firewire not compatible, please help!

[sebgav]

I own a Dell studio 1535. I recently bought a pro tools 003 rack, and have been saving for it for months. Then i find out that my firewire is not compatible with pro tools. This is the email i got from digidesign:

The R5C832 chipset is made by Ricoh. That model of firewire chipset is known to be incompatible with Digidesign hardware. This is certainly the cause of the problem here. Unfortunately there is no solution for using Pro Tools with a firewire interface on that laptop. Your only option is to move to a qualified system, you will find information on these on the compatibility pages.

What are my (cheapest) options here? I just want to start recording my music!

Regards,
sebgav

[Will Murray]

I thought the only difference between compatible and non-compatible firewire is 6 pin and 4 pin respectively? If that was the case, I am fairly sure you can get a converter cable/extension.

I am not sure though, it may be totally uncompatible with your motherboard (assuming this "Ricoh" is on board).

[PetrosGls]

Hi Sebgav,

Well.....I have a Laptop HP pavilion dv6960 with Ricoh FW and is working perfect with my 003R (I dont remember the model/code). But because I had problems like DAE 6086, 6088.... I bought an ExpressCard (Two FW 400) with Texas Instuments chipset which working fine too. After I discover that (I have install Vista and XP only for PT) when I was change something about the HD in Vista like Enable write caching on disk this was affecting also my XP. Anyway if your Laptop have any ExpressCard or CardBus slot you can add one (with Texas Instuments chipset like SiiG ) and it will be work. Keep in mind this ExpressCard or CardBus are not yet approved from Digidesign. I bought mine 35euro (Delock because I couldn’t find SiiG in Hungary) also Unibrain is ok for PT.

[Sugarnutz]

This is what I got for my Profire 2626:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815255014

It's Avid & Digi approved so it should work well with your 003. It works great with my 2626 which is notorious for having issues with lessor firewire adapters.

Another thing is if you are using XP you'll need to make sure you have this installed (it also may help your Ricoh adapter work too, although not as well as the TI):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222

With Vista you should be OK.

[getz76]

sebgav,

That really stinks. I am sorry to hear that.

The problem is that the Dell Studio 15 doesn't have an ExpressCard or CardBus slot. You cannot get a different Firewire interface running on that system.

Honestly, your cheapest and easiest option, if you want a laptop, is to buy the baseline plastic MacBook. This will work, no doubt. You will need to buy an external firewire drive with two Firewire ports and an Oxford Chipset, too, like this Oyen Digital, so you can have a separate drive for your session audio tracks.

Building a compatible desktop system is a lot easier. Notebooks, especially lower end ones, cut costs and corners and use components that are not compatible with Pro Tools hardware.

Good luck.

[K.B.]

Before going any further go to settings/control panel/network connections and see if ieee1394 shows up. If it does, disable it.

Sometimes XP sees that you have firewire and tries to be helpful by installing a firewire network for you. Suddenly you find your firewire ports aren't working as they should. It looks like a hardware fault and you find yourself on the net checking out prices for new firewire cards. Wasted a whole day on this one once...

And this is probably not relevant, but worth checking out: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222

[getz76]

Originally Posted by getz76

The problem is that the Dell Studio 15 doesn't have an ExpressCard or CardBus slot. You cannot get a different Firewire interface running on that system.

Let me back up, all is not lost. I just went to Dell.com and looked at the specifications... you should have a 54mm ExpressCard slot available!

This is great news. Try this card from SIIG, it should work.

Sorry I told you differently before, when I saw your laptop's specifications on CNET, they did not list the ExpressCard slot.

[acktopus]

I am in a very similar situation. I am thinking of buying both a Dell Studio 15 and a new 003 (8 mic preamp version) and connecting them via the SIIG FireWire 2-Port ExpressCard that Getz76 recommends. I'd be very keen to hear if this solution works for the original poster.

I see from one of the Digidesign Support pages that this particular adapter is confirmed to work with the Mbox 2 Pro on a MacBookPro but that other configurations - like the one I am thinking of with a PC and 003 - are untested.

Getz76, you say it should work but does anyone see any reason why it shouldn't work properly?