Not enough Firewire ports

[ChrisFreeman]

Ok here is a connectivity question for a 2011 13" MBP. I'm looking at purchasing one of these to use with my Digi 003. Heres the problem: The 13" MBP only has one Firewire 800 port. How do I connect a firewire audio drive and Digi003 with only one port?

Any suggestions? Anyone already running this setup?


- Chris

[Darney]

Originally Posted by ChrisFreeman

Ok here is a connectivity question for a 2011 13" MBP. I'm looking at purchasing one of these to use with my Digi 003. Heres the problem: The 13" MBP only has one Firewire 800 port. How do I connect a firewire audio drive and Digi003 with only one port?

Any suggestions? Anyone already running this setup?


- Chris

Just daisy-chain them. FW drive FIRST into MBP, then Digi003 into the 2nd FW port on the HD.

[Bill Denton]

FW drive FIRST into MBP, then Digi003 into the 2nd FW port on the HD.

This is the recommended configuration.

But if you have problems, it's okay to reverse the order of the components.

And don't forget you will need a Firewire 400-to-800 adapter cable somewhere in the setup...

[ChrisFreeman]

1) I thought daisy chaining the 003 to the firewire drive affected maximum track count. This is what digidesign's documentation states. Has something changed?

2) I also saw a note about chaining a firewire drive to the 003 and then to the mac. I believe it said something about the 003 not supporting data pass, which i believes means if the 003 is off, the hard drive won't work? Is this correct?

anyone done either of these options had any problems?

are there other options besides daisy chaining?

Thanks for the advice

- Chris

[Darney]

Originally Posted by ChrisFreeman

1) I thought daisy chaining the 003 to the firewire drive affected maximum track count. This is what digidesign's documentation states. Has something changed?

2) I also saw a note about chaining a firewire drive to the 003 and then to the mac. I believe it said something about the 003 not supporting data pass, which i believes means if the 003 is off, the hard drive won't work? Is this correct?

anyone done either of these options had any problems?

are there other options besides daisy chaining?

Thanks for the advice

- Chris

Shouldn't affect track count - I've never had any issues. And since the 003 is after the HD, on/off status shouldn't be a problem.

[getz76]

Originally Posted by ChrisFreeman

1) I thought daisy chaining the 003 to the firewire drive affected maximum track count. This is what digidesign's documentation states. Has something changed?

The 003 can do a maximum of 18 tracks at 24-bit/48kHz. You will not have a problem if you use a compatible drive.

[Sergius]

Originally Posted by Bill Denton

FW drive FIRST into MBP, then Digi003 into the 2nd FW port on the HD.

This is the recommended configuration.

But if you have problems, it's okay to reverse the order of the components.

And don't forget you will need a Firewire 400-to-800 adapter cable somewhere in the setup...

I'm looking at the following setup:

iMac/MBP FW800 > G-Drive > FW800-to-400 cable > MBox Pro

Will this work?

[nst7]

It should, but if you have problems, try reversing the order: mbox Pro, then G-Drive.

[AfterJohn]

MacBook Pro > Glyph HDD > 003

No problems here but the occasional "lost communication with device" error.

That'll end when my LaCie Thunderbolt eSATA hub arrives :)

[jwilkers]

I use a powered firewire hub with 0 issues. Just remember to eject your drives before shutting down the computer. I also turn the drives on about 1 second before turning on the computer. They are in a separate power distribution unit.

Macbook Pro, Glyph Drive, Some noname drive (for backup), (2) Profire 2626's.

I use the firewire 400 ports on all of them.