USB and FW is a great idea - I'd still recommend the firewire though

HTH

[Griffin23]

USB is not supported but taht doesnt mean it doesnt work, just if something is wrong you wont get any support so you'd be stuck on your own.

I run an external 1TB WD USB HDD with my Mac mini and have had no problems what so ever but thats only me, theres people who are lucky and it works and then theres some people who's systems wont even load if a USB HDD in plugged in.

Basically do you want to play it safe or take a risk ? thats a question to ask yourself. Do You Feel Lucky lol


S.Griffin

[kynk]

Sure i don't want to take any risks. I tried short 8-track recording to my external 1TB i'm Trekstor, for that minute or so there were no problems, ofcourse that doesn't show anything.

[kynk]

Now i have tested my new setup: 13"MBP w Snow Leopard!, PT 7.4.2, ProjectMix I/O, WD MyBook Studio 500GB.
If i hook it up: MBP FW800 -> WD HDD FW800 ->ProjectMix FW400 and try to record 16 tracks, it has cracks and pops on almost every channel. If i put the HDD to USB2, then it records flawlessly.
Is there any possibility to get the setup working on FW ?